"He's left the village."
Kakashi stood atop the tallest building in the tavern district. As night fell, the small town quickly sank into an eerie silence. The few shops still open had closed their doors early, and the already sparse foot traffic on the streets vanished completely. Only then did the young shinobi realize that the Jashin follower's preaching spot had been the most bustling and prosperous area in the entire village.
It truly brought to mind the old saying: People love a spectacle, no matter the potential trouble.
Perhaps most of the villagers didn't truly believe the outsider's words. But once one or two people started jeering or egging him on, drawing others into the fervor, even those who were initially skeptical might have been gradually swayed, eventually coming to believe the stranger.
The common folk could often be easily swayed, especially in an era with poor information flow, and even more so during times of war.
Placing their hopes in faith, in something intangible, was perhaps the only thing left for them to do.
Whether this Jashin cult was merely composed of charlatans or part of the legendary, true Jashin cult, Kakashi was determined to follow and uncover the truth.
The pitch-black night sky was illuminated by the moonlight. Mei Terumi, who had never witnessed such a star-filled expanse before, seemed distracted, constantly glancing up at the bright moon as they moved.
"Keep up," the silver-haired boy reminded her, slowing his pace slightly for the preoccupied girl. Far ahead, the Jashinist they were tracking moved swiftly, nearing the edge of the forest just outside the village.
"Have you ever heard of the Sage of Six Paths?" Kakashi asked suddenly.
"Who's that?"
Mei clearly hadn't heard the name. It wasn't surprising; the name only appeared in ancient legends, usually known only by older, more knowledgeable shinobi. It was quite normal for a girl her age not to know.
"The creator of the moon. The founder of Ninshū."
"The moon was created by someone?" Mei asked, incredulous.
"Many think it's just a legend, but it's true."
This statement utterly shattered Mei's understanding of the world. The Ninja Academy certainly didn't teach this kind of history. She looked up at the moon again, trying to gauge its size with her hand, uncertainty clouding her features.
"How big is it?"
"Vast. Beyond your imagination."
"You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
"Me? When have I ever lied to you?"
"Then... how strong must the Sage of Six Paths have been... to create the moon? That must be the most powerful ninjutsu ever."
"Mm. And there are people living on it, too."
Mei felt completely overwhelmed by these mythological revelations, reeling as if struck. It all felt too distant, too unreal. She had only been idly admiring the moonlit scenery because she was bored during the trek; she had no idea how the conversation had skewed so drastically. Yet, judging by Kakashi's tone, he wasn't joking. The girl reluctantly tore her gaze away from the sky, refocusing on their mission.
"That Jashin follower has gone quite far. Where is he now?"
"He's stopped."
Kakashi's senses picked up five or six new chakra signatures, all registering between 0.2 and 0.3 units. None posed any real threat to him. Aside from ordinary civilians and incredibly weak shinobi with no aptitude for training, this was the first time he'd sensed so many individuals with such low chakra levels gathered together.
Are they huddling together because they're weak? A long-absent flicker of superiority regarding his own chakra reserves surfaced in the boy.
The faint smile playing on his lips didn't escape Mei's notice as she joined Kakashi at their elevated vantage point. Unable to sense chakra herself, she couldn't grasp the subtle shift in the silver-haired boy's mood, simply interpreting it as anticipation before taking action.
They were now situated near a clearing within a strange, unnamed forest south of the village. The forest earned its 'strange' moniker because massive trees, each requiring several people to encircle their trunks, sprouted two or three giant mushrooms apiece. These mushrooms were incredibly hard, their caps spreading out over several square meters – sturdy enough for two or three people to stand on without causing them to wobble.
An absolutely perfect sniping position.
A flicker of lightning, condensed into the shape of a senbon, sparked between Kakashi's fingers. If things went south, he was ready to teach these Jashin followers a harsh lesson at a moment's notice.
Below, the Jashinist preacher threw back his hood, revealing the face of an ordinary middle-aged man. However, as his companions removed their own hoods, their faces displayed horrifying scars. Some ran from nose to eye, others stretched from chin to scalp, nearly bisecting their skulls.
Their expressions were filled with fervent mania. Suddenly, the followers threw their heads back, mouths opening in exaggerated, silent screams as the wounds on their faces split open. They began to dance erratically, blood oozing from their bodies as they flailed.
Kakashi observed that while their dance steps seemed random, they were actually tracing a specific shape on the ground.
A triangle.
As they danced, one of them cast off his heavy robe. Mei quickly averted her gaze, bile rising in her throat from the mentally scarring sight.
The now-naked follower was covered head-to-toe in crude stitching marks. His abdomen was split open, internal organs spilling halfway out. The longer Kakashi watched, the more unsettling it became.
The parts of his body... they don't belong to the same person! No wonder his movements felt so unnatural; he couldn't properly control the assembled limbs.
Almost unnoticed, an arm detached and fell to the ground. The follower seemed to feel no pain, continuing his grotesque dance. Strangely, the severed arm began to twitch and crawl, seemingly of its own volition, towards the center of the triangle.
Soon, more limbs and organs detached from the other dancers, all writhing their way towards the center.
After some time, the triangle became sharply defined. The creatures, barely recognizable as humanoid anymore, used their own blood to complete the next stage of the ritual, drawing a circle around the triangle's perimeter.
Finally, each one stumbled towards the center.
The preacher, the only one whose body remained relatively intact, raised his arms high. He knelt devoutly, slamming his forehead repeatedly against the ground until blood flowed freely.
This blood flowed unnaturally, uphill towards the center of the circle. Instantly, a blinding red light erupted. Kakashi felt a sharp pang in his chest, as if his heart was being tugged by a string.
His vision blurred for a moment, and the 'System' interface appeared before his eyes.
[Warning: Unidentified energy intrusion detected. 1.5 units of Host's chakra consumed to neutralize the anomaly.]
His vision cleared. The clearing below was now empty; the creatures and the red light had vanished without a trace.
The silver-haired boy immediately turned to the person beside him.
Mei's eyes were shut tight, but her heart hammered audibly in her chest.
"The medicine! Is there any medicine that can treat this?!?" Kakashi mentally urged the System.
[System Recommendation: Expulsion Potion. Price: 0.8 units.]
Purchasing it instantly, Kakashi gently tilted the girl's chin up and quickly poured the clear liquid down her throat.
Mei gasped, jolting back to awareness.
"Was that... a genjutsu?" she stammered.
"No, not genjutsu!" Kakashi replied grimly. "Careless... I didn't expect to nearly fall for something like that here. That's enough for today. Let's head back to the village for now. We'll check on that preacher again tomorrow."
As Kakashi spoke, he glanced at his reflection in the girl's eyes and suddenly jerked his head upwards.
Higher up in the tree canopy, gazing down at them, was a 'skeleton' with flesh and blood still clinging to only one half of its skull.
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