Bounty Hunters, the Ritual Begins!

Uchiha Ci let out a breath and stood up.

He swept his gaze around the room, looking at the three teammates who were about to set out with him.

The whole thing felt utterly ridiculous.

Mei Terumi, the Kirigakure Genius known as "Tsukikyuu Mei," who possessed dual kekkei genkai.

Shennong, the Villain BOSS Behind The Scenes of Sky Ninja Village, who had concealed his identity while traveling the ninja world as a physician.

And Hidan, a Yugakure Ninja who would one day join Akatsuki, currently still in his wild cub phase.

No matter how he looked at it, this lineup made his head itch.

Why had they even ended up together?

"Forget it. Let's go. Our target is the Evil God Cult Headquarters."

"Hidan, lead the way!"

At the Same Time, In the Underground Plaza of the Evil God Cult Headquarters, not far from Yuren City.

The Bishop of the Evil God Cult stared impassively at the scene before him.

A crowd of Believers forcibly dragged in terrified, panic-stricken Commoners from the Land of Hot Water.

They tied them to crosses.

They piled firewood beneath their feet, then grinned viciously as they took awls, skinning Iron Chains, and Iron Nails from racks laden with torture tools.

They were preparing for the grand Ritual of the Evil God that was about to begin.

He suddenly found it all absurd and dull. Turning around, he took a necklace bearing the Evil God Cult's insignia from his robes.

His gaze was distant as he stared at it for a long while.

Until a Leader wearing the Evil God Cult's Black Robe knelt on one knee behind him and reported anxiously:

"Bishop, the three Elites we sent to bring back that child have been killed."

"Then they were killed." The Bishop's expression remained indifferent, without the slightest ripple, as though he had long grown accustomed to such things.

He turned his head slightly and glanced at the Believer with pale violet eyes before speaking calmly:

"This Country is like this. People die everywhere, and chaos is everywhere."

"Yugakure Ninja, Great Nation Ninja, Samurai, Commoners, Nobles—even Daimyo can be killed for no reason someday."

"Have you still not seen through this tragic reality, this meaningless era?"

"But, Bishop..." The Leader raised his head slightly and asked, "What should we do about the child needed for the ritual?"

The Bishop looked toward the darkness at the side and said blandly:

"Professional matters should be left to professionals."

A Bald Big Guy with a thick beard stepped out of the darkness, smiling.

"The Bishop is right."

"Our Underground Exchange exists for precisely this purpose."

"Kidnapping, extortion, bounties, intelligence, assassination—even if you wish to become a Noble of This Country tomorrow."

"As long as you can pay the price, we will serve you wholeheartedly."

The Bishop closed his eyes and asked:

"How long until you can bring him here?"

The Bald Big Guy smiled faintly, his expression sincere.

"Please rest assured. We interrogated the villagers of that village immediately and have already learned the whereabouts of the person who killed your cult members, along with that child."

"This is a major job. Our most Elite Bounty Hunters have already set out. Within half a day at the latest."

"They will absolutely bring back the child named 'Hidan.'"

"Mm, that will do." The Bishop had lost interest and Waved His Hand.

"Kyoji, take him to collect the deposit."

The Evil God Cult Member named Kyoji nodded in realization, then could not help asking:

"Bishop, what if the person who took Hidan comes back and kills his way here?"

The Bishop pressed the necklace against his forehead.

His emotionless voice rang out calmly. "Someone will deal with it."

"Kyoji, we are merely an ordinary church that worships a Deity. Stop always thinking about solving everything through fighting and killing."

The moment he finished speaking—

Not far away, a believer clutching an iron nail grinned savagely as he drove it backward into an eyeball, bursting it.

A shrill scream rang out from the densely packed crosses behind him.

One after another.

At this sight, even the bald big guy from the Underground Exchange, who had seen his share of darkness in the ninja world, had his smile freeze.

The hell kind of ordinary church was this?

Was this how your ordinary church worshipped?

"Whoa, you're saying this is the Evil God Cult Headquarters?"

"You sure this isn't the palace of the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water?"

Standing atop a cliff, Uchiha Ci looked at the massive castle built amid the hills below with some surprise.

If Hidan had not clearly told him that this was the Evil God Cult Headquarters, he would have thought it was the domain of some Land of Hot Water noble.

"Actually, it's more or less the same. Yugakure helped a Land of Hot Water noble build this place before."

"You know how it is. Yugakure hardly gets any worthwhile missions. We're about the same as those declining samurai—we've practically become the private troops of the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water and the nobles."

Hidan explained, pointing at the ancient castle below before shaking his head.

"Still, there's a difference."

Uchiha Ci followed where he pointed.

Outside the splendid castle below lay a sprawling stretch of ramshackle sheds extending nearly ten miles.

Countless Refugees of the Land of Hot Water crowded among them, hugging their knees and huddling in sheltered corners, unable to sleep through the night.

It was practically a massive refugee settlement.

At that moment, the night was dim and the horizon held no light.

The Squad of Four had traveled for three hours. By the time, dawn should have been close.

But it was early spring, when the days were short and the nights long. There was still some time before sunrise.

"How are we going to proceed?" Hidan asked, turning his head.

As if still uneasy, he added, "I came here once when I received guidance from the Evil God Cult."

"Don't underestimate this place."

"The guards inside are very tight, especially along the stretch leading toward the Evil God Cult Underground Headquarters Cave. There's practically a guard post every few steps."

"On top of that, the Evil God Cult has recruited a large number of samurai and refugees to serve as lookouts. Trying to sneak in through the refugee camp by the city gate without alerting the people inside is a little unrealistic."

"And it's hard to say exactly how much ninja strength the Evil God Cult has."

Hidan was not even a genin yet, nor did he know Sensory Ninjutsu.

Everyone looked like an ordinary person to him.

He had only confirmed that Ci was a ninja after spotting his injuries and the Konoha Dog Tag he wore when pulling him out. It was only natural that he could not obtain any further intelligence.

Uchiha Ci nodded and rubbed his chin.

But inwardly, he was secretly delighted.

As a true tough guy, when it came to assassination, the bigger the commotion, the better.

As long as I kill every enemy who sees me, no one will know I was ever here.

(Push sunglasses, flash gold tooth.jpg)

Uchiha Ci turned his head and declared with a resolute expression, "I'll draw the enemy's attention. You use the chance to sneak in and open the city gate."

"Then we'll charge straight in!"

"Kill anyone who blocks us, slaughter any god who stands in our way!"

"Once we enter the Underground Cave, I'll seal the entrance with a barrier and cut off their reinforcements."

"What do you think? Isn't the plan perfect?"

Clearly, his teammates did not approve of this plan.

"Are you an idiot?"

Mei Terumi could not help bringing a hand blade down on Uchiha Ci's forehead as she snapped, "We're ninja! Ninja!"

"Do you think this is some Madness Play performance?!"

Then Mei Terumi pointed at the sheer cliff beneath their feet and the castle below it, connecting the two with her slender fingers.

"We can drop from this mountain cliff onto the city wall."

"Although it's a little high, we have Tree Walking. Once we scout out the situation on the city wall, we can climb down the cliff."

"Try not to draw any more attention than necessary."

Mei Terumi's proposal was immediately approved by the other two.

But Uchiha Ci shook his head. "You've overlooked an important problem."

"We can climb down. Forget climbing—even running down the cliff with Tree Walking wouldn't be much of an issue."

"But..." Uchiha Ci patted Little Brother on the shoulder and grinned.

"This Kid probably doesn't know Tree Walking or Water Walking yet."

Uchiha Ci glanced at Hidan, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What do we do? Leave him here?"

Thanks to Chi Yan, My Zhenli, and Reader 20161229184851430 for the Monthly Tickets.

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