Sage Art

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

Amid violent tremors, the Divine Tree within Kazuna's body seemed to shoot up sharply.

A burst of bloody mist exploded at the treetop, and a new fruit appeared between the Dojutsu and Fire Release fruits.

"Just as expected..."

A smile tugged at Kazuna's lips.

White Zetsu had an astonishing effect on the Divine Tree.

A fruit that originally needed to absorb the life energy of several Jonin to take shape had been completed by a single White Zetsu.

Thinking of the One Hundred Thousand White Zetsu, Kazuna felt that the day he could stomp Madara Uchiha beneath his feet and punch Hashirama Senju in the face was not far off.

As for the settings of this fruit, Kazuna had decided on them long ago.

Sage Art!

He had once considered the Shadow Clone Technique.

After all, once he raised Shadow Clones to their highest level, he could create clones to fight or train in his place.

Like Naruto in the Original Work—when he trained, his massive number of Shadow Clones was practically a cheat.

Or Madara Uchiha—when he fought, he could create clones, activate Susanoo, and put the Five Kage into all sorts of poses: up and down, front and back, left and right!

However, his clones did not seem weak in combat either. As his own strength continued to rise, the power of his clones would undoubtedly rise as well.

Using up a fruit on that would be a waste.

Once a fruit's settings had been determined, they could not be changed.

As for his Chakra reserves, possessing the Divine Tree had also altered his physique. He might not compare to the Uzumaki Clan, but he would not be inferior to the Senju Clan.

He had also considered Sealing Jutsu.

So many powerful Impure World Reincarnation users would appear later on. How could he manage without Sealing Jutsu?

Yet whenever he saw Itachi, he thought of the Totsuka Blade.

As far as Sealing Jutsu went, the Totsuka Blade's effect was hardly lacking.

That was a Kusanagi Sword he had to obtain!

Although he did not know how Itachi had acquired it, he only needed to follow Itachi's path once.

If he could not get it, then he would think of another way.

He had also considered the Tenseigan. Only then did he realize that the Divine Tree was not omnipotent.

He could possess a Dojutsu fruit because he already had the Sharingan.

The same applied to Fire Release.

If he did not possess something himself, he could not have its fruit.

A fruit's ability merely enhanced, stabilized, and perfected... things he already possessed.

As for the Tenseigan, he would need Hyuga blood.

That left him with few choices.

Sage Art was undoubtedly the strongest and most useful among them.

It also offered the most direct boost to power.

As for who he had learned Sage Art from... hehe!

Kazuna smiled faintly.

The fruit's settings were quickly completed.

LV·1 (Sage Art)

"All that remains is for the 'nutrients' to come knocking."

"Spirited Youth Danzo, don't disappoint me!"

Kazuna checked the direction and headed off according to the information Yashiro had provided.

"Evil God!"

"We are your devout believers!"

"Now, we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to you!"

In a dim underground space, a group of raggedly dressed people were conducting a strange ritual.

They slit open their own bodies and allowed their blood to flow freely.

The blood of dozens of people filled the entire space with a stench of blood.

The loss of blood left them dizzy and disoriented, yet their expressions grew increasingly fanatical.

Some people's wounds had scabbed over and stopped bleeding, so they used their mouths to brutally tear the wounds open again.

As long as they successfully pleased the Evil God they believed in, they could become official Cultists and find their way to happiness.

"Not enough, not enough!"

A shrill, evil voice rang out.

"This still isn't enough to satisfy the Evil God!"

"Hahaha, die! All of you, die!"

Cultists dressed in strange garments appeared all around. Wielding grotesque black-and-red weapons of every shape, they charged into the crowd like meat grinders, stirring up bloody storms.

Blood!

Screams!

Severed limbs!

They became the main melody of this place!

This was purgatory.

The raggedly dressed people were nothing more than ordinary civilians. How could they possibly stand against these ninja?

Besides, they had no intention of resisting. They simply allowed the Cultists to kill them.

Even at the moment of death, their faces remained filled with fanaticism.

As if what awaited them was not death, but the embrace of their god.

When it was all over, the killers stood silently to one side.

Footsteps approached.

It was a child of fourteen or fifteen, smiling brightly.

Even in the face of hell, he was still smiling.

He took a deep sniff and cried out fanatically, "What a delicious scent! What delightful slaughter! Hahaha, Evil God, Evil God!"

His final cry had become shrill.

"Evil God!"

Those strangely dressed people also began calling out in unison.

The scene made several people standing in the distance smile in satisfaction.

"Hidan truly deserves to be someone chosen by the Evil God."

"Indeed!"

"He was born entirely for the Evil God."

They spoke quietly, their faces equally filled with fanaticism.

They were all very satisfied with the boy's performance.

Just then, an enraged roar rang out. "Damn it, you bunch of bastards! Do you have any idea that wasting things is shameful?!"

Bang!

A figure appeared out of nowhere and landed heavily on the ground. Looking at the hellish scene before him, his face was filled with frustration.

Uchiha Kazuna!

At that moment, his heart ached terribly!

So many people had been killed!

Killed for nothing!

If he had killed them and devoured their life energy, he could not guarantee two high-level fruits, but the newly born Sage Art Fruit would certainly have leveled up.

After all, Kazuna had only learned the bare basics of Sage Art through a transaction. He had been waiting for the fruit to reach a higher level so that, after consuming it, he could completely master Sage Art and possess natural energy.

At that point, with the Totsuka Blade in one hand, the Yata Mirror in the other, and tattoos all over his body, who the hell would dare provoke him?!

That was why he had rushed all the way here, finally arriving at the Evil God Cult's location given by Yashiro. Yet he was still too late. So many people had died for nothing.

He knew there was something wrong with the heads of these people. They were bound to waste things—but who knew they would be even more wasteful than he had imagined?

"Who are you?"

The Evil God Cult members shouted, surrounding Kazuna.

"Stop making noise. Let me grieve for a moment!"

Kazuna clutched his chest, gazing painfully at the dead. Then he turned, glaring furiously at the Evil God Cult members.

"You damned food, are you rebelling?! You actually—actually dared to kill another pile of my food?"

The Evil God Cult members looked at one another.

The boy, however, walked over with a grin. He looked Kazuna up and down, then muttered, "You came here at a time like this... Could this be the Evil God's will? Are you the Evil God's sacrifice?"

"Evil God—"

Hidan was about to shriek again when a slap cut him off.

Kazuna swung his hand hard, sending Hidan flying into the air before smashing him against a wall.

He withdrew his hand, lightly dusted it off, and curled his lip. "Fuck off."

"You... Kill him!"

Seeing this, the other Evil God Cult members flew into a rage. With an angry roar, they charged at Kazuna.