Jashin Cult
Yichen possessed Camouflage Jutsu to conceal his presence, and these adults likely held low positions within the Jashin Cult. In terms of strength, they were no different from ordinary people, and Yi Yichen didn't believe they could see through his disguise. Therefore, Yichen decided to follow them and see what happened.
A moment later, one of them pulled up the little girl who was clearly terrified, and the others also went over to check on her.
Then they all became excited. "It really is black! This is a color that only appears in legends. Lord Jashin will definitely be satisfied."
"We need to hurry, we can't let Sen Kame and the others find out, otherwise those bastards will definitely come and snatch her away."
"We absolutely cannot let them take the person; this is our offering to the Lord Jashin."
"Yes, as long as we bring this offering to Three-Eyed Town, we won't have to worry about it being stolen by others."
"That's right, let's get going."
The group hurriedly threw the two bodies into the house, then one of them carried the little girl while the others shielded him, and they quickly left the village.
Yichen stood by the roadside, not disturbing them, and quietly watched them leave.
"Three-Eyed Town? I think I've heard of that place before. Could it be a stronghold of the Jashin Cult?" Yichen was thinking about the place name when he suddenly sensed something and looked up sharply in the direction the group had left.
The little girl, held in the arms of the Jashin Cult member in the middle, was looking at him with a confused expression.
Hiss Yichen was startled. This feeling was unmistakable; the little girl was definitely looking at him.
How could a five or six-year-old girl see through my Camouflage Jutsu? There were no Chakra fluctuations, her eyes were normal, and it wasn't some kind of Dōjutsu or Kekkei Genkai. So how did she do it?
After thinking it over, Yichen decided to keep the little girl. But before that, he needed to go check on Three-Eyed Town. Anyway, the little girl wouldn't be in any trouble for the time being.
Along the way, Yichen followed the group at a distance. Among them, apart from the little girl who kept watching him, none of the members of the Jashin Cult noticed anything amiss.
The little girl's fearful expression hadn't completely faded; she was probably still in a daze, so she neither cried for help nor cried. She just stared blankly at Yichen, who was neither too close nor too far.
Among the members of the Jashin Cult, one was walking at the very back. He felt that the little girl was staring intently at what was behind them, as if she were looking at something. He found it strange and would occasionally turn his head to look in Yichen's direction.
But the man's eyes told Yichen that he clearly hadn't noticed anything.
After glancing back several times, the man began to feel uneasy and said to one of his companions, "Kanmoto, look at this offering. Isn't she constantly watching behind us?"
Upon hearing this, the man next to him, named Kanmoto, also observed the little girl. He also felt that there was something wrong with the little girl's eyes. Like the previous person, he looked back several times, but he also found nothing.
So he said to the person in front, "Don't overthink it. This offering is clearly terrified. Besides, we have the Lord Jashin protecting us. Even if something follows us, it can only be the Lord Jashin."
The man in front, after hearing Kanmoto's words, also felt that they made sense. After all, he had faith and had nothing to fear. In any case, they were almost at Three-Eyed Town. Once they saw the High Priest, they didn't need to be afraid, no matter what was behind them.
About half an hour later, the group finally arrived at Three-Eyed Town. They were clearly familiar with the place. After entering the town, Earth Flow a maze of turns for a while before finally stopping in front of a large house.
Most of the houses in the Land of Earth are completely enclosed, and Yichen didn't notice anything wrong from the outside. So, after the group knocked on the door, Yichen followed them and flew inside.
Upon entering the house, Yichen looked around and found that it was just a normal home for an ordinary citizen of the Land of Earth, with nothing unusual about it.
However, the matter was clearly not over yet. After exchanging a few words with the person who Gate of Opening, the group went into the inner room under the person's Gate of Opening, with Yichen following behind them the whole time.
The little girl's gaze followed Yichen's movements, but at that moment, the members of the Jashin Cult were not paying attention to the little girl, so no one noticed anything unusual.
Upon entering the inner room, the person who Gate of Opening skillfully pushed the bed to one side, revealing a passageway underneath.
"So it's a hidden paradise!"
Yichen didn't take the members of the Jashin Cult seriously. In the original story, apart from Hidan, there were no other followers of Jashin, so it was clear that the rest of the Jashin Cult members were useless.
Although Hidan's methods are unpredictable, Yichen is prepared and doesn't think he will lose. Besides, he doesn't even know if Hidan has been born yet.
However, Yichen was still wary of that Jashin whose existence was unknown. Putting aside the principles behind Hidan's bizarre attack methods, Hidan's immortality alone was enough to make Yichen cautious.
So now Yichen is hesitant about whether to go inside. If the beings inside can really communicate with the Jashin and take advantage of their home field, wouldn't he be doomed?
You must understand that underground, your best escape method, the Light-Weight Rock Technique, is ineffective.
Just as Yichen hesitated, the others had already entered the passageway one after another. Yichen was Mind's Eye, and after they had all disappeared from sight, he deactivated his Camouflage Jutsu and used his Sensory Ninjutsu.
"Hmm? Only one person?" Yichen's senses were able to enter the basement in front of him smoothly, but in Yichen's senses, besides the group of people who had just gone down, there was only one other life form.
Moreover, Yichen's senses detected no trace of any barrier or seal in the surrounding area.
So Yichen used his Camouflage Jutsu again and entered the passage.
The underground space isn't particularly large, about the same size as the above-ground area of the house, but it's quite tall, about four or five meters high.
The steps were at the very edge, and on the other side stood a middle-aged man dressed in a red Jashin Cult. He was looking at a crystal ball in his hand with an expression of ecstatic elation.
"Black, indeed black. You all did a great job. The Lord Jashin will surely be satisfied this time, and you will receive a reward." After saying this, the man looked at the little girl.
The ordinary members who had brought the little girl bowed and scraped as they thanked the middle-aged man, saying, "Thank you, High Priest, thank you for your guidance."
The middle-aged priest ignored them and instead examined the little girl as if she were a work of art. Suddenly, he noticed that the little girl seemed to be looking in a certain direction, so he followed her gaze and looked towards where Yichen was.
The middle-aged priest frowned slightly; he, too, found nothing.
But his experience was far superior to that of the ordinary members. He knew that this world was dominated by ninjas, who possessed all sorts of uncanny abilities.
So he walked to the middle of a pattern with a symbol of Jashin, which was a circle with an equilateral triangle, and began to mutter in a language that Yichen couldn't understand.
Yichen hadn't noticed anything wrong yet, but the little girl's gaze shifted from him to the middle-aged priest.
Yichen sensed something was wrong, but before he could do anything, an angry shout rang out, "Who are you?"
"Hmm? We've been discovered?" Yichen looked at the middle-aged priest. It was still the same person, but his temperament had completely changed. He was now filled with a cold and sinister feeling, and the patterns painted on his face seemed to come alive, giving him a very evil and sinister aura.
Yichen's mind began to race as he analyzed the situation.
Clearly, the priest couldn't detect Yichen on his own; he must have been using some kind of power. This method of borrowing was peculiar; Yichen didn't understand the principle, but judging from the chilling feeling, it was probably Yin Release.
After all, Yichen himself had mastered the Nature Transformation of Yin Release Chakra. However, there were no Ninjutsu in Iwagakure that could utilize this skill, leaving Yichen with no way to use his expertise.
However, Yichen's sensitivity to Yin Release is still quite high; this judgment is unlikely to be wrong.
But just how powerful must this Yin Release, which allows one to possess another, be?
Aside from Black Zetsu's overpowered ability, it seems that the legendary S-rank Ninjutsu of Konoha, Spirit Transformation Jutsu, could also achieve this. The Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques seem far inferior to the current situation.
However, judging from the priest's tone, he probably only borrowed the power, and didn't actually summon the Jashin himself. That makes sense, in the original story, Hidan didn't manage to make the Jashin appear in person either.
Well, if it's just an increase in strength, then we're not without First Shinobi War chance, but we need to save that little girl first.
Yichen ignored the priest and instead Hand Seals to create a Water Clone.
As Yichen Hand Seals, the others also noticed his figure. These ordinary members were clearly startled by Yichen's appearance.
Because Yichen was currently flying in mid-air, he gave off a menacing aura. Therefore, although these ordinary members knew that Yichen was most likely an enemy, none of them dared to make any rash moves. They were all waiting for the priest, who had already communicated with the Jashin, to Kamui.
But the middle-aged priest knew his own limitations. If he wanted to avoid paying a price, he would be no match for the ninja in front of him. However, he felt that paying too high a price was not worth it.
So the middle-aged priest was still somewhat hesitant, but Yichen's next move helped him make up his mind.
Because Yichen's Water Clone rushed to the side of several ordinary members, he ended their lives with a few swings of his Kunai, and then caught the little girl in his arms before she hit the ground.
The priest didn't care that Yichen killed several ordinary members and the person who Gate of Opening, but he absolutely refused to let Yichen take the little girl away.
This little girl was the finest sacrifice he had ever encountered since becoming a priest—no, the finest sacrifice the Jashin Cult had ever produced.
Seeing that his Water Clone had successfully snatched the little girl, Yichen didn't delay any longer and Hand Seals to prepare to unleash Ninjutsu.
But the priest wasn't idle either; he immediately began shouting in an unknown language. Then Yichen saw the priest's body age at a visible rate, and in sync with his aging, the chilling aura emanating from him became even more pronounced.
"Water Release: Water Cutting Technique." Yichen immediately unleashed his strongest killing move. Knowing Hidan, Yichen worried that methods like using Water Pressure Line to pierce the heart might not be effective. So he chose a more direct approach: a line of water from left to right, severing the astonished priest in half at the waist.
"Huh? So easy?" Seeing the priest being sliced in two without even dodging, Yichen was incredulous. Such a powerful aura, and this was it?
Although the attack hit its mark, Yichen was not careless, as the Jashin Cult possessed immortal beings.
As expected, the priest, who had been cut in two and thrown to the ground by Yichen, not only didn't die, but instead let out a hysterical scream, "Damn you, I'll offer you to the Lord Jashin!"
Then, an attack Yin Release was invisible to the naked eye but that Yichen could still vaguely sense came towards Yichen.
Limited by space, Yichen did not dodge, but instead used the Banshō Ten'in with his left hand.
"It worked." In Yichen's hazy perception, the attack clearly deviated from its original trajectory. Although a small portion of it eventually covered Yichen, most of the impact missed.