Simu watched the middle-aged man before him with keen interest. The man waved his hands, a crazed smile on his face, looking feverishly as though a long-held dream had finally come true.
He was eager to see what kind of ninjutsu the Cult Leader would use to steal his abilities.
He was just as eager to learn about this ninjutsu that could take other people's abilities.
"This is the ninjutsu I prepared especially for you."
The Cult Leader's eyes widened, blazing with frenzied light in the dim room.
"Return Lord Jashin's power to me, like a good boy! Kamizuki Simu!"
"Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique!"
As the Cult Leader roared, countless brown scales suddenly surfaced across his body.
His mouth gaped wider and wider with each roar, and his pupils turned into cold, vertical slits like a snake's, making him look utterly terrifying.
Then his neck rapidly stretched, and in an instant, his entire body transformed into a giant brown snake. It opened its maw and swallowed the powerless Simu whole.
Darkness enveloped Simu's consciousness. Then a powerful mental force surged into his clone, trying to erase the soul that resided within him.
"By transferring his soul into my body and erasing my will, he can take control of me and obtain the power Jashin granted me?"
Simu's soul remained undisturbed by the mental assault, like a still pond.
A few days ago, he might have been shaken.
But after raising the Jashin Cult's reputation and successfully reaching level two, this kind of mental attack could barely affect him.
Still, to get a better understanding of this fascinating ninjutsu, Simu decided to keep watching.
He withdrew the soul he had lodged in his clone, allowing the Cult Leader to successfully take over his body.
The 'Simu', who had just been glassy-eyed and drowsy, suddenly opened his eyes, a gleeful look spreading across his face.
"I did it!"
"I really did it!"
Controlling Simu's body, the Cult Leader crawled out of the brown snake's belly.
Ignoring the disgusting slime clinging to him, he excitedly examined his hands.
"I really did it!"
With a thought, the Centipede Weihe at his waist instantly grew out, moving as nimbly as his own limbs!
Then he tried out the Ant-Man, Mantis, Spider, and other Kagune.
The sensation made him even more excited, as though he were floating on air.
"So this is the power Lord Jashin bestowed upon me?!"
The Cult Leader could barely contain his excitement. After testing his new abilities for a few minutes, he finally began to calm down.
"Hah. Orochimaru said the technique would meet resistance from the other person's soul, but I didn't feel a thing."
Looking at his own fair, delicate hands, the Cult Leader muttered, "Was Simu's soul just too weak? Or do I have some unexpected talent for the soul?"
"Could Lord Jashin be helping me from the shadows?"
The more the Cult Leader thought about it, the more excited he became. He began to feel as though he were the chosen hero of a novel.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open.
"Simu! Didn't you say you'd show me something cool? Come on!"
A figure strode into the room. It was Hidan, with his silver hair slicked back.
Hearing Hidan's voice, the Cult Leader instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.
But he quickly realized that something was wrong. He wasn't the bullied Cult Leader anymore; he was Kamizuki Simu!
This body had the terrifying power to cut off Hidan's head at will.
With power like this, why should the mighty Jashin Cult Leader be afraid of some little Hidan?
As if!
Still, to be safe, he'd wait a few days to get used to this body before teaching the annoying brat a proper lesson.
Hidan, who had burst through the door, saw a giant brown snake and Simu crawling out of it. He frowned in disgust, a puzzled look crossing his face.
"What's that giant snake?"
"Uh..."
The Cult Leader hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. "It's the Cult Leader."
Hidan's eyes immediately lit up. "You finally went after the Cult Leader? I've hated that old guy for ages!"
The Cult Leader clenched his fists.
He'd taken Hidan in and raised him from childhood. Though they'd barely spent any time together and had no real bond—he'd mainly done it to cultivate a follower—was it really too much to ask that Hidan not wish him dead?
But soon, a deep sense of grievance welled up in Hidan.
The Cult Leader slowly relaxed his fists. So raising Hidan all these years had done some good after all.
Then Hidan drew his black spear and pointed it at Simu's neck, shouting, "You bastard, Simu! Killing the Cult Leader is the kind of thrilling thing that gets your blood pumping, and you didn't even invite me!"
Cult Leader: 6
But to maintain his persona, 'Simu' explained, "The Cult Leader suddenly attacked me, so I had no choice but to fight back, and—"
Before he could finish, Hidan's spear was already thrusting toward his neck.
'Simu' hurriedly jumped back in fright. The many Kagune he had just mastered sprang into battle stance in an instant, all aimed at Hidan.
"Hidan, what are you doing?"
Hidan's face was dark as a storm cloud, heavy with the promise of thunder.
'Simu'—or rather, the Cult Leader—had never seen Hidan wear such an angry expression.
No matter how much Hidan used to act up, even when he was punished, strung up and beaten, or beheaded by Simu, he would always joke around and fly into a rage.
He had never looked so grim and terrifying.
"Where is Kamizuki Simu?"
Hidan raised his head, his gaze as calm as a mountain of ice. Beneath that ice churned an endless tide!
'Simu' looked confused as he explained, "Hidan, what are you talking about? I'm right here in front of you."
At that, Hidan suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed until he doubled over, until tears streamed down his face.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
"I'm asking you, where is Kamizuki Simu?"
Hidan finally straightened up, the terrible thunder within him ready to erupt at any moment.
Seeing that he couldn't fool Hidan, 'Simu' stopped pretending and answered frankly. "Since you've seen through me, I might as well tell you."
'Simu' proudly swayed the tail Kagune behind him and said with a hint of smugness, "I've taken over Kamizuki Simu's body. As for his soul..."
"Maybe my mental attack reduced it to nothing."
'Simu' curled his lips into a faint smile.
"But I'm curious. How did you realize I wasn't the real Kamizuki Simu?"
Hidan quietly tightened his grip on his spear and said coldly, "That bastard Simu would never explain himself to me like a dog."
"And..."
Hidan raised his head, pushed off with both feet, and charged at his enemy.
"Don't make such a disgusting expression with that guy's face!"
At that moment, the fury within Hidan, enough to devour the entire world, turned into terrible thunder and erupted!
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