May Blood Guide the Path of Faith

The adjutant strode forward, bowing respectfully as if addressing a king, his voice filled with awe, yet also trembling slightly as he tried to appear calm:

"Kakuzu, Hidan, thank you both for hunting down Titans for humanity, cutting off the root of this calamity, and for your outstanding contributions."

"This is... a gift of gratitude from the Eldian Joint Management Committee."

Please accept this.

Before he finished speaking, the heavy iron vehicle behind him slowly drove into the center of the camp. The deck landed, causing the ground to tremble slightly and dust to billow.

Kakuzu stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the heavy, dark boxes. He didn't even lift his eyelids, simply uttering a single word indifferently:

"Dismantle."

With a wave of his hand, the adjutant summoned ten soldiers from the corps to step forward simultaneously. They skillfully unfastened the chains and seals on the black box, their movements synchronized and filled with reverence.

"Thump--!"

When the first box was opened, a single, flawless piece of pure gold was revealed. It was incredibly heavy, its golden light dazzling, reflecting a blinding brilliance in the setting sun and bathing the surroundings in golden light.

The second box, once opened, revealed a dazzling array of precious silver coins, ancient circulating coins, noble family crests, and rubies and sapphires, their total value truly astonishing.

The third box was opened, revealing a freshly frozen anatomical specimen of a giant. It was the remains of an intelligent giant, urgently frozen by the Science Department. The flesh and blood texture was clear, the muscle structure was intact, and the spinal cord was still pulsating slightly.

In the subsequent black boxes:

It has the latest complete set of research equipment, including a crystal sensor equipped with the improved Marley technology technique;

Ancient spell scrolls unearthed from ruins record extreme spells such as sacrifices, sealing, and soul implantation in ancient Ai script;

There was even a fragment of the "Founding Titan's Remains" that was encased in crystal and whose shape was no longer fully discernible, with the faint outline of decaying bones appearing on its surface.

Hidan grinned, licked his lips, and smiled like a wild dog spotting its prey.

"Oh? That's it? Well... it's kind of interesting."

The adjutant quickly wiped the sweat from his brow and hurriedly said, "There's more to come... even more to your liking, sir."

He raised his hand and pointed—

Behind them, a set of uniquely shaped, pitch-black cages covered with sealing arrays were slowly carried forward. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, as if whispers and struggles echoed in the air.

"Click--"

The moment the first special cage was opened, the entire camp seemed to freeze, as if the wind itself had been cut off.

Inside the box were not gold or silver treasures, nor dissected materials, but thirty heretics draped in black cloth and branded with "strange emblems" on their foreheads!

Their hands were tied behind their backs, their bodies were emaciated, their skin was pale, but their eyes were filled with madness and hatred. They seemed to have completely abandoned their humanity and become half-madmen after some kind of spiritual sacrifice.

Some people whispered incessantly, talking to themselves; some laughed with their heads tilted back, drool dripping from their mouths; and some even made strange hissing sounds from their throats, as if imitating some kind of biological language that did not belong to humans.

The adjutant explained in a low, cautious voice:

"These heretics... had collaborated with giants in live experiments and were judged by the Church to be 'outcasts' and 'mentally corrupt'."

"Among them were several noble offspring whose lineage and mental condition were considered most suitable as sacrifices."

"Now, it's all up to Lord Hidan to decide."

Hidan's eyes suddenly lit up, like a wild beast that had smelled blood. He licked his lips, his voice filled with undisguised excitement:

"These guys... they're practically inhuman."

He walked slowly closer, step by step approaching the thirty heretics, his steps heavy, as if stepping into some sacred yet corrupt ritual.

"A mad, twisted, and deformed sacrificial offering--"

He suddenly grinned, a smile as sharp as a baby seeing a razor blade:

"That's what makes it flavorful!!"

The second special box was opened, revealing the dismantled remains of an ancient royal city's underground ruins: a stone temple foundation covered in blood runes and broken inscriptions, and an ancient black scripture made of the leather of an unknown creature, with dark red characters that appeared to be written in blood.

The adjutant immediately knelt down and presented the scroll with both hands:

"These are the remains of an 'Ancient Black Cult Temple' discovered in the ruins of the old royal city."

"We are willing to hand over the entire abandoned site to you, so that you may rebuild it as the core of our faith."

"As for this scroll, preliminary interpretation suggests it is one of the <Sacrificial Remnant Scripture>, which can... guide the union of blood and soul, and strengthen incantational power and spiritual resonance."

Hidan almost trembled as he held up the Black Scripture; his devotion was more like that of a believer yearning for salvation than that of a priest.

"Ah... this taste... this texture..."

"These humans... have finally begun to offer up their souls..."

The next instant, he stomped his foot and stepped into the central blood array, the black scripture swirling and unfurling without wind!

The incantation spontaneously combusted, distorting the air. The three heretics were instantly as if their marrow had been ripped out, struggling in agony. Their blood, out of their control, shot into the sky and coalesced into a gigantic, bloody hand—grotesque and menacing, like a projection of an evil god tearing through time and space!

(Uchiha Yoru declares that this is all the Jashin's fault!)

"Hahahaha!! This is the true sense of ritual in worshipping the gods!!"

Hidan laughed loudly, as if he were already in the midst of a frenzied celebration. He threw down his scythe and began to dance an unknown blood sacrifice dance. His steps were sinister and his movements were bizarre, as if the legacy of the Black Cult from a thousand years ago had been revived at this moment.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, as he licked his fingertips and murmured:

"Gods... giants... nobles... haha... all flesh and blood, all offerings!"

"And I am the king of blood sacrifice—!"

The adjutant was deathly pale, drenched in cold sweat, and almost knelt down to beg for mercy.

"Please... please satisfy my lord..."

Hidan was already immersed in the thrill of the Black Scripture and ignored him completely, continuing to chant the ancient incantation around the blood array as if he wanted to draw the entire world into the ritual.

On the other side, Kakuzu stood still, remaining silent until all the boxes were opened, at which point he slowly took a step forward.

His gaze was as cold as a knife, and his movements were swift. He collected the gold coins, precious metals, jutsu scrolls, and anatomical materials one by one, sealed them into a specially made Ninjutsu scroll, and with a flick of his finger, the scroll snapped shut.

"The gold coin's purity is acceptable, and the giant's materials meet the research standards."

"The Sealing Jutsu has some practical value."

His gaze swept over the still kneeling, trembling adjutant and the rest of the corps, his tone indifferent, yet his voice as chilling as a gust of wind:

"You... at least you know the rules."

The adjutant nodded repeatedly, not daring to utter a sound, feeling as if his breathing had finally returned to normal, as if a huge boulder had been lifted from his heart.

He knew full well that these two were not humanity's "saviors".

Rather, they are the ones who control calamities.

If these offerings had not been prepared properly, tonight might not have been a night of gratitude, but rather a night of bloodshed throughout the entire military camp.

The wind subsided, the bloodstains lingered, and the maniacal laughter still echoed.

--

Hidan licked his fingertips and murmured:

May blood guide the path of faith.