The Jashin Cult, Hidan's Intelligence

Hyuuga Nen soaked in the hot spring. With a relaxed expression, he offered a word of praise, "The hot springs of the Land of Hot Water truly live up to their reputation."

For the past few days, Hyuuga Nen had been posing as an ordinary tourist, visiting various scenic spots throughout the Land of Hot Water. However, he did not take the initiative to scout for information on the Jashin Cult, choosing instead to wait for the cultists to come to him.

The reason Hyuuga Nen remained in the Land of Hot Water was his interest in the intelligence regarding this so-called Jashin and Hidan.

Hyuuga Nen remembered that it was from Jashin that Hidan had obtained his immortality and curse-based powers, becoming incredibly dangerous before eventually joining the Akatsuki.

Although Hyuuga Nen knew of Hidan, his impression of him was the vaguest among all the Akatsuki members. If he were to encounter other members of the Akatsuki, he would be able to recognize them, but he wasn't certain he could identify Hidan.

Coming into contact with the so-called Jashin Cult might bring danger, but as long as that danger remained within a certain range, Hyuuga Nen could accept it. If the situation became uncontrollable, however, he would immediately distance himself from the area.

"No one from the Jashin Cult has approached me these past few days. Should I leave now, or take the initiative to contact them myself?" Hyuuga Nen looked up at the sky, his expression hesitant.

Just then, a series of footsteps echoed from afar. Hyuuga Nen turned his head to look and discovered that they were ninjas from the Village Hidden in Hot Water, sprinting across the rooftops.

"Hurry, pick up the pace!" the lead ninja shouted while running forward.

Since Hyuuga Nen was in an open-air hot spring, he could clearly see the urgent expressions on the faces of the Village Hidden in Hot Water ninjas.

Is their operation this time related to the Jashin Cult? Hyuuga Nen thought. I might as well follow them secretly to take a look. If it has nothing to do with the Jashin Cult, I'll leave the Land of Hot Water. Hyuuga Nen made up his mind.

Hyuuga Nen caught up to the ninjas from the Village Hidden in Hot Water, carefully tailing them from behind.

Soon, Hyuuga Nen followed the ninjas to a secluded warehouse and watched as they entered the basement.

Hyuuga Nen left a Shadow Clone outside to keep watch before walking into the warehouse himself.

Even without entering the basement, he could faintly hear sounds emanating from below.

"Damn Jashin Cultists!"

"Watch out, it's a trap! Retreat, ah!"

Sounds of explosions, screams, and clashing steel erupted from the basement. Hyuuga Nen waited for a while until the commotion of the battle gradually subsided.

In Hyuuga Nen's perception, there had been nearly ten chakra signatures, but in the end, only one remained, and that last person was currently running up from the basement.

Hyuuga Nen leaped onto the wall, using chakra to adhere himself to the surface. From this position, he was in a blind spot for anyone coming up from the basement; unless they looked backward, they wouldn't notice him.

Within seconds, someone rushed up from the basement. Hyuuga Nen used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him, and before the man could react, he struck the back of his head. With the heavy blow, the man immediately lost consciousness.

Hyuuga Nen flipped the man's body over and saw the headband of the Village Hidden in Hot Water on his forehead, though it bore a long scratch—he was a missing-nin from the village.

Hyuuga Nen pried his eyelids open and began to cast a genjutsu. Once the technique was complete, the missing-nin's gaze became dull and vacant.

"Are you a member of the Jashin Cult?" Hyuuga Nen asked the missing-nin.

"Yes, I believe in the great Jashin. I am his loyal servant," the missing-nin replied blankly.

"Why did you get into a fight with the ninjas from the Village Hidden in Hot Water?" Hyuuga Nen continued to press.

"Our kidnapping of the children was discovered by the ninjas of the Village Hidden in Hot Water, and they were hunting us down."

"Kidnapping children? What is your purpose in doing this?"

"It is for an experiment organized by the cult. If we complete this experiment, we will obtain the power bestowed by Jashin!"

Even though the missing-nin was under the influence of a genjutsu, a fanatical expression still appeared on his face when he spoke of the experiment.

Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Hyuuga Nen's face. He frowned and continued to question him about Jashin and the experiment.

However, the missing-nin was clearly not a high-ranking member of the Jashin Cult, merely a trafficker responsible for the kidnappings. He didn't have deep knowledge of the cult or the experiment, repeating the same few mumbles about how great Jashin was.

Seeing that he couldn't get any meaningful information on this front, Hyuuga Nen stopped dwelling on it and asked other questions.

"Do you know Hidan?" Hyuuga Nen stared intently at the missing-nin.

"Hidan, I know him. Although his parents were ninjas of the Village Hidden in Hot Water, he did not inherit their pedantic, peace-seeking ideology. He is the successor to the great Jashin's will, and our organization thinks very highly of him."

"Where is he now? What is he doing?" Hyuuga Nen asked again.

"I heard he volunteered to participate in the Jashin Cult's experiments, but I don't know where he is right now."

"How old is he?"

"About twelve, not yet thirteen."

"How old?"

"Around twelve or thirteen," the missing-nin repeated.

Hyuuga Nen suppressed the surprise in his heart and continued to learn about Hidan's physical characteristics from the missing-nin.

After asking these questions, Hyuuga Nen slit the missing-nin's throat and used a kunai to destroy his brain.

Hyuuga Nen then entered the basement, finding it littered with the corpses of the Village Hidden in Hot Water ninjas and Jashin Cultists, with several unconscious children in the corner.

Hyuuga Nen carried the unconscious children up and examined them, discovering they had only been drugged; they would wake up soon once the effects wore off.

After the check, Hyuuga Nen's original body left immediately. He left behind a Shadow Clone, which retrieved a signal flare from the body of one of the Village Hidden in Hot Water ninjas.

After igniting the flare, Hyuuga Nen's clone waited in the warehouse for a while. Seeing the reinforcements from the Village Hidden in Hot Water approaching from afar, he dispelled the clone.

On the way back, Hyuuga Nen cleaned up all his traces to prevent being tracked. By the time he returned to the inn, it was almost dawn. Hyuuga Nen checked out of his room immediately, preparing to take the earliest boat out of the Land of Hot Water.

Sitting on the boat, Hyuuga Nen noticed no ninjas from the Land of Hot Water were pursuing him, and only then did he feel relieved, knowing he hadn't been tracked.

Hyuuga Nen was quite satisfied with this operation. Although he hadn't learned detailed intelligence about Jashin and the Jashin Cult, that hadn't been his primary goal. While he was interested in Jashin's power, he had no desire to come into contact with the deity himself.

Hyuuga Nen's main objective had been to gather information on Hidan. I didn't expect Hidan to be so young, a few years younger than me. But now that I know his detailed appearance, even if I meet him in the future, I won't fail to recognize him.

Hyuuga Nen thought of Hidan's bizarre abilities. If one didn't understand his immortality and curse powers, encountering him for the first time would be lethally dangerous.

Now that Hyuuga Nen knew his appearance and abilities, he wouldn't die an ignorant death if they ever crossed paths.