Tap, tap, tap...
At the back mountain of Kusagakure, a bald man walked blankly in one direction. He encountered no one along the way, and the entire mountainside was exceptionally quiet, completely unlike the bustling village ahead.
As the bald man ventured deeper, several buildings hidden among the trees came into view. They were well concealed; without looking carefully, one might not have noticed them at all.
Under the control of genjutsu, the bald man approached one of the buildings without the slightest hesitation.
The building resembled a shrine from Enkō's previous life. Tall trees surrounded it, and several messy sets of footprints remained on the ground, indicating that people had entered and left recently.
Enkō carefully sensed the surroundings. Once he confirmed there was nothing unusual, he followed the bald man into the shrine.
The entire shrine was empty. A towering humanoid statue stood in the center, over three meters tall and forged entirely from some unknown black metal. It had four arms and six eyes, with a ferocious and terrifying face. It looked like a statue of the Jashin Cult's Evil God.
Might Yuan looked around and said uncertainly, "Is this the Jashin Cult's headquarters? It feels different from what I imagined."
"Idiot." Uzuki Akane shot Might Yuan an annoyed glance. "This is only the surface. There must be some barrier-like formation hiding their real headquarters."
As if to confirm Uzuki Akane's words, the bald man began forming hand seals toward the Evil God's statue. After several seals, the space beneath the Evil God's feet rippled, and an opening appeared as though water had been disturbed.
The inside of the opening was pitch-black, making it impossible to see what lay within. A narrow stone staircase ran down through its center, extending deep underground.
"Looks like the Jashin Cult's