The World Suffers, the Evil God Endures

"Is this the Land of Waves? I hate this damp air and that disgusting smell that won't go away!"

The moment he stepped off the boat, Hidan, dressed like a certain One-Punch Man, couldn't hide his disgust.

As a small island nation that lived off the sea, the Land of Waves naturally had a thriving fishing industry, so an indescribable stench of dead fish inevitably lingered around the docks.

The locals who had spent years making their living at sea were probably used to it by now. To them, it was nothing.

But for landlubbers like Shinji and Hidan, who lived inland year-round and rarely saw the ocean, it was considerably less welcoming.

Shinji also covered his mouth and nose slightly and said helplessly, "Let's do the mission first. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave."

For once, Hidan didn't argue. He simply greeted anyone who dared look their way with a malicious glare. The bloodlust he had suppressed throughout the journey was now furiously burning away what little reason he possessed.

If he hadn't been afraid of ruining the mission, he might already have started slaughtering people!

"Hold out a little longer. We'll find our contact first, then you can cut loose."

After searching around, they finally found a symbol on a pillar outside a house: a triangle inscribed within a circle.

There was no doubt about it. This was the symbol of the Jashin Cult!

Very few people in the remote island nation of the Land of Waves knew about the Jashin Cult. Unless something unexpected had happened, this should be their contact point.

Of course, even if it was a trap laid for visitors like them, they had nothing to fear.

As for why, those who knew, knew.

Without even knocking, they pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside, a young man in his twenties sat dozing. Startled awake, he immediately shouted, "Who are you? What do you want?!"

Shinji wasted no words. He simply revealed the Evil God pendant hanging around his neck and said, "The world suffers, the Evil God endures."

The sight of the pendant, followed by Shinji's words, instantly jolted the young man fully awake.

He hurried over and asked quietly, "Are you the two... uh, the two fine gentlemen from the Jashin Cult?"

Shinji nodded. "Take us to Mira Peng."

"Lord Mira has indeed been waiting for quite some time, but... where are the others? Is it just the two of you?" The young man looked hesitant to say more.

Whoosh!

A sharp kunai suddenly pressed against the young man's neck, and Hidan said impatiently, "One more word of bullshit and I'll kill you!"

"Yes, yes! I shouldn't have run my mouth. Please follow me."

Pale-faced, the young man repeatedly begged for mercy, terrified that a twitch of Hidan's hand would slice his throat open.

By then, pale red liquid was already trickling down his neck.

Seeing what a coward he was, Hidan gave a contemptuous snort before withdrawing the kunai.

The young man dared not ask anything else. Clutching his neck and keeping his head down, he hurried outside to lead the way.

He didn't want to spend another second beside this bald man, who was clearly bad news.

"Useless! Every last one of you is useless!"

Bang!

Crash!

Inside a lavishly furnished room, a handsome middle-aged man with an imposing presence was flying into a rage. Exquisite ornaments and porcelain pieces smashed against the floor like garbage!

Though he looked barely over forty, Mira Peng was actually fifty-six. He had taken excellent care of himself and maintained a youthful appearance, but that couldn't conceal the fact that his body was aging day by day.

As people grew older, they became increasingly nostalgic for their youth and gradually shifted their focus toward their families.

He was especially fond of his youngest daughter, born late in his life. The joy of being with his family was perhaps the greatest happiness the world had to offer.

Yet it had all been destroyed!

Flashing blades, pools of blood, and the bewildered look in his daughter's eyes as she fell... every time he closed his eyes, those scenes replayed vividly in his mind!

It was as though his poor daughter was demanding to know why he still hadn't avenged her!

Yes, revenge!

All this time, he had been pursuing revenge against Gato at any cost!

Business competition?

No! The moment his beloved daughter died before his eyes, it had become a war!

But when it came to dirty tricks, Gato seemed to have the upper hand.

"It's only money! If Gato can hire a hundred men, go hire me a thousand! Are you idiots so stupid you can't even outspend him?!"

Mira Peng's furious roars kept ringing through the room.

He simply couldn't understand why all the money he had spent had produced so little.

His patience was nearly at its limit. He didn't want to see Gato's smug face ever again. He just wanted Gato dead!

"We don't know what kind of arrangement Gato has made with those Rogue Ninjas, but some of the people we pay a fortune to hire always end up going through the motions without doing any real work. Some even turn on us without warning and stab us in the back. A lot of people are refusing the missions our company posts now. They're all afraid they'll die at the hands of their 'allies' first..."

Mira Peng's face darkened. "Have the people we sent to Konoha returned?"

"Most were intercepted and killed on the way. Only a handful escaped and made it back. Besides, Konoha might not accept our assassination request anyway. At most, they'd send a few people to protect us for a while." His subordinate looked deeply ashamed.

Outside wartime, the Five Great Shinobi Villages strictly forbade their Ninjas from killing ordinary people. After all, ordinary people still made up most of the world's population. Without such restrictions, Ninjas, who possessed overwhelming power, could monopolize all the world's wealth, authority, and status, treating ordinary people like livestock.

If things truly reached that point, the world would have collapsed into chaos long ago.

Thus, official Ninjas from established villages generally refused commissions to assassinate ordinary people.

Of course, there were exceptions to everything.

When short on money, for example, they might secretly take a job to earn some extra cash. As long as they weren't caught in the act, even the village leadership would usually turn a blind eye if they found out.

Rogue Ninjas, rogue Ninjas, and bounty-hunting Ninjas who frequented underground black markets and bounty exchange stations clearly had no such reservations. Killing a few ordinary people posed no difficulty for them. In fact, such commissions were among their favorites.

The missions were simple, carried little risk, and generally paid quite well!

Gato had clearly prepared well in advance. While draining the Mira Peng family's resources and reputation and drawing more Rogue Ninjas and rogue shinobi into his camp, he also sent men to surround and kill the messengers the family dispatched to seek help, intent on snuffing out every potential complication before it could arise.

Under Gato's relentless combination of blows, even if the Mira Peng family escaped destruction, they would probably soon fall into decline.