Shinobi World No. 1, the Land of Rain.
The sky seemed forever shrouded in thick, lead-gray clouds. Rain drizzled endlessly, pattering against broken eaves, muddy roads, and people's numb faces.
This was a small nation wedged between three great powers-Fire, Wind, and Earth-a scorched land frequently visited by war, where suffering was as omnipresent as the air.
Hanzō, the man known as the "Demigod," barely maintained the Land of Rain's fragile independence through his formidable strength and mastery of poison, while also crushing every spark of unrest with an iron fist.
Yet on this land soaked in tears and rain, something new quietly bred and spread like mold in dark, overlooked corners.
At first, there were only scattered whispers circulating through the slums, the camps for wounded soldiers, and the refugees who had lost everything.
They spoke of "pain," of "madness," and of a "great being" who understood their despair and promised to grant them "power" and "awakening."
Soon, these whispers coalesced into organized preaching. Crude altars were erected amid ruins and in caves, and twisted symbols, seemingly traced by pain itself, were drawn and worshipped.
The Jashin Cult.
Its doctrines were simple and direct, filled with despairing accusations against this world and twisted outpourings:
"Pain is truth-the hunger, cold, wounds, sickness, and heart-gouging agony of losing your loved ones are not meaningless torment. They are the world's true face, the only path to understanding 'truth'! Embrace pain, savor pain, and see the essence of this world through pain!"
"Madness is awakening-following the rules, swallowing your anger, scraping by merely to survive: these are the shackles of mortals! Break them! Unleash the rage, hatred, and fear within you! Let madness wash over the eyes that false morality has blinded! Only madness can 'awaken' you from this despairing reality and let