"I now understand both of your abilities."
The cult leader gave a benevolent smile and patted Shiki and Hidan on the shoulder.
"Since you have received the blessings of the Lord Jashin, you must work hard to spread the glory of the Jashin faith, dominate the shinobi world as soon as possible, and repay Lord Jashin."
Hidan scoffed at this, his expression full of disdain. "What's so fun about ruling the shinobi world? My dream is to kill everyone and offer them to Lord Jashin!"
Shiki's expression remained indifferent. "Sacrificing the entire shinobi world to Lord Jashin is the only correct path."
"Damn you, Shiki! Killing people is the only right way!"
Shiki glanced at him. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll sew your head onto the ass of my neighbor's seven-hundred-pound sow."
"Bastard...!"
Though Hidan gritted his teeth in anger, he didn't argue further.
The cult leader watched the two of them and muttered to himself, 'Lord Jashin must be testing me!'
After mentally steeling himself, the leader finally spoke. "Though the blessings of Lord Jashin are indeed powerful, you two are still far from mastering their full potential."
He pulled out two syringes and continued, "Each of you, give me a vial of blood. After I conduct my research, I'll tell you how to unlock the true power of Lord Jashin."
Hidan's eyebrow twitched, and he was about to curse the old man out—he'd long disliked this geezer. But after meeting Shiki's gaze, he quickly reconsidered.
After all, he knew Shiki well enough—this guy always followed through on his threats. If he really ended up sewn onto a sow's ass...
And knowing Shiki's twisted stitching skills, he'd probably attach him backwards. The mere thought made him... ugh.
Hidan's disembodied head suddenly started dry heaving on the floor, much to Shiki's surprise.
"Oi, Hidan, don't tell me you're scared of needles?"
"Don't fuck with me! I'm not afraid of blood, why the hell would I be afraid of—ugh!"
Before he could finish, Hidan started retching again.
Luckily, since he didn't have a body, nothing actually came out.
"Enough nonsense. Just get the blood drawn already."
The cult leader was uncharacteristically impatient. If this dragged on any longer, he feared he'd end up as much of an idiot as Hidan.
He inserted the syringe into Hidan's body and drew a full vial of blood.
For a masochist like Hidan, this amount of blood loss was nothing—he bled more from his usual self-harm rituals.
Shiki also didn't resist, allowing the leader to draw a vial from him.
But then, as if remembering something, the leader added, "Ah, Shiki, your body is... special. I'll need to draw from other parts as well."
Shiki merely nodded.
A little blood meant nothing to him.
These kagune and clones—as long as he had enough energy, he could produce as many as he wanted!
The most important thing was that Shiki still didn't fully understand this world.
He didn't know the structure of this world's power system, nor how strong its top fighters were. He didn't even know what level this cult leader had reached.
Because of that, Shiki didn't dare act recklessly. Only after gathering enough intelligence could he formulate a proper plan.
After all, he wasn't a brainless idiot like Hidan.
However, an unexpected problem arose when the leader tried to extract blood from Shiki's kagune.
Namely...
The kagune was too hard! The needle couldn't pierce it!
"Shiki, bear with it."
With that, the leader pulled out a strange, handle-equipped diamond-shaped weapon from under his black robe.
If Shiki wasn't mistaken, this was a weapon from the Land of Iron—a kunai.
A faint blue energy surged from the leader's body, coiling around the kunai.
Under the enhancement of this energy, the kunai's sharpness increased dramatically, easily slicing through Shiki's kagune.
Through the wound, the leader finally managed to collect three more vials of blood.
"Leader, that energy you just used was..." Shiki asked.
He was deeply curious about this energy that could cut through his kagune. It also confirmed that his caution had been justified—without fully understanding this world's power system, acting rashly was unwise.
Seeing Shiki's confusion, the leader smiled.
Chakra wasn't something a wild mountain kid like Shiki would know about. If not for Lord Jashin making him my whetstone...
Though inwardly dismissive, the leader still treated Shiki—the "Chosen One"—with due respect and explained:
"Chakra is a special energy formed by combining mental and physical energy. It's the foundation for using ninjutsu and a prerequisite for becoming a shinobi."
Shinobi, huh...
Shiki's eyes narrowed slightly, deep in thought.
"Hah! Only the power of Lord Jashin is supreme! What ninjutsu? What shinobi? What Five Kage? They'll all die by my hand and become offerings to Lord Jashin!"
The head on the ground began fantasizing again.
Neither Shiki nor the leader paid him any attention.
Seeing Shiki's clear interest, the leader asked, "Oh? You want to learn ninjutsu?"
Shiki nodded without hesitation. "Only by mastering enough knowledge and power can I offer the shinobi world to Lord Jashin as soon as possible."
Hearing this, a hint of appreciation flashed in the leader's eyes. He even began considering whether to spare Shiki in the future—he seemed like he could be a useful subordinate.
"That's a good mindset. But right now, your priority should be mastering the abilities Lord Jashin has granted you. Don't bite off more than you can chew."
The leader spoke like a wise elder, looking down at Shiki with an air of superiority.
Shiki nodded slightly. "Understood."
"There's nothing else for now. You may leave."
"Yes."
After leaving the lab, Shiki picked up Hidan's head and asked, "Where does the Jashin cult keep its historical records?"
"Historical records?"
Hidan rolled his eyes. "You, a follower of Jashin, actually care about that kind of thing?"
Shiki wasn't surprised by Hidan's reaction. He replied flatly, "What, should I be like you—a dumbass who lost his brain while taking a shit—and think about nothing but killing all day?"
"The hell did you say?!"
Seeing Hidan about to throw another tantrum, Shiki cut him off. "Last time, I found a few nice wild boars in a cave. They had these huge tusks..."
"Mr. Hidan, you don't want your body sewn onto a boar's head, do you?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Hidan immediately voiced his stern protest.
"Then take me there right now!"
Under his superior's oppressive might, Hidan had no choice but to submit in humiliation.