"Boom!"
A violent explosion reduced the entire Cafeteria to a pile of ruins. The newly arrived Archbishop stood frozen on the spot, his body trembling and his eyes vacant. Miura Kikuchi was even more incredulous. He glanced at the dazed Archbishop, seemingly finally understanding why the man had become so haggard in just three months.
A large crowd of Jashin Religion followers looked at the ruined Cafeteria with lingering fear. Just a little more! If they had been any closer, they would have been buried along with the building.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Under the watch of dozens of eyes, a rock was pushed aside, and a charred Hidan crawled out from beneath.
"Hahahaha! Bastard Simu, I don't believe you could stay unharmed this time!" Hidan laughed wildly, completely ignoring the horrific burns covering his body. Injuries that would be fatal to anyone else were merely daily occurrences for him.
Before Hidan could enjoy his triumph for even three seconds, a voice spoke up nonchalantly.
"It seems you really are at your wit's end. Otherwise, you wouldn't have used that brain of yours—which is no better than feces—to come up with such a boring method."
Simu's voice drifted out as he stood atop the rubble at some unknown point.
"What? Impossible!" Shock was written all over Hidan's face.
Simu adjusted his glasses. As the charred exoskeleton on his body gradually peeled away, the scarlet [Koukaku · Mantis] easily severed Hidan's head once again.
In truth, Hidan's attack this time had been somewhat threatening. If Simu hadn't developed a new Kagune—[Koukaku · Antman]—during these three months, he might have lost this clone.
The function of [Koukaku · Antman] was quite simple: it created a layer of hard exoskeleton on the surface of the body, with strength sufficient to withstand blades and explosions.
"Simu, Hidan! Both of you, get over here!" Our Archbishop had finally reached the end of his patience.
Seeing this, Simu had no choice but to carry Hidan's head over to the Archbishop.
"Since you two want to fight so badly, then go out and execute a mission!" The Archbishop truly did not want these two staying at the headquarters anymore. Otherwise, they would eventually tear down the temple itself!
"Execute a mission?" Hidan immediately became interested. He looked up at the Archbishop and asked excitedly, "Are we going to kill people?"
The Archbishop nodded, feeling exhausted. He had considered using punishment to change Hidan, but the problem was that this guy simply wasn't afraid! He couldn't be killed, and the tortures that were cruel to ordinary people only made Hidan groan with pleasure.
What was the Archbishop supposed to do? The only person who could make Hidan somewhat obedient was Simu, who spent every day cutting Hidan's head off for fun.
"What is the content of the mission?" Comparatively, Simu was much more reliable.
The Archbishop looked at Simu seriously. "Your mission is to assassinate a man named Gato. If you utilize Hidan's ability well, it shouldn't be a problem for you."
"When young eagles grow up, they must learn to soar on their own," the Archbishop said meaningfully. "As for the specific intelligence, your senior, Miura Kikuchi, will tell you on the way to the mission location."
Miura Kikuchi stepped forward and introduced himself. "I am Miura Kikuchi, responsible for guiding you on this mission." He smoothed back his black hair and glanced at Hidan. "I hope you can cooperate with my work. After all, only those with firm faith and a brain can become Lord Jashin's true spokesmen, right?"
Hearing this, Hidan immediately lost his temper. "You bastard, are you doubting my faith in Lord Jashin?"
Simu widened his eyes and rubbed his temples, sighing helplessly. "If I'm not mistaken, he was saying you have no brain."
Hidan was suddenly relieved. "Oh, so he was just saying I have no brain..." Then he snapped out of it. "How dare you say I have no brain! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
Fortunately, his head was being carried by Simu and couldn't go anywhere. The Archbishop rubbed his head in frustration and told Miura Kikuchi, "I'm leaving them to you."
"Yes, Archbishop."
After the Archbishop left, Simu spoke first. "Senior Miura, Hidan and I will go pack our things first."
Miura Kikuchi nodded. "En, be quick. We set out tonight."
Simu carried Hidan straight toward the temple. Along the way, Hidan complained with great dissatisfaction, "Bastard Simu, why didn't you let me kill that guy!"
Simu smiled faintly. "It's not time yet. I'm going to give you something."
"Huh? What are you planning now?" Hidan furrowed his brows, not believing Simu was being kind.
Simu threw Hidan's body and head directly into the Blood Pool and revealed a mysterious smile. "Don't worry, I'm going to give you a major makeover."
"What kind of thing..." Seeing Simu's smile, Hidan finally felt a bit nervous. Unfortunately, before he could scream, Simu stuffed his mouth with a glob of sticky spider silk. He submerged him entirely in the Blood Pool.
Simu quickly activated his ability. By now, the bottom of the Blood Pool had completely turned into flesh, with massive scarlet blood vessels rooting deep into the earth like tree roots. Beneath the ground lay a network of tunnels Simu had dug using insects. An army of army ants traveled through these tunnels to every corner of the mountains, decomposing every creature they caught and delivering them to the Blood Pool.
Within a ten-kilometer radius of the temple, Simu held absolute control over every movement. Under his control, a thirty-centimeter-long insect egg was spat out from the bottom of the pool. This was the core of a Kagune—essentially a parasite that could live within a human body.
The egg rose and settled onto Hidan's back. Flesh sprouts instantly grew from its surface, tearing into Hidan's skin and burrowing deep inside.
"Mmph~~" Hidan let out a muffled groan of pain, but since his mouth was stuffed, he could only blow a string of bubbles from his nose.
The flesh sprouts grew along Hidan's body, then shot out massive amounts of silk from the severed stump of his neck. The silk connected to his detached head, pulling it back and stitching it together!
This was the Kagune Simu had custom-made for Hidan: [Koukaku · Parasitic Spider]. Unlike the standard spider model, its functions were simplified. It couldn't sprout extra limbs for attack, but its silk-spinning ability was greatly enhanced. It could spin silk from any part of the body, meaning that even if Hidan were hacked into pieces in the future, he could use the parasitic spider's power to quickly restore himself.
Hidan's thought: Mom never has to worry about me being beheaded again!