"Jie jie jie jie jie jie!"
Accompanied by a bone-chilling laugh, countless fine threads shot out from Hidan's neck, pulling his severed head back and sewing it back into place.
The surrounding Sand ninjas froze on the spot upon witnessing this scene. They never imagined that even decapitation would fail to inflict any real damage on this man!
Hidan used his hands to adjust his head. The wound at the severing point healed completely within seconds, and he flashed an exceptionally cruel smile.
"Are you ready to embrace the arms of Lord Jashin?"
With those words, Hidan swung his Three-bladed blood scythe and charged.
Taya drew his ninja sword to intercept Hidan and shouted without hesitation, "Everyone, retreat!"
The other Sand ninjas looked at each other, but ultimately, under the leadership of the other Jonin, they abandoned the corpses of their comrades and retreated toward the mountain range.
However, Simu had no intention of letting his experimental subjects escape so easily. His figure slowly vanished into thin air.
Seeing Simu disappear, Taya's heart sank. Compared to the oppressive pressure brought by Hidan's immortal body, Taya felt that Simu—even though he hadn't made a move yet—was the truly dangerous one.
"You dare to look away while fighting me?"
Hidan hissed in annoyance. Two clumps of crimson flames suddenly ignited behind him. This sudden burst of speed made it difficult for Taya to defend, and he was accidentally wounded by Hidan's sudden spear thrust.
"The battle... is over."
Hidan declared unilaterally.
On the other side, having made their decision, the Sand ninjas were sprinting toward the border at maximum speed.
"Deputy Captain Yuri, is it really okay for us to just abandon Captain Taya like this?"
Kawanishi still couldn't put his mind at ease. After all, making this choice essentially meant leaving Taya to die.
Yuri stuffed a Food Pill into his mouth, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. Those two are not people we can handle."
"But even so, we shouldn't—"
"Shut up!"
Kawanishi tried to say more, but Yuri cut him off sharply.
"Staying behind only leads to death. If you want to go back and throw your life away, then leave immediately. Don't drag us down!"
Kawanishi looked at Yuri, then at his other companions who were rushing forward in silence. He lowered his head and said no more. Compared to life and death, a captain they had only been with for a few days didn't seem to matter much.
"Abandoning your partner to leave alone... that doesn't seem quite right."
Unnoticed by them, Simu's figure appeared in front of the group.
The Sand ninjas stopped instantly, looking as if they were facing a great enemy.
"Why must you keep targeting us, sir?"
Yuri gripped his ninja sword. Although his expression was fierce, Simu could clearly see that his eyes lacked the light of resolve.
Simu offered an explanation quite generously.
"Naturally, it's because I'm worried you'll leak information about our organization."
"If I let you return to the Hidden Sand Village, what would I do if you brought the Kazekage to the Hidden Rain Village for revenge?"
Simu tilted his head, his expression looking incredibly sincere. Conversely, the more lighthearted he acted, the more uneasy Yuri felt. This meant the opponent felt he had complete control over the situation.
Left with no choice, Yuri spoke through gritted teeth, "You can rest assured, sir. Once we return to the Hidden Sand Village, we will absolutely not leak any information about you to anyone."
The other Sand ninjas remained silent. Even Kawanishi, who had just been indignant about saving Captain Taya, chose to stay quiet.
Simu looked at them with interest. "And how will you explain the disappearance of your captain and two teammates?"
Cold sweat broke out on Yuri's forehead. He couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation on the spot. Even if they didn't speak, the Hidden Sand would surely investigate the loss of a Jonin.
"I have it! Captain... the Captain and the others were killed by Leaf ninjas!" Kawanishi suddenly looked up.
"We engaged in battle with Leaf ninjas within the Land of Rain. Furthermore, according to our investigation, the squads that disappeared earlier were also the work of the Hidden Leaf!"
As he spoke, Kawanishi's eyes grew brighter, as if everything he said was reality.
"That's right, it's the Hidden Leaf! They have taken control of the Hidden Rain Village and want to use it to restrain the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth!"
Only this narrative could explain why the Land of Rain had changed so much recently. Moreover, ever since the Third Shinobi World War ended, the Hidden Rain Village had maintained an ambiguous relationship with the Hidden Leaf. It was possible that the Hidden Leaf wanted to take things a step further.
Most importantly, this would remove the mysterious organization from the equation and pin everything on the Hidden Leaf.
Not just Simu, but the others also looked at this young ninja with surprise. They hadn't expected the person who was just crying out to save his captain to weave such a false report in a matter of seconds.
Naturally, there were many holes in this story, but as long as there was a general framework, the details could be hammered out on the road. The most important thing was to stay alive.
Simu's gaze swept across everyone. "Is that what you all think?"
Feeling his gaze, everyone nodded like chickens pecking at grain.
"In that case, it's not impossible."
Under their expectant eyes, Simu finally nodded.
"However, I'm still not quite at ease regarding your loyalty."
This sentence sent their hearts sinking to the bottom again. It made sense; if Simu let them go that easily, what was to stop them from breaking their promise once they reached the Hidden Sand? No matter how strong the man in front of them was, he couldn't possibly fight his way into the Hidden Sand Village, which was guarded by countless experts, to seek revenge.
Or could he?
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Yuri asked hurriedly, "Then what must we do for you to trust us, sir?"
Simu didn't beat around the bush and stated his requirement directly: "I want you to become my own people."
"Your own people?"
Everyone's hearts pounded with tension.
"That's right."
With a gentle smile, Simu said calmly, "As long as you choose to join the Jashin Religion and become our followers, I will let you go back."
"Then... what counts as joining the Jashin Religion?" young Kawanishi asked cautiously.
"It's simple."
Simu stepped in front of him and grabbed his hand. He condensed a streak of blood on his fingertip and drew the Jashin symbol—a triangle within a circle—on the center of his palm.
"There, that's all."