The cultists charged like lunatics, paying no heed to their own safety.
The vast circular hall became a scene of carnage.
Yet despite the chaos, the red light still filled the space, pulsing steadily—as if the ritual had never been interrupted.
Shigeo froze and activated Kagami no Kanshi (Mirror Perception).
High up on the towering rock walls of the hall, twelve hollow alcoves had opened—each more than thirty meters above the ground. Within each stood a ninja, all performing the same hand seals, continuing the ritual.
No wonder the bell's ringing hadn't stopped.
Although the sacrifice of women had been halted, the blood still flowed. The Orchid Sect's followers fought like madmen against Shigeo's shadow clones. When wounded, they would even slit their own arteries, offering their blood to keep the rite alive.
"Wasn't it supposed to require women's blood only?" Shigeo asked, frowning.
"Apparently not," Mei replied, "because that red glow hasn't faded."
Shigeo nodded slightly, signaling to his clones to hold their positions. Behind them stood more than twenty rescued captives—but somewhere deeper in the tunnels, more women were still being held.
He hadn't yet found Feicui or the other white-robed brides. He had to check that area next.
"Onee-san, I'll leave things here to you. I'm going to save the others."
Mei had no intention of cooperating before—but when she heard him call her onee-san (older sister), her expression brightened, the corners of her mouth curving in satisfaction. While attacking the cultists, she asked, "What did you just call me?"
He looked about eighteen or nineteen.
"Of course I called you onee-san. You're beautiful and graceful—how could you not be?" Shigeo said with a teasing smile, throwing her a flirtatious wink.
Mei suddenly found herself looking at him differently. Handsome and polite, she thought. She nodded repeatedly. "Go, go! Leave these guys to me."
As she spoke, she unleashed a series of Suiton (Water Release) techniques, blocking the incoming enemies with confidence.
Shigeo rushed down the tunnel, cutting through the narrow stone corridor.
A group of Orchid Sect disciples appeared ahead, charging toward him. The passage was tight, and he stood alone—unyielding. His kunai flashed up and down, cutting them down one after another. Then, with Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind), he swept the front line clean—dozens fell, pierced through instantly.
Blood streamed from their bodies, pooling along the carved grooves in the floor and flowing toward the ritual chamber.
"What the hell… they even designed blood channels here?" Shigeo's heart sank. "If every passage leads to the altar, then the other women might already…"
He didn't finish the thought. He sprinted forward, determined. From that moment, he avoided techniques that caused bleeding, switching to Yōton (Lava Release) and Katon (Fire Release) instead. Those burned or melted enemies completely, leaving no blood to fuel the ritual.
After killing hundreds in quick succession, Shigeo reached a vast, bright stone chamber. Inside were enormous prison cells, each filled with unconscious women.
The floor bore no ritual carvings—meaning the cultists would have to drag their victims out to the hallway to bleed them for sacrifice.
That was the bare minimum for their ritual. Had he and Mei not intervened, they would have awakened the women and slain them alive upon the altar.
The corridors' blood channels and floor grooves were backup measures to ensure the ritual's success.
Once a year, the Orchid Sect made sure their sacrifice would never fail.
Even with Shigeo and Mei's interference, the rite continued.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!)
A shining cubic frame appeared, enclosing one of the metal cages. Shigeo said, "Destroy," and everything inside the cube disintegrated into particles, vanishing.
He stepped inside and began freeing the captives—but there were far too many. Over three hundred women lay unconscious.
He couldn't possibly escort them all by foot, and each one bore chakra suppression seals that would take time to remove.
Moreover, Feicui, Liuli, and the other white-robed brides weren't here. Where were they?
He couldn't just leave with these women yet. To truly end this, he needed to uncover every secret of the Orchid Sect. If any remained, the same horror might repeat in the future.
After thinking briefly, Shigeo made his decision.
He touched each woman one by one, transferring them into his Ikuukan (Alternate Space), locking them all inside a massive wooden cage for safety.
"W–what are you doing with all these women?!" cried a voice from within the subspace. "Don't tell me you're the serial woman thief terrorizing Moon City! You beast!"
Inside the alternate space, two of the brides he'd captured earlier shouted from their smaller cages.
They had seen him before—dragging a man in, stripping his clothes, and tossing him out—and now he was bringing hundreds of women inside. What else could they think?
At the accusation of "serial flower thief," Shigeo raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Indeed, that's me. So, ladies, wait here for me. Your charming villain will be right back."
He vanished with a flicker, leaving the two brides sobbing hysterically.
After transferring all three hundred women safely into his alternate space, Shigeo used his sensory technique again. Detecting no more captives nearby, he returned to the central ritual hall.
He had been gone for only seven or eight minutes, but the scene had changed completely.
Blood from the grooves had flowed into the central point of the hall, streaming downward through vertical channels. The entire temple was now glowing red, the stench of iron thick in the air.
The floor was littered with corpses—Orchid Sect members slain in droves.
Mei was now focusing her attacks on the twelve figures in the alcoves above. She believed that killing them would finally stop the ritual.
Shigeo's clones were still guarding the rescued women. When they saw him return, one clone guided the twenty or so survivors into his alternate space as well.
(End of Chapter)
[50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[10 Reviews = 5 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]