When Asuma was dragged out of the Land of Fire Daimyo Mansion's side hall, the excruciating pain in his lower body and the humiliation in his heart gnawed at his sanity like a venomous snake.
"Shun, Kurenai… If I don't die, I will make you pay with your blood." He whispered through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.
After recovering from his injuries, Asuma dared not remain in the Land of Fire. He knew that with Shun's ruthlessness, he would not be let off easily.
He disguised himself, evading potential pursuers along the way, and eventually fled to the remote Land of Hot Water, a place of mixed factions.
"Asuma is missing?" Hiruzen's pipe clattered to the ground, his face instantly turning pale.
Although he was displeased with his son's usual arrogance, he had never imagined Asuma would fall to such a state.
"Immediately send people to search! Use all available power, and be sure to find Asuma's whereabouts!"
Hiruzen stood up abruptly, his voice filled with an urgency he had never shown before.
Soon, the remaining forces of the Sarutobi clan mobilized. They disguised themselves as merchants and travelers, dispersing throughout the Land of Fire and even extending to neighboring countries, inquiring about Asuma's news.
Hiruzen, meanwhile, stayed in his wooden house every day, awaiting reports from his subordinates, often sleepless through the night, replacing the tobacco in his pipe again and again, the bloodshot in his eyes growing heavier.
But days passed, and the search made no progress. Asuma seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
Just as Hiruzen was about to despair, a subordinate brought back a clue.
"Lord, we found traces of Asuma on the border of the Land of Hot Water. Someone saw him heading towards the Jashin Cult."
The rumored mysterious and eerie Jashin Cult was hidden deep within the mountains of the Land of Hot Water.
Asuma inquired along the way, and relying on his strength as an Elite Jonin, he easily dealt with the Jashin Cult's outer guards and broke into the cult's core stronghold.
In the dimly lit great hall, a bloody and decaying stench assailed him. The Jashin Cult followers, gathered around a giant altar, were performing a bizarre ritual.
"Outsider, what is your purpose?" An old man in a black robe, his face covered in runes, spoke.
He was the High Priest of the Jashin Cult, and one of the cult's high-ranking members.
Asuma knelt on one knee, his tone urgent and resolute. "I want to join the Jashin Cult and learn forbidden Ninjutsu. I want revenge."
He made no secret of his intentions, fully revealing the hatred in his heart and his desire for power.
The High Priest stared at him for a moment, seemingly seeing through the distortion in his heart.
A strange smile appeared on his lips as he said, "Hatred is the best sacrifice, you are worthy of learning Jashin-sama's power. But to obtain forbidden Ninjutsu, you must first complete a sacrifice."
In the following days, Asuma began to follow the High Priest, learning the Jashin Cult's forbidden Ninjutsu. He abandoned the Will of Fire he once believed in, indulging in the dark power, his hands gradually stained with blood.
To quickly get stronger, he followed the High Priest's instructions, secretly infiltrating several small villages on the border of the Land of Hot Water, using the villagers as sacrifices for bloody rituals.
When the blood of the last villager was sprinkled on the altar, a strange black Chakra surged from the altar and flowed into Asuma's body.
He could clearly feel his body changing. His wounds healed extremely quickly. Even if cut by a sharp weapon, he could recover instantly. More importantly, he gained the immortality he had longed for. Unless his body's core was completely destroyed, he could resurrect no matter how severe the injury.
Asuma excitedly stroked his body, but his face instantly darkened when he touched his lower abdomen. His most prized "treasure" still hadn't grown back. This deficiency added to his hatred for Shun, and also made him even more insane.
When Hiruzen arrived in the Land of Hot Water, he was one step too late.
Several small villages near the Jashin Cult stronghold had already become ruins, the air filled with a heavy smell of blood, and the villagers' bodies lay scattered on the ground, a gruesome sight.
A surviving villager trembled as he told them, "It was a ninja wearing Land of Fire clothing. He followed the Jashin Cult members into the stronghold and performed a terrifying blood sacrifice."
Hiruzen looked at the tragic scene before him, his heart gripped by an invisible hand.
He knew that Asuma had completely gone astray and could never return.
He suppressed the grief in his heart and continued to track Asuma's whereabouts. However, he didn't expect that after completing the blood sacrifice, Asuma had already left the Jashin Cult stronghold and fled towards the Land of Rice Fields.
In the following days, Hiruzen led his subordinates, following the traces Asuma left, from the Land of Rice Fields to the Land of Iron, and then from the Land of Iron to the Land of Waterfall.
Everywhere they went, they saw the traces of Asuma's slaughter, destroyed villages, dead ninjas, and the pervasive smell of blood.
Hiruzen's heart sank deeper and deeper. He could clearly feel that Asuma's power was constantly increasing, but his heart was also becoming increasingly dark.
His once spirited son had turned into a demon driven by hatred.
As the slaughter increased, Asuma absorbed more and more sacrificed Chakra, and his strength rapidly improved. His Ninjutsu became even more bizarre, the black Chakra could corrode anything it touched.
Before long, Asuma's strength broke through to the Kage level.
Then one day, a man in black clothes with red clouds and a yellow mask on his face blocked his path.
"Asuma, I admire your strength and would like to invite you to join the Akatsuki. Here, you can gain even greater power and more easily achieve your revenge."
Asuma looked at the man warily. He had heard of the Akatsuki's reputation and knew it was a mysterious organization composed of S-rank rogue ninjas from various countries.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking of Shun's power and the difficulty of his solo revenge, and finally nodded. "I'll join, but I have one condition. If I get the chance, I want to personally kill Shun and Kurenai."
The mysterious masked man chuckled. "No problem. As long as it doesn't affect the Akatsuki's plans, we will not interfere with your personal grievances."
And so, Asuma joined the Akatsuki, becoming one of its members. He put on the Akatsuki's characteristic black cloak with red clouds, and also wore his own ring, engraved with the character sky, symbolizing his codename in the organization.