Inuzuka Ryoha was starting to get a headache.
Destroying an evil cult really was something worth celebrating, but their main objective still hadn't been achieved.
What about Shiken's endlessly reusable materials?
And the immortality he'd been obsessing over?
Was there another Jashin cult somewhere in the Land of Hot Water?
"Scent Tracking."
Inuzuka Ryoha gathered chakra into his nose, carefully examining the scent left behind by the richly dressed old man before him.
Dressed this extravagantly, he had to be one of the cult's upper ranks.
Damn it, they moved too fast. If they'd captured him and interrogated him first, wouldn't they have learned everything already?
"Hm? That location…"
Inuzuka Ryoha cautiously moved deeper inside.
Eventually, he stopped in front of the strange statue.
Three meters tall. Two meters thick.
"Hm? The smell of blood… natural energy too… and something else I can't identify."
"Looks like this might be our target."
Using the Summoning Technique, Inuzuka Ryoha summoned Aburame Shiken's insect clone.
"What's this?"
"Shiken, everyone outside the Jashin cult was just ordinary people. Assuming there isn't a second Jashin cult in the Land of Hot Water, then this strange statue should be the final clue to immortality."
"Mm, I roughly understand what's going on."
Aburame Shiken nodded.
"Oh right, did you happen to see a silver-gray-haired teenager dressed in flashy clothes?"
"No. Is there something special about him?"
"That's probably what young Hidan looked like. If we find him, then we definitely came to the right place."
"I see. Didn't see anyone like that. We just killed over a hundred cultists, but none matched that description."
"That's fine either way. You and Rinko should go enjoy yourselves for a while. The Land of Hot Water is pretty remote, so I never had the chance to set anything up here before. Now that I'm here, I can't waste such a perfect opportunity."
"Alright, we're leaving then."
Inuzuka Ryoha turned and left without hesitation.
At the same time, he silently offered his deepest apologies to the Land of Hot Water.
Sorry. I'm the one who brought Shiken here.
This place is about to become another giant insect nest.
"Rinko, let's go soak in some hot springs."
"Ah, great! Aren't you going to finish your work first?"
"I already summoned Shiken's insect clone. We can leave everything to him."
"Insect clone? This is the Land of Hot Water. Can Shiken really control an insect clone here all the way from the Hidden Leaf Village?"
Inuzuka Rinko looked completely baffled. No matter how she thought about it, it sounded absurd.
"Who knows? The way he plays with bugs is practically an art form. He locks himself in the lab every day, so who knows what weird things he's invented by now."
"True enough. Doesn't really concern us anyway. Hot springs time!"
"Let's go."
The Inuzuka couple had wiped out an evil cult, enjoyed a hot spring trip, and gotten their travel expenses reimbursed.
What a wonderful day.
...
Inside the cave—
Aburame Shiken looked around.
"This is a pretty good location. I'll start building my insect nest here."
"Summoning Technique: Aburame Gourd."
A puff of white smoke appeared.
Several Aburame Gourds suddenly materialized nearby.
Burrowing insects specialized in constructing underground tunnels.
Camouflage insects adept at disguise—developed thanks to blood research donated by the Kubisaki giant lizards.
Enhanced breeding parasitic insects.
...
Each insect carried out its assigned task.
In an instant, the Jashin cult's cave was swallowed by an ocean of insects and transformed into a massive insect nest.
Though honestly… didn't this place look even more like the headquarters of an evil cult now?
"Hm? They won't bite this statue?"
Aburame Shiken noticed the insects instinctively avoiding the strange statue before them.
"Looks like we really did find the right place."
At that moment, the bizarre statue emitted a dazzling crimson glow.
Then a humanoid figure was suddenly expelled from behind it.
Aburame Shiken stepped forward to inspect it.
"Silver-gray short hair, flashy clothes… yup, this has to be young Hidan. I'll bring him back for Orochimaru-sensei to examine."
Just thinking about Orochimaru made Aburame Shiken furious.
Last time, he'd spent so much time and effort capturing the Iburi Clan and bringing them back, but the moment they saw Orochimaru, they immediately pledged loyalty to him.
What exactly was the difference between him and Orochimaru?
Why couldn't he ever attract a group of followers willing to die for him?
And then there was Orochimaru's latest "lottery haul" after another trip outside—
Little Kimimaro, little Guren, little Suigetsu, the Sound Four—now the Orochimaru Research Facility's Four Guards…
Even little Haku had been recruited by him.
It made Aburame Shiken so angry.
Who's the protagonist here, you or me?!
Why do you get all the collectible characters?!
At this rate, should the story title be changed again?
"The Great Snake Legend of the Ninja World"?
All that could be said was—
The ninja world's brainwashing master truly was terrifying.
Especially against pretty boys under ten.
...
Fire Country Daimyō Mansion.
"Fourth Hokage-sama, it is truly an honor to welcome you here today."
The Fire Daimyō personally entertained Minato Namikaze with extraordinary politeness.
"Daimyō-sama, you're too courteous."
"Not at all, not at all. This is only proper."
As he spoke, the daimyō personally poured sake for Minato.
That was the benefit of overwhelming strength.
Over in the Land of Earth, after losing a war, Ōnoki might even be denied entry.
But in the Land of Fire, nobody dared look down on this young Fourth Hokage.
Outside the door, Uchiha Kamito kept yawning nonstop.
That's right—he'd been dragged over as free labor.
Temporarily serving as the Hokage's bodyguard.
As for the original Hokage guard—Orochimaru…
Well, as long as Orochimaru didn't want the Hokage position, who in the entire Hidden Leaf Village could possibly force him to do something he didn't want to do?
The direct disciple of the previous Hokage.
The current Hokage's martial uncle.
A man who'd rendered countless achievements for the village.
And how did that saying go again?
"The tears he shed—"
Hm? Orochimaru doesn't cry.
Let's try another one.
"The sweat on his body—"
Hm? Snakes don't sweat either.
One more try.
"Even a single strand of his hair possesses more of Konoha's spirit than ordinary people, perfectly embodying the Will of Fire."
"You little brats better grow stronger soon. In the future, Minato's safety is going to depend entirely on you three."
"Yes sir! We'll grow stronger as quickly as possible!"
Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami immediately responded in unison.
Uchiha Kamito could only smile back helplessly.
Please be reliable, alright?
Though honestly, why is it that whenever a Hokage who knows Flying Thunder God dies, their personal guard squad always survives completely unharmed?
(Hiruzen and the others: "What's that supposed to mean? Who exactly are you hinting at?")
(Genma's group: "We can't keep up! Our legs are about to break from running, but we still can't match Fourth Hokage-sama's speed!")
"Kamito."
"Oh, they're calling me."
Uchiha Kamito pushed open the door and walked inside, stopping before Minato and the daimyō.
"Kamito, this is the daimyō. He wants to see just how large the gap is between Konoha's strongest ninja clan and the Daimyō Mansion's Guardian Twelve Ninja. Kamito, you should go all out. The Guardian Twelve Ninja are all exceptionally powerful shinobi."
The implication was obvious.
Beat them half to death.
Uchiha Kamito understood immediately.
Simple enough.