Ren's sharp shout didn't cause the Jashin Cult leader to hesitate for even a second. With indifferent eyes, he thrust his black spear straight toward the little girl, Yuko.
Seeing this, Ren Uchiha stopped hiding his shinobi identity. He churned his chakra and flickered instantly, standing between the girl and the blade. In his haste, he had to grab the sharp edge of the black spear with his bare hand. The blade sliced through his palm, and blood seeped through his bandages, dripping onto the ground.
Ren looked at his bleeding hand and frowned. Letting a Jashin cultist get your blood is never a good idea.
"I said... STOP!"
He looked up, his Sharingan staring coldly at the cult leader.
"Sharingan? An Uchiha?" The leader narrowed his eyes and paused. What is an Uchiha doing here in our territory instead of watching those Chinoike savages in the Valley of Hell?
"Ren! What are you doing?!" Hidan came running up, standing between them. He quickly explained to the leader: "Lord Messenger, this guy is my friend! He also aspires to join the Great Jashin Cult!"
The leader looked at Ren, waiting for an explanation. Ren saw the tension ease slightly and immediately seized the chance:
"Hidan is right. Let her go, and I'll take her place as the sacrifice!"
The crowd gasped. This kid was willing to sacrifice himself for a random girl he didn't even know?
Deep in the crowd, a girl hidden under a black hood watched the scene. She had a few strands of reddish-brown hair peeking out. She had been ready to intervene herself, but seeing Ren step up, she slowly relaxed her hands from the jutsu sign she was forming.
Is this guy an idiot? Who sacrifices themselves for a stranger? she wondered.
"Wait, Ren, what are you saying?!" Hidan was the first to have a meltdown. "We agreed to go to the cross together! Why are you trying to jump the line?!"
Hidan looked like a desperate job seeker who just saw the person in front of him snatch the last job offer from the interviewer. This guy is definitely trying to steal Lord Jashin's favor from me!
"You... want to be the sacrifice?" The leader was so stunned he took three steps back. He stared at Ren's scarlet eyes and gulped. An Uchiha running to the Jashin Cult begging to be sacrificed? It felt like a fever dream.
"That's right!" Ren stepped forward confidently. "I want to be the sacrifice! Take me to your headquarters!"
However, the leader's face twisted into a complex mess. He looked at Ren like someone who ordered a pineapple online and received a durian shell instead—it was prickly and annoying. If the Uchiha Clan found out the Jashin Cult had sacrificed one of their children, their garrison would cross the country overnight to skin him alive!
After a long pause, the leader asked dryly, "Are you... a ninja?"
"Yes," Ren nodded.
"Ah, well... see, we don't accept ninjas," the leader lied immediately, seizing the excuse.
"What?" Ren glared at Hidan. What gives, bro? You invited me to the party but now the bouncer says it's full?
Hidan was also confused. "But Lord Messenger, I thought we did take ninjas? You told me to catch another one just last week!"
The leader's smile stiffened. I meant catch a random ninja, not an Uchiha! Don't you know they're the second most dangerous group in this country?!
"Oh... uh, maybe I remembered wrong." The leader was sweating now. He couldn't take the risk. His eyes turned cold, and he signaled his subordinates behind him. Then he turned back to Ren. "Fine. Then do you even know the creed of our Jashin Cult?"
Ren froze. Is the job market really this competitive? I'm just here to be poked with a stick, do I need a degree in theology first?
"Uh... hold on, I remember it..." Ren nervously pulled out the pamphlet Hidan gave him and started flipping through the pages, trying to turn the interview into an open-book exam.
Shing! Shing!
Suddenly, two black spears shot toward Ren from both sides. The leader dropped his act, let go of the spear Ren was holding, and pulled out two more from his robes.
"Hmph! You don't even know the basic creed? You aren't worthy of Lord Jashin's gospel! Our Jashin Cult does not recruit illiterates!"
The sneak attack was lethal. Ren's battle instincts screamed. He realized these three cultists weren't just random thugs—they were skilled deserters!
[Talent: Battle Instinct (S-Rank) Triggered.]
In a split second, Ren's Sharingan locked onto the trajectory of the spears. He twisted in mid-air, throwing his blood-stained spear to deflect one. But the other was heading straight for his vitals!
Ren knew that if he got hit and they took his blood, they could use the Death Controlling Blood (Shiji Hyōketsu) curse. He'd be a goner.
Just as the spear was about to strike—
A girl in a hood leaped from the fence. Her reddish-brown hair fluttered in the wind. She formed a hand seal and shouted at Ren:
"Idiot, get down!"
"Water Style: Water Fang Blade (Suiryūdan-like variant: Suigahan)!"