When Gekkō Hoshiyomi and the others concluded their special training, there was less than a week left until the Chunin Exams began. To ensure fairness, and as per agreement, this year's Chunin Exams wouldn't be held within the Hidden Leaf Village. Instead, they would all take place in the Land of Rivers.
The Village Hidden in Hot Water (Yugakure no Sato) in the Land of Hot Water proactively offered to host these Chunin Exams, and they were also one of the participating nations. The Hidden Cloud and Hidden Leaf Villages were somewhat surprised by this small village's initiative, but since someone was willing to provide lodging and venues, they naturally couldn't ask for more.
Neither nation believed that Yugakure would cause any trouble. After all, the Land of Rivers, caught between the two great powers, was the country most desperate for peace. If they sabotaged the Chunin Exams and allowed the war to continue, the entire Land of Rivers would face annihilation. The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers would have to be insane to let Hot Water Village stir up trouble.
In fact, both the Daimyō of the Land of Rivers and the Village Head of Yugakure attached great importance to these Chunin Exams. Of course, they weren't hoping to make a grand splash in such an extreme Chunin Exam. They simply hoped to curry favor with both ninja villages through these exams, wishing that no matter whether the war continued or not, the Land of Rivers would be spared.
This was likely the sorrow of a small nation: despite being the persecuted country, it still had to appease its oppressors while caught between two major powers. The Daimyō of the Land of Rivers allocated vast funds for Yugakure to build facilities and arrange accommodation. The Village Head of Yugakure was also busy with these matters daily, even setting aside village politics.
But neither of them knew that within their own country, a terrifying organization was secretly planning a dreadful scheme.
The Kaga Cult was a small, recently formed organization. In truth, it was a terrorist group founded by refugees persecuted by the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud during the war, led by a man named Kiru. Kiru was a born schemer with an almost perverse hunger for power and authority. He possessed a silver tongue capable of swaying hearts, but he lacked the talent to become a shinobi.
Not being able to become a shinobi meant he was destined to be an ordinary person. But he was unwilling to accept such a fate; even if he couldn't be a shinobi, he would be a leader among ordinary people. He keenly observed that many people from smaller nations suffered greatly during the war, and this presented him with an opportunity.
A sudden idea sparked in him: he established the Kaga Cult, concocted a so-called Evil God, and began to preach fervently. In less than a year, he garnered a large following in the Land of Hot Springs.
At first, Kiru simply enjoyed the thrill of power and manipulation. But everything changed one day when one of his peasant followers brought him a secret scroll. The peasant was illiterate and didn't know the horror recorded in that scroll, but Kiru understood it clearly, so clearly that his whole body trembled.
It was an ancient scroll dating back to before the Warring States period, documenting evil arts called Jujutsu. According to the scroll, with enough sacrifices and blood, combined with those sinister formations, even ordinary people could gain power surpassing that of ordinary shinobi.
This gave Kiru hope of acquiring power. Although he had enjoyed authority before, he had also been constantly uneasy, knowing full well that his current growth was only possible because no one paid attention to him amidst the chaos of war. Once the war ended, he, without power, would be easily eradicated by shinobi.
Now, with this scroll, everything would be different. As long as he could gain great power according to the methods in the scroll, wouldn't he have boundless potential in the future?
Thus, Kiru began his research into the Jujutsu scroll. He didn't dare to immediately research the high-level techniques, only starting with the most basic Jujutsu. The research results showed that the Jujutsu was indeed effective, which further inflated his ambition. He demonstrated the abilities he gained to his core followers.
He claimed these were gifts from the Evil God, returned to him after receiving his sacrifices. As long as they obeyed his commands and served the Evil God, the Evil God would bestow power upon them through his hands. The doctrine of the Evil God Cult also changed from "live for the moment" to "embrace suffering, exchange slaughter for the Evil God's pleasure."
Such a twisted doctrine scared away many ordinary followers, but it brought Kiru a host of mentally unstable fanatics. The Kaga Cult also became more secretive. On the surface, the Kaga Cult mysteriously disappeared. In reality, it went underground, beginning its own secret conspiracy.
Followers of the Kaga Cult, scattered across the Land of Rivers, lured ignorant girls and children with various pretexts, leading them to secret bases to be used as sacrifices for blood rituals.
Land of Rivers, Kaga Cult secret base.
In the eerie formation, lay the bodies of several young girls. Their blood flowed into the etched patterns, making the already bizarre formation appear even more sinister. A group of cultists reveled in the blood, their naked bodies adorned with various black markings. They reveled in the power, emitting various monkey-like cries.
Kiru sat on a high throne in the distance, swirling a wine glass filled with blood as he looked down at the grotesque display of his followers. In truth, he looked down on these people; these mindless, powerless followers were nothing more than tools.
What Kiru truly yearned for were shinobi followers. He had a bold idea: Jujutsu itself was already terrifying, so what if he could control a talented shinobi to be his follower? If a talented shinobi underwent various Jujutsu enhancements, could he obtain a bodyguard more powerful than a Jonin? If he could have several such bodyguards, wouldn't the entire shinobi world fall into his grasp?
Thinking of this, Kiru couldn't help but tremble with excitement, and faint black Jujutsu markings began to appear on his body. Speaking of which, Hot Water Village was apparently hosting a joint Chunin Exam between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud Villages soon. This might be an opportunity...
With that thought, he raised the wine glass and drank the blood in it in one gulp. He put down the glass, stood up, and loudly addressed the distant cultists: "Children of the Evil God, I have just received the Evil God's latest decree!"
Upon hearing Kiru's words, the cultists all knelt and prostrated themselves. "We humbly obey the Evil God's teachings!"
Kiru looked at the kneeling followers, an indescribable sense of satisfaction swelling within him. He spread his arms and declared, "The Evil God desires new followers. He says he wants shinobi followers. From today onwards, all activities to find sacrifices are suspended. Everyone is to remain within Yugakure, gather information about the Chunin Exams, and compile information on the examinees to offer to the Evil God!"
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