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Ryuu and Phoenix separated for a moment, moving slowly on the opposite sides of the bloody ritual symbol. They kept their eyes up and locked onto their destination while trying not to look around too much at the blood, gore, and bodies around them and near their feet.
As they rejoined at the door with the signatures behind it, they stood on each side of the door before Phoenix looked at Ryuu and signed
'What. Is. The Plan?'
Ryuu stood still for a moment before he signed back.
'There are. Ten. Signatures. inside.... All. Hostile…. The farthest two. from. the door. priorities.'
Ryuu then took out a Kunai and attached multiple paper flashbangs to its end by a string before signaling to Phoenix.
'Prepare. Smoke bombs…. Let's. make. This. Quick… No. Big. Fire. Jutsu. Or. Paper. Bombs….'
Phoenix nodded before taking out three smoke bombs and carrying them in between her fingers in one hand while her other hand rested on the doorknob, ready to push it open.
Open flames and paper bombs are a very bad idea in a closed space with limited to no air circulation, like the cave they are currently in.
Ryuu looked at Phoenix before signaling.
'Ready?'
To which Phoenix nodded. Making Ryuu raise three fingers and slowly counting down.
And with the last count, Ryuu pointed at the door, which Phoenix pushed open, startling those inside.
Ryuu had already thrown the Kunai, with the paper flashbangs attached, onto the ceiling of the room, allowing the attached paper flashbangs to dangle down, before Phoenix closed the door again.
"Wha….."
A came from inside before.
Boooooooom.
A strong yet muffled explosion came from behind the closed door
Ryuu nodded again, to which Phienix opened the door again and threw the smoke bombs inside. As soon as they detonated and smoke filled the room, Team Shi pulled out their weapons and rushed inside.
The combination of sensory overload due to the paper flashbang detonation causes temporary blindness, immediate flash blindness, and severe ear ringing, making it impossible for those who were inside to hear or see for several seconds. Making it easy for Team Shi to dispose of those inside.
The smoke bombs are just a precaution.
...
"What is going o…"
Squelch
"Who goe….."
Voices inside the smoke cloud were silenced quickly by Team Shi. Necks severed, voices silenced, blood gushed and splattered, and heads rolled before bodies hit the ground with dull thuds.
Team Shi's entry and disposal of their targets was fast and efficient, with Ryuu giving the priority targets the same treatment as the earlier cultist at the entrance of the altar room, severed heads with their head and mouths being pierced and pinned to the ground by Kunai.
The whole room breach took a few seconds; all targets were dealt with as the smoke started to disappear.
Ryuu looked around the room, making sure he hadn't missed anything, when his senses screamed at him, making his eyes widen.
"MOVE," Ryuu shouted at Phoenix before moving toward the door with Phoenix following him a moment later.
And a split second later, multiple long dark red tendrils pierced the dissipating smoke and impaled themselves where the members of Team Shi stood a moment ago, along with almost the entire room, piercing almost everything inside.
Ryuu's hand tightened around his katana's handle as he looked at the silhouette that was moving behind the disappearing smoke.
The eyes of Team Shi widened as the smoke disappeared enough to reveal a headless body standing on its own. But that wasn't all, Blood. Dark blood moved. It moved like a flowing liquid or tendrils all around the body, stabilizing the headless body to make it stand. Some of the blood was rushing into the body while connected to the severed head on the ground, as the blood pulled the pinned head from the ground before carrying it towards the headless body.
"What in Kami's name???!!!" Phoenix breathed out with shock and disbelief, filling her voice as she, along with Ryuu, whose emotions mirrored hers, watched as the severed head got reattached to the body with the help of the blood tendrils.
With the head reattached, the previously decapitated cultist locked eyes with Team Shi while using his hand to remove the kunai embedded in his brain and his mouth before they healed in a couple of seconds.
"Glorious, isn't it?" The cultist said, looking at Team Shi with a grin and eyes filled with malice and madness.
"You witness how glorious my body is. Blessed by Jashin-sama, I am free from what can cause mortals to perish." The cultist said with his grin widening.
"While you surprised me and were able to cut my head off, that won't matter. You can cut me into pieces, destroy my body, and I will always heal. I can even put my body back together, unlike my high priests or their disciples."
Team Shi looked at the revealed cult leader as he pointed at his decapitated followers.
"That is how much Jashin-sama values me. Blessing me with immortality and powers beyond any mortal imagination." The cult leader said while spreading his arms as the blood tendrils around him started to grow thicker and bigger, using the blood of the dead followers.
"You would make great sacrifices to appease Jashin-sama for your transgressions. Too bad that you, Shinobi, won't be useful to make priests or disciples." The cult leader's expression turned to a look of vicious madness as he looked at his soon-to-be victims.
The Blood tendrils were about to move, but the cult leader stopped when he heard muffled mumbling, making him turn around and look for the source, only to see it emanating from one of his followers' decapitated heads, the other head that Ryuu pinned to the ground with Kunai.
"Oh yeah. That's right." The cult leader dramatically, while slapping his forehead.
"I forgot that my high priests are immortal too, but aren't blessed enough to be able to put themselves back together." The cult leader said before his face soured slightly
"At least they are more useful than the disciples and the others." The cult leader finished before the blood under his control moved towards his priest's body.
Team Shi didn't just stand there and let it happen. After the shock of what they had witnessed had worn off slightly, Ryuu rushed towards the cult leader with Phoenix right behind him.
The cult leader just looked at the rushing shinobi with a twisted smile as a big part of the blood he was controlling turned to thin tendrils before bursting at breakneck speeds toward the incoming shinobi.
To be continued.
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