"What are you thinking about?"
Kakashi noticed that Ryosuke had been deep in thought the whole way.
"I'm thinking, why do these cultists kill people?"
Hugging little pig Tonton, Shizune tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Cultists… are just lunatics. What else could it be for? Just madness… right?"
"They are indeed mad. But a madman is not an idiot, a madman has their own logical system."
"When they kill people, it's either to vent their inner desire for slaughter, this is for emotional satisfaction."
"Or it's to carry out some kind of ritual, this is to realize their ideal."
"Considering they belong to the 'Cult of the Evil God,' I'll put the latter first. This group of enemies has mastered long-distance curse-killing abilities. Whether this ability complements their ritual of killing people, that is to say…"
Ryosuke said, "The more people they kill, the stronger their ritual becomes."
Tsunade pointed at the wound on her chest that kept healing and tearing open. "Isn't this strong enough already?"
Ryosuke shook his head.
"They could only curse-kill you after coming into contact with you."
"We've been by your side, and everyone can feel that peeping from the shadows, but neither Kakashi nor I, nor even Shizune, who's been with you the longest, have been curse-killed."
"This means that to curse-kill us, they most likely need some kind of medium."
Tsunade had considered this as well.
But that day, before fighting the cultists, she had gotten drunk and vomited all over the place.
During the fight, she had bled a little.
After it was over, she even spat in the direction the cultists had fled.
As for which one was the "medium"… Tsunade gave an awkward dry laugh. She really couldn't tell.
"What do you mean by 'getting stronger and stronger'?" Kakashi asked.
Ryosuke said, "For example, needing no medium at all. Just knowing the other person's appearance and name, writing it in a notebook, and then curse-killing them to death… that sort of thing."
The other three people and one pig widened their eyes.
Ryosuke waved his hand. "This is just my guess, don't take it seriously. I just think, they must have a purpose for killing people."
Specializing in killing young people.
Making Tsunade keep getting injured and healing again.
All of it pointed to one thing, 'Life energy.'
'After absorbing such a vast amount of life energy, what exactly does the Cult of the Evil God intend to do?'
"I can't take it anymore."
Tsunade's voice broke Ryosuke's train of thought.
From afternoon until night, the others were fine, but Tsunade's body couldn't take it.
Her complexion had worsened again. Even if Katsuyu's healing could keep her alive, twenty-four hours of unending "piercing-heart, gouging-bone" agony was enough to drive anyone insane.
She needed rest.
———
"They've gone to an inn with hot springs."
"Tsunade and her small-fry underling are soaking in the hot springs with that pig. Hatake Kakashi is there too… soaking in the men's bath. Probably acting as a bodyguard. Right, he's holding a copy of Icha Icha Paradise."
"Ryosuke left the inn alone."
The Left Protector, Right Protector, and the Saintess exchanged information and set their tactics.
"I'll deal with Kakashi."
The Saintess said, "Icha Icha Paradise, just the name tells me it's indecent. I only need to seduce him a little, and he'll slip up. Then I can collect his blood."
The Left Protector nodded. "Then the two of us will deal with Ryosuke. I've heard he's a vicious criminal guilty of all sorts of evil, but he's relatively gentle toward children. We'll disguise ourselves as children and find a way to get his blood."
The three looked at each other, their gazes firm. They pressed their palms together.
"Empty the flesh, return home in death."
The Left and Right Protectors turned and left, leaving the Saintess alone.
She entered the hot spring inn and easily stole a staff uniform.
When Kakashi was soaking in the bath, she gently knocked and said, "Guest, a gentleman with the name Ryosuke has booked a massage for you. May I come in?"
Enjoying the electric fan inside, Kakashi froze for half a second. Then the door opened a crack, revealing a dainty pink foot, a slender ankle, the graceful curve of a calf, and further up…
No more could be seen.
Kakashi glanced at the Saintess's faintly elegant smile, scratched his head. 'That Ryosuke guy… suddenly so polite…'
'Well, it'd be rude to refuse.'
Kakashi lay down on the bed.
The Saintess came over, kneeling at his side. A faint lily fragrance wafted over, pleasant to smell.
She took out a hair tie, tied up her long hair, and softly said, "Guest, then I'll begin."
Kakashi hummed, closed his eyes, and his nose twitched, as if taking in her scent.
'Truly a perverted lecher.'
The Saintess's gaze at Kakashi held no contempt, only deep pity.
'Poor man, trapped between life and carnal desire. Hatake Kakashi… don't worry, I will save you, so you can enjoy the peace of death.'
A blood-collecting needle appeared in her palm.
This was a special tool of the Cult of the Evil God. The needle was extremely fine and dense, coated with anesthetic, piercing the body caused only the faintest prick, lighter than a mosquito bite.
Normally it might be noticeable, but during a massage, it wouldn't raise the slightest suspicion.
In a head-on fight, the Saintess was no match for Hatake Kakashi. But killing and fighting… were two different things.
After a few minutes of massage, the Saintess slid the blood needle into Kakashi's back. After a brief pause, she drew a drop of blood, without Kakashi reacting at all.
Just a few more minutes to finish the act, and she could leave.
To her, Kakashi was already a dead man.
'I wonder how the Left and Right Protectors are doing?'
———
Ryosuke was strolling through the town market, flanked by stalls selling local specialties and gifts. He looked like a tourist picking out souvenirs.
There were plenty of other tourists like him. The "Ghost God Murder Incident" was terrifying, but since they'd already come all this way, they weren't going to hide indoors over a one-in-ten-thousand chance.
"Big brother, buy a bouquet of flowers."
Two "children" in headscarves approached with a bunch of roses.
They were none other than the Left and Right Protectors, using the cult's secret technique to disguise themselves. Seeing Ryosuke about to refuse, they hurried to say the excuse they had prepared,
"Big brother, we haven't eaten yet, we're just waiting to sell these flowers so we can buy food. Please, buy one."
Seeing Ryosuke reach for money, the two were delighted and quickly handed him a bunch of roses.
The rose stems had many thorns, handling them often led to small pricks.
The Left Protector skillfully hid the blood needle among them, stabbing it into the back of Ryosuke's hand.
Click!
'Blood, acquired.'
Behind his fake childlike face, the Left Protector's eyes were cold as he stared at Ryosuke.
'The so-called invincible Ryosuke… is nothing special after all.'
'From this moment, your life is over.'
Carrying Ryosuke's drop of blood, the two slipped into the flow of tourists and vanished.
Ryosuke held the roses, narrowing his eyes at their retreating backs.
Before long, the town's bell tolled.
Residents glanced at the clock tower. "It's not the hour yet, why ring the bell?"
———
Hearing the bell, the Saintess's lips curled into a smile.
It was their signal, three chimes meant the Left and Right Protectors had succeeded in getting Ryosuke's blood.
"Guest, our time's up. Should I be going?" the Saintess asked, starting to rise.
Suddenly, Kakashi caught her hand, lazily asking, "Why are you doing this?"
"Why…? For work, of course."
The Saintess didn't want to waste words on a man about to die.
Kakashi didn't let go. "I thought you'd say, you have a gambling father, a sick mother, and a younger brother in school."
"Guest, you must be joking. How could anyone have such a tragic life?"
"Yeah, impossible. But..."
Kakashi pushed up his forehead protector, revealing a slowly rotating Sharingan.
"Since you don't have such a tragic life, why choose to be a cultist?"
Realizing her cover was blown, the Saintess instantly tossed the blood vial into her mouth, bit down to shatter it, letting Kakashi's blood flow into her mouth.
At the same time, she stripped off her clothes, when they fell to the floor, they formed a strange ritual pattern.
Drawing a dagger from her waist, she aimed for her heart, but froze, losing control of her body.
She saw the slowly rotating three tomoe.
'Sharingan!'
'The power of the Sharingan!'
"When did you see through me?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"You smell of lilies, but the streets in this district only grow lilacs. That means you're not the masseuse from this inn. Besides…"
Kakashi rubbed his sore shoulder. "Your massage technique is really bad."
The Saintess was silent, coldly staring at Kakashi, then gave a soft laugh.
"Catch me, kill me, I don't care. My companions have already succeeded."
"Ryosuke will be dead soon."
———
At the same time, the Left and Right Protectors, carrying Ryosuke's blood, arrived at an old abandoned warehouse.
A cultist had already drawn a ritual array and painted their entire body in black and white, awaiting death.
The Left Protector carefully handed him the blood vial and sincerely congratulated him, "Congratulations on going home."
"Same to you. I'll be waiting for you in the embrace of the Evil God."
The cultist took the vial, drew a steel needle from his waist, pressed it to his chest, eyes full of feverish devotion to death.
"All for… the Evil God!"
He shouted, opened the vial, and poured Ryosuke's drop of blood into his mouth.
The next second, pop! A sharp explosion rang out. The Left and Right Protectors flinched in shock. When they came to, the chosen cultist was bleeding from all seven orifices, collapsing to the ground with a thud.
"What happened?!"
"How did he die?!"
The Left Protector, being closest, saw it vaguely, it seemed that the drop of blood in the cultist's mouth had come alive, pierced through the roof of his mouth into his brain, and then...
BOOM!
"This Ryosuke… what kind of monster is he? No… he's beyond the scope of a monster."
A chill ran through the Left Protector.
"An evil spirit! He's an evil spirit!"
He took a step back, bumping into someone.
A faint scent of roses drifted over.
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