Simu laughed dismissively. "To be precise, whether it is the bodies or the souls of these people, they were all offered to the Great Lord of their own free will."
"Allow me to correct you as well; this is a ritual for the Great Lord. I, at best, am merely the Great Lord's..."
"Simple tool."
Simu maintained his smile, looking directly into those pale purple eyes.
Although he did not know what kind of Kekkei Genkai this was, Simu could sense the terrifying power contained within those pupils.
The powerful repulsive force demonstrated just moments ago was enough to surprise Simu.
However, there is no such thing as an invincible ability in this world. No matter how great the power, it must have a flaw or a weakness.
"Again, another so-called 'god'..."
Pain's brow finally furrowed slightly.
Since stepping into this town, the name he had heard most was that of this god.
Standing beside him, Konan's expression was equally grim. Even after countless brutal battles, she still could not stomach that stench of rot originating from the soul.
Suppressing her internal revulsion, she spoke to Pain, "Do not forget our primary objective for this visit."
Pain nodded and spoke toward Simu. "I am Pain. Beside me is my companion, Konan."
"We have come here today to recruit Mr. Simu and Mr. Hidan to join the Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki?"
Simu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
His insects had never heard this name mentioned among the local population.
Furthermore, these two had appeared quite abruptly, which meant they possessed the ability to evade his insects' detection...
Is it because of those eyes?
Simu was exceptionally focused on Pain's formidable eyes.
"That is correct."
Seeing that Simu did not immediately object, Pain began to explain:
"Akatsuki is a powerful organization comprised of Rogue Ninja from various villages. Upon joining, the organization will provide you with protection. Your mission will be to assist the organization in capturing the Tailed Beasts. Ultimately, through the power of the Tailed Beasts, we will deter the great nations and achieve true peace."
"Capturing Tailed Beasts, you say?"
Simu adjusted his glasses. This man certainly had grand ambitions.
Simu had been in this world for over a year now and was no longer an ignorant newcomer. He had a fair understanding of the Tailed Beasts.
Simply put, the Tailed Beasts were the biological nuclear warheads of this world.
They were special chakra creatures, each possessing horrifying power.
After the First Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, the 'God of Shinobi' Hashirama Senju, distributed the nine Tailed Beasts among the great nations, they served as a form of weak 'nuclear deterrence' between countries through their destructive potential.
Why was it considered weak?
Because even with the threat of the Tailed Beasts, peace had not been maintained in the Shinobi World.
Following the death of Hashirama Senju, the Hidden Leaf Village was attacked by many, and up to the present, three massive wars had already occurred.
Therefore, Simu did not believe that capturing Tailed Beasts would bring about so-called peace.
"While I am interested in capturing Tailed Beasts, even if you successfully capture all nine, you cannot guarantee true peace, can you?"
Simu posed his question directly. Tailed Beasts were powerful, but with the strength of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, dealing with them was well within their capabilities.
Obviously, Pain had anticipated this question.
"What if we possessed a power even greater than the Tailed Beasts?"
This piqued Simu's interest.
"Greater than the Tailed Beasts?"
Pain nodded. "Correct. It is a power capable of destroying the entire world, provided we capture all nine Tailed Beasts first."
Now Simu understood. Pain was not planning to use the Tailed Beasts themselves to deter the nations, but intended to use them to unlock an even greater power.
However, he asked with some curiosity, "Are you not afraid that I might refuse to join and expose your secret?"
"No."
"If you choose not to join Akatsuki, there is only one outcome: death."
Pain remained expressionless, speaking as if his words were absolute truth.
Before Simu could respond, Hidan could no longer contain himself and charged forward.
"What an annoying tone! I'll take your head, you bastard!"
The Three-bladed blood scythe in his hand spun at high speeds as he rushed toward Pain with terrifying momentum.
Pain's attention remained primarily on Simu. Facing Hidan, he simply raised a palm slightly.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
Pain's raised palm erupted with a powerful gravitational force.
Hidan, mid-sprint, felt an intense pull on his body. His frame immediately flew toward Pain, completely out of his control.
After a moment of being caught off guard, Hidan broke into a wild grin. He swung his scythe, using the gravity to accelerate his strike toward Pain.
"Fool! Gravity only adds power to my attack!"
The massive, sharp Three-bladed blood scythe swung down violently. Pain's open palm suddenly flicked to the side.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Hidan felt as if he had slammed into an invisible wall. The sudden explosion of repulsive force sent him tumbling backward.
His body carved a long trench into the ground as blood sprayed from his mouth.
Watching this, Simu's eyes flickered.
The ability to manipulate gravity and repulsion...
"Cough, cough! An attack of this level can't do anything to the great Lord Hidan!"
Within seconds, Hidan crawled back onto his feet.
A flash of surprise crossed Pain's eyes.
He had first used Bansho Ten'in to accelerate Hidan, and then, at the peak of that speed, erupted with Shinra Tensei to repel him.
The combination of gravity and repulsion created damage far more complex than simply 'hitting a wall.'
Yet this man was seemingly unharmed?
Even more surprising to Pain was that the man charged again without hesitation.
After repelling Hidan five times in a row, Pain finally frowned.
"Pain, something is wrong," Konan whispered as a warning.
This man with the silver slicked-back hair was a maniac who completely ignored his own injuries. Every strike was a suicidal attempt to trade his life for a wound!
He was crazier than a madman!
Is this the Jashin Religion?
Pain raised his hand once more to knock Hidan away, speaking calmly, "Have you finished your testing yet?"
He directed these words at Simu.
Clearly, Pain viewed Hidan's rabid attacks as a way for Simu to test him.
Simu was using this rapidly regenerating pawn to probe Pain's abilities and find a weakness.
Simu smiled faintly. That was indeed his intention. Since Hidan couldn't die anyway, it was better to let him try and find a flaw in the enemy.
But for Hidan, being ignored in this manner drove him to near-madness.
"Bastard! How dare you look down on Lord Hidan!"
A strand of spider silk shot from his palm as he tried to close the distance.
Unfortunately, he was pulled directly in front of Pain by a Bansho Ten'in. A black rod slid out from the sleeves of Pain's black robe, piercing through Hidan's body and pinning him firmly to the ground.
Simu's eyebrows twitched, and his face instantly darkened.