If there were a keen biologist in the Land of Rivers right now, they would discover that the number of toads within its borders seemed to have increased significantly lately.
Deep within the Land of Rivers, on the edge of a small town about ten kilometers from the capital, a toad leaped out of a muddy puddle formed by the recent rain.
Unlike ordinary toads, its eyes held a trace of human-like intelligence.
After tilting its head and scanning the area to confirm there was no danger or anyone else around, it suddenly opened its mouth wide.
Accompanied by the stretching of mucus within its throat, an arm first reached out from its mouth. Then, pressing against the ground, a burly figure squeezed eerily out of this tiny toad.
The newcomer had long white hair and wore a red vest over a ninja outfit. He had red face paint on his cheeks, wore a pair of wooden sandals of the same color, and his forehead protector bore the large character for "Oil."
This man was Jiraiya, who had used the "Hiding in a Toad" technique to infiltrate the heart of the Land of Rivers—the territory controlled by the Jashin Religion—to gather intelligence.
So this is the Jashin Religion's territory?
He raised his hand, looking at the small town before him.
It was currently evening, and trails of cooking smoke were drifting up over the town.
Perhaps due to his absolute confidence in his infiltration method, Jiraiya did not hesitate and immediately walked toward the town.
On the way, he encountered a caravan preparing to enter. Jiraiya went with the flow, using the Transformation Jutsu to turn into an honest-looking farmer, blending into the group to enter the town.
Calling it a caravan was a stretch; it was actually several dozen refugees in rags, driving two donkeys pulling some goods. Most of the members were simply walking on their own two feet.
Due to prolonged exposure to the elements, these refugees looked quite unhealthy. Their clothes were torn, and their shoe soles were worn away, with many walking barefoot.
Yet, despite these harsh conditions, Jiraiya felt a sense of hope emanating from them.
It was difficult for him to describe the feeling, but he could clearly sense that these people were not walking in a numb trance. Instead, they were moving forward full of hope, carrying some kind of faith.
This hope, contrasted with their current plight, gave Jiraiya a strong sense of dissonance and an inexplicable unease.
At the entrance of the town, several members of the Jashin Religion were conducting routine inspections.
These official members of the Jashin Religion were known as "Divine Guards," responsible for maintaining order in the Divine Kingdom and managing the ordinary followers.
As the caravan approached, the so-called Divine Guards stationed at the town entrance began questioning them.
"Our Lord be praised. What brings you here?"
Several Divine Guards surrounded the caravan and began checking the goods.
The leader of the caravan was a middle-aged man. He placed one hand over his heart, looked toward the distant old capital, and said with a face full of piety, "We are traveling to the Holy City to worship our Lord!"
"It was Lord Jashin who granted us food and new life. No matter what, we must come to pay our respects."
"It would be even better if we could be chosen as Divine Guards by the Divine Priests to serve before Lord Jashin."
It was a very normal reason.
After all, the Divine Kingdom had been recruiting heavily lately, and many followers had traveled thousands of miles to the Holy City to undergo selection.
After speaking, the leader piously raised the hand that had been over his heart and shouted, "Praise be to our Lord!"
As soon as he said this, all the refugees in the caravan showed expressions of yearning and shouted in unison, "Praise be to our Lord!"
The Divine Guards in front of them quickly pressed their palms to their hearts as well, saying piously, "Praise be to our Lord!"
Even Jiraiya, hidden within the caravan, had to perform the gesture and echo the sentiment.
Throughout this process, he had been observing the expressions on everyone's faces. To his surprise, he found there wasn't a hint of insincerity; instead, it seemed they truly worshipped this "Jashin" who sounded like anything but a good god!
This made Jiraiya feel a bit uncomfortable. He had originally thought these people only chose to rely on the Jashin Religion out of a necessity to survive...
Has the Jashin Religion used some special method to control their hearts?
Jiraiya's brow furrowed into a knot.
But as an elite ninja, he possessed enough professional skill to temporarily suppress his various emotions and act as naturally as possible.
Soon, the inspection ended. The goods these believers carried were just ordinary food and clothing, nothing special.
As for their identities?
In these chaotic times, there was no such thing as identity; as long as you were a follower of the Lord, you were family.
The exploitation and bribery Jiraiya had expected to see never occurred.
It was as if this inspection truly was just for security, rather than an excuse to generate revenue...
Even Jiraiya, an unidentified middle-aged farmer, faced no trouble. In fact, seeing that Jiraiya had no goods, the Divine Guards even informed him that he could go to the church in the center of town to receive clothing and food.
After thanking them sincerely, the confusion in Jiraiya's heart only deepened.
What is going on?
How does this Jashin Religion look more honest and clean than most of the countries I've traveled through?
As he walked into the town, Jiraiya became even more certain of his thoughts.
Under the rule of the Jashin Religion, the entire town was indeed in a state of peace and order. Everyone carried a sense of respect for that Jashin, hoping they might enter the deity's Divine Kingdom.
"This is truly strange..."
Jiraiya gazed at the town, which was incredibly peaceful under the cover of night, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
Along the way, the entire Land of Rivers had been in turmoil, yet the places ruled by the Jashin Religion were the most stable. This dealt a massive blow to his preconceived notions.
Jiraiya walked into a tavern in the town.
It was called a tavern, but it was just a simple room selling some beer.
He casually ordered a beer and found a table to chat with people, quickly gathering quite a bit of intelligence.
For example, the composition of the Divine Kingdom.
First was Jashin, the "Lord" of all followers and the deity they worshipped.
Besides Jashin, they also worshipped three Great Apostles: "Desire," "Fear," and "Hatred."
These three Apostles each had their own statues and received offerings from all followers.
Like Jashin, these three Apostles did not descend into the world unless absolutely necessary and did not participate in the actual management of the religion.
Beneath the Jashin and the Apostles were the three Divine Priests: "Death," "War," and "Plague."
These three Divine Priests were extremely powerful and held actual authority, responsible for managing all Divine Guards and handling everything within the Holy City.
"I heard that besides the three Divine Priests, the Great Lord personally selected two Divine Sons!" a follower said drunkenly.
"Divine Sons?"
Jiraiya immediately pricked up his ears to listen.
"That's right. They say these two Divine Sons are the successors personally chosen by the Lord. The Lord will choose one of them to inherit His power and serve as His vessel to walk the human world!"
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately drew sounds of envy from others in the tavern.
"I wish I could become the Lord's vessel too!"
"Hahaha, keep dreaming. Is there anyone here who wouldn't want to offer everything to the Lord and enter the Lord's Divine Kingdom?"
"Praise be to our Lord!"
"Praise be to our Lord!"
Amidst the wave of praise, Jiraiya could only voice his agreement once more, otherwise, he would have looked out of place.
Jiraiya swirled the beer in his hand but didn't drink it for a long time. The fanatical atmosphere around him made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He hadn't expected that the so-called Jashin's influence on these people was already so deep that everyone was willing to give up their lives and offer their souls and bodies for him.
But this shouldn't be possible...
Why did this cult have such terrifying appeal?
No, I must have overlooked something...
Jiraiya tapped his finger on the table while reflecting on the things he might have missed.
It wasn't until the food was placed in front of him that a bolt of lightning finally flashed through his mind!
He finally realized what he had overlooked...
Food!
In such chaotic times, the most precious thing was undoubtedly food.
Only with an ample food supply can you maintain stability and the lives of the people; otherwise, riots and disasters break out, just like in other parts of the Land of Rivers.
But the war in the Land of Rivers had been going on for over a year. A vast amount of farmland within the country had been destroyed, with no harvests at all. Why did the Jashin Religion, rooted in the Land of Rivers, still have such an abundant food supply?
They could even provide it to these followers for free?
Thinking of this, Jiraiya seemed to have finally found the breakthrough to this anomaly.
After settling the bill, he immediately walked into a dark alley. Using the Transformation Jutsu to change his appearance again, he arrived at the church mentioned by the Divine Guards and saw the Jashin and Apostles enshrined within.
The former was still a faceless statue, solemn yet appearing somewhat eerie.
As for the Apostles, they were:
"Desire"—a massive mountain of flesh growing wildly.
"Fear"—a large, majestic eyeball.
"Hatred"—a white-haired figure with wings on its back.
These three statues matched the images in Jiraiya's mind one by one, confirming some of his suspicions.
Next, he took a portion of free food and clothing as a refugee. After declining the Priest's kind offer of a place to stay, he found an empty space.
Ensuring no one was around, Jiraiya immediately used the Summoning Jutsu to call the two Sages of Mount Myoboku, Fukasaku and Shima, to this location.
Sage Shima was a purple female toad with a tuft of purple hair on her head that resembled human curls.
As soon as she appeared, she asked, "Little Jiraiya, calling both of us at once—is there something urgent?"
Sage Fukasaku was a green male toad. He was entirely green, except for a tuft of white hair on his head and two long white eyebrows. He was currently scanning the surroundings warily.
These two Sages of Mount Myoboku were very small in size; compared to the brothers like Gamabunta and Gamahiro, they were worlds apart. However, the aura emanating from them was not weak at all.
Seeing this, Jiraiya quickly said, "Big Brother Fukasaku, don't worry. I've already scouted the area; there's no danger."
Upon hearing Jiraiya's signal, Sage Fukasaku relaxed slightly, though his furrowed brow did not smooth out. "Old lady, do you feel a very strange aura in the air?"
He turned to look at Jiraiya. "Where is this, Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya's heart sank as he answered truthfully, "This is the heart of the Land of Rivers, and the territory of the Jashin Religion."
"The Jashin Religion? The organization from the Great Lord's prophecy that would destroy the world? No wonder there is such a dangerous aura."
Sage Fukasaku once again took on a defensive posture.
As a member of Mount Myoboku, he knew the weight of the Great Toad Sage's prophecies and thus was even more cautious.
At this time, Sage Shima also nodded. "Jiraiya, why did you call us here this time?"
Jiraiya opened the lunch box in his hand and asked the two Sages, "I'm concerned about whether there is something wrong with the Jashin Religion's food, so I need you two to help me take a look."
These two were Sages who could freely control natural energy; perhaps they could help him spot some clues.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, both Fukasaku and Shima put on serious expressions and carefully inspected the lunch box in his hands.
As Jiraiya opened the box, an exquisite meal was revealed to them.
Fluffy white rice balls, crisp green vegetables, a golden and inviting tamagoyaki, and even a small piece of crispy tonkatsu and tempura...
Could you really enjoy this kind of food so easily during a war?
Clearly, looks of deep doubt appeared on the faces of the two Sages.
They clapped their hands together, and after absorbing some natural energy, they used Sage Art Chakra to investigate.
Soon, Fukasaku's brow knitted together.
"Something's wrong. Little Jiraiya, this food isn't right."
Jiraiya's heart jolted. As expected!
"What is it?"
Fukasaku maintained his hands-clasped posture and suddenly shouted, "Release!"
A portion of Sage Art Chakra was released from him, spreading out into the surrounding space like a ripple, as if pushing out a spherical space in the water large enough to hold Jiraiya and themselves.
As the ripple of Sage Art Chakra passed over, the exquisite lunch box in Jiraiya's hand instantly turned into a piece of old tree bark.
The snow-white rice balls inside had turned into dense clusters of insect eggs, the green vegetables were actually rotten leaves, and the tamagoyaki was a plump, large white maggot...
Even Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a surge of nausea, dropping the box directly onto the ground.
Shima, however, looked a bit regretful, since insects were part of their diet anyway.
Of course, they wouldn't dream of eating the Jashin Religion's food.
"How is this happening?"
Jiraiya looked at the insects still wriggling on the ground, his face full of disgust, followed by a chilling sensation in his heart.
He couldn't imagine—with so many followers in the entire Jashin Religion, was everyone feeding on these insects and tree bark?