Haku devoured the bowl of noodles like a fierce wind sweeping away autumn leaves.
Under the constant pursuit of those mercenaries over the years, Haku had always been in a state of starvation. He even had to remain fully alert while sleeping, because he never knew when a mercenary trying to assassinate him might suddenly appear to take his life.
Conversely, now that Haku had confirmed Simu possessed power he could not resist, he actually felt relieved instead and thoroughly enjoyed a solid meal.
After eating and drinking his fill, Haku finally raised his beautiful eyes to look at Simu.
"I wonder what I can do to serve you?"
Carrying a tragic fate, Haku knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Furthermore, a powerful individual like the one in front of him would not go through so much trouble to find him and offer help unless there was a need for him.
Despite this, Haku did not feel any aversion toward this purposeful assistance, because it allowed him to feel that he was valuable and needed.
Being valuable meant his stay in this world still had meaning.
Simu's gaze was very deep, seemingly able to pierce through Haku's current inner thoughts.
"Haku, join the Jashin Religion."
"I can provide you with a path to become stronger and a guarantee for survival."
He extended his palm with a smile, his words carrying an inexplicable power, as if he never thought the other party would refuse him from the very beginning.
Furthermore, facts proved that Haku indeed had no intention of refusing Simu.
"Deal."
Although Haku did not know what kind of thing the Jashin Religion was, this did not stop him from seeking a reliance.
No matter how this organization actually was, it was always better than wandering the Shinobi World alone and fighting single-handedly.
Furthermore, Haku's gaze suddenly shifted toward Sasuke.
An organization capable of cultivating a guy like this should not be lacking in strength.
Just like that, Haku joined the Jashin Religion in an unexpectedly simple manner.
Furthermore, at Simu's request, he joined the training of the trio consisting of Sasuke, Gaara, and Kimimaro.
Since Simu possessed a broken ability to replicate bodies and perform soul transfers, the team would hold a special combat training session every month.
In these special battles, no one on the team needed to consider the death or injury of their teammates.
They only needed to treat the other party as a real enemy, treat this training as a real slaughter, use all their hidden cards, use every method available, and kill the opponent.
This could maximize the simulation of a real battlefield, and it could also allow them to achieve true growth!
In this kind of training, dying together became a frequent occurrence.
Of course, the one with the highest frequency of dying together was still Sasuke Uchiha.
Because at this time, his surface strength was far inferior to Gaara and Kimimaro.
Although he had the assistance of the Sharingan, Sasuke did not have enough powerful ninjutsu to break through Gaara's defense.
The latter's large-scale field control skills could effectively affect Sasuke's movements and complete the kill.
In comparison, Sasuke fared a bit better when fighting Kimimaro.
However, his flaw remained obvious, which was his insufficient ability to break defenses.
Once Kimimaro used bones to cover his entire body, Sasuke's attacks could hardly take effect.
Furthermore, although the Sharingan could capture the opponent's speed, Sasuke's body could not quite keep up with his reaction speed, making it very easy for him to be counter-killed by Kimimaro.
Therefore, almost every time a battle reached the end, Sasuke would be forced to release the power sealed within his body, dying together with the two of them in a berserk state.
Of course, with every release, Sasuke's control over this power would grow a fraction stronger.
As for Haku, who was a teammate, he was completely dumbfounded by the sight.
What a joke, whose teammates train with death as the conclusion?!
Since Simu had not yet fully analyzed the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, he temporarily could not perfectly clone Haku's body. Therefore, Haku only participated in regular training and did not join this bloody slaughter.
Despite this, the life-and-death combat of Sasuke and the others still brought an immense shock to him.
"Don't worry, once the shopkeeper masters the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, you will also join this bloody trial."
The ones slaughtering each other in the arena right now were Sasuke and Kimimaro, and Gaara came to Haku's side to speak flatly.
Hearing this, Haku tightened the clothes on his body. "Is that so? I really hope this day arrives a bit slower."
Furthermore, the reason Simu made no progress on the Ice Style for a long time was largely due to the two Tailed Beasts captured from the Hidden Mist.
On an island located in the deep sea, Simu, Hidan, and Sasori, all wearing the Akatsuki organization uniform, appeared together here.
"This ghostly place is really cold."
Hidan wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his shoulders from time to time.
"In this place, the people of the Hidden Mist Village should not be able to discover us."
Sasori looked around. The surroundings of the island were all boundless ocean, and the straight-line distance from the Land of Water exceeded 150 kilometers. Even if a Tailed Beast Bomb exploded here, the Hidden Mist Village would probably find it very difficult to notice.
In addition, Simu had released a large number of ravens and Black Beetles around the area. Once anyone approached, they would immediately issue an alert.
After confirming the surrounding environment was safe, Simu clapped his hands together.
Two white insects drilled out from the ground, subsequently spitting out the two Jinchuriki, Yagura Karatachi and Utakata, from their mouths together.
What made Simu feel a bit regretful was that neither of these two Jinchuriki had any intention of joining the Jashin Religion.
Upon discovering he had been controlled for many years and had caused irreparable damage to the Hidden Mist Village, Yagura Karatachi bent on seeking death. Even when Simu used hatred to entice him to deal with Tobi, it did not work.
Utakata felt he had already been controlled for so many years and did not want to join the Jashin Religion to become a weapon for them.
Regarding this, Simu did not force them either.
Although he possessed more than one way to control them and make them obediently serve him, it was meaningless.
What Simu cared about was the blossoming of the soul. Once they suffered his control, their souls would be like imprisoned birds, and a soul that lost its freedom was worthless.
Therefore, Simu prepared to let them burn through their final value.
As the Mangekyo Sharingan activated, the genjutsu applied to their bodies was finally undone.
The moment Yagura Karatachi woke up, he wanted to launch an attack on Simu, but he was batted away by Sasori's puppet next to Simu.
Utakata's reaction was a bit slower, but he likewise displayed an extremely wary expression toward Simu.
"Rest assured, you two, I will not use genjutsu to control you again."
Simu pushed his glasses up, guaranteeing with a genial smile on his face.
"Since you do not want to join the Jashin Religion, then please complete your final mission as Jinchuriki."
"The final mission?"
Yagura Karatachi's brow furrowed. Sensing danger, he rapidly mobilized the chakra in his body, preparing to face the battle.
Utakata did the same.
Originally losing the meaning of life, his mind began to become active again upon discovering this was an island.
If he could escape into the sea, he might not be without hope of regaining freedom!
The corners of Simu's mouth curved slightly, revealing a subtle smile on his face as he said, "That's right, complete your mission as Jinchuriki."
Just as he finished speaking, Sasori pulled a scroll out from his long robe.
As a large amount of smoke dispersed, densely packed puppets flew out from within the scroll, almost filling the entire sky.
At this time, Sasori had already completed the sublimation of his art with Simu's help.
His soul and body were both condensed into a heart of flesh and blood. Whether it was tentacles or chakra threads, they could all be released from this heart of flesh and blood, sufficient to allow him to precisely operate over 200 puppets at the same time!
It could be said that it was already very difficult to call him a human being now.
Of course, among the three people present, there did not seem to be a single one who could be called a human being.
"Next, let you all properly appreciate eternal art."
Sasori did not have many words, but this was after all his first official battle after the sublimation of his art, so he still needed some sense of ritual.
As a large number of chakra threads shot out from his back, the hundreds of puppets hovering in mid-air danced flexibly as if they possessed life.
This included Sasori's ten main puppets, with the Third Kazekage among them!
Among these ten puppets, the Third Kazekage was Kage-level, and the other nine were all elites among Jonin, being considerably powerful when cooperating.
"Sasori of the Red Sand!"
As the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi immediately recognized the red-haired youth in front of him.
However, this number of hundreds of puppets still caused a huge shock to his inner mind.
He had never seen puppets in such quantity, let alone such a puppeteer!
"Are you kidding me, so many puppets."
A trace of paleness likewise surfaced on Utakata's handsome face. The scene of these more than 200 puppets appearing together was simply too oppressive.
Seeing this, Yagura Karatachi could only offer words of encouragement and comfort. "Don't worry, there is a limit to the number of puppets a puppeteer can control. When the quantity increases, the corresponding control precision will drop. We just need to find the right opportunity to deal with the puppeteer's main body."
As the Fourth Mizukage and a perfect Jinchuriki, Yagura Karatachi still had a lot of confidence in his own strength.
The premise was to not look at those terrifying eyes again.
Yagura Karatachi had already made up his mind absolutely not to look into anyone's eyes.
Similarly, he also informed Utakata, who was also a Jinchuriki, of this precaution.
"I understand."
Utakata nodded, still having lingering fears regarding the previous experience of being controlled by Simu.
Although fighting while deliberately avoiding the opponent's eyes had some difficulty, it was better than being controlled by someone.
Sasori did not intend to give them time to continue discussing. With a gentle shudder of his body, the more than 200 puppets launched a terrifying assault at the two Jinchuriki like fish in the air.
Any part of these puppets' bodies was a fearsome weapon.
You never knew from which place they would launch an attack on you.
A harmless-looking chest or arm might eject a sharp blade or countless senbon to take your life in the next second.
Regarding this situation, Yagura Karatachi rapidly made a choice.
"Don't let these guys get close!"
After saying that, he rapidly executed a Water Style ninjutsu.
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
A large amount of water condensed from Yagura Karatachi's mouth. The moment it sprayed out, it formed densely packed high-pressure water jets, continuously blasting the incoming puppets like a Gatling gun.
Seeing this, Utakata followed the example, hurriedly spitting out a large number of bubbles that blew up violently the moment they contacted these puppets.
Whether it was the water jets or the bubble bombs, their power could not be underestimated. However, all of Sasori's puppets were built using special biological materials provided by Simu, possessing astonishing defensive power.
Therefore, after a round of strikes from Yagura Karatachi and Utakata, they only destroyed just over twenty puppets!
This was nothing to a puppet group exceeding 200 in total.
Furthermore, the ten core human puppets had not suffered any damage at all.
Without waiting for them to launch a second round of strikes, a large number of puppets swarmed up, rushing in front of them.
Countless senbon carrying lethal poison poured down, just like a rainstorm bringing death.
Seeing this, Yagura Karatachi rapidly condensed a water wall to block the incoming senbon.
Right at this moment, a black-haired puppet in the distance raised its arm, and countless iron sand under its control formed a massive black pyramid that smashed down from the sky.
The terrifying weight instantly turned into unimaginable impact force, easily smashing the water wall condensed by Yagura Karatachi to pieces!
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
A water sphere suddenly appeared. Although it was quickly smashed to pieces again, the buffer from the water sphere still bought a certain amount of escape time for Yagura Karatachi and Utakata.
They rapidly dodged out of the pyramid's attack range.
Accompanied by the final descent of the black pyramid, the entire island experienced a violent upheaval.
"Damn it, under this kind of situation, there is simply no way to use the Water Mirror Jutsu."
Yagura Karatachi's ugly expression emerged from the gradually dispersing smoke.
The Water Mirror Jutsu was a very powerful ninjutsu he created, capable of replicating the enemy's appearance and abilities to create an identical doll to fight the enemy.
However, the key to this technique was that he had to appear in front of the enemy, but under the current situation, he could not approach the enemy at all.
During his thoughts, more puppets had already surrounded them.
These puppets opened their mouths, and raging flames instantly erupted from the hidden nozzles inside, forming a sea of fire in an instant.
"Water Style: Giant Waterfall Jutsu!"
Yagura Karatachi continued to summon a large amount of water to block it.
With the assistance of the Three-Tails, his chakra volume was considerably impressive. Therefore, the water rapidly extinguished the sea of fire and even rolled back over.
But Sasori remained unmoved.
A puppet made from the body of an elite Jonin slowly formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
A massive earth wall rose up, easily intercepting the incoming water!
Not only that, but these waters also poured back and rolled toward Yagura Karatachi's side.
This was the charm of attribute suppression.
Furthermore, Sasori, who controlled a large number of human puppets simultaneously, could fully bring out the effect of attribute suppression, using targeted ninjutsu to deal with enemies.
Just like right here.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Bullet!"
Dazzling lightning flashed across the battlefield. A terrifying electric current emerged on an elite puppet, forming a lightning dragon in the air that rushed wildly along the returning water toward Yagura Karatachi.