Six months ago.
The Land of Hot Springs.
Two figures in straw hats walked along a mountain path that stretched to the horizon. They had crossed the snowy bridges of the Land of Iron, passed through the bustling streets of the capital, and woven through lush forests. Though weary, their eyes were full of hope.
The smaller figure, Hidan, skipped ahead of the burly man. "Master Hayato, are we almost there?"
"Almost," the man replied, a gentle smile tugging at his lips as he gazed toward his home village. "You little idiot, you've been nothing but trouble this whole trip. Chasing chickens, fighting mountain thieves... you can't even walk on water yet, but you're always meddling in other people's business!"
Hidan grinned. "But I have you! You're a Jonin of the Steam Village! You're super strong!"
Hayato sighed. "When we get back, I'll have your mistress sew you new clothes. And Ryoko... she's been nagging me to play with her big brother. Act like a man when we get home, you brat!"
"Of course! I'm going to be the man who becomes the Yagakage!"
Hayato wanted to tell him that only the Five Great Nations could use the title "Kage," but he didn't want to crush the boy's spirit. "Fine. Then tomorrow, we start training from water-walking!"
Hidan's face fell, and he playfully sprinted toward the village. But then—
BOOM!
"Yagura, give up!"
"Sorry, for the sake of the Great Cause, I cannot die here! Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive wall of water, ten meters high, rose like a prehistoric beast, swallowing everything in its path. Humans were like ants before it. Hidan's smile froze. He stumbled, caught only by Hayato's firm hand on his shoulder.
In an instant, the sky changed. Roaring waves and blue lightning tore the earth apart. The small village vanished from the world without even a whimper.
Hidan's mind went blank. Beside him, Hayato stood paralyzed, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets. After a long silence, Hidan turned to his master, his face pale and trembling. "Master... what was that? Are those the ninjas of the Great Nations?"
Hayato stared at the hellscape, at the ninjas wearing the Triple-Wave forehead protectors of the Hidden Mist. And finally, at the perpetrator: Karatachi Yagura. A man with the power of a Kage.
Hayato wanted to scream, to roar in fury, but the words died in his throat. He was terrified. He didn't dare even cast a hateful glance at them. The anger began to eat his heart from within.
Hidan pointed at the bodies floating in the water. "Master... why didn't you save them? You told me you were the strongest ninja in the Steam Village. You could have killed those Chunin and escaped, couldn't you?"
Hidan's voice broke into a sob. "Kill them! Why didn't you kill them?!"
Hayato's heart was pierced. He reached into his tool pouch, touching a pitch-black scroll he had found in a noble's tomb weeks ago—the Jashin Manual. It contained horrific, bloody rituals. It should have been destroyed.
But Hayato grabbed Hidan and fled. "Hidan, those people have nothing to do with us. Don't meddle."
Half a month later, the fires of the Third Great Ninja War spread. The Steam Village abandoned its people to protect the nobles. Hayato, pressured by war, the loss of his family, and Hidan's departure, began to spiral. Every night, he woke up hearing Hidan's voice: "Why didn't you kill them?"
Finally, on a night where even the birds were silent, Hayato opened the scroll. His face twisted into a grotesque, manic grin. He sliced his palms open, letting the blood soak the parchment.
"Kill... kill them all!" he laughed hysterically. "Ninjas, Daimyos, nobles, peasants... if life is nothing but pain, let's see whose pain is greater on the scales! WHO HURTS MORE?!"
As the wind howled through his window, Hayato's eyes glowed with the madness of total destruction.
"DIE! ALL OF YOU!" he roared. "I will curse this world! I will establish the Blood Sacrifice! KILL THE WHOLE WORLD!"