"Seriously… it's already this late. Aren't you leaving yet?" Hidan decided to strike first.
Shinji chuckled and forced a pained expression onto his face.
"Don't worry about me. My leg cramped. I need to rest for a bit. You go ahead—I'll catch up."
Hidan: "..."
Damn it!
He didn't know exactly why, but at that moment Hidan was absolutely certain that Shinji had the same idea as him.
And that pissed him off even more.
"It's fine. I'll wait for you."
"No need to wait. Just go out first."
"I'm not leaving."
"Then neither am I."
Everyone around them: "..."
These two… might seriously have something wrong with their heads.
The completely ignored High Priest Takihata suddenly darkened his expression, almost laughing in anger.
"Fine. If neither of you wants to come out, then stay in there!"
"Leave a few people here to watch them. If either of them tries to get out, knock them back in!"
"And every hour, draw blood from them. The experimental data must continue. Don't stop recording it."
"Yes, High Priest!"
The people left behind immediately showed sinister smiles.
Not coming out, huh?
Fine.
Let's see how long you last once we start draining your blood dry.
After High Priest Takihata left with the others, Shinji and Hidan both felt the muscles on their faces twitch slightly.
But neither was willing to admit defeat.
After all, they both possessed immortality. Drawing a few tubes of blood wouldn't kill them.
However…
Six hours quickly passed.
Hidan and Shinji still showed no intention of leaving.
But both of their faces had turned extremely pale.
Obviously, this was the result of repeated blood extraction, combined with soaking in the hot spring for far too long.
At this point, both of them were already suffering from severe dizziness and blurred vision.
Just then, one of the cult members walked over holding a syringe as thick as a child's arm, grinning darkly.
"It's time again. So… are you two going to come out now and apologize to the High Priest? Or would you like to contribute a little more of your precious blood?"
He deliberately emphasized the word precious.
After all, using such a thick syringe five times already, there couldn't be much blood left.
Of course it was precious.
A normal person would have already been drained to death.
Only because these two had unusual constitutions—producing blood several times faster than ordinary people—and possessed immortality had they managed to survive this long.
But if they kept going, the next step might be drawing brain fluid from their skulls.
As the familiar blood-drawing ritual approached again, Hidan's pale face even turned slightly green.
But surrendering like this?
He couldn't accept it.
"You're still holding on? I think you're already done for." The dizzy Hidan couldn't help but test Shinji.
Shinji forced a relaxed smile.
"It feels pretty nice. I'm about to fall asleep. The only problem is the water isn't hot enough."
Hidan didn't believe a single word.
Still, he stubbornly boasted back.
"Yeah. When I was six years old, I could already swim in freshly boiled water."
Damn it—why didn't it boil you alive then?
Your lies aren't even following logic anymore!
Shinji snorted.
"Ever drunk magma before? The taste… incredible."
Hidan's mouth twitched.
Drinking magma? Your face would melt off!
"I'll count to three. Let's go out together, okay?" Hidan tried again.
"Sure."
"1… 2… 3!"
"..."
An amusing scene appeared.
Neither of them moved.
At the same time, they both gave each other disdainful looks, as if saying:
"I knew you wouldn't keep your word!"
"Why didn't you leave?"
"You didn't move either."
Hidan was completely out of options now.
Clearly that bastard Shinji had already decided to drag this out to the bitter end.
So in the end, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and squeezed out a single word.
"Draw."
Shinji was even more straightforward.
Without saying a word, he simply extended his arm.
Draw it then.
Who's afraid?!
Damn it.
The cultist holding the syringe actually felt a bit impressed at this point.
But his hands moved quickly as he and another person began drawing blood again.
However, as he worked, he started noticing something strange.
Why wasn't the syringe filling up anymore?
When he looked back—
Shinji had tilted his head to the side.
He had stopped breathing.
His skin had shriveled, as if completely drained.
All his blood had been drawn out.
He looked like a corpse.
"Well… if all the blood is gone and the person is dead, of course nothing more will come out."
The cultist jumped in fright.
"Something's wrong! Go inform the High Priest immediately!"
Someone immediately ran off to find High Priest Takihata.
"What should we do now?" another cultist asked nervously.
He had just finished drawing blood from Hidan, and the syringe in his hand—filled to the brim—almost slipped to the ground.
If something really went wrong…
Even cutting them into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough punishment.
Before their miracle could be replicated, Hidan and Shinji were worth more than half the Jashin Cult combined.
How could they not be terrified?
"What do you mean what should we do?! Pull them out of the water!"
"Especially Hidan—we absolutely can't let anything happen to him!"
"R-right! Save them!"
The two of them hurriedly began dragging the bodies out.
At this moment, a faint smile of genuine happiness appeared on Hidan's pale face.
And he didn't resist when they carried him out.
Because in the end—
Lord Hidan had still won.
Shinji… Shinji…
You bastard finally lost today.
However—
Hidan celebrated too early.
Just as he thought everything had already been decided—
His eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"No! You cheated! Let me go—let me—!"
In Hidan's furious shout—
Shinji, who had supposedly been drained dry and left in a state of suspended death, suddenly shoved away the cultist who was about to carry him out.
Then he deliberately fell backward—
Landing right back into the hot spring.
The corners of his lips curled upward slightly.
Looking at Hidan, he silently mouthed two words:
"Farewell."
By the time Hidan realized this entire situation had likely been Shinji's scheme, it was already too late.
The cultists, afraid something might happen to Hidan again, ignored his weak struggle completely.
With just a little force—
They carried him fully out of the hot spring.
In that instant, Hidan froze.
Like a melted wax statue.
He had lost.
In the end… he had actually lost.
And in such a ridiculous way.
"Shinji Akagi! That was dishonorable!"
Hidan desperately wanted to shout those words.
But a loss was a loss.
In a brutal life-or-death battle, no one cared whether you attacked from behind or used underhanded tricks.
Because in the end—
Only the one still standing… still alive… was the true winner.
But the thing Hidan couldn't understand most was this:
Why did Shinji still have the strength to break free?
They had soaked in the hot spring for so long.
And had so much blood drawn…
Wait.
If he remembered correctly—
During the last blood extraction, very little blood had actually come out of Shinji.
Everyone had simply been fooled by his appearance.
After finally realizing why he had lost, Hidan could no longer hold on.
His vision went black—
And he fainted.
At that moment, Shinji finally heard the system's notification announcing the mission's completion.
He let out a long breath of relief.
At the end, he had indeed played a little trick.
Using the properties of Blood Manipulation, he forcibly controlled the blood inside his body so it couldn't be drawn out.
This allowed him to create the illusion that he had died.
Because given the importance of both himself and Hidan, even if the people nearby suspected he might not actually be dead, they would still panic—afraid of taking responsibility.
That reaction created the opportunity he needed.
If he used this trick too early, people would notice and it wouldn't fool anyone.
If he used it too late, he might lose the strength to break free and lose everything.
Fortunately—
His judgment had been correct.
And it worked.
At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps sounded in the distance, accompanied by High Priest Takihata's furious voice.
"What are you all standing around for?! Get them out of there immediately!"
Not wanting to face the furious cult leader right now, Shinji relaxed his mind and allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness as well.