Seven days later, Shinji Akagi finally stepped out of the confinement room and was enjoying his lunch.
Today's meal was chicken curry. The taste was pretty good, but more importantly, the portion was generous and packed with plenty of meat. As a result, he ate with genuine satisfaction.
Honestly speaking, ever since he had transmigrated and ended up staying with the Jashin Cult, life had actually been fairly peaceful and fulfilling.
Every day he trained diligently, had his blood drawn, cooperated with experiment records…
Cough.
Once you got used to those things, it was actually quite a decent life.
After all, it was still far better than the lives of those war orphans and refugees constantly struggling on the brink of death.
At the very least, his life was guaranteed, and he never had to worry about food or clothing.
Because of that, Shinji had even occasionally thought—
If he could just continue drifting along like this forever, living off the system and waiting for death, that didn't actually sound so bad.
As long as he didn't recklessly seek death, he could theoretically keep surviving like this indefinitely.
Even if aliens suddenly invaded the ninja world someday, there would still be "Narudo" and "Two-Pillars" standing at the very front holding the line.
No matter how he thought about it, the problem would never reach someone like him.
However, after carefully recalling everything he knew about the Jashin Cult, Shinji could only sigh slightly, realizing that his idea might be unrealistic.
He didn't know exactly when, but the final fate of the Jashin Cult was certain—
They were destroyed.
He vaguely remembered that in an episode of The Unburnable Chronicles, some idiot had obtained a fragment of the Jashin Cult's legacy and dreamed of gaining immortality.
By that time, the Jashin Cult had already been gone for a very long time.
Shinji didn't know how the cult had been wiped out.
His memories were too distant.
But he vaguely remembered seeing people online say that Hidan himself had sacrificed the entire cult to the Jashin God.
Honestly… that did sound like something Hidan would do.
If that day ever came, Shinji would definitely lend a helping hand.
When that happened, the seas would be wide enough for fish to leap, and the skies high enough for birds to fly.
Life would still be pretty sweet.
If High Priest Takihata ever learned what Shinji was thinking right now, he would probably grind him into dust immediately.
After all, the cult had finally produced two immortals—
And both of them turned out to be traitors.
Wasn't that a little too cruel?
Clang!
A loud noise suddenly rang out.
Shinji, who had been eating curry while sighing, suddenly raised his head.
Oh?
The sheep he'd been shearing had arrived.
Hidan had just kicked over a chair and was now glaring at him fiercely.
Clearly, the past few days of treatment, recovery, and confinement had left Hidan extremely irritated.
Because of that "mutual understanding" hot spring contest, High Priest Takihata had locked both of them up separately.
During that time, they had endured no fewer than ten sessions of ideological lectures, as the High Priest worried they might cause even bigger trouble in the future.
At the same time, the confinement had also allowed them to recover properly.
After all, immortality didn't mean they couldn't get injured.
And the state they had been in at that time…
Well.
It had been quite miserable.
Unfortunately, if Hidan didn't pick fights, then he wouldn't be Hidan.
Sure enough, the moment he was released, he started asking around and rushed over to cause trouble for Shinji.
"Yo. Eating lunch? Want to sit down and join me?"
Shinji greeted him casually while speeding up his eating.
After all, if a fight broke out later, he didn't want to go hungry.
Master Yuan had taught him long ago:
Never waste food.
"Shinji, you bastard! Die!!!"
Hidan pulled out his black spear and charged forward with clenched teeth.
Even if it meant getting locked up again, he didn't care.
The humiliation from the last loss was simply too unbearable!
However—
The moment they clashed, Hidan's expression suddenly changed.
Logically speaking, their strength should have been roughly equal.
Before their confinement, every fight between them had ended with neither side gaining the upper hand.
But this time—
Everything was completely different.
Hidan launched a flurry of attacks with his black spear.
Yet Shinji easily dodged every single one.
Not only that—
During the gaps between attacks, Shinji even had the leisure to lower his head and shovel the remaining curry rice into his mouth.
He clearly didn't take Hidan's attacks seriously at all.
"Damn it!"
Hidan gritted his teeth and increased the speed of his attacks again.
At that moment, Shinji—who had been dodging the entire time—finally raised his head.
Only then did Hidan notice something strange.
On Shinji's forehead, there was now a red mark shaped like an "X", resembling a scar dyed in blood.
Blood Manipulation: Crimson Scale Surge!
Boom!
Crash!
After placing his tray aside, Shinji threw a single punch.
Caught completely off guard, Hidan was blasted backward.
His body slammed into the wall, embedding him into it before he uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even the black spear he had been holding slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.
How is that possible?!
Hidan braced himself against the ground with both hands, disbelief filling his eyes.
It had only been a few days.
How could Shinji's strength have increased so dramatically?
Had the High Priest secretly given this bastard special training sessions while he was locked up?
Seemingly sensing Hidan's confusion, Shinji calmly explained:
"My Blood Manipulation can freely control not just blood itself, but also things like body temperature, pulse, and the components inside blood such as red blood cells."
"Just now, all I did was accelerate my blood flow."
"By doing that, I strengthened my body and increased my speed and power."
"In this state… you can't even touch the edge of my clothes."
Sliding down from the wall, Hidan refused to believe that the gap between them could have grown so large in just a few days.
Gritting his teeth, he quickly grabbed the fallen black spear again and charged at Shinji without saying a word.
Shinji shook his head slightly.
If it had been a few days ago, this fight might have turned into a fierce battle.
But after experiencing near death from blood loss—and then quietly reflecting for several days—
He had accidentally discovered a method to strengthen himself.
Just as he had said:
Accelerate blood flow to reinforce the body, increasing speed and strength.
The principle was somewhat similar to Gear Second from One Piece's Luffy, though there were differences.
The downside, however, was significant damage to his body.
Frequent use could even shorten his lifespan.
So really—
Hidan had simply chosen the worst possible moment to come looking for trouble.
Feeling the power surging through his body under Blood Manipulation: Crimson Scale Surge, Shinji decided to leave Hidan with an unforgettable memory.
He tilted his head slightly, dodging the black spear thrusting toward him.
Then his right fist shot forward like lightning.
Thud.
It struck Hidan squarely in the abdomen.
In an instant, intense pain exploded through Hidan's body.
His eyes bulged as he bent forward with a choking gasp.
And then—
Shinji's knee rapidly expanded in his vision.