Chapter 135 (Patreon)

“Immortality—revoke.”

A faint cyan light appeared in Yujiro’s palm. At the same time, an identical glow enveloped Hidan’s body.

Several seconds later, the light surrounding Hidan gradually faded.

Yujiro smiled and asked, “How do you feel, Hidan?”

Hidan’s face had been deathly pale from the moment the technique began.

The immortal power within his body had vanished.

He could clearly sense that his immortality was gone.

He was no longer immortal!

The power bestowed upon him by the Evil God had been taken away so easily by Yujiro...

Could Yujiro truly be the god Lord Jashin had spoken of?

“Lord God!”

Hidan suddenly understood.

Yujiro was the god whom even Lord Jashin feared!

“Don’t call me Lord God. It sounds strange.” Yujiro casually waved his hand. “Just call me Lord Yujiro.”

He then activated his bestowal ability, returning Hidan’s immortality to him.

Hidan felt the change within his body, and his expression filled with shock.

“Lord Yujiro! From this day forward, I, Hidan, will follow you!”

The faith Hidan once held in Lord Jashin had completely collapsed. Now, Yujiro was the only god left in his heart.

“You want to follow me?” Yujiro smiled. “Very well. Then you’d better obey my orders.”

“The first thing you must learn is not to kill indiscriminately. I won’t forbid you from killing, but if you must take a life, then only kill those who deserve it.”

“The Cult of Jashin is now a thing of the past. Do you understand?”

“Understood!”

Hidan stared at Yujiro with almost fanatical admiration.

Not far away, Kakuzu found himself in an awkward position.

His partner had already been won over. At this rate, he would be next.

However, Kakuzu was now faced with a difficult choice.

Should he abandon the Akatsuki and serve Yujiro, or should he remain with the organization?

“Kakuzu, stop hesitating and serve Lord Yujiro!” Hidan turned toward his partner with a grin.

“You may be stupid and slow to understand things sometimes, but you should listen to me this time!”

Kakuzu took a deep breath before speaking solemnly.

“Lord Yujiro, I sincerely request permission to serve under you.”

“I don’t mind accepting you, but you’ll have to sign a contract with me first,” Yujiro replied with a faint smile.

With that, he exchanged points with the system for two contracts.

Hidan signed his without the slightest hesitation.

Kakuzu considered it for a moment before ultimately choosing to sign as well.

Did he truly have a choice?

If he refused, Kakuzu doubted he would be able to leave the cave alive.

Once the contracts were completed, Yujiro no longer had anything to worry about.

If either of them harbored thoughts of betrayal, the Chakra within their bodies would immediately be sealed, leaving them completely unable to move.

“Now tell me. Why did you come to Konoha?” Yujiro asked as he walked out of the cave and stretched his body.

“We were acting under Leader Pain’s orders. Our mission was to survey the area around Konoha and determine the best point from which to launch an attack,” Kakuzu answered in his usual deep voice.

“Furthermore, the Akatsuki has set its sights on the tailed beasts inside Konoha.”

“The Two-Tails and the Nine-Tails.”

Yujiro nodded before asking, “How many tailed beasts has the Akatsuki captured so far?”

“The One-Tail, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, Seven-Tails... and one of the Eight-Tails’ tentacles.”

Kakuzu thought back over the past two months. During that time, they had performed the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals several times.

“A tentacle from the Eight-Tails?”

Yujiro was slightly surprised.

“Yes. Tobi was the one who captured it. I don’t know what happened, but all he brought back was a single tentacle,” Kakuzu explained after a moment of thought.

“So there are only two tailed beasts remaining.”

Yujiro nodded and continued, “Do you know when the Akatsuki plans to invade?”

“I’m not certain, but judging by the leader’s behavior, it should be soon,” Kakuzu replied quietly.

“How many members does the Akatsuki currently have?”

“Pain, Konan, Black Zetsu, Tobi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Sasori of the Red Sand, Hidan, Orochimaru, and me.”

Yujiro nodded once more.

So Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki again?

The news did not particularly surprise him.

“I have a mission for the two of you.”

Yujiro smiled, while Hidan and Kakuzu immediately became serious.

“Return to the Akatsuki and continue acting as members of the organization. When the time comes, leak information claiming that Konoha’s defenses are weakest on the left side.”

“The left side. Understood. I’ll remember it,” Kakuzu replied solemnly.

“In that case, return to Amegakure and report back to Pain.”

Yujiro studied Kakuzu and Hidan carefully.

With his extraordinary perception, he could even determine whether their submission was genuine.

After observing them for a while, a faint smile appeared on his face.

He had truly succeeded in turning both of them against the Akatsuki.

In truth, whether they had sincerely submitted made little difference to Yujiro.

Instead of remaining in Konoha and waiting for the Akatsuki to attack, it would be better to draw them into the open.

Yujiro had several new techniques he wanted to test, but he had yet to find suitable opponents.

More importantly, he wanted to discover which was stronger—the Rinnegan’s control over gravity or the Light of the Soul he had awakened.

Hidan and Kakuzu departed for Amegakure to report the completion of their mission.

Yujiro returned to Konoha.

After absorbing the Evil God’s power, Yujiro could clearly sense the growing unrest of his inner demon.

Everything was proceeding exactly as he had predicted.

If he absorbed more of that energy, his inner demon would fully emerge. As long as Yujiro defeated it, he would advance from the early phase of the Limiter’s Fourth Stage to its middle phase!

Once that happened, his strength would increase exponentially once again.

What Yujiro anticipated most was genetic recombination and the awakening of telekinetic abilities.

Depending on how that power developed, it could grant him control over matter, energy, space, or even time!

Only then would he possess true power.

He still had a long road ahead of him.

After returning to Konoha, Yujiro informed Minato that the Akatsuki might launch an attack within the next six months.

Minato immediately placed the entire village on high alert.

After all, their enemy was the mysterious and unpredictable Akatsuki.

Yujiro watched Konoha begin its preparations but made no attempt to stop them. It was good for the village’s shinobi to experience a proper sense of danger.

Only then would they be driven to grow stronger.

Pressure forced people to draw out strength they never knew they possessed.

Only by surpassing their limits under that pressure could they reach greater heights.

Konoha was not the only place affected. The atmosphere throughout the entire shinobi world gradually became tense.

The other four Great Shinobi Villages appeared to have received word of the impending conflict. Rather than interfere, they turned their attention toward Konoha and waited to see what would happen.

The Akatsuki’s objective was to capture the tailed beasts. By now, the major villages had already realized that much.

Even after their own tailed beasts had been captured, they had chosen to remain silent and endure the humiliation.

That was because the four Great Shinobi Villages all understood one thing.

The final target of the terrifying and mysterious Akatsuki would undoubtedly be Konoha.

The real battle was about to begin!