The strange man who emerged from the jungle pulled out the spear that had pierced his body, and blood immediately gushed out. Normally, such an action would easily cause excessive blood loss and lead to death, but this guy seemed to feel nothing. He forcefully squeezed his wound, forcibly stopping the bleeding.
This violent method made Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami frown. Although they had chakra, they didn't have medical ninjutsu or other hemostatic techniques, so such forced hemostasis shouldn't be successful. But for some reason, after the man released his hand, the bleeding actually stopped.
"No way, what's wrong with this guy?" Uchiha Kagami said in surprise. He could tell that this person hadn't used any special ninjutsu; the bleeding had just stopped. He immediately activated his Sharingan and focused his gaze.
Uchiha Kagami quickly understood. The cells in this person's body might have an unusual activity, causing his recovery ability to far exceed that of ordinary people. Although he couldn't heal wounds as quickly as the Mystical Palm Technique, if he forcibly brought the laceration together as he just did, the wound would "stick" due to cellular activity, and it might truly recover completely after some time.
This could barely be explained by cellular activity, but the fact that this person could move freely even after being impaled by several spears in vital areas was completely incomprehensible. Moreover, the violent removal of the spears caused secondary trauma; a normal person, even if they didn't die, would certainly be unable to move.
The strangeness of this person made Uchiha Kagami tense up. The opponent's raw strength might not be very strong—as evidenced by his inability to dodge the black spear that bounced back—but this bizarre immortality, and his confident appearance before the two of them, was enough to make him wary.
Ninja battles are never decided by absolute raw strength alone. While it's a significant factor, other elements can bridge gaps or change the tide. In the history of ninja combat, there are many examples of individuals who, despite being easily crushable, turned the tables and defeated stronger opponents through various means.
Fumori masaki frowned slightly. The man's behavior reminded him of Hidan. Hidan's immortality was like this; even if his vital points were pierced, he wouldn't die and could move easily. His body also had an abnormal recovery ability. After Hidan's head was cut off by Sarutobi Asuma, Kakuzu simply stitched it back on, and Hidan could move again.
Even if Earth Grudge Fear could stitch the spine back together, how could a freshly stitched spine allow Hidan to control his body? It can only be said that Hidan's immortality, in addition to its invincibility, also relied heavily on his abnormal regenerative abilities, allowing him to regain control of his body immediately after being stitched up.
However, this guy didn't seem as formidable as Hidan's immortality. Fumori masaki narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the opponent's somewhat pale face and slightly trembling body, indicating that the wounds still had an effect. Hidan, on the other hand, could move freely no matter how much pain he was in, as long as his injuries didn't completely incapacitate him.
Rather, Hidan enjoyed the pain; the more it hurt, the more comfortable he felt. This guy, suspected to be a Jashin cultist, was clearly not that formidable.
"Who are you?" Fumori masaki asked. Although the opponent seemed like he could be defeated in an instant, he didn't act rashly. He also intended to gather some information, so he decided to let the opponent speak a few more words.
"Heh heh, you don't need to know my name." The opponent bared his teeth, looking somewhat sinister. "You only need to know that I am a follower of Jashin, and I have come specifically to seek revenge on your Hidden Leaf Village."
"As expected, Jashin's remnants?" Uchiha Kagami snorted softly. "Then you truly are brave but foolish. With such limited abilities, you dare to show yourselves."
Uchiha Kagami could see that the opponent's condition wasn't very good. Even if he truly possessed immortality, it was only a certain degree of immortality. Although he didn't know if the opponent had any other tricks, a little sarcasm wouldn't hurt.
"Indeed, I didn't expect the Leaf ninjas sent to the Land of Demons this time to be so strong, but I was somewhat prepared." The opponent spat out a mouthful of blood, his mouth full of it, but it seemed to be mixed with other colors, causing Uchiha Kagami's pupils to constrict slightly.
"He seems to have bitten through something. The chakra in his body is rapidly condensing at an astonishing speed." Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan rotated slightly, seeing the chakra within the opponent's body rapidly brightening like a bonfire fueled with wood.
"A secret stimulating medicine?" Fumori masaki murmured. He wasn't unfamiliar with such secret medicines; any clan with a sufficient historical lineage would have similar secret medicines, differing only in their potency. Among them, the Akimichi clan's Three Colored Pills were quite famous.
Unlike other ninja clans that emphasized agility, the Akimichi clan went against the norm by increasing their body weight solely to gain powerful frontal combat capabilities. As a result, they were always controversial in the ninja world. The Three Colored Pills could convert all their accumulated fat into chakra in one go, granting them unparalleled powerful chakra while their body size rapidly shrunk.
It was like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, showcasing its power to the entire ninja world. Thus, in the Ino-Shika-Cho clan alliance, the Akimichi clan, with their most incongruous image, earned the title of "Butterfly."
The chakra obtained from burning a large amount of useless fat was astonishing. The combat power unleashed by the Akimichi clan through this was enough to shock most ninjas. The secret medicine used by this Jashin cultist, although not based on the same principle as the Akimichi clan's, seemed equally astonishing.
"Where did this guy get this secret medicine?" Fumori masaki was somewhat puzzled. This level of secret medicine wasn't something that could be casually obtained. The Jashin cultists were formed in the late stages of the First Shinobi World War. Their accumulation was far inferior to that of ninja villages or secluded ninja clans, making it unlikely for them to have inherited secret medicines.
Of course, it's not impossible that a genius like Orochimaru developed it, but with the intelligence of the Jashin cultists, Fumori masaki wasn't optimistic. Hidan in the original story was a problem child, and his so-called Jashin didn't cause too much trouble.
It was Hidan, who was affiliated with the Akatsuki, who achieved astonishing feats, capturing tailed beasts and eliminating the Twelve Guardian Ninja. He was probably the most outstanding among the Jashin cultists.
And after the ninja villages' cleansing operations against the Jashin cultists, the current Jashin cultists are no longer a major force. How did they obtain such a secret medicine?
As Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami pondered, the Jashin cultist in front of them looked at his hands with confidence: "Haha, power, power is constantly surging!"
Just hearing that sentence, Fumori masaki had no high hopes for the Jashin cultist's intelligence. Even Uchiha Kagami felt awkward. Although he knew that Jashin cultists were all crazy individuals, the ones he encountered in the past weren't this insane.
Perhaps because of the crackdown by the ninja villages, the Jashin cultists were running around like rats, and their minds had become twisted as a result. However, to believe in such an illusory Jashin, their minds were probably abnormal long ago.
The Jashin cultist opposite pulled a black rod from his Pregnant, and with a forceful flick, it transformed into the black spear he had thrown earlier. A faint purple chakra glow was visible all over his body, which somewhat surprised Fumori masaki and Uchiha Kagami.
Ordinary chakra, if not transformed in nature and released through a jutsu, is usually invisible to the naked eye, except for chakra cloaks created by certain special means, such as the tailed beast chakra cloak. The chakra stimulated by the Akimichi clan's secret medicine also forms a butterfly-wing shape behind them.
And the chakra unleashed by this Jashin cultist actually had such a unique characteristic, proving that its power was indeed extraordinary. At the same time, Fumori masaki sensed an aura from it.
This aura was very similar to what leaked out when Uchiha Kagami opened the rift to the Spirit World earlier, and it also contained something that Fumori masaki found somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall it at the moment.
"Haha, you two should witness the power of Lord Jashin! After I eliminate you both, it will be the turn of your Hokage and everyone else in your ninja village, haha!" The Jashin cultist burst into laughter.
"This guy doesn't even recognize me and just came out." Fumori masaki curled his lips. "They really are a bunch of brave but foolish guys. Let's deal with them quickly."
Uchiha Kagami also felt a bit annoyed and didn't want to talk to this crazy guy any longer. He planned to knock him down and use the Sharingan's genjutsu to get what he wanted. It seemed that this guy's only trick was the chakra-stimulating secret medicine, with nothing else special.
While laughing, the opponent held the black spear, leaped up, stomped hard on a tree, and launched himself towards the two of them. The spot he stomped on exploded, revealing the astonishing power contained within.
In terms of speed alone, this guy's ability could directly reach Jonin level. Considering his previous abilities, the effect of this secret medicine was indeed very significant. But for the two of them, a Jonin was nothing special. If it were an elite Jonin, they might be able to fight for dozens of rounds.
Fumori masaki formed a hand seal with one hand, drew out his Kaze Kiri, and swung it forcefully at the pouncing Jashin cultist, saying, "Wind Style: Air Prison."
A sudden gust of wind, mixed with dense natural energy, rapidly condensed into a high-density cage under Fumori masaki's powerful control. The Jashin cultist was instantly trapped in mid-air, unable to move. The intense air pressure even distorted his face, making it difficult for him to breathe.
"Wh-what..." the opponent mumbled incoherently, a hint of shock in his eyes.
Uchiha Kagami shook his head slightly, somewhat disappointed by the Jashin cultist's strength, but secretly let out a sigh of relief. If he were too strong, they would have to endure a bitter battle. This level of strength was not much, making it relatively easy.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball." Uchiha Kagami spat a fireball towards the air prison trapping the Jashin cultist. Considering that he shouldn't kill him, Uchiha Kagami deliberately controlled his power.
And Fumori masaki manipulated the airflow, diverting part of the explosion's force the moment the Great Fireball detonated, so the Jashin cultist, who was blown away, wasn't blasted to smithereens.
The Jashin cultist fell heavily to the ground, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, severely burned all over. He made incoherent sounds from his throat, almost on the verge of death, but he just wouldn't die. His so-called immortality became a burden at this moment, making his life worse than death.
"The ability of immortality is indeed powerful, but against an opponent whose strength far surpasses it, it merely makes one a target that can be tormented endlessly." Fumori masaki shook his head, looking at the slightly twitching Jashin cultist.
"If this guy were a little more normal, I might even pity him, but looking at him like this, I really can't feel any sympathy," Uchiha Kagami said.
"Forget it, let's interrogate this guy thoroughly. Since he's still alive, with his recovery ability, he should be able to speak soon. Then we can ask where his organization is. If they had hidden well, we wouldn't have found them, but since they've delivered themselves to us, we might as well eliminate them to prevent such beliefs from taking root and spreading here," Fumori masaki said.
"Hmm." Uchiha Kagami nodded and walked forward with Fumori masaki. Just as they approached, the Jashin cultist's pupils suddenly turned towards them, and he mumbled something incoherently.
Fumori masaki vaguely heard something like "Jashin," "Long live," and "glory." Then, he saw the guy's body suddenly swell up. He quickly retreated with Uchiha Kagami, and immediately after, the Jashin cultist's body exploded, creating a huge blast.
"This guy even had a way to take us down with him?" Uchiha Kagami waved his hand, dispersing the dust from the explosion, and looked towards the direction of the blast. There was only a crater left, and of course, the Jashin cultist was completely obliterated.
"As expected of a Jashin cultist, he truly has no hesitation in seeking death. It's hard to say if our current ordinary ninjas have such resolve," Fumori masaki said with a click of his tongue.
"Kagami, I have to go first. After so many days and such a long journey, and having used a lot of chakra just now, the remaining chakra is no longer enough to sustain me," Fumori masaki said, implying that his shadow clone was about to disappear.
"There's nothing we can do about that. So be it, you go first. I'll go back alone," Uchiha Kagami said.