Uchiha En and Asana stayed in the Sound Village for two days.
On the third day, Orochimaru suddenly found them: "En, Asana, I need your help with something."
"What is it?" Uchiha En asked.
"It's like this: a few days ago, my people were on a mission and, while passing through the Land of Hot Springs, discovered an organization called the Evil God Cult. The people in this organization claim to possess an Immortal Body."
"Teacher Orochimaru, are you interested in the Immortal Body?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"I see. It just so happens that I also want to soak in hot springs. En, let's go to the Land of Hot Springs!"
Uchiha En nodded in agreement.
Afterward, Uchiha En directly summoned Lightning, and together with Asana, arrived in the Land of Hot Springs.
As soon as the two jumped off Lightning's back, they saw a white-haired man lying lewdly on the roof of a hot spring inn.
"That must be Jiraiya, right?" Asana asked.
"Probably. Only he would do something so lewd."
Upon hearing this, Asana activated her Tenseigan, and a huge gravitational pull directly dragged Jiraiya over.
Jiraiya naturally wouldn't just sit there and wait, but halfway through forming hand signs, he realized it was Uchiha En and Asana, so he simply gave up attacking and allowed himself to be pulled over.
"Senior Jiraiya, you're peeping at people bathing again," Uchiha En said with a hint of teasing.
"What peeping? Can a writer gathering material be called peeping?" This was followed by a series of outrageous statements, such as "for artistic creation" and "self-sacrifice," which made Uchiha En and Asana burst into laughter, filling the air with joy.
After exchanging pleasantries, Uchiha En asked with a smile, "Senior Jiraiya, why are you in the Land of Hot Springs? It can't be that you came specifically to peep because of the many hot springs, can it?"
Jiraiya slapped the table and retorted, "I told you it's not peeping! It's gathering material! Am I such a lewd person? I'm here for a reason this time.
Not long ago, I accidentally received information that the Evil God Cult, which previously wreaked havoc in Yunagakure, has reappeared. That's why I specifically came to investigate."
Asana was somewhat surprised to hear this, not expecting that their respective purposes for coming this time were actually the same.
Uchiha En, however, inquired calmly, "Evil God Cult? Senior Jiraiya, are you referring to the Evil God Cult that claims to grant its followers an Immortal Body?"
"Yes! That's the organization! This organization appeared after the Second Ninja World War, quietly grew during the Third Great Ninja War, and then disappeared inexplicably for some unknown reason.
The doctrines of this organization are too bloody, and they deceive people with the banner of an Immortal Body. If it grows strong again, it will be another disaster for the Ninja World, which is why I specifically came here to investigate."
After hearing Jiraiya's words, Asana said, "Senior Jiraiya, according to my teacher, the Evil God Cult's Immortal Body is real!"
"What?!" Jiraiya looked shocked: "How is that possible?"
"Senior Jiraiya, whether you believe it or not, that's the truth. The followers of the Evil God Cult have truly achieved the Immortal Body!" Uchiha En, who was beside them, also added.
Since both Uchiha En and Asana said so, Jiraiya naturally believed it. After a moment of silence, he asked, "En, how does the Evil God Cult grant people an Immortal Body?"
"I'm not sure about that; that secret should only be known to the Evil God Cult. Senior Jiraiya, do you know the exact location of the Evil God Cult?"
"They operate separately. I caught two groups of Evil God Cult members, but unfortunately, both groups were ordinary people who had just joined the Evil God Cult and didn't even have Chakra. They didn't know the location of the Evil God Cult's headquarters."
"Leave the searching to me! My teacher is also very interested in this organization," Asana said.
Jiraiya's eyes lit up. Asana's Sage Mode was much more perfect than his, and she possessed the Byakugan. With her help in searching, things should be much easier.
Thinking this, Jiraiya said with a smile, "Alright, I'll leave it to you."
After reaching a consensus, the three left the hot spring inn together. Asana entered Sage Mode on the way, simultaneously activating her Byakugan to sense the presence of any Ninja nearby.
However, to Asana's surprise, along the way, she found not a single Ninja, and barely a few with Chakra: "The Land of Hot Springs has truly fallen; such a large country with so few Ninja."
"Yunagakure was originally a peace-loving Village. Any Ninja they had were merely for self-preservation. In times of peace, the number of Ninja in Yunagakure naturally decreased," Jiraiya explained.
Uchiha En pouted and said, "How foolish. Without the protection of Ninja, this country can never achieve true peace."
"Perhaps, but such a country is also quite good, isn't it?" Jiraiya said with a smile.
Just as Uchiha En was about to retort, Asana suddenly sensed a faint Chakra to their right. She immediately told Uchiha En and Jiraiya of her discovery: "En, Senior Jiraiya, there's someone behind the rocks about 1.2 kilometers to the right!"
Jiraiya nodded, pretending to know nothing as he approached. The person on the right made no move, evidently not noticing Jiraiya.
Jiraiya got closer and closer, then suddenly launched an attack. The person on the right didn't even have time to react before being caught by Jiraiya.
"Huh? It's a child?" Jiraiya looked at the little boy in his hand with some surprise.
The child looked about 11 or 12 years old, held by Jiraiya, with hazy eyes, appearing half-asleep.
A moment later, the little boy finally woke up. He glared at Jiraiya and said, "Hey! Old man, who are you? Why did you disturb my sleep?"
Jiraiya's face turned green when he heard the little boy's address: "Old man? Kid, am I that old?"
The little boy glanced at Jiraiya and muttered, "With a head full of white hair, aren't you old?"
"You!"
"Alright! Senior Jiraiya, don't be angry! Let me handle this. Hello, little friend!" Saying this, Uchiha En showed a harmless smile and greeted the little boy.
"Hmph! Don't try to get close to me. Who exactly are you? Why did you capture me?"
Uchiha En smiled and, without concealing anything, said directly, "We are here to investigate the Evil God Cult."
The little boy said disdainfully, "Investigate the Evil God Cult? Just the three of you? Forget it! The Evil God Cult has thousands of followers! You'll just be going to your deaths."
Jiraiya and Uchiha En exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.
Jiraiya asked with a serious expression, "Thousands of followers? Are you serious?"
The little boy replied, "Why would I lie to you? That's what the Evil God Cult followers said when they were proselytizing in our Village."
Uchiha En's expression also turned serious upon hearing this: "Senior Jiraiya, it seems your worries were not unfounded. This Evil God Cult is indeed as sinister as its name suggests."
"Indeed. It's only been a little over ten days since I received news of the Evil God Cult's reappearance, and this organization has already amassed thousands of followers."
Uchiha En nodded, then turned to the little boy and asked, "Little friend, do you know anything else about the Evil God Cult?"
The little boy's eyes darted around as he said, "I can tell you where the Evil God Cult is, but you have to do me a favor."
Uchiha En frowned. He didn't have time to negotiate with a child. Uchiha En directly activated his Sharingan and controlled the child with genjutsu.
Jiraiya tried to stop him, saying, "En! Isn't that a bit much?"
"Senior Jiraiya, we don't have that much time to waste with him here." Saying this, Uchiha En read the child's memories.
From his memories, Uchiha En learned that the little boy was a civilian from Yunagakure.
Because Yunagakure was in a time of peace, the number of Ninja dwindled, and the Village began to transform into an ordinary Village. It was at this time that the Evil God Cult revived.
Subsequently, due to Yunagakure's weakness, it couldn't curb the Evil God Cult's growth, leading to its further expansion and the abduction of a large number of Yunagakure residents.
Now, the Evil God Cult's stronghold was brazenly established near Yunagakure.
"I've found the location of Yunagakure. Let's go!" With that, Uchiha En released the genjutsu on the little boy, leaving a Shadow Clone to protect him, and the three of them left together.
Combining the memories from the little boy's mind, Uchiha En and the other two quickly found the location of the Evil God Cult.
"Senior Jiraiya, En, there are about 100 people with Chakra inside. Judging by their Chakra levels, there's no one to worry about; we can just charge in," Asana said with her Byakugan activated.
Jiraiya nodded, and the three of them walked straight through the main entrance.
As Uchiha En and the other two forcibly entered the Evil God Cult, the cultists immediately came out to block them. Unfortunately, their numbers meant nothing to the three of them.
Asana's Tenseigan released a wave of pressure, and these people fell down one after another.
The three of them advanced as if no one was there, quickly reaching the center of the Evil God Cult and meeting its leader.
"You three foolish heretics, how dare you trespass into our Evil God Cult's altar! Lord Jashin will surely punish you."
Looking at the frenzied leader of the Evil God Cult, Uchiha En pouted, instantly teleported to his side, and slit his throat.
To Uchiha En's surprise, the Evil God Cult's leader did not fall. Although blood was gushing from his throat wound, his life force showed no signs of diminishing.
Jiraiya and Asana were both startled by the Evil God Cult leader's state.
"I can't believe the Immortal Body actually exists!" Jiraiya said with a grave expression.
"What's going on? Is this a Ninjutsu, or some other reason he possesses an Immortal Body?" Asana said, frowning.
Uchiha En, meanwhile, looked at the Evil God Cult leader with interest and said, "I didn't expect that besides Hidan, the Evil God Cult actually has someone else with an Immortal Body. That's truly surprising."
"Lord Jashin grants an Immortal Body to every loyal follower. If you prostrate yourselves before Lord Jashin now, perhaps Lord Jashin will also grant you an Immortal Body."
"Sorry, I'm not interested in joining you!"
"Then Lord Jashin will one day bring divine punishment upon you."
"Too bad you won't live to see that day." With that, Uchiha En activated his Sharingan and directly used genjutsu on the Evil God Cult leader.
The Evil God Cult leader's voice abruptly stopped, and his eyes became confused.
Uchiha En had originally intended to use genjutsu to read the Evil God Cult leader's memories, but to his surprise, as soon as his mental energy entered the leader's brain, it was disrupted.
The Evil God Cult leader had been brainwashed, with only the thought of worshipping Jashin remaining.
Uchiha En frowned. Since he couldn't ask, he would find out himself.
So he directly increased the intensity, and his powerful Eye power directly invaded the Evil God Cult leader's brain.
Then, Uchiha En painstakingly found the useful parts from his memories.
From these memories, Uchiha En understood what Jashin truly was and how the Evil God Cult's Immortal Body was achieved.
The Evil God Cult's Immortal Body, in a sense, had similarities to Edo Tensei.
Edo Tensei uses living people as sacrifices, plus the DNA of the deceased, to summon the souls of long-dead Ninja back to the human world, confining them within the sacrifice's body.
The Evil God Cult's Immortal Body also confines the soul, but the difference is that it's confined within one's own body, then the body and soul are strengthened using a large amount of life force and mental energy from living people.
The birth of each Immortal Body requires 1,000 living sacrifices. Currently, only the leader of the Evil God Cult and Hidan, who is proselytizing outside, possess the Immortal Body.
Once the Immortal Body is complete, the body and soul will assimilate. With the characteristics of the soul, the body can also separate and recombine like a soul.
As for Jashin, the leader of the Evil God Cult didn't know who he was; it seemed he was just the person who developed this Ninjutsu.
(PS: The Immortal Body of the Evil God Cult is purely the author's speculation, just for fun.)
Uchiha En told Jiraiya and Asana the secret of the Immortal Body, and both of their faces turned grim.
From Uchiha En's narration, they learned that achieving an Immortal Body required the lives of thousands of people.
"What a disgusting organization," Asana said.
Jiraiya nodded, clearly agreeing with her words.
Afterward, the three of them together escorted the unbrainwashed civilians out of the Evil God Cult's headquarters. As for those who had already been brainwashed by the Evil God Cult, they certainly couldn't be allowed to live.
Otherwise, the Evil God Cult would revive again, and who knows how many more people would lose their lives because of it.
Finally, Uchiha En brought the leader of the Evil God Cult out; Orochimaru wanted this person, so he definitely had to be taken back.
Jiraiya glanced at the remaining irrational people, and his gaze became firm.
"Leave the rest to me!" With that, Jiraiya formed hand signs and used the Summoning Technique to call the toads from Mount Myōboku. Then, Jiraiya used fire, and the toads from Mount Myōboku used oil, and with a combined Ninjutsu, they turned the Evil God Cult's headquarters into a sea of flames.
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