Shinichi's speed was by no means slow either.
At the very instant Kosuke Maruboshi formed a hand seal and made his move, he became like a black gust of wind skimming the ground, following closely behind the surging waves, shooting towards the enemies scattered in front of him.
During their hurried journey, the two had already briefly discussed several emergency tactics, and Shinichi's extremely quick gesture just now represented the intention to clear the area.
Although Kosuke Maruboshi did not understand why Shinichi made such a judgment upon meeting the enemy, he trusted this outstanding junior and chose the Water Style Ninjutsu, which he had the widest range of knowledge to do without hesitation, the Giant Vortex Jutsu!
Pfft! Pfft!
The dull thuds of blades piercing flesh rang out one after another. Shinichi was the first to catch up with two cultists who had been knocked to the ground by the water and had not yet fully gotten up.
His movements were swift and ruthless. His katana pierced one man's heart with precision, and with a twist of his wrist, he pulled it out and plunged it into another man's heart at almost the same angle.
However, the two believers whose hearts were pierced only stiffened slightly, as if they could not feel the pain and weakness brought about by the fatal wound.
With a loud roar, they pounced towards Shinichi!
Shinichi frowned slightly, a cold understanding flashing in his eyes.
He swiftly retreated half a step, and at the same time, with a flick of his wrist, the katana in his hand transformed into a chilling arc of light.
"sizzle!"
The two heads flew off with a thud, and the headless body staggered a couple of steps before finally collapsing to the ground, completely still.
At this moment, Kosuke Maruboshi had already darted to his side like a ghost.
Shinichi quickly said, "Senior, these people's bodies are strange. Their vital organs seem to be different from those of ordinary people. Try to cut off their heads or completely destroy their body structure to make them lose their ability to move."
Upon seeing the blood-red pattern with an outer circle and an inner triangle, Shinichi's heart immediately went on high alert. He thought it might be related to the evil cult that Hidan would belong to in the future, whose followers might possess a similar but weakened form of unconventional immortality.
Unable to express it directly, he used this tactic of striking first and engaging the enemy at close range to verify and pass on crucial intelligence to his experienced companion in the most direct way.
It now appears that these believers did possess some ability to avoid certain fatal wounds, but decapitation was still effective.
It seems that Hidan, who later truly possessed immortality, was a one-in-a-million exception.
It's likely that Hidan was the so-called holy son they were talking about!
Kosuke Maruboshi's eyes sharpened, and he replied in a deep voice, "Alright! I understand."
The battle ended quickly, even abruptly.
The group of black-robed cultists completely underestimated their opponent's strength. They were immediately dealt a heavy blow by Kosuke Maruboshi's Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu, which had an astonishing range, and their formation was thrown into chaos.
Subsequently, their divine grace, which allowed them to ignore some fatal wounds, lost its effectiveness against the two who were prepared and focused on their vital points.
Before most of the believers could regroup, they were harvested one by one by the swift current and the precise, deadly attacks.
The strongest among them was Elder Takahashi, who was roughly at the level of a Special Jonin. Unfortunately, he was up against Kosuke Maruboshi, the Eternal Genin.
A mere Special Jonin is naturally no match for Kosuke Maruboshi
Especially since he's an Eternal Genin from Konoha.
He sensed the opponent's formidable Water Style technique and intended to counter it with Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb to turn the tide.
However, Kosuke Maruboshi's Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu, inherited from the second Hokage, instantly tore his earth dragon to shreds, and the still-powerful water dragon crushed heavily on him.
This Water Dragon Jutsu seemed to have the effect of absorbing chakra.
After being hit, Elder Takahashi was not only seriously injured instantly, but his body also quickly became weak, and he completely lost the ability to resist.
"You, you all..."
Kurokawa Yasumasa slumped in the mud, his finger trembling as he pointed at the two approaching figures. His face was devoid of any semblance of the magistrate's authority, replaced only by boundless terror and disbelief.
He wanted to say something else, perhaps a threat, perhaps a plea for mercy.
But Shinichi didn't give him a chance to continue. His eyes were calm and unwavering. In a flash, he was behind the other party, delivering a clean and swift chop to the side of the other party's neck.
Kurokawa Yasumasa's eyes rolled back, his words abruptly stopped, and he collapsed to the ground.
Shinichi casually took out a rope and tied him up tightly.
"I have sent this information to the nearest Konoha intelligence outpost via the messenger hawk. They will report the news to the third Hokage as soon as possible via fax."
Kosuke Maruboshi walked over, his voice steady.
"We need to wait here for further instructions from the third Hokage... The follow-up work will probably be quite complicated. However, we didn't expect the magistrate to come in person, which saved us a lot of trouble later."
He glanced at the unconscious Kurokawa Yasumasa, and a smile appeared on his face.
...
It is unknown what kind of communication and negotiation took place between the village and the Land of Fire officials, but in any case, a day later, the messenger hawk returned with clear instructions from the third Hokage.
The order was concise and clear: The two men were to immediately proceed to Narumi Town, hand over the captured former magistrate, Kurokawa Yasumasa, to the town's security office for temporary detention, and complete the necessary handover with the temporary new magistrate who would arrive three days later.
Afterwards, they had to escort the captured Elder Takahashi back to Konoha immediately.
Three days later, amidst the official and polite farewell from the newly appointed magistrate and the heartfelt and continuous expressions of gratitude from the people who had found their children, the two embarked on their journey back to Konoha.
The road stretched out beneath their feet, gradually leaving the small border town behind.
After walking a distance, Shinichi suddenly stopped, turned around, and silently looked at Narumi Town, which had shrunk to a blurry outline in the distance.
The morning light outlined his calm profile, revealing no emotion whatsoever, except for his eyes, which gazed at the distant horizon, deep and unfathomable.
Seeing this, Kosuke Maruboshi sighed softly and walked to his side, raising his hand to place on the boy's shoulder: "Shinichi, you've done very well, don't think too much."
Kosuke Maruboshi knew what the boy was thinking.
Through separate interrogations of Elder Takahashi and Kurokawa Yasumasa, they found the hidden location of the imprisoned children and rescued some of them in time.
However, another group of children had been secretly transferred to the territory of the Land of Hot Water, the so-called headquarters of the Holy Church, long before they even arrived in Narumi Town.
This matter has already involved a foreign country and will inevitably involve complex diplomatic negotiations between Konoha and the Land of Fire, as well as the Land of Hot Water.
"I understand, senior, I'm fine."
Shinichi shook his head, a calm smile appearing on his face.
He once again cast his gaze toward the distant horizon in the direction of the Land of Hot Water, took a deep look, and then looked away without saying another word.
But Kosuke Maruboshi knew that the seemingly calm boy beside him had already made a decision that no one else knew about.
At this moment, Kosuke Maruboshi understood even more why the third Hokage called this child the successor to the Will of Fire.
Exceptional talent, meticulous thinking, and decisiveness are all secondary; what matters is the gentle appearance of the young man before him.
It pulsates with a pure heart that possesses a strong sense of responsibility and deep empathy!