Just as the Jashinist Genin was looking completely bewildered, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open. A massive, bucket-wide mouthpart, stretched to its absolute limit, instantly swallowed his feet, poised to devour his entire body in the next moment.
In that split second, however, the cultist reacted with incredible speed. Just as his feet were about to be engulfed, he slammed them together, using the rebound force to leap aside.
Pop!
A sound like a fish blowing a bubble echoed in the darkness. The Earth Dragon Beast had caught nothing but air.
Pfft!
It shook its head, spitting out the air trapped in its "throat," and looked at Shangguan Mo with a wronged expression.
The next moment, the Jashinist's figure reappeared nearby. He glanced at the Earth Dragon Beast with lingering fear, his face pale. If he had truly been swallowed by that ugly creature, he couldn't imagine what his fate would have been.
"Kid! You've successfully pissed me off! Don't think you can stand against me just because you signed a contract with some mutated earthworm you found somewhere! Prepare to face my wra—"
"Aaaargh! Just shut up! Blah, blah, blah, nag, nag, nag! Are you ever going to stop?! I can't take it anymore! Little Spike, turn him into a pincushion!"
Shangguan Mo clutched his ears in agony and roared at the sky.
The moment his words fell, countless iron spines, glinting faintly in the dim light, shot out from behind the Jashinist, completely covering a five-meter radius around him.
Thwack, thwack, thwack...
Shlick, shlick, shlick...
The sound of sharp objects hitting the ground echoed, interspersed with the barely audible sound of a dozen or so blades piercing flesh. The dense barrage of iron spines riddled the area, and a figure, now resembling a human hedgehog, slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Little Spike, you've got a new brother," Shangguan Mo said, looking at the cultist's body, which was now full of holes. He let out a sigh of relief and teased the Iron Hedgehog.
"Squeak, squeak..." the Iron Hedgehog responded with a dissatisfied sound.
"You're saying this guy is full of evil? You can sense that kind of thing?" Shangguan Mo was curious, hearing the meaning conveyed by the Iron Hedgehog in his mind. He was surprised that his summoning beast could vaguely sense the difference in a person's aura, even to the point of distinguishing between good and evil.
Pursing his lips, Shangguan Mo gestured for the Earth Dragon Beast to carry the cultist's body on its back, and then he turned and walked back towards the house where Inoshita Rino and the others were waiting.
On the way back, he reviewed the battle.
"My battle plan was sound. Except for not using the Earth Beetle, the other arrangements were correct. I first showed the fear appropriate for a child my age to make that guy lower his guard, which allowed my summoning beasts to sneak up and flank him..."
Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a little proud of his cleverness. But then he thought about how much effort it took him to kill an ordinary ninja, and he felt like he was an embarrassment to the vast community of Naruto transmigrators.
"Other people start with the Mangekyo Sharingan or a check-in system, but I start by being chased for my life, and I have to risk everything just to kill a single Genin..."
Still, he felt his approach was correct. With his current strength, facing a ninja required every possible precaution.
"If it weren't for Little Dragon and Little Spike's surprise attacks, I definitely wouldn't have been able to kill him! The best outcome would have been him escaping. That guy only used a Substitution Jutsu and didn't even have a chance to use any other ninjutsu before I took him out... Besides being disgusted by that guy's talk-jutsu, everything else went according to plan..."
Having confirmed his future combat strategy, Shangguan Mo returned to the house.
Thump!
Ignoring the shocked gazes of the others, he threw the Jashinist's body to the ground. "Rino-sensei, this is the guy," he said faintly.
Inoshita Rino's face lit up, but then he remembered something and asked quickly, "What about Kawa and Kawashita?"
Shangguan Mo's face fell slightly. "According to this guy, they were both bled dry..."
"What?"
"How cruel!"
"Is this the Cult of Jashin?"
The surrounding students were terrified, instinctively taking a few steps back, wanting to get away from the evil man.
Inoshita Rino's face was filled with sorrow. He pulled the large scythe from the Jashinist's back. Seeing Shangguan Mo's questioning gaze, he explained softly, "Our two classmates cannot die in vain. Taking this back to the village as proof of you killing a Jashinist ninja will help secure a larger compensation for their families, and you will also receive a considerable merit."
Shangguan Mo just nodded silently.
With the danger gone, Inoshita Rino had the students form teams to search for the bodies of their two classmates. These students were the top of their class and had already molded chakra. They wouldn't have to worry too much about their safety against any ordinary Jashinists who might still be around.
He himself stared at the cultist's body, then ripped off the demon mask, revealing the blood-streaked face of a middle-aged man.
"This must be a low-ranking believer, only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. Yet even a common follower like this was difficult for me to handle. I've really gotten old..."
After a moment of reflection, he turned to Shangguan Mo. "It seems the village's choice was not wrong. Judging by his injuries, he was likely pierced through by the spines of some beast. It must have been your summoning beast, right? That giant earthworm from before gave me quite a scare..."
He patted Shangguan Mo's shoulder and said earnestly, "The giant earthworm from before definitely didn't have this ability, which means you must have a contract with other summoning beasts. To be able to do this, you must have some kind of special ability, perhaps a kekkei genkai..."
Shangguan Mo's expression changed slightly, and he looked at him with surprise.
Inoshita Rino, however, just smiled gently. "I don't mean anything by it, teacher. I just want to say that although our village is small, there are bound to be people with ill intentions towards your ability. In the future, it's best to keep your abilities hidden..."
"Yes, I will. Thank you for your concern, Rino-sensei."
Looking at the mature young man before him, Inoshita Rino felt a mix of emotions. He was happy that the village had such a talented child, but also sad about his own mediocrity and failures. Looking at Shangguan Mo's young face, he couldn't help but think, "Perhaps in a dozen years or so, this village will have to rely on you... The village leader has had a hard time supporting it all by himself these years, and has had to endure so much from the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water..."
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