Even though Kakashi and Obito had done their best to mentally prepare themselves, when they finally stood at the edge of the enormous underground cavern, the scene before them still made their hearts clench violently. It was a living depiction of hell.
"This… this is just…" Kakashi's voice trembled. His words cut off abruptly under the weight of the shock, his pupils reflecting the chaos and destruction before him.
"Damn it, Evil God Cult!" Obito roared, his voice filled with fury and a trace of fear that even he did not notice.
What lay before them was not merely terrifying; it was a direct challenge to human reason. In the vast underground cavity stood an altar, acting as a sinister ceremonial center. Countless grooves snaked down its surface, converging deep underground to form a massive circular relief.
Surrounding it were thirteen gigantic pillars, each as thick as an ancient tree. Their surfaces were covered in writhing tentacles, twisting and growing like living creatures. On every single tentacle was bound a missing child from Yugakure. Their blood was greedily siphoned by the limbs, then slowly transported from the base of the pillars into the relief, flowing backward along the channels until it finally poured over the top of the altar.
The cultists circled the altar like ghosts, their eyes hollow and lifeless. Following an eerie rhythm, they chanted in unison a hymn that sent chills down the spine.
...
"At the edge of chaos, You slumber in endless night. We offer sacrifices of flesh and blood, of the light of souls. Beneath Your shadow, we dance, we go mad. Within Your name, we lose ourselves, we yearn. Oh lord of the abyss, oh master of darkness, We offer our souls in exchange for Your favor. We call upon Your name until the end of the world."
...
Their bodies twisted and swayed uncontrollably to the sinister rhythm as if manipulated by some indescribable force. A sickly sweet stench of blood filled the air, mingling with the rotten odor emanating from the cultists. It made Mitsuki's nose ache with discomfort.
Kakashi and Mitsuki exchanged a glance, both instantly understanding what the other was thinking.
"Those Evil God Cultists seem to be under some kind of genjutsu," Kakashi said softly.
"Yes. Most likely a sound-based genjutsu," Mitsuki replied seriously. "Be careful not to listen closely to what they're chanting."
Meanwhile, Obito's gaze was locked tightly onto the man in black standing closest to the altar. His eyes were blood-red, with two black tomoe faintly visible within them. The man in black, or rather, the High Priest, slowly turned around. A completely unremarkable middle-aged man's face came into view.
"Oh, my great Evil God, just look what I've found. Three little lambs who've lost their way."
His hoarse voice echoed through the vast cavern. Mitsuki had imagined many possible opening lines for a cult leader, but he had not expected this High Priest to speak with such an awkward, dubbed tone. It caught him completely off guard.
Obito also had not expected the villain to be this arrogant. His anger instantly boiled over. "You bastard! You even lay your hands on ordinary children. What do you think life is?!"
"Heh heh, hahahaha!" The High Priest seemed to have a switch flipped by Obito's words and burst into manic laughter. "Life, of course, is a sacred offering to Jashin. Just like these children. To return to the Lord's embrace, what could be more delightful than that?"
"You're insane," Kakashi said coldly, drawing the White Fang short blade from his back.
Chi chi chi…
The ground beneath Mitsuki and the others suddenly churned. Several thick tentacles burst out violently, surging toward them like crashing waves in an attempt to strangle them. Kakashi and Mitsuki drew their blades at the same time. Several silver arcs sliced through the air, severing the appendages, which fell to the ground like snakes cut in half.
"Be filled, be filled, cycle without end. Next comes five." Standing beside the altar, the High Priest muttered an incomprehensible prayer.
Below, the cultists seemed to be stirred by the chant. Like walking corpses, they charged toward the trio. As they ran, countless fleshy tumors pulsed across their bodies. From them sprouted large numbers of tentacles with a metallic sheen, writhing like octopus limbs.
Mitsuki's eyebrow twitched violently. This heavy Lovecraftian horror really did not belong in the ninja world at all. Choosing to spare his eyes, Mitsuki formed a seal with one hand, guiding the Shukaku seal within his body.
Mistcutter was sheathed. Mitsuki lowered his center of gravity and took the stance for a draw slash. Massive amounts of Flame Release chakra gathered inside the scabbard, the ferocious power perfectly compressed.
Clang!
A dark red blade flash tore through the blood-soaked underground air. A thick, crescent-shaped wave of blazing fire slashed horizontally outward. Flames roared as they swept across more than a hundred cultists, acting like a raging firestorm.
"Aaahhhhhh!" The agony of being engulfed in flames forced the cultists to release hoarse, piercing screams. The flames of judgment, fueled by the resentment of the dead, burned violently across those otherworldly tentacles, devouring everything like hellfire. The dark purple flames continued to push forward until they collided with the thirteen massive pillars, where they were stopped by a barrier shimmering with black, eerie light.
"Mitsuki! Those tentacle monsters!" Obito's and Kakashi's startled shouts rang out.
The cultists who had been cut in half by the flaming blade wave were actually sprouting huge numbers of tentacles again from their severed bodies. The number of monsters doubled, nearly filling the entire underground space. They writhed as they crawled toward the group in a dark tide, like countless squirming snakes.
Mitsuki narrowed his eyes slightly. "Looks like conventional methods can't kill these things." He had expected this; after all, the Jashin Cult was famous for producing people like Hidan who possessed immortal bodies.
Obito asked anxiously, "Even your Flame Release can't deal with them, Mitsuki?"
Kakashi, however, remained calm. His eyes were filled with absolute trust. If Mitsuki had agreed to bring them here, then he clearly had a plan.
"Relax," Mitsuki said. Against these seemingly unkillable monsters, he had a special combo prepared. "Shukaku, do it."
"Heh, I've been itching for this!" came the excited reply.
Two chubby cat paws clapped together, and the entire underground cavern was instantly flooded by a sea of sand. The tentacle monsters struggled wildly within the grains, trying to escape, but in the end, they were mercilessly dragged down into the flowing quicksand.