"Join your cult? What cult?"
After wandering around for so many years, this was the first ti Tsunade had encountered sothing like this.
While it left her sowhat stunned, it also sparked a bit of interest.
Nothing else—just pure curiosity.
"The Jakin Cult. A small cult that doesn't have many mbers left," Shinji said deliberately vaguely.
But Tsunade wasn't that easy to fool. "Hmm, Jakin… Jashin? The Jashin Cult?"
Isn't Jakin just another way of saying Jashin?
Shinji kept a straight face as he explained, "That's not the correct translation. It may sound the sa, but 'Jakin' originates from an ancient language of a small country. Its true aning is 'harvesting wealth.'"
Tsunade nodded in sudden realization. "So that's how it is…"
Then—smack!—she slapped the floor.
"Do I look that stupid? That easy to trick?"
Shinji helplessly rubbed his temples. "So it won't work after all. If it were an idiot like Hidan, he'd definitely believe it. And aren't people always saying big breasts an no brains? They've has misled !"
He thought.
"So you're refusing?"
Tsunade suddenly sat up—making Shinji's vision blur again—then flashed a grin, showing her teeth.
"No. What I an is—you'll need to add more money!"
As expected, the Spirit of 'Add More Money' exists everywhere. Or perhaps everyone has a bit of it in them.
Tsunade's plan was simple—the old routine. Agree verbally, take the money, and then deny everything afterward.
"That's fine. But you'll need to sign this."
Shinji pulled out what looked like a contract application form—the [Organization Contract Scroll], system-produced.
It would only take effect if signed voluntarily with one's real na.
Once activated, a unique Jashin Cult emblem would form sowhere on the body, impossible to erase.
After one year, the signer could choose to withdraw, and the mark would disappear.
Both he and Hidan had already signed.
Hidan's mark was on his tongue. Shinji's was at the back of his neck, hidden beneath his hair.
Other than that, it had no additional effects. It didn't prevent mbers from killing one another.
Its only advantage was anti-counterfeiting—when in close proximity, mbers could faintly sense one another.
That was it.
And the damn system had only given him ten for free. Any more would cost 100 Curse Soul Points each. What a rip-off!
Tsunade took the scroll and examined it repeatedly. No matter how many tis she checked, she couldn't sense any contract-binding power within it.
The patterns, formatting—everything was wrong.
She wasn't an expert in this field, but when she signed the Summoning Contract with Lady Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest, she had carefully studied that contract scroll.
Such things weren't sothing you could just scribble randomly and expect to work. They required extre precision.
The one in her hand looked more like sothing children would use for pretend play. Even if she admitted to it, no one would believe it.
"How much money are you carrying?"
"Several million ryō in bank drafts. They can be withdrawn at any major nation or bounty exchange."
"Deal!"
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
Tsunade took the pen from Shizune and signed her na without hesitation.
Of course, just in case, she signed a completely fake na that didn't exist at all.
After taking this money, they'd probably never see each other again. At worst, she could write him an IOU later.
"Alright. Here."
Looking at Tsunade's bold expression, Shinji's smile remained perfectly polite—but he didn't reach out to take it.
Glancing at the scribbled fake na that looked like ghostly graffiti, Shinji asked with mild confusion, "Calling a sucker is one thing. But why treat like an idiot?"
"Haha, was it that obvious?"
Even after being exposed, Tsunade didn't look embarrassed. "Why are you so determined to recruit into your cult anyway?"
"I've already said—it's just a transaction. And you can rest assured, I won't require you to do anything, nor will I act in your na. After a year, if you want to leave, that's entirely up to you."
"My na, huh? So you already know who I am." Tsunade's gaze suddenly turned dangerous.
"The renowned Sannin of Konoha—how many people don't know that na? I just didn't expect our first eting to be this… theatrical."
Shinji admitted it openly, which actually lowered Tsunade's guard a bit.
"Tell about this Jashin Cult of yours. It doesn't sound particularly impressive."
"Simply put, the original Jashin Cult was an organization that worshipped a so-called evil god. Their doctrine was the release of slaughter, and they secretly conducted human experintation."
Shinji's first sentence left both Tsunade and Shizune completely stunned.
Wasn't that a little too blunt?! Couldn't you at least sugarcoat it?
But after thinking about it, Tsunade realized that if he dared to say that outright, there must be a turn coming.
"Oh, I almost forgot to ntion. My companion and I were once test subjects for their forbidden experints. We were used for a long ti. Out of tens of thousands, we were the only two who survived."
At those words, Tsunade's tense expression softened slightly, her gaze turning complicated.
For so reason, Shinji's experience reminded her of a certain childhood friend.
As for Shizune, sympathy was written all over her face. She finally understood why Hidan could survive such severe injuries—it was due to human experintation. That explained everything.
"After being exploited for a long ti, one day, we made a decision."
"That day, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. That day, the Jashin Cult beca history. Corpses were everywhere."
"From then on, we were free. But the sins of the past could not be redeed."
"Until we traveled the world and saw countless humans suffering under the threat and persecution of monsters. So we decided to rebuild the Jashin Cult—a brand-new Jashin Cult. An organization whose core doctrine is the eradication of all monsters!"
"And you are the first person we've invited."
Shinji finally concluded his sincere speech.
If he had to score himself, he'd give that performance a 77 out of 100.
The main issue was that he might've tried a little too hard—and the emotional beats were slightly too deliberate.
Still, none of what he said was a lie. At most, he'd polished it a bit.
Shizune's eyes were already red from being moved by his tragic past and apparent repentance.
Tsunade wasn't so easy to fool, but she couldn't find any obvious flaws. From the story's perspective, he may have committed so wrongs, but he had been forced into them. And now he was trying to make ands.
Logically speaking, she should support that.
"You're sure you want to join? Let be clear—even if soone asks, I won't admit it. Maybe I'll take your money today, and tomorrow you'll never find again."
"I'm sure. After all, having one of Konoha's Sannin respond positively would be a trendous encouragent and recognition for us."
Shinji looked at Tsunade with absolute sincerity—so much so that even he was starting to believe his own words.
Tsunade hesitated for a mont, then sighed.
She crossed out the fake na she'd written earlier and signed her real na on the 'contract' she believed to be completely useless.
But the mont she lifted her pen—
The contract scroll suddenly shattered, transforming into a streak of white light that shot straight into Tsunade's body.
Imdiately after, a familiar emblem began to appear on her chest.
Tsunade's face instantly turned green.
"Damn it—I've been tricked!"
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