Shinji wasn't particularly keen on building his own faction. His past life had taught him that once too many people get involved, all sorts of ridiculous problems would crop up.
Who needed that when life was already this carefree?
Sleeping until naturally waking up, traveling here and there while taking down cursed spirits, walking Hidan around, doing whatever he pleased, and calling out anyone who annoyed him.
Wasn't this the good life?
If he had to na a goal or ambition, it would probably be to reach the very top of the ninja world, and while he was at it, crush all the cursed spirits, letting them know once and for all who really ran the place!
But now that Hidan had suddenly developed this idea, Shinji couldn't be too autocratic.
Maybe those extra hundred or so bond points would be tied to this matter!
After all, when the PUA techniques stopped working, all that was left was chatting about ideals and ambitions.
But the old Jashin Cult? Forget it.
If they really tried to rebuild it the old way, Lord Crab—or whoever—would sooner or later jump out and devour everyone. Not worth the trouble.
So even if they were to revive the Jashin Cult, they had to be careful.
First, the doctrine had to change. Randomly killing people? Absolutely not.
It had to change.
Shinji thought hunting cursed spirits would work perfectly—after all, they were just vessels releasing unspent hormones. What's the difference between killing one thing or another, right?
Next, sacrificing to Lord Jashin could remain to so extent.
Ban it completely and Hidan would imdiately go nuts, calling him a fake believer!
So it wouldn't be banned, but they needed a plausible reason to trick Hidan.
Sacrifice what?
Cursed spirits or enemies they personally hunted!
Reason: Lord Jashin prefers offerings that are sincere.
As for ordinary humans, forget it.
Lord Jashin wouldn't even look at them!
That excuse had no flaws.
Finally, they had to strictly avoid recruiting every Tom, Dick, and Harry into the cult. Quality over quantity!
If they ended up with a bunch of mindless thugs, it would ruin the cult that he and Hidan painstakingly rebuilt. That would be completely pointless.
They could fully take cues from how the Akatsuki operated.
Even when committing evil deeds as villains, the acts had to be spectacular!
Always bullying ordinary people, stealing candy from kids, or snatching dentures from old ladies—what kind of villainy is that?
Right. If you're going to do it, do it big.
If a few dared to assassinate a Hokage or a Tsuchikage, Shinji would be ecstatic—he'd even figuratively raise three bowls at their graves in celebration!
Whether they succeeded or not didn't matter. What mattered was the montum, the na, the reputation!
After thinking it through carefully, Shinji asked Hidan seriously, "Do you really want to rebuild the Jashin Cult?"
Hidan paused, seeming to realize sothing, then nodded earnestly.
"To be honest, with an idiot like you, it'll probably take a hundred years to rebuild the Jashin Cult. But, hey, you happened to have a great big brother. So, tell your plan."
Hidan was about to start ranting again, but hearing Shinji's words, he snorted disdainfully and a faint smile curled his lips.
Soon, Hidan finished explaining his plan.
Because…
He didn't really have one.
"You an, anyti we see soone we like, we invite them to join. If they refuse, we beat them until they agree. If that doesn't work, we just kill them and move on to the next, right?"
"Exactly! That's it! I bet in no ti, our Jashin Cult—"
"—will be utterly notorious, rotten to the core!"
Shinji finished the sentence for him, annoyed.
"I knew it. With your intelligence, there's no way you could co up with anything reliable."
Hidan's face turned red with frustration again. "I refuse to believe you've got a better plan!"
Shinji chuckled, full of confidence, his eyes glinting knowingly.
"A better plan? Nope."
"Hah!"
Hidan cursed, turning away, not wanting to look at him.
If it weren't for his broken waist, he'd have been instantly obliterated by Shinji's glare.
No need to act all tough!
"Don't rush. I an, I don't have a perfect plan yet, but I've got two diocre ones."
"Stop stalling, spit it out."
"Actually, it's similar to your previous plan, except instead of relying on luck, we approach after confirming the target."
Hidan rolled his eyes dramatically. "Do you take for an idiot? That chuunibyou Akatsuki thing did the sa! Their graves are probably already dug!"
Shinji was slightly surprised. "Hmm, your IQ seems to be rising. Truly, you're influenced by those around you."
"Shut up!"
"You sure?"
"…Go on."
Shinji smiled, unbothered. "Just because it looks the sa doesn't an it's identical. I an, we could steal mbers from other groups."
"Steal mbers?"
"Yes. Like that chuunibyou guy you wanted to recruit before."
"Uh… can we really do that?"
"Why not? Like you said—if they won't join, we beat them until they do. If that doesn't work, move on. Sway as many as we can."
Hidan instinctively thought it was sketchy, but even his brain couldn't find a flaw. Eventually, he had the terrifying thought, "Hmm… maybe this could actually work."
"And it doesn't have to be the Akatsuki. The Five Great Villages, even the smaller villages—we can recruit from anywhere! There are always people who feel underappreciated or dissatisfied. Like you in the Hidden Hot Spring Village—you hated it so much that you defected. There are plenty of people like you. We can find a way to recruit them."
"Seems to make sense."
"Besides poaching mbers, when the ti is right, we can make grand appearances at important events to make the Jashin Cult famous. Maybe so will co running because of the reputation! Hmph. But by then, not just anyone can join. Those who can't beat a 'low-level jonin'? Forget it!"
Shinji waved his hand grandly, fully inflating the idea.
Hidan, of course, ate it up! His eyes shone like a hungry wolf.
"Alright, let's do it your way!"
"Wait, don't rush."
"What now?"
"I an, rebuilding the Jashin Cult is easy. But making it thrive is hard. We can't just raise a bunch of fake believers for us to kill later. What's the point of all our effort then?" Shinji lectured Hidan patiently.
Hidan thought about it. Although he had long wanted to rebuild the Jashin Cult, he hadn't considered all the details.
Without Shinji's guidance, he really would never complete it in a hundred years!
So he boldly said, "I'll be the cult leader. The rest, I leave to you."
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