Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 175 First Encounter with the Blood of the Death Summoner

"No, you all go back first. I'm not going back. I want to know the answer." Minato Namikaze suppressed his grief and calmly analyzed, "I know I'm no match for Shiraki, but I have the Flying Thunder God Technique, so I can leave at any time."

"You should leave now." With that, he handed a kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Summoning Technique symbol to the three of them.

Seeing this, the three exchanged glances and stopped trying to persuade him.

After all, the one who died was Jiraiya, one of the three legendary ninjas, and as far as we know, there was no life-or-death conflict between them. It can be said that his death was indeed somewhat inexplicable.

Of course, the most important thing is that they must report this news to Konoha as soon as possible.

As one of the pillars of Konoha's strength, Jiraiya's death will undoubtedly bring considerable turmoil to the village, and may even trigger war and disaster.

"In that case, Minato, take care. Don't act impulsively in any situation, and prioritize protecting yourself."

"Don't worry! I definitely won't get hurt," Minato Namikaze assured the three of them confidently.

The three nodded and, carrying this important information, quickly headed towards Konoha. They even used a communication tool along the way to get the message back as soon as possible.

Back where it was, the little toad breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the message had been delivered. Just as it was preparing to receive the spiritual communication and return to Mount Myōboku, the reverse communication failed.

"Quack, what's going on? I think I can't get back! Is Mount Myōboku closed off?"

Having reached this conclusion, the little toad carrying the message looked sad: "So sending me out to deliver the message was actually a way of abandoning me?"

Just as the little toad was feeling down, Minato Namikaze reached out and hugged it, saying, "In that case, you'll be with me from now on."

He then placed the little toad on his shoulder and turned to head back the way he came. He intended to intercept Bai Mu on the way and ask him why he had killed his master.

As Aburame Shicheng flapped his wings and flew over the last mountain ridge, the canyon where the Evil God Cult's cave was located came into view in the distance.

However, his speed slowed down because there were chakra fluctuations and sounds of fighting ahead.

He landed in the treetop and parted the leaves to look down. Below was a rocky beach, where a dozen cultists were attacking a blood-soaked man.

The man was wielding a huge scythe, the blade stained with blood, but his movements had clearly slowed down.

He had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his back, and his left arm hung at an odd angle, clearly dislocated. It was Hideyoshi.

"For the evil god! Kill the villains who obstructed the ritual!" the leader of the cultists roared, brandishing his machete as he charged forward.

Hideyoshi gritted his teeth and swung his scythe, cutting the man in half at the waist, but more followers swarmed forward.

Not far away, a masked follower of an evil god was drawing patterns on the ground with his own blood.

His skin turned black, and bone-like patterns appeared at his joints. Finally, he took out an iron rod, preparing to plunge it into his abdomen.

"Hahaha, pain, for the sake of the evil god!"

Aburame Shisei watched everything from a distance, not daring to rush forward and stop it. Because the ritual was already complete, any harm he caused now would be transferred to Hideyoshi.

"Ugh—!"

Hideyoshi screamed and fell to his knees, a wound appearing out of nowhere in his abdomen.

However, the other person wasn't in much better shape; he wasn't immortal, but was simply trading his life for another.

But the madness of the evil god's followers seemed to make him feel no pain.

At this moment, Shisei Aburame finally understood why Hideyoshi, who was clearly an elite Jonin, was being attacked by ordinary followers who were only Chunin and Genin level.

It was indeed because of—the blood of the Death Possession.

Another believer thrust a spear at him, and despite the risk of being cut in half by the sickle, he managed to stab the spear into Hideyoshi's calf.

Hideyoshi did not lose his ability to resist. He still used his dislocated hand to grab the spear shaft and forcefully pulled the spearhead out of his calf.

Blood gushed out, and his face was as pale as paper.

"Cut off his head and offer it to the evil god!" The cultists surged forward excitedly.

Just then, the color on the person in the center of the ceremony faded considerably.

Aburame Shisei's earthenware worm finally arrived below that person.

Just as the man was about to plunge the knife into himself again, a large number of earthworms exploded, instantly turning into mud, and the pattern below the ritual was dissolved and destroyed on the spot.

The color on the person's body completely faded, and at the moment the ritual was interrupted, a blue gust of wind descended from the sky.

Wind Release: Sage Art: Thousand Rains.

Countless tiny needles rained down, precisely piercing the throats of each cultist. Dozens of corpses fell to the ground simultaneously, without even a scream.

Hideyoshi knelt on the ground, panting heavily, and it took him several seconds to realize that someone had saved him.

He looked up and saw Aburame Zhicheng leap down from the tree and land in front of him.

"Shiraki-kun... Shiraki-kun!" Hideyoshi's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.

Aburame Shigeaki knelt down to examine his injuries: a penetrating wound to the calf, a blunt force injury to the back, a dislocated left arm, and multiple lacerations. Although serious, none of them were fatal.

He pulled a rhinoceros beetle from his sleeve, and without any command, green energy emanated from its body, causing Hideyoshi's injuries to heal rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Can you walk?" Aburame Shicheng asked, taking out a soldier's ration pill from his sleeve and handing it over.

Hideyoshi took the soldier's ration pill and swallowed it. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but he stumbled and almost fell.

Yu Nu Zhicheng helped him up from the ground.

"Haha, luckily you arrived in time, otherwise I might have lost my life here!" Hideyoshi grinned, but his face was full of smiles.

Although the cult of evil gods has many followers, it has no top-level masters at all. What's strange is that they possess the ability to exchange lives for lives.

Hideyoshi was completely unaware of the situation, and his personality was always impulsive and reckless. Just now, he saw some masked believers carrying three moving objects in a sack—he knew without a doubt that they must be children.

He intended to rush forward to rescue them, but unexpectedly fell into a trap, his foot pierced by a nail. What should have been a minor injury turned into a major problem due to the bleeding.

A follower of an evil cult immediately began a bizarre ritual, attempting suicide to severely injure him. Fortunately, the stab missed slightly and did not damage his heart, otherwise he would have been finished.

After confirming that he had recovered, Shisei Aburame led him onward.

He didn't hide anything, briefly recounting what had happened before saying, "Hidan has been captured by them."

"You said Mieko was injured, and Hidan was captured by them... Then what about those three bags... Damn it!"