Chapter 944 : Jashin's Cult!

As a ninja who operated in the shadows for years and still frequently schemed in the dark, Fujin could easily see how impactful this effect of the Seed of Jashin was. It would not only resolve any hidden resentment the individuals could have towards the cult, but also make them even more fanatical towards Jashin.

In addition to ensuring loyalty, it was also very impactful in intel aspects. Fujin couldn't see what training Ketsueki underwent to become a Bishop and how the Seed of Jashin was created. It could also be used to create excellent spies.

Needless to say, it increased Fujin's interest in acquiring Jashin's seals even more. However, he was careful. Very careful!

Fujin thought, ‘Grand Priest, Priests, Devotees, Servants… These were the ranks of Jashin under Zankoku. I later learnt about Bishops when I read Zankoku's memories. To think the Jashin cult would have an entirely different command chain. The Pontiff, Elders, Bishops, Guardians and Disciples…

At the bottom are the disciples. The children born in the cult directly become disciples. However, their numbers are too low. In order to keep up their numbers, they dispatch one squad to abduct 5 to 15 kids every year. The disciples form the largest group in the cult, with their numbers generally fluctuating between 300 to 400.

However, they're also the weakest, their strengths varying from a normal civilian to Chunin. The higher ups in the cult train these disciples with the hope of making them a Bishop or a Guardian. The ones who show even a slight aptitude towards Fuinjutsu are taught it, while the remaining are trained in combat.

The Guardians are the main fighting force of the cult. They possess unique abilities just like the Grand Priests. Each of them can be considered to be a rank S ninja or at least an Elite Jounin.

The Bishops are like the messengers of Jashin. Every 2 decades, 1 is sent out to attempt to spread influence in the ninja world. If they have any excess, they stay in the village. They generally are as strong as a Veteran Jounin, just like Ketsueki was. When Ketsueki left the village, they still had 7 other Bishops in their cult.

While the Bishops don't possess weird abilities like the Grand Priests or Guardians, if their strength improves through normal training and they reach rank S, they are eligible to be considered for the Elder Council, which consists of 3 members and doesn't include any Guardians.

At the very top of this command chain is the Pontiff, the spiritual leader of the cult, and the figure believed to be closest to Jashin.

At any point, there's only 1 Pontiff present in the cult, though his successors are prepared long before his death and without any succession conflicts. All the successors of Pontiff are originally Bishops too, but there's one important point. The Pontiff chooses a successor from among the kids born inside that village…

The structure of their organization is quite solid. Infiltrating silently is beyond my current capabilities. With all of them being so fanatical about Jashin and having such a strict hierarchy, sowing discord among their ranks is also off the table. An open confrontation might be the way to go… That said… There are too many strange things in that cult…’

Even though Fujin couldn't read Ketsueki’s memories from before he became a Bishop, he got a good understanding of the cult from Ketsueki’s remaining life.

The first thing that surprised Fujin was how old the organization was. Its recorded history went back by more than 600 years! Fujin had expected it to be old but not so ancient. It immediately raised two questions. Why did such an old organization require abducting kids to make up their numbers? How could an organization with a guaranteed method of creating rank S ninjas not be a major force in the ninja world?

Ketsueki’s memories didn't hold answers to the second question. Though Fujin learnt of their 3 attempts to expand into the ninja world in great detail, all 3 had ended in humiliating defeats. He had difficulty believing they couldn't do more, unless some other factors were involved.

Fujin thought, ‘I wonder if Hagoromo is somehow involved in suppressing this cult. If every Jashin follower was a lunatic like Hidan, it would explain their inability to expand. However, the cultists are quite stable mentally.

Even though their hierarchy is strict, there isn't a great barrier between their ranks. The Pontiff was more cordial with the disciples than even the Kage generally are with the academy students. They shouldn't have an issue expanding their small cult into a proper village. Except for perhaps that issue…’

The issue Fujin thought of was the answer to his first question. The reason why the number of individuals in the Jashin cult was so low despite such a long history and why they needed to kidnap young kids was due to the incredibly insane mortality rate among the disciples!

Fujin recalled Ketsueki’s memories, ‘Not even one in a hundred disciples may become a Bishop. Yet, everyone tries without the fear of failure. And, all who fail, die! Both of Ketsueki’s friends died. Whatever the process of accepting the Seed of Jashin is, it is extremely dangerous. Or perhaps, their sacrifices are required to create the Seed in the first place. Hmm, that's a possibility too.

The odds to become a Guardian are just as bad. Unfortunately, Ketsueki was never introduced to that process, perhaps because they planned on sending him out. However, it isn't too difficult to guess.

Not all Bishops head out. The ones who die in the village likely perform the ritual on the selected candidate to inscribe the Living Seal on their soul. The ones who fail to become a Guardian must be the sacrifice for the ritual.

With such a high mortality rate, it's understandable why society would always collapse around them, in spite of their surprisingly long lives…’

The lifespan of the cultists was another aspect that surprised Fujin. On average, their lifespan was more than twice that of normal humans, with even the disciples living well past 150. Other than Shiranui, their remaining two Elders were past 200 years old when Ketsueki was still there. The only exception, surprisingly, is the Pontiff himself. Every Pontiff died in less than 30 years after becoming one.

Fujin continued analyzing, ‘Since even the disciples live that long, it must not have anything to do with the Seed of Jashin and the Living Seal. I doubt it has anything to do with the potential of the kids they kidnap either, else there would have been several such cases in the world. Similarly, merely believing in Jashin shouldn't have such a drastic effect on their life force. So, there must be something in the seal formation around their village that enhances life force, or helps it sustain longer…

Unfortunately, Ketsueki didn't know about the secrets behind it for me to be sure. Sigh, his memories answered a lot of my suspicions, but they raised even more questions…’

Fujin couldn't help but feel annoyed at how careful the Jashin cult was at controlling information. As a Bishop who was to spread Jashin's word in the ninja world, Ketsueki hadn't been informed of the inner workings of the cult. To make matters worse, Ketsueki never expressed any curiosity towards those secrets. As a result, there were several gaps in Fujin's intel despite reading all available memories. It was as if he had been given a jigsaw puzzle, only to find that several critical pieces were missing.

Fujin wondered, ‘For starters, exactly what is Jashin? They may worship him as a God, but his influence in the world is far lesser than even Hagoromo. Is he a sealed Otsutsuki like Kaguya? Or, does he exist at all?

In all the time he spent in the cult, there's nothing in Ketsueki’s memories that would prove Jashin's existence. The only time he ‘heard' Jashin, was after his eighth failure. However, was it truly the voice of a higher being or was it simply a mental problem caused by a combination of a string of failures and decades of blind worship and obsession?’

With Ketsueki long dead, there was no way for Fujin to confirm whether Ketsueki’s experiences were real or if they were hallucinations caused due to mental problems. And, without a concrete answer about Jashin's identity and powers, any plans against his cult would have several hidden dangers. Dangers that were difficult for Fujin to anticipate and even more difficult for him to prepare against. Unfortunately, he had no way of gaining more information without making a move on the cult!

[A/N: Sorry, took a lot longer than I thought. No break tomorrow.]