Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 81: The Evil God Ritual and the Origin of Tragedy

Six Months Ago

Land of Hot Water.

Two figures, one tall and one short, wearing conical straw hats, walked slowly along a mountain path stretching into the distance.

They crossed the snowy Iron Country Bridge, walked through the bustling capital of steam and laughter in Hot Water City, and traversed lush forests with leaves swaying gently in the breeze.

Walking along this long path homeward, they felt weary yet filled with hope.

The shorter figure with the straw hat skipped ahead and blocked the path of the burly man.

"Master Hayato, are we almost there?" Hidan asked with a cheerful grin.

"Yes," replied the stout middle-aged man, whom Hidan called Master Hayato, lifting his head slightly. "Just up ahead is my hometown."

His eyes softened, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he gazed toward the distant village, tinged with affection and nostalgia.

Hayato Tōgō then shook his head and placed a hand on Hidan's messy, dirt-smeared head, noting his ragged and disheveled state, and said with a resigned expression, "You little fool, you're really nothing but trouble."

"Chasing chickens, harassing dogs, and even picking fights with bandits in the woods for no reason."

"You can't even walk on water, so I don't know why you're showing off. Always meddling in things that don't concern you!"

Hidan scratched the back of his head and laughed. "But you're here, Master! You're a jōnin from the Hot Water Village, super strong!"

Hayato Tōgō sighed, giving him a helpless smile.

"When we get to the village, I'll have your mistress sew you a new outfit. Stop causing trouble."

"Ryoko has been clamoring to play with her big brother, you know."

"You idiot, when we get back, you'd better start acting like a man!"

Hidan grinned nonchalantly, patting his chest. "Of course! After all, I'm gonna be the future 'Hot Kage'!"

Hayato was about to explain to him that only the five great nations' villages had the privilege of calling their leaders "Kage." The smaller villages simply didn't have the strength or resources to qualify.

But after a thought, he held back, smiling instead.

"Is that so? Then from tomorrow, you'll begin by learning to walk on water properly."

Hidan's face fell at this, and with a mischievous glint, he immediately turned and bolted toward the village.

However, in the next instant—

Boom!

"Yagura, surrender!"

"Apologies, but for the greater good, I cannot die here!"

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

At that moment, a powerful voice rang out, followed by the sudden appearance of a 'sea' rising from the ground. Waves ten meters high surged forward like a wild beast.

Against this terrifying jutsu, mere humans were as insignificant as ants.

The smile froze on Hidan's face.

His steps, once lively, now faltered and stumbled until Hayato's strong hand caught his shoulder, holding him steady.

The sky darkened, the wind roared, and furious waves engulfed the village in an instant.

Then came a blinding storm of blue lightning, cracking the earth open.

The small village, no larger than a boat in a storm, vanished without a sound, swallowed by the world in a heartbeat.

Hidan's ears went deaf, and his mind went blank.

Behind him, Hayato Tōgō stood stunned, his eyes wide, his face filled with unspeakable grief.

After a long silence, Hidan turned his head slowly, his expression dark, face pale, lips quivering as he stammered:

"Ma-master… what was that? Is that what ninja from a great nation can do?"

Hayato snapped out of his shock at Hidan's words, his gaze shifting to the hellscape ahead. He looked at the group of ninjas standing atop the water, fiercely battling, each bearing the Mist Village's three-ripple emblem.

Finally, he laid his eyes upon the one responsible for destroying their home: Yagura, Captain of the Mist Village's jōnin squad—a man strong enough to be a 'Kage.'

Hayato opened his mouth to speak, but found his voice dry, his heart hollow, as if a vast part of him had been torn away.

The harsh words he wanted to hurl at Yagura became lodged in his throat.

Sweat covered his forehead, and though his eyes blazed with rage, he could not bring himself to direct his hatred at this man.

He wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

He wanted to cry, to scream his pain aloud, but with his disciple standing there, he held it in.

The fury gnawed at his heart like a wildfire, leaving him gasping, his eyes turning redder by the moment, his restraint slipping.

Then Hidan raised his head again, pointing at the village's ruins.

Pointing at the bodies floating in the water, the scattered belongings, his face twisted with anger as he stared at Hayato and asked in a stunned voice:

"Master, why didn't you save them?"

"You told me, didn't you? That you're the strongest ninja in the Hot Water Village."

"With your skills, you could've defeated those Chūnin who slaughtered civilians, couldn't you? You could've killed them, erased all traces, and escaped, couldn't you?"

Tears streamed down Hidan's face, his voice trembling with anger and sorrow as he cried, "Why didn't you kill them?"

Hayato felt Hidan's words pierce his heart, leaving him speechless.

He cast one last glance at the young man, swinging his staff atop the waves, casting grand jutsus with shining eyes and a radiant smile as brilliant as the sun.

That was Yagura.

Yes. Why didn't I kill them?

Hayato's eyes fell to his waist pouch, where a black scroll lay.

He'd found that scroll containing countless forbidden techniques while looting a noble's tomb some time back—a text filled with rituals of horrifying cruelty, known as the "Evil God Ritual Manual."

The techniques within were incredibly powerful, though the bloodthirsty rites described were appallingly gruesome.

Such things should have been destroyed.

Hayato took a deep breath, then hoisted Hidan up and hurriedly fled, gritting his teeth. "Hidan, those people have nothing to do with us. I've told you before—don't meddle in things that aren't our concern."

---

Half a Month Later

The flames of the Third Shinobi War spread to the Land of Hot Water.

Hot Water Village was tasked with guarding noble lands and property, while the ordinary citizens were abandoned to fend for themselves.

The small village suffered heavy losses from the war's fringes, with reports of disappearances and desertions arriving daily.

The village's internal factions—those for peace and those for combat—grew increasingly irreconcilable.

Disillusioned with the weak Hot Water Village, Hidan left.

That same day, a group of three indifferent Cloud ninjas stormed into the village, severely injuring Hayato and the other jōnin, forcing the Hot Water ninjas to serve the Cloud Village.

As disciple, home, and everything else slipped away from him, Hayato lay awake each night, suffocated by memories of that day.

That day, Hidan had pointed at the bodies floating in the water, at the ruthless ninjas from a great nation, and had asked:

"Why didn't you kill them?"

Finally, on that night of wailing winds, in the dead silence where even the birds and cicadas had fallen quiet, a pair of bloodshot purple eyes snapped open.

Hayato unrolled the black scroll he'd read countless times.

His anguished, twisted smile grew into something monstrous.

He formed hand seals, slashed his palm, and pressed his bloodstained hand firmly onto the scroll.

"Kill them all!" he cried, laughing maniacally. "Ninjas, nobles, civilians—if we're born into suffering, then let's bring this misery to a scale the world has never seen!"

"Who suffers more? WHO SUFFERS MORE?!"

The paper screen doors shook violently in the raging wind.

Hayato clenched his teeth, eyes wild with rage and madness, as he howled:

"Let the whole world die!"

"I curse this world! Let the blood sacrifices begin—kill them all!"