Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

Judging from the description in the original work, this evil god cult's series of rituals can indeed grant immortality, although the success rate is extremely low.

Hidan's immortality means that even if his head is severed and his body is torn to pieces, he can still survive. In fact, if the four pieces are too close together, they can even heal themselves and regenerate into a whole.

However, immortality does not mean agelessness, much less eternal life. Coupled with the pitifully low success rate, Hozuki Shingetsu did not consider using the ritual methods of this evil god cult to achieve immortality.

"The report is good, but it's not practical."

Hozuki Shingetsu came to his senses and pointed out the shortcomings to Akiba Masanobu.

"First of all, the concept of immortality is too unrealistic. Even the Sage of Six Paths is not immortal. Without any popular support, the promotion of this idea will inevitably be hindered."

"As long as religious beliefs cannot be fulfilled immediately, they must firmly grasp people's current inner desires."

Hozuki Shingetsu spun his pen and wrote two words after this line: reincarnation and fortune.

"Everyone is born with a certain fortune, so some people are born into wealthy families, while others are born into poor families. Some people live their whole lives without illness or disaster, while others have a string of bad luck within a year."

First and foremost is the foundation of religious theory. This foundation must be superficial, so simple that even illiterate people can easily understand it. Only in this way can it have a basis for widespread dissemination.

Secondly, this religious theory must be expanded and applied based on its foundation, clearly pointing out how to obtain what people desire but cannot obtain in their hearts.

When something cannot be realized immediately, it must be like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water, giving people the feeling that with a little more effort, it can be truly achieved.

"What if we claimed that by going through the rituals of an evil cult, we could strip the sacrifices of their good fortune and be reborn into a happy family in our next life? Would that be tempting to those poor, ordinary people?"

"At the same time, we widely publicized the fact that chakra can carry emotional memories, so that ordinary people would know that this was not unfounded and that it was very likely to be realized."

There is no doubt that chakra can carry emotions and memories, as evidenced by Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze in the original work.

Since there are readily available examples, if chakra can work, why can't religion?

For ordinary people who live a life of hardship, what difference is there between chakra and religion?

Anyway, they've never seen it; it's all just a dream that's out of reach.

At this point, seeing the thoughtful Akiba Masanobu and the bewildered Yukinagi, Hozuki Shingetsu smiled. He then circled a line heavily and wrote down the words "brotherhood of faith" and "blood revenge."

"Not only that, we can spread the word that all those who believe in this evil god cult are half-brothers. Blood sacrifices between brothers will not please the evil god. Those who arbitrarily sacrifice their brothers will only be punished by the evil god, their luck will be diminished, and they will suffer endless disasters for the rest of their lives, and be reborn as animals in their next life."

This rule is to prevent the emergence of "luck hunters," those who do not obtain luck from outsiders but instead attack their own people.

Similar to the sixth player in a battle royale game who doesn't search houses but instead robs other players.

"Since we are brothers, we must help each other. Anyone who harms any member of our sect is the same as harming their own brother. The Evil God is very pleased and happy to see such people's cruel revenge and bloody sacrifices. The Evil God will treat those who can preside over the sacrifices differently."

Akiba Masanobu gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine. While he had made outstanding contributions to warming the ninja world, he couldn't help but marvel at Hozuki Shingetsu's ruthless scheme.

Once this doctrine emerges, it is foreseeable that the cult of evil gods will develop at an extremely rapid pace.

Above, there is the allure of reincarnation to absorb good fortune; in the middle, there is the safety guarantee that members of the religion must not harm each other; below, there is the practical need for joint defense, mutual protection, and mutual assistance.

At a critical moment when the lives of ordinary people in the ninja world were low and a great war was about to break out, which ordinary person would not want to join such a religion once it appeared?

All it takes is a bloody sacrificial ritual to not only gain a phantom spiritual sustenance but also join an organization that will protect you—it's such a great deal!

As for the issue of deaths... in today's ninja world, is that even a problem?

Once this kind of religion, which is bloodthirsty on the outside but united on the inside, gains momentum, it's foreseeable that the entire ninja world's atmosphere will change. That will be the time when the ninja world truly descends into chaos!

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the utterly shocked Akiba Masanobu without showing any pride. What he said was merely based on various "mature" experiences.

Moreover, he hasn't revealed part of his ultimate plan yet!

In the ninja world where extraordinary powers exist, what use is such an organization even if it is prevalent among ordinary people?

Wouldn't they just get blasted to smithereens by a single ninjutsu?

Therefore, his target audience for propaganda is actually... the civilian ninjas in various villages who are referred to as cannon fodder!

What happens when a religion based on commoner ninjas develops, and when most of its members have experienced discrimination from the ninja clan?

Of course it is...

Heaven is dead, Huang Tian shall stand!

Chapter 101: Archbishop Shimura Danzo of Konoha Diocese?

When he saw Akiba Masanobu's proposal for religious infiltration, his first thought was of a heretical cult, his second was Christianity, and his third thought was actually...

Heaven is dead, Huang Tian shall stand!

I am Zhang Jiao, the poor monk, and I invite you to die with me!

Indeed, as a master of conspiracy theories, Hozuki Shingetsu instantly conjured up the scene of war waged by people who banded together for various reasons based on religious beliefs.

Religion is not merely an organization that helps people seek spiritual sustenance. From the perspective of the ruling class, its role in maintaining stability is far greater than its role in other areas such as theology, education, and exploration.

Because religion inherently possesses a tendency to gather and is inherently inflammatory.

If this type of organization develops to a certain scale and has not yet been co-opted or reformed, it can easily turn into a series of rebellions due to various reasons.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Sun En-Lu Xun Rebellion, the Fang La Rebellion, the Taiping Rebellion, and the Amakusa Rebellion of Xiao Rizi, etc., all used the banner of religion to gather believers and start uprisings.

So, is this approach even viable in the ninja world?

Have!

However, the prerequisite is that there must be a large number of frustrated and unfulfilled ninja followers.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu set his sights on the civilian ninjas who were now regarded as cannon fodder by various ninja villages.

After being modified by Hozuki Shingetsu, the evil cult's doctrines are filled with bloodshed, emphasizing struggle, despising internal killings, and encouraging blood revenge. Once such an organization rises, it is foreseeable that its internal cohesion will be at its peak.

So, would this kind of organizational philosophy be attractive to ordinary ninjas who are destitute and treated like cattle by the ninja clan?

Isn't that incredibly appealing?

Such a powerful backer was something these commoner ninjas dreamed of. Their purpose in joining this religion was not the vague and ethereal theory of fortune-telling, but rather the very real need for mutual support and protection.

In this situation, all it takes is a gentle push at a crucial, tense moment...

BOOM!

In the ninja world, which had never witnessed a large-scale religious uprising, this type of riot was something that no ninja village could prevent.

There are two reasons for this: first, no religion has ever had so many ninja followers; second, no ninja has ever been treated differently.

The establishment of ninja schools, the increase in the number of civilian ninjas, and the tragic casualty rate of civilian ninjas precisely fulfilled the above two conditions.

Perhaps the only factor affecting the spread of this religion among ordinary ninjas was that when religious members offended those ninja clans, the lack of anyone standing up for them made people feel that the religion had no ability to protect them, thus causing them to give up joining the religion.

After all, the only ones who could cause conflict with ordinary ninjas were members of ninja clans.

If no one steps forward at this point, the organization's cohesion will inevitably vanish, and the message will only spread among ordinary people, which is far from Hozuki Shingetsu's vision.

On the surface, this problem does seem unsolvable, since no matter how powerful Kirigakure is, it's impossible for them to storm into another village and deal with their ninjas.

But what if Hozuki Shingetsu relinquishes control of this religion?

What if the one who leads this religion is not Hozuki Shingetsu, but rather the active, enthusiastic, and energetic individuals within each of the ninja villages?

For example... Konoha Village's "Ninja Pot," Shimura Danzo?

What would it be like if he became the archbishop of this cult of evil gods?

As the head of Konoha's intelligence department, will he choose to report to the village and let the village take over this highly cohesive force, or will he choose to keep it to himself and become the behind-the-scenes boss of the Konoha Evil God Cult?

What will he do with this power then?

Is it an uprising, a rebellion, or an act of foreign aggression?

Regardless of the method, as long as it can stir up internal strife, it will be good news for Hozuki Shingetsu.

Thinking of this, Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't help but laugh, even in front of Yukinagi and Akiba Masanobu.

While laughing, he added another word at the end of the report with his pen:

Justification by faith.

"The propaganda slogan of the Evil God Cult can be supplemented with the statement that everyone can communicate directly with the Evil God through blood sacrifices. Therefore, the Evil God Cult does not have a church or a pope, but only divine children who are deeply favored by the Evil God. The divine children are the highest-ranking people within the church, and all believers must unconditionally obey the orders of the divine children."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Akiba Masanobu and couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile: "As for the sole criterion for judging a god's child... well, that's obviously the person who has performed the most bloody rituals!"

It is foreseeable that once this doctrine emerges, without a unified church, various evil god cults of different sizes will inevitably appear on the Ninja World Continent.

These organizations, with their strong internal cohesion and ruthless external influence, will they be recruited by the various ninja villages once they are noticed?

And what better way to recruit someone than to install someone as the god's son to lead the organization?

"But if that happens... wouldn't we completely lose control over this religion?"

Akiba Masanobu quickly realized this and looked at Hozuki Shingetsu with a puzzled expression. After all, it was such a cohesive organization, and it would be a real pity to just hand it over like that.

When he first proposed this plan, he didn't think that far ahead. Besides creating a bloody atmosphere within each ninja village, he also intended to use members of this organization as spies to gather intelligence.

However, once this doctrine was introduced, it became clear that his ideas were completely unusable.

"What is the purpose of our religious invasion, and even our propaganda?"

Instead of directly answering Akiba Masanobu's question, Hozuki Shingetsu asked him a question in return.

"Of course, it's to disrupt the ninja world's situation, incite conflicts between the various ninja villages, weaken their strength, and buy time for the villages to develop... I see..."

Akiba Masanobu answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but he quickly realized something and immediately understood.

"That's right. Our goal has never been to control the cult, but to stir up the situation in the ninja world. Never get this primary and secondary relationship mixed up, or you'll easily lose more than you gain and get caught in the middle."