"Phew!"
Stepping out of the small town, Guren immediately removed the Deep One hood from her head, taking deep breaths of the fresh air around her. Even a ninja would feel uncomfortable being so close to the heavy, fishy smell of the Deep One's skin.
Itachi took this chance to ask her about a question that had been on his mind.
"Those people..." Guren began.
"Even though the Land of Gods seems like just an island to us, to the cult, it's an absolute holy land. There, they can gaze upon Father Dagon up close. When the Final Judgment arrives, the inhabitants of the Land of Gods will travel to another world."
"To us, it's just an island. To them, it's paradise."
"And Father Dagon? They worship him there?"
"Up close and personal. They believe when judgment comes, they'll ascend to serve their evil god."
"Every year, during the mating season, cultists from all over choose a few devout believers to come to the Land of Gods and become its new inhabitants."
"So they ship in fresh meat every year? Charming," Jūzō interjected.
"This is just a way to maintain the human population on the island. The people of the Land of Gods assimilate with the Deep Ones quite quickly, so if they didn't replenish ordinary people from outside, the island would eventually only have those merfolk monsters left."
"The town you just passed through is an illusion to deceive outsiders. The people there are not allowed to enter the Land of Gods."
"That's why the people in the town are so envious of the cultists who can enter the Land of Gods."
With her explanation, Itachi began to understand the workings of the cult. They use maritime travel to spread their faith, expand their influence, and bring more believers to the island. The devout are brought to the Land of Gods, where they mate and assimilate with the Deep Ones, strengthening their race.
But what's the point of all this?
Suddenly, he recalled something Guren had mentioned earlier. "What is the Final Judgment?"
"That's a prophecy passed down within the cult. It's also their ultimate doctrine."
"The legend says that when the stars align correctly, the ancient city R'lyeh will rise from the sea, and Cthulhu will awaken from his slumber, bringing catastrophic doom to the world."
"And let me guess, only the faithful survive?" Jūzō laughed. "Classic cult mentality."
"Yes, only those who serve the evil god in the Land of Gods will be spared from this disaster. Right now, it seems the cult is focused on growing the Deep Ones' race, but their ultimate goal is to summon Cthulhu, revive Cthulhu, and find R'lyeh."
"In the end, it's just the usual delusions of those cultists."
Guren spoke lightly, as if she didn't care much about it, but next to her, Itachi and Jūzō fell silent.
Jūzō, standing at the front facing the sea with his back to Guren, suddenly spoke: "Since this cult is so enticing, how do we know you're not one of them?"
"If you got brainwashed during your investigation, wouldn't we be in great danger?"
Guren was taken aback by his words. She hadn't expected this seemingly careless man to be so vigilant, even suspecting her, their contact.
"I'm a kunoichi. It's impossible for me to be brainwashed like some ordinary person," she quickly retorted.
"Besides, I'm loyal only to Orochimaru-sama. Serving him is my sole ambition. It's thanks to him that I'm even alive today."
"Claiming that some cult could attract me is quite disrespectful, don't you think?"
There was a hint of anger in her voice. After a few seconds of silence, Jūzō turned around and waved his hand, "Ah, I was just joking."
"A joke, you know?"
Guren snorted and put the foul-smelling Deep One hood back on her head. She faced the two of them with the grotesque fish head, "Let's keep moving."
The three of them followed her to the shore, where they saw several small boats, each with a candle burning on both sides of the vessel.
She explained that these boats were for other cultists coming to the Land of Gods, with one boat for each person. If the number of boats didn't match, the cultists would know someone had sneaked onto the island.
So, she led the group along the shore to a rocky area, where they found a small boat hidden away. This was the boat she had prepared in advance.
Boarding the boat, Jūzō and Itachi followed suit and lit candles on both sides of the boat. Guren then paddled them away from the shore.
Tonight, the moonlight was dim, occasionally obscured by thin clouds that blocked the only natural light over the sea. On the dark waters, the two candles on the small boat were the only reliable source of light.
Sitting side by side on the boat, Jūzō and Itachi watched as Guren rowed the boat with movements that seemed awkward yet efficient. It was clear that she was deliberately mimicking the movements of a Deep One.
Gotta hand it to her, that disguise is creepily effective. Almost too effective... Jūzō thought.
In the dim light, Itachi's gaze fell on Guren. The flickering candlelight illuminated the Deep One disguise, allowing him to study it up close for the first time.
The Deep One's abdomen was grayish-white, while its back and webbed feet were gray-green. Its skin was rough, covered in warts like those of a toad, giving it a grotesque appearance.
The head had a wide, swollen forehead, with bulging eyes spaced far apart like a frog's, and an O-shaped mouth resembling that of a fish. Guren used this slightly open mouth to see the path ahead.
He was somewhat impressed by her craftsmanship. The disguise was so lifelike and didn't seem to hinder her movements much.
As he silently admired her work, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a shadow pass beneath the water on the right side of the boat. He was certain it wasn't just the flickering candlelight or the rippling water that caused this illusion.
Something had indeed just swum by. And judging by the size of the shadow, whatever it was, it wasn't small—at least as long as a person.
Before he could calm his mind and think further, another shadow swam past on the same side of the boat, illuminated by the candlelight. At the same time, he felt Jūzō, sitting beside him, shift uncomfortably. He had seen something in the water as well.
Suddenly, bubbles burst up from beneath the water surface. The sound of the bubbles grew faster, and then abruptly stopped.
A large, gray-green forehead began to emerge from the water. Below the forehead, a pair of bulging frog-like eyes slowly shifted their gaze—locking onto Itachi's face from beneath his hood.
The frog-like protruding eyes allowed the creature to see the people on the boat without turning its head, just by shifting its eyes sideways. The large hood of the cultist's uniform could only cover Itachi's forehead, while those frog eyes lurked beneath the water's surface, directly beneath him, allowing the creature to observe his face completely.
The boat continued to move slowly forward, and the owner of these eyes swam at the same speed, preventing Itachi from distancing himself from the creature's gaze.
The two bulbous hemispheres stared fixedly at his face. Even when the waves occasionally caused a height difference between the boat and the creature, the round pupils within the eyes followed the up-and-down motion of the water, always fixated on him.
This made Itachi even more certain that these frog-like eyes were not watching some small insect on his shoulder but were intensely focused on his face.
During their time waiting for the mating season, Guren had told them that although Deep Ones might appear ugly and dim-witted, their intelligence was actually on par with humans, whether they were pure-blooded or hybrids.
This meant that when a Deep One looked at you with those frog-like eyes, the gaze wasn't filled with the straightforward emotions of an animal or meaningless dullness; it carried an intelligent scrutiny.
And this scrutiny, hidden behind a non-human face, made it even harder to discern what these creatures were seeing in one's face.
Human micro-expressions were completely useless with these beings because they would just stare at you with a blank expression. But perhaps, deep inside, it had already noticed something unusual about them. Maybe the next moment, it would pierce the boat, drowning them in the water.
Although he wasn't afraid of the boat being pierced, this unpredictability in the enemy's actions was what bothered him the most, as a strategic ninja.
Itachi excelled at capturing subtle changes in his enemies' movements and formulating strategies accordingly, but when those changes became elusive, he was not sure how to plan ahead.
At this moment, instinct-driven ninjas wouldn't be as tense. They would simply make a decision and take the next step. For example, Jūzō, who was sitting right next to him, was already quietly reaching for his sword beneath his seat, as the silk fabric of his clothing gently shifted.
It was clear that another Deep One was staring at Jūzō from his side of the boat.
The feeling of being closely watched by these creatures, especially humanoid fish, was strange. Unlike Itachi, who was silently observing, his instinct was to eliminate the source of threat by drawing his blade.
However, doing so would cause chaos on the surface of the water, which would not be conducive to their mission tonight.
Just as his hand was about to touch the hilt of his sword, Itachi suddenly raised both hands, grasping the golden ornament hanging around his neck. He closed his eyes and began to murmur softly.
"Praise the high priest of the Esoteric Order of Dagon. I give thanks to Father Dagon for guiding me to the Land of Gods!"
"Praise the Heavenly Father and Savior, the great evil god Cthulhu! I vow to become your most faithful servant and serve you for eternity!"
This sudden action and voice immediately caused Jūzō's movements to halt, and the Deep Ones' eardrums on either side of their head trembled slightly as they emerged from the water.
Did it work?
The Deep Ones clearly heard this. They also fully understood the meaning of these sacred words.
After hearing these heavenly-like phrases, the Deep Ones on either side of the boat subtly shifted the sharp scales on their backs before sinking back into the dark waters, out of sight.
Seeing the water return to its calm state, Itachi silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"How did you think of that just now? Brilliant!" Jūzō whispered, not sure if those creatures could still hear them.
"It was nothing, just improvisation," Itachi calmly responded to his praise.
"I almost pulled out my sword and hacked at those monsters."
Nearby, Guren, who was tying the boat's ropes, remarked, "Good thing you didn't. Who knows how many Deep Ones were still lurking under that water."
"You mean there were more of those creatures under the water just now?" Jūzō asked.
"Definitely more than you think."
"My part of the job is done," Guren said as she secured the ropes.
"I'll leave the boat to you two. But you might not need it for the return trip."
With that, she prepared to leave. Jūzō quickly asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going elsewhere to find a boat. Once the mating season officially begins, there won't be many Deep Ones left on the surface. That's when I'll take a boat and leave."
"Good luck."
After she disappeared along the coastline, the two of them moved toward the fishing village closest to the shore, hiding behind a large boulder to quietly observe the situation in the village.
The mating season hadn't officially started yet, and the streets were filled with cultists dressed in purple uniforms—without exception.
It seemed Guren had been right: the entire Land of Gods was under the control of the Kojiro, and his cult had become the sole belief system here.
As they watched the brightly lit village, shadows moving inside the houses, Jūzō asked, "Are you good at infiltration?"
"I'm decent."
"Then it's all up to you. My style's a bit too... direct for this kind of thing," Jūzō admitted with a shrug.
A glance at his sword revealed he wasn't exactly suited for stealth. His style leaned more toward brute force.
Given Itachi's earlier impressive handling of the situation, it was decided that he would lead this mission, with Jūzō following.
Thus, the two entered the fishing village one after the other.
The village was brightly lit even late at night, similar to the town outside the Land of Gods. Every house had numerous candles burning in front of their doors and windows.
On the village streets, groups of cultists roamed, allowing them to see the expressions of the other cultists.
More than half of the cultists in this village wore uniforms marked with three gold stripes, signifying they were in the third stage of Deep One transformation. At this stage, their faces began to show slight mutations. Their eyes bulged as if pressed by their eye sockets, and their gaze became more vacant.
There were also cultists with four gold stripes on their uniforms. Although these cultists looked similar to those in the third stage, their movements were slow and shaky, like elderly women.
This might have been because the transformation of their feet made it difficult for them to adapt to human footwear.
As they were walking down the street, a figure suddenly blocked their path.
Damn, just when I thought we were in the clear, Jūzō thought, tensing up.
"Excuse me, may I take a moment of your time to introduce you to our great Heavenly Father and Savior?"