Standing in front of Itachi and Jūzō was another cultist. However, this one wore a uniform adorned with four golden lines, indicating he was at the fourth stage of transformation into a deep diver.
A large hood concealed most of his face, and Itachi could only make out his chin, which was covered in stubble.
"You must have just arrived in the Land of Gods, right? I saw you walking over from the shore earlier. Don't worry, I'm not questioning your loyalty to Father Dagon and the Great Cthulhu. I just want to help you understand the Land of Gods better," the cultist said. "This is the place closest to R'lyeh."
He gestured invitingly, as if wanting to lead Itachi and Jūzō somewhere. Itachi, noticing other cultists slowly turning their attention toward them, nodded in agreement to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
We can't afford to draw suspicion now. Better to play along and gather information, he decided.
Following the cultist, the two passed through the main road of the fishing village and onto a quieter street. Though still brightly lit, there were fewer cultists here.
Walking behind, Jūzō kept tugging on Itachi's robe, signaling that they should kill the cultist when they reached an isolated spot. However, Itachi ignored him, as he had his own thoughts. Guren hadn't provided detailed information about the island or the ritual of the mating season, as she had never set foot on the island herself. All her knowledge had been gathered from other cultists. He wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about the island from this cultist.
The three arrived at a two-story wooden house, and the cultist entered first. A breeze from the door stirred the nearby candles, and only two pairs of shod feet crossed the threshold.
Though the house had electric lights, for some reason it was filled with candelabras. In the flickering candlelight, the cultist removed his hood, revealing the face of a man. He had short black hair and a a small x-shaped scar on his chin, but his right eye was disturbing.
His right eye seemed to have been forcibly pulled out halfway, protruding unnaturally from the socket, with a frog-like, dull pupil. The left eye remained human, making the contrast all the more disturbing.
Without speaking, the man turned to a cabinet drawer to retrieve a new candle, replacing one that had gone out. When he struck a match, they caught a glimpse of his hands. The backs of his hands were a pale green with numerous white spots, giving them an overall grayish-green appearance. His fingers were thick, clumsy, and slightly deformed, with a webbing-like membrane between them.
As the candles were lit, the entranceway grew brighter. "They don't like it too bright, so I use candles. Please, follow me."
The man led them down a dim hallway, where a trail of clear mucus was left on the floor, accompanied by a wet, slapping sound as he walked. Unlike other cultists at his level, the man moved with ease, as he wasn't wearing shoes, walking barefoot with feet that had already begun to transform.
After passing through the hallway, they entered a bedroom. In each corner stood large candelabras. Their light fell on a woman tied spread-eagle on the bed, gagged with a torn cloth. She had long, straight black hair and a delicate face.
"My name is Kaiza, and this is my wife, Tsunami," the man said as he pointed to the woman on the bed. Then, in a sudden frenzy, he shouted, "Tonight, I will offer her to the servants of the Great Old Ones!"
This bastard's lost his mind, Jūzō thoguht.
While Kaiza didn't explicitly state it, based on what Guren had explained earlier, the servants of the Great Old Ones were the deep divers—monstrous beings. He planned to offer his own wife to these creatures.
Itachi frowned slightly but allowed him to continue speaking.
"As you can see, I'm already in the fourth stage of transformation, and it accelerates as you progress. Once I reach the sixth stage, I'll become a full deep diver and live in the ocean. But by then, I won't be able to take care of Tsunami. So, I ask that you two look after her and her child once I'm gone."
"Of course, I'll send plenty of gold and fish every month. Just take care of her after I leave."
"Here, take all this gold. It's all yours!"
Kaiza's words grew more manic as gill-like slits on his neck opened and closed. He picked up a handful of gold from a table—coins and finely crafted jewelry unique to the Land of Gods. Shaking the treasure in front of their face, Itachi could only smell a nauseating fishy odor and instinctively recoiled in disgust.
Kaiza's twisted love and devotion to the cult had led him to this madness. But just as Itachi pondered this, Jūzō suddenly stepped forward and kicked Kaiza, sending him flying into the wall. The gold scattered across the floor.
"You bastard! Offering your wife to those monsters? Are you even a man?" Jūzō roared, seething with anger. Even Itachi, who had known him for some time, had never seen him so furious.
Kaiza ignored him entirely and frantically crawled on the ground to gather the fallen gold.
"How dare you… Do you know what this gold represents? It's a gift from them!" he raved.
At that moment, Itachi stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. Kaiza instinctively turned to look, only to meet Itachi's Sharingan.
Kaiza's mind began to blur, and once again, the gold slipped from his hands, scattering across the floor.
In the brief moment of eye contact, he was knocked unconscious by Itachi's Sharingan.
He stepped over Kaiza's body and approached the bed, removing the gag from the woman named Tsunami.
"You... you are..."
She looked in terror at Itachi and Jūzō, who had both removed their hoods, realizing that these two unfamiliar faces were clearly not from the island.
"We are ninjas," Itachi admitted directly.
Seeing that she didn't scream or shout, he untied the restraints on her hands and feet.
Tsunami, now freed, clenched her fists tightly against her chest, curling up at the head of the bed like a frightened animal. Perhaps the thinness of her clothes also made her not want to face these two strange men directly.
"Are you ninjas from the Land of Water? Have you come to save us?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"No," Itachi answered bluntly.
Tsunami didn't give up. "But you'll save me, right?"
At this moment, Jūzō stepped forward, his tone harsh. "Woman, we're here for our mission. We need to know some things about this island."
Tsunami looked at him, nodding eagerly. "I can tell you whatever I know."
Under Jūzō's questioning, she explained many things about the mating season.
The mating season would start at midnight, during which a large number of Deep Ones would emerge from the sea and come ashore in the Land of Gods to mate with humans.
However, this mating was voluntary. Both men and women who didn't want to mate with the Deep Ones could go to the workshop at the mountaintop before the midnight bell rang. There, Dagon would perform a birthing ceremony for newborns, which was also a form of sacrificial ritual.
Those who remained at home would be considered as willing participants in the mating ritual with the Deep Ones. This process would last three days, and until dawn on the fourth day, the entire island would belong to the Deep Ones.
By the early hours of the fourth day, humans would resume their normal lives on the island, but a few pregnant female Deep Ones would stay behind to give birth before leaving.
After listening to her explanation, Jūzō made a disgusted expression and spat, "I didn't expect that guy to have such a twisted taste."
Itachi knew he was talking about Kojiro, but he didn't comment. He was already accustomed to the strange situation on this island. Having gotten the information he needed, Itachi turned to leave, but the sound of a blade cutting through the air came from behind him.
When he turned back, he saw Tsunami lying in a pool of blood, struck down by Jūzō's sword.
"What are you doing!"
"Saving us both from a trap," Jūzō replied coldly.
He calmly walked over to the bed and pried open Tsunami's clenched fists. Her hands still retained most human features, but the webbing between her fingers revealed her true nature.
It was no wonder she had kept her fists clenched while speaking—her hands had already begun to transform, a sign that she was turning into a Deep One. Jūzō then used his sword to peel back Tsunami's thin collar, revealing a golden necklace beneath her throat.
The pendant wasn't just any ordinary symbol—it was the eye symbol of the Esoteric Order of Dagon, identical to the one Itachi wore around his neck.
He understood what Jūzō was implying—Tsunami was, in fact, a devoted member of the cult.
"But she might have been forced."
Jūzō chuckled and sheathed his sword, replying, "So what? Can you save her?"
Faced with his retort, Itachi remained silent.
"Konoha is weak, which is why you and Orochimaru can be traitors so freely," he continued. "That weakness makes you naive. But don't bring that naivety into the mission."
"No one on this island is normal. With your fancy eyes, you should have seen that. And even if there were normal people here, they'd have nothing to do with you or me."
With that, he walked past Itachi. Itachi glanced at Kaiza on the ground and asked, "Then why did you knock out that man earlier?"
"No reason," Jūzō waved dismissively. "I just didn't like him."
After leaving Kaiza's house, they found a vantage point near the beach, where they could observe the entire shoreline. According to Tsunami's account, the Deep Ones would come ashore after the island's bell rang.
All they had to do now was wait for the midnight bell.
The salty sea breeze blew against Itachi's face. The peaceful beach remained mostly undisturbed, with only the occasional restless wave crashing against the rocks.
"Hard to believe what's about to happen here," Jūzō muttered, his eyes scanning the tranquil scene before them.
"Sometimes the most terrifying things hide behind the most beautiful facades."
Above, a black cloud drifted away, revealing the previously hidden moon. The sea shimmered under its light.
At that moment, a deep bell tolled from the mountaintop of the Land of Gods.
Gong.
Gong.
Gong.
After the three bell chimes, the island fell silent once more.
But this time, Itachi could hear the faint sound of splashing waves growing louder across the previously calm sea. The splashing sounded like fish leaping in and out of the water, or like the sea itself was boiling.
"Here they come. Brace yourself, kid," Jūzō warned, his hand moving to his sword hilt.
"I've seen many things, Jūzō."
In the shallow waters near the beach, dark shapes emerged from the sea. At first glance, they resembled a cluster of small islands. But these 'islands' moved, gliding swiftly toward the shore. As the water grew shallower, the true nature of the shapes became apparent.
The first creature stepped onto the beach, revealing its sleek and slippery body, covered in gray-green skin except for a pale belly. A high, scaly ridge ran along its back. Though vaguely humanoid, its head was unmistakably fish-like.
More followed, their forms rising from the water. They were no islands – they were the Deep Ones. A lot of them!
The beach was soon filled with the chaotic sight of Deep Ones crawling out of the shallow water, leaping forward in disorganized motions. Sometimes they ran upright like humans, sometimes they hopped forward on just their hind legs like frogs, and sometimes they crawled on all fours like beasts.
They made hoarse, sharp throaty sounds as they reached the shore.