Fujin continued analyzing, 'That secret organization is likely responsible for training the Bishops and sending them into the Elemental nations to create Grand Priests. If that is indeed the case, then even if a Grand Priest did something extreme and all the known Jashins were hunted and killed as a result, the religion itself would never be in danger of extermination.
The only other way would be if Jashin himself appointed his Bishops and directed them towards the Grand Priest. However, in that case, no one will be able to find anything and I can't do anything either. So, there is no point in thinking about this possibility.
Still, it seems like there are some similarities among the Grand Priests chosen. Hidan and Zankoku were both from minor villages. They weren't satisfied with the pacifist leader and wanted to expand their village's military power rapidly. And, both were quite talented for someone from minor villages.
Anyway, I'll consider them later on. For now, my only focus is on Blood Manipulation. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can get my hands on it easily.'
Fujin had a serious expression on his face. He recalled all the details of the ritual that gave Zankoku the ability to manipulate blood. He analyzed, 'While I did learn a lot of surprising information, the most surprising is what was used to conduct the ritual. It was Fuinjutsu! Or rather, a combination of Fuinjutsu and Juinjutsu.
I'm not sure who or what Jashin is, but that Bishop was definitely a Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu. The seals he inscribed on the 800 ordinary people and Zankoku were all Juinjutsu whereas the seals and symbols covering the cave were Fuinjutsu.
Unfortunately, Zankoku wasn't a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster. He wasn't even a SealMaster. Despite participating in the ritual, he didn't pay much attention to what Ketsueki did. Even after Ketsueki died, he didn't try to learn it and merely focused on his revenge and spreading the word of Jashin.
As such, he had no idea how to recreate the ritual. It was only when his strength began dropping due to age that he became interested in it. Unfortunately, it was too late by then. He revisited that old cave, but it wasn't in the best shape due to being abandoned for decades.
Fortunately, one of his Priests was a SealMaster. He spent a lot of time studying the seals that still remained in the cave. With the help of Zankoku, the SealMaster Priest and the one Priest who used to follow Ketsueki before his death, they managed to recreate the ritual.
Unfortunately, it wasn't perfect. They were still missing several seals. And there were many seals that the SealMaster couldn't comprehend. As such, he had to remove several parts of the ritual and only managed to create a substandard ritual, one which couldn't even hold half of the 800 people that Ketsueki's ritual could. To make matters worse, it could only work on children aged 2 to 6.
What makes it even more unattractive is the fact that they weren't 100% sure that the ritual would work. And, despite being involved, Zankoku still doesn't know entirely about the seals as even the simpler seals were very complicated for him…'
Fujin let out a sigh and thought, 'If I could read Ketsueki's memories… I'm 90% sure that I'll be able to succeed easily. Unfortunately that bastard died decades ago! Even if I find him, there is no way any of his memories are still intact. The only possible way to extract information from him is by using Edo Tensei! Unfortunately, extracting that jutsu from Hiruzen would be impossible. I might have a better chance of getting it from Danzo!'
Fujin began analyzing again. Depending on just Zankoku's memories wouldn't be reliable enough. He calculated, 'I guess there is just one way for me to learn how to perform that ritual. I need to go to that cave and inspect the seals myself. At the very least, I'll be able to do a far better job than a SealMaster.
However, there are a few more complications. Ketsueki said that 8 people had failed before Zankoku succeeded. He also said that Zankoku needs to have complete faith in Jashin. Ketsueki even spent 5 years slowly influencing Zankoku and ensuring that he was completely devoted to Jashin.
If that is indeed a requirement, then there will be no way for me to perform it and learn Blood Manipulation. I have no intention of joining that crazy cult and worshipping a fake or a lunatic God.
Another issue is that these rituals definitely have a side effect, a rather nasty one at that. Though Zankoku never heard any word from Jashin, he frequently kept getting an urge to kill someone and drain their blood. He kept his urge under control for several years, but eventually, he couldn't do so anymore. By the time he died, he pretty much had a fetish for blood. He also had an unnatural urge to recruit more followers.
Considering all the complications, the best way for me would be to bypass the ritual and directly gain the ability to manipulate my blood. It shouldn't be impossible to do so. After all, Ketsueki merely used Juinjutsu, be it to suck blood from people or to give Zankoku this ability.
If I can just study the seals in Zankoku's body, I might be able to imitate them. In fact, when I first saw the ritual, that was my intention. But…'
Fujin once again focused on Zankoku's dead body in front of him. His eyes glowed and looked restlessly as if he wanted to find something. As time passed, frustration could be seen on Fujin's face. He couldn't help but curse, "Where the fuck are the seals that were supposed to be on his body? Don't tell me those damned Uchihas wiped out everything!"
One complication after another left Fujin feeling a bit depressed and annoyed. He raised a small rock from the ground and sat in front of Zankoku's dead body while calming down himself and thinking about the situation.
After some time, he realized, 'Wait a minute… Why would the Uchihas wipe out the seals on his body? Unless they made some progress in replicating it and wanted to stop anyone else from gaining it. But, they already had his body with them. How would anyone else study it?
Not to mention, they didn't wipe out any markings that were on his body. So why would they only clear out the seals?
Hmm, now that I think about it, I had observed this guy carefully when he fought with the Uchiha Jounins. Back then, though I wasn't a Grandmaster, I was already a SealMaster. Even if his seals were complicated, I should have been able to detect them even if I didn't understand them. So why couldn't I?'
On calming himself down, Fujin realized that he had missed one, no, two important points! He analyzed further, 'Another point to consider is the Juinjutsu itself. There is no Juinjutsu in Konoha and perhaps any other Elemental villages that can give such a crazy ability.
Now that I think about it, I haven't heard of any of the dead Uzumakis having such ability either.'
Fujin's eyes suddenly widened as he realized a crucial point. He gazed at Zankoku's dead body once again and cursed, 'Shit! How did I miss such a simple point! This Juinjutsu… It likely has nothing to do with having faith in Jashin. Rather, it is at an entirely different level than what we ninjas practice.
A Juinjutsu that can inscribe seals on and in the body so intricately that it fuses with the body and becomes a part of it. That is probably why I can't see any seals on his body. They most likely still exist, but they have already become a part of his body. Most probably, his body has been modified by that ritual, just like Hidan.
If I can learn this…'
Fujin felt a wave of excitement flowing through his body! A whole new world had opened up in front of him. He had a feeling that his strength would increase tremendously if he grasped this knowledge. He felt that this could be a way to surpass the S rank! Fujin muttered, "I have a feeling that I can escape the limits of the human body and lifespan if I can grasp this! Though I might not become as strong as Hashirama or Madara, the benefits will be far more significant than a simple increase in strength."
