Naruto: Call of Cthulhu

The cultist ninjas with their backs still ablaze slowly got up, standing in place and looking into the distance, where Guren and Itachi had already vanished. With a cracking sound, the crystalline path on the sea began to collapse, forcing them to retreat to the shore.

At this moment, Zabuza suddenly appeared among the cultist ninjas. "Did they escape?" he asked.

"Yes, they got away."

"Then let's go back and report to Dagon."

With that, Zabuza left. But just then, a few of the cultist ninjas noticed the large sword on his back. Those who were originally from Kiri immediately recognized the weapon.

"Is that..."

"This is my trophy. Don't even think about it."

"But you already have one..."

In the darkened hall, Kojiro sat alone on a solitary throne. What was once the throne of the Daimyo of the Land of Waves now belonged completely to him.

His massive body leaned against the throne, with one elbow resting on the armrest, supporting his lowered head. With his eyes closed, he appeared to be dozing off.

"Come out, I know you're here."

"I thought you would rest a bit longer."

Accompanied by a voice as rich and magnetic as the waters of the Styx, a figure slowly stepped out from the darkness. This person wore a magnificent yellow robe, with dark skin, tall and muscular like Kojiro himself, and carried a golden-blue staff in one hand.

He walked toward his throne with a noble and haughty demeanor. Kojiro knew well who this dark-skinned person was—the important guest of tonight, a mysterious man who called himself the Black Pharaoh.

Last night, this person had suddenly appeared before him and warned him that tonight, someone would attempt to assassinate him during the mating season ceremony.

Initially, he had thought it was a joke, and had considered capturing this strange person as the would-be assassin. But the Black Pharaoh had accurately described details about the Cthulhu statue, Dagon, the Deep Ones, and other secret knowledge that only those within the cult would know.

Moreover, Kojiro himself couldn't gauge the power of this man. But for someone to infiltrate his palace without being noticed, he certainly wasn't an ordinary figure.

In their brief encounter the previous night, he reached a conclusion: The Black Pharaoh was an unfathomable presence, not someone to be easily provoked.

Thus, before the mating season ceremony began today, he sent out cultist ninjas to search the island for intruders. As expected, they captured a female ninja, using her as bait to lure out two others.

After tonight's events, he felt even more convinced of the man's mysterious powers. Especially when the Black Pharaoh stepped into the slightly lit area, there were two massive distortions in the air around him.

Instinctively, Kojiro knew that there was definitely something present within those distorted areas.

If it were before he learned of Cthulhu's existence, he would have thought the distorted air was merely some ninjutsu trick used by the Black Pharaoh for effect. But now, he understood that there were indeed entities beyond human comprehension, unnamable beings.

Those distorted masses of air were certainly not something as simple as a mere ninjutsu.

Moreover, the Black Pharaoh not only knew the secrets of the cult but had also foreseen the assassination attempt tonight. It was likely he knew much more. Because of this, Kojiro harbored a slight fear toward the Black Pharaoh.

Every being instinctively fears an entity more powerful than themselves, regardless of whether that entity harbors malice. Therefore, until he fully understood the Black Pharaoh's motives, he treated him with the utmost caution.

That was why Kojirro regarded him as an important guest.

"How did tonight's ceremony go?" 

"As you said, there were indeed assassins."

The Black Pharaoh did not respond directly, for it was all as he had predicted.

After a brief silence, Kojiro suddenly asked, "Why did you tell me there would be an assassination?"

Had it been last night, when the Black Pharaoh's information had yet to be verified, he would not have bothered to ask the reason behind it. But now that the assassination had indeed occurred, he was eager to understand the reason behind it all.

Why would this stranger offer such valuable information?

"Consider it a small gift."

"A gift? Are you expecting something from me?"

The explanation puzzled Kojiro, as there is no such thing as a free lunch.

"Not exactly asking you to do anything. It's something you've always wanted to do."

"And that is to awaken Cthulhu from his slumber."

The Black Pharaoh's words struck the deepest part of Kojiro's soul, for this was his ultimate desire.

"What!"

"You know a way to revive the Great Cthulhu?"

Even though Kojiro had been expanding the cult and proclaiming that one day, Cthulhu would descend, all his knowledge had come from two months of interaction with the Cthulhu statue.

During that time, whenever he touched the statue, he could hear whispers, and his mind would gain fragments of knowledge. It was through this knowledge that he had built the cult, positioning himself as Father Dagon.

But beyond that, he had no other means to serve Cthulhu.

And now, the man before him claimed to have a way to resurrect Cthulhu. How could Kojiro not be shocked?

The Black Pharaoh ignored his question and instead took out a clay tablet from his robe, handing it to Kojiro.

"This is the R'lyeh Text, a manuscript that was believed to be only a legend, created years ago."

"It records details about the Deep Ones, the true Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, the Star-Spawn of Cthulhu, Cthulhu's offspring, and the Great Cthulhu himself, as well as the gate to the New World and R'lyeh."

His words made it clear that Kojiro was not truly Father Dagon, giving another reason to fear this man.

"Consider this my second gift, a token of my sincerity."

"As long as you follow my instructions, when the stars are right, you will see the Great One."

On the throne, Kojiro did not respond immediately. Instead, he held the clay tablet in both hands, staring at the inscriptions on it.

Although he could not understand the obscure characters, the moment his fingers touched the tablet, his mind immediately grasped that: This R'lyeh Text was undeniably authentic!.

With a heart trembling with excitement, Kojiro slowly descended from the throne, lifting the manuscript high with both hands, and then bent his knees, kneeling on the ground.

---

In a typical tatami room, Kagami withdrew his vision. He had been quietly observing the movements of Kojiro using the spider's vision.

After the incident with Zabuza, he had taken extra precautions, strategically placing more spiders near Kojiro's usual haunts. This allowed him to keep a watchful eye on the cult leader's activities on a regular basis, ensuring he wouldn't be caught off guard if something were to happen.

Since coming into contact with the Cthulhu statue, Kojiro had become infected by it and turned into a devout follower of Cthulhu. All of his actions were now aimed at the resurrection of the great Cthulhu.

Due to his prolonged direct contact with the Cthulhu statue, he gained access to many secret insights about Cthulhu.

Armed with this knowledge, Kojiro not only successfully established a cult but also positioned himself as Dagon in this world.

Moreover, the power of the statue has eroded both his mind and body, leading to a certain degree of transformation in him.

However, these transformations manifested positively in Kojiro.

He has taken the resurrection of Cthulhu as his life's mission and gained both mental and physical enhancements through the power of the Cthulhu statue.

One could even say that in this world, Kojiro was akin to Cthulhu's loyal steward from a parallel world—Father Dagon. He even called himself Dagon.

Now that Kagami was more aware of these circumstances due to his connection with Atlach-Nacha, he paid more attention to everything that could be or was related to Cthulhu. So, he happened to witness Nephren-Ka approaching Kojiro.

According to the agreement between them, the latter would act according to Nephren-Ka's arrangements moving forward.

Nephren-Ka promised Kojiro the awakening of Cthulhu and the arrival of the time when the stars would align. He even gave Kojiro a strange manuscript.

Although Kagami didn't see the complete text, the information he gleaned was still invaluable.

The R'lyeh Text recorded the connection between Great Cthulhu and his kin with the sea. This included contact with the Deep Ones, Mother Hydra, Father Dagon, and other information.

Only Cthulhu's followers seemed to understand its meaning through prolonged touching, gaining knowledge.

Similar to the Necronomicon, it required the reader to engage with and believe in its contents to gain knowledge.

However, the audiences for the two differ; the Necronomicon can be easily accessed by anyone with a strong desire for knowledge, while the R'lyeh Text can only be read by those who are devout followers of Cthulhu.

In this case, even if Orochimaru were to read the R'lyeh Text, it would be of no use, as Orochimaru is not a follower of Cthulhu; he is more enamored with Yog-Sothoth.

The entire R'lyeh scripture consists of a single clay tablet, and if Kojiro wishes to read more text, he simply needs to touch that clay tablet.

Damn, do I have to touch it to gain more information? I'll observe Kojiro more...

Not only had Kojiro come into contact with Nephren-Ka, potentially gaining a shady ally, but he was also closer to resurrecting Cthulhu.

However, the most challenging issue for Kagami wasn't Kojiro, but the new deity unlocked after advancing to the second tier.

To be honest, before actually seeing this Great Old One, he could never have imagined it would be Him, and that He would be the only one available.

[Name: King in Yellow]

[Affiliations: Avatar of the Great Old One Hastur]

[Description: The Unspeakable One, The Lord of Interstellar Spaces, The King in Yellow, one of the entities representing wind. He is imprisoned in the Lake Hali near the city of Carcosa, close to a black star near Alderban, and is the arch-enemy and half brother of Cthulhu, who symbolizes water.]

[Powers: The King in Yellow, The Yellow Sign Bearer, The Feaster from Afar, The Kin of Byakhee, Brothers and Also Enemies]

However, judging the exact meanings of these five powers from their names alone was not very clear; fortunately, he had more information.

[The King in Yellow: Grants membership to the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. Can manifest an avatar of the King in Yellow with power equal to the summoner's own.]

This was one of Hastur's most famous avatars, and Kagami thought it was likely a power that could attract followers.

Am I going to be... a cult leader? Maybe I can add Hana in my cult... Why am I thinking of her now? I should visit her tomorrow.

[The Yellow Sign Bearer: Can grant the Yellow Sign.]

If the holder of the Yellow Sign was a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow King, they could summon the King in Yellow for a period of time. However, after the summoning ended, the summoner had to pay a price: parts of their soul energy would be sacrificed to the King in Yellow.

If the holder was not a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow King, they would be attacked by the Brotherhood until death.

Kagami thought it was a handy power to exploit members within the Brotherhood. He could even give the Yellow Sign to someone unsuspecting, leading to the Brotherhood of the Yellow King killing them to silence them.

[The Feaster from Afar: Will take this form when accepting sacrifices from followers, gaining a significant amount of soul powers by siphoning the brains of the sacrificed or sacrificers.]

[Kin of Byakhee: Can summon his kin, the Byakhee.]

[Brothers and Also Enemies: Filled with hostility toward Cthulhu and his secret worshipers, will gain a significant amount of power when opposing them.]

Many of these five powers were centered around Hastur's followers, which also indicated that the avatar of Hastur had a completely different style compared to the avatar of Atlach-Nacha, Spidey.

If Spidey mainly operated behind the scenes, then the King in Yellow was undoubtedly active in front of people.

Moreover, Kagami had a vague feeling that the deities unlocked at each stage were not random but rather had an astounding coincidence.

Atlach-Nacha? What is she planning?

For instance, at the first tier, Kagami had needed to improve his combat power to cope with the crisis posed by Obito, so he had unlocked four elemental deities that could provide chakra of other attributes, and their powers were all related to combat strength.

Now, at the second tier, with the emergence of Kojiro, he had been given a deity opposed to him, the King in Yellow, Hastur.

I don't like being manipulated. Damn. Damn! Seems like I should pay way more attention to Spidey.