The enemy wasn't strong enough. Otherwise, Oyakajōen wouldn't have been able to slaughter them all by himself.
Including the two dungeon guards from the beginning, Sosuke had only received rewards for eleven people.
The total value came to 902 Points.
Adding that to what he'd already saved up, his current total had surpassed the two-thousand mark.
[Points: 2273]
He was still 3,727 Points away from his next target.
It wasn't that he was lazy. That guy had simply moved too fast. The Ketsuryūgan's ability to crush weaker opponents was practically unrivaled.
"Forget it. Nine hundred is already a lot."
Lying on the hard wooden bed, Sosuke shifted uncomfortably. He was particular about where he slept, and it was hard for him to fall asleep right away in a strange place.
If he couldn't sleep, he might as well think about what to do next.
The Chinoike Clan had been wiped out, and Oyakajōen had taken the blame himself. That was his way of repaying Sosuke for saving his life.
One wanted freedom, the other wanted Points. They owed each other nothing. From now on, they could go their separate ways and never cross paths again.
The Valley of Hell was no longer of any use. Before long, he'd officially head to the Western Army Corps.
He'd step onto the battlefield himself and endure the baptism of blood and fire. There were countless powerful fighters and Points waiting there. Whether he could claim them depended on his own strength.
Among the clans, the Fūma Clan had shown the strongest performance so far. On the front lines, they were in no way inferior to the Uchiha.
Their Clan Head, Fūma Eiichirō, was unbelievably powerful. It was said that no one in the Western Army Corps could beat him one-on-one.
The Sarutobi Clan was no less formidable. It had many members, and they especially enjoyed roaming around, righting wrongs. People generally spoke highly of them.
The Shimura Clan was more mysterious. Its shinobi were skilled in Wind Release and usually kept a low profile, rarely showing off their strength.
As for the Kurama Clan, things were very different from how they'd been when Konoha was founded. Now it was a genuine aristocratic clan.
The family ran many businesses and had plenty of members. Every so often, a genius would inherit the clan's bloodline power.
There was one in the current generation who could cast Genjutsu that controlled the five senses. Just imagining how troublesome that would be was enough.
Compared with the other clans, the Uchiha's Western Army Corps was at a disadvantage in every respect.
In terms of numbers, splitting the clan's forces into four had inevitably led to a shortage of troops.
As for strength, individual Uchiha fighters were generally superior, but they lacked a top-tier powerhouse capable of decisively turning the tide.
The Corps Commander, Uchiha Shinya, was very strong, but he wasn't quite at the highest level.
If Clan Head Tajima came in person, he could solve the current predicament. But that man wouldn't care about the mere Fūma Clan. His only concern was the Senju of the Forest.
What about the other clans of the Land of Fire?
They were a bunch of nobodies begging to be killed. The people below could deal with them. Senju Butsuma was the opponent worth watching.
He couldn't count on the Clan Head, so it seemed he'd have to figure things out for the Western Army Corps himself.
Fortunately, things had calmed down for now. No major clashes had broken out, leaving Sosuke time to work on getting stronger.
"I have to redeem the Cursed Seal as soon as possible. The only way to make up for my physical disadvantage is to use chakra to boost my strength."
Ultimately, his age was the biggest constraint on his growth.
That was especially true in the Warring States Period, when everyone had formidable Taijutsu skills. It only made his weakness more obvious.
It would be even worse once he reached the battlefield. No one there dared to waste chakra recklessly. Most of the time, they relied on Taijutsu to fight.
If he ran out of chakra, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Sosuke rolled over. At last, he began to feel sleepy. At his age, he naturally needed plenty of sleep. If the bed hadn't been so uncomfortable, he'd have been snoring long ago.
"Mm. I'll deal with the rest later. What I need most right now is to get familiar with the battlefield."
After an unknown amount of time, Sosuke finally drifted off to sleep.
In the darkness, it seemed that a pair of eyes were watching him. But when he looked closely, there was nothing there.
The next day, Sosuke pretended to go investigate the Valley of Hell. As a result, he "accidentally" discovered a mountain of corpses.
After a thorough investigation, they confirmed that the Chinoike Clan had been massacred the previous night. There seemed to have been two killers.
The one who had killed the most was a Ketsuryūgan user. Besides him, there was probably another expert skilled in Lightning Style.
During the investigation, the person in charge kept glancing at Uchiha Sosuke, as if watching his expression.
The boy had only just arrived, and the Chinoike Clan had been wiped out the very next day. It was all a little too much of a coincidence.
What's more, it was common knowledge that Sosuke was skilled in Lightning Style. It was hard not to suspect he had something to do with the whole affair.
"Captain, take a look at this." Just then, someone brought over a yellowed book.
It recorded an evil sacrificial ritual. From the scene, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened the previous night.
"Someone who was supposed to be sacrificed killed the clansmen in order to perform the ritual."
Put that way, it seemed the boy had nothing to do with it. More importantly, the person in charge couldn't find any motive for Sosuke to do such a thing.
The investigation concluded soon after. Once he'd organized the findings, the person in charge sent messengers with letters to the clan and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
When all that was done, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned with his team to their post at the entrance to the Valley of Hell.
Then—
"Wow!!!"
"Great! Those bastards are finally all dead."
"I won't have to stay here and suffer anymore!"
"I can finally leave this hellhole!"
"Heh, that's the best news I've heard all year."
Watching the clansmen celebrate, Sosuke smiled faintly, genuinely happy for them.
Still, going out into the wider world wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.
In the Warring States Period, human life was as cheap as grass. There was no place that could be called the Pure Land.
Their living conditions might improve, but their safety couldn't be guaranteed.
Judging by their mood, though, they probably weren't in the slightest bit interested in thinking about that.
Sosuke took out Clan Head Tajima's order and went to the person in charge to say he needed to report to the Western War Zone.
He politely declined the invitation to stay and celebrate. Under everyone's admiring gazes, the boy packed up quickly and left the Valley of Hell, where he'd spent only one day.
"No wonder he's a genius."
"Is that so? I think there's nothing wrong with being an ordinary person."
"Forget all that. How about we go have a drink in town today?"
In the forest, Sosuke was speeding along when he suddenly frowned and looked toward the path beside him.
"Someone's there."
As he watched, three figures slowly emerged from the shadows.
"So it's just a kid," the man said with a smile.
In the sunlight, his bright red hair stood out strikingly.
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