Setsuna

Seeing the little girl standing silently with her head bowed, and recalling the rather professional assassination technique she'd used earlier, Uchiha Zhuang grew interested. "Have you heard of the Snow Ninja Village?" Setsuna remained silent. "Where are those little girls? Take me to see them." Setsuna glanced at Delia, unconscious on the floor, then turned and headed downstairs. Carrying Delia on his back, Uchiha Zhuang followed one step at a time. They reached the storage room, where he opened several layers of mechanisms. At last, Setsuna stopped in front of an iron door and pointed to the keyhole. Uchiha Zhuang set Delia down and searched her, eventually finding the key tucked inside her bra.

When Uchiha Zhuang entered the basement, he saw that the original pink pleasure room was still there, though the area farther inside seemed to have been greatly expanded. Under the dim lightbulbs, he finally saw all the little girls. They were asleep on a huge tatami mat, while Ootama and Tsugutama slept on a large bed nearby. Uchiha Zhuang went over and gently woke the two girls, then gestured for Setsuna to return to the others. In the outer room, on the pink bed, Uchiha Zhuang channeled chakra into Delia, and she slowly woke.

Seated on the bed, Uchiha Zhuang looked at the three women kneeling on the floor. He thought of the dozen or so little girls, their faces and hair looking fairly clean, and their new clothes. The anger in his heart eased a little. "Delia, Ootama, Tsugutama. I'm sure you understand the consequences of betraying your master. I'm very angry right now. If you can't give me an answer I'm satisfied with, I'll make you suffer day and night." Uchiha Zhuang's frosty expression terrified the women. They begged for mercy incessantly, even undressing together in an attempt to serve him, but he gently refused. At last, Delia said, "Master Samma, we've gradually gotten the hang of the tasks you assigned us. We have a steady source of goods and a discreet, secure way of arranging trades. I've also started having people build a second base. We're using a special construction outfit from the black market. They just build and take the money; they don't ask questions about anything else, so you don't need to worry about security."

As Delia, completely naked, spoke in fear, Uchiha Zhuang slowly calmed down. It was good that the organization was beginning to take shape. But why had Delia found the courage and motivation to betray him? Thinking it over, he figured the old bastard Hatano Yu must have been behind it. That detestable old man had nearly ruined everything. If Uchiha Zhuang had arrived any later, the old man would have snatched it all away. Uchiha Zhuang decided to give Daikokuya a harsh lesson, so the old man would know what pain felt like and never dare entertain such ideas again.

Now that he'd made up his mind, Uchiha Zhuang was no longer in a hurry. He asked questions and learned that the dozen or so little girls came from the Land of Snow, the Land of Sea, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Waterfalls, and seven or eight other countries. They were all orphans, and four or five had special abilities. Because of those abilities, their relatives had sold them to human traffickers or driven them from their homes.

He had Delia call all the little girls over. A moment later, Uchiha Zhuang looked at the little girls before him, with their big eyes and frail bodies, and spoke softly. "I'm Uchiha Zhuang, your master. From now on, you'll live for me and die for me. There's no reason beyond the fact that this is how the world works: strength decides everything. I'm stronger than you, so I can control every part of your lives. Every one of you must work hard for me. Of course, I'll give you good food, good clothes, and a good place to live, and I'll let you enjoy a normal amount of freedom. But when I give an order, every one of you must carry it out with your life on the line." Uchiha Zhuang stared at them with his Two-Tomoe Sharingan active. His eyes held them in thrall, and their minds were steadily being hypnotized. He knew this hypnosis would only last a short time and wouldn't be very effective. The organization would grow, and its numbers would increase, so he needed something that could keep everyone under control.

He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the system. Looking through the control-item category in the shop, he entered the keywords: chakra, control, organization members, and so on. After a while, a list appeared. After comparing the options for a long time, Uchiha Zhuang finally settled on an item he could afford right now. God King Gu (blue), 1,200 points. This upgradeable God King Gu, at blue quality, could control anyone below Kage Level, with the number of people controlled increasing along with its owner's strength. The gu were extremely tiny, strange insects, harmless, colorless, and odorless. When deployed, five would fly toward the target, each occupying a vital area and merging with the flesh: the brain, heart, stomach and intestines, private parts, and spine. Once activated by the owner's blood, they would never change. Those infected would feel no discomfort or undergo any changes; instead, they would gradually become obedient to their master. But the moment they thought of harming their master, they would suffer splitting headaches and burning pain in their internal organs. If they could endure the pain and still act, their bodies would explode, killing them. It was the perfect medicine for building an organization and conducting business.

Uchiha Zhuang read the instructions and silently mocked the item. He spent all his points to redeem it. The translucent object in his hand looked like a jade disk, so he threaded a cord through it and hung it around his neck. He cut a small gash with a kunai, and some blood from his chest flowed into the disk as if drawn by its own will. Then the wound healed on its own. The disk absorbed Uchiha Zhuang's blood, and its emerald veins took on a slight reddish tint, making it look quite beautiful. He tugged on the disk with his chakra, and countless tiny, pale-yellow motes of light burst from it in an instant. It was a captivating sight. The motes poured into everyone below, and as Uchiha Zhuang watched them disappear into the little girls' bodies, another weight lifted from his heart.

Don't blame me for being lecherous and vile. In this world, no one could safely turn their back without taking precautions. There was no love without reason, and no hatred without reason. Having lived two lifetimes, he couldn't afford to trust others naively again. Feeling the jade disk against his chest, Uchiha Zhuang could sense everyone present, along with how much they liked or disliked him. The dozen or so girls were all around the halfway point in their affinity for him, while the women were around sixty or seventy. What surprised Uchiha Zhuang most was that Setsuna's was around seventy or eighty. "Any little girls with special talents, step forward so I can take a look." Delia, Ootama, and Tsugutama selected several girls and brought them before Uchiha Zhuang to show off their abilities one by one. There were five girls: one could control water, another fire, another wind, and another earth. The last one had an impressive ability: she could control blood. Looking at the girl who could control blood, Uchiha Zhuang asked, "Where are you from, and how old are you?" The girl shrank back a little. Setsuna stepped forward and said, "She's an orphan from the Land of Waterfalls. Because of this evil ability, the lord ordered her village to be massacred. She was the only one who escaped." Uchiha Zhuang turned his gaze to Setsuna, and she explained further, "I've already accepted her as my little sister. I hope you'll come to me if you need anything, Master Samma. I'll do it." Looking at the blood-controlling girl, who was rather frightened and quite pretty, Uchiha Zhuang said, "Setsuna, it seems you've been hiding something from me." As soon as he finished speaking, Setsuna's whole body convulsed, and she fell to the floor with a miserable scream. The little girls around her were terrified, huddling together and trembling. Delia and the others knelt down, not daring to make a sound. Only Setsuna shook helplessly on the floor.

Uchiha Zhuang stopped the God King Gu's power. Setsuna's wails gradually died away. Seeing her face streaming with tears and snot, Uchiha Zhuang gently picked her up, sat down on the bed, and said, "You're a very brave girl. I like you a lot. Be my personal bodyguard." Trembling, Setsuna said, "If I become your bodyguard, will you help me get revenge?" Looking into her clear, rose-red eyes, he saw what seemed to be starlight shimmering within them. "Of course. I'll also teach you the most powerful secret techniques in the world and give you great strength. You'll be able to protect the people and things you treasure most!" Uchiha Zhuang said calmly, his expression serious. "I will!" Setsuna replied earnestly. Uchiha Zhuang gently wiped the tears and snot from her face. She looked much prettier that way: a soft, delicate face, perfect features, and a frail frame.