"Mm, it looks like these are probably all of them. Sixteen in total. They've actually copied the way our Konoha Shinobi Village does things, organizing themselves into teams of four, with each team responsible for one side. That means only these people are left in the inner city." Uchiha Sakurako had relayed all the information through Genjutsu.
Uchiha Tenshu thought it over carefully, then secretly sent Uchiha Sakurako a message: "To avoid unnecessary trouble and prevent any information from leaking, we'd better wait until after midnight to act. Then I'll use Barrier Ninjutsu to seal off the entire inner city. That way, we won't have to worry about any information getting out. With the barrier in place, we can take our time dealing with the Otomo Clan."
"Also, every member of the Otomo Clan must be wiped out. Not one can be left alive! As for everyone else, they're not as important. If they're willing to surrender, we can spare them. After all, we'll still need people to work for us." In the Genjutsu, Uchiha Tenshu spoke expressionlessly, a murderous glint appearing in his eyes.
As for the people of the Otomo Clan.
Uchiha Tenshu knew exactly what they were like. Every last one of them was ruthless, so he absolutely couldn't afford to show them mercy. The entire main line had to be wiped out completely, without leaving behind any trouble for the future.
After all, Uchiha Tenshu didn't want to repeat the tragedy of The Orphan of Zhao. History was full of far too many such examples.
He knew full well that no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't afford to be careless. If some Otomo Clan orphan happened to survive, bide their time, secretly have descendants, and cling to life, then even if that orphan couldn't take revenge on him, they would surely think of countless ways to make his life miserable. He might be powerful, but what about the people around him?
Even if the chance was one in ten thousand,
Uchiha Tenshu still wasn't going to give them that chance.
So Uchiha Tenshu made up his mind: he absolutely wouldn't spare a single major member of the Otomo Clan. Uprooting them completely and preventing future trouble was the wisest choice.
As for everyone else, whether they were hired shinobi or other servants, it wasn't impossible to spare their lives. He didn't care whether they were loyal, anyway. He would place a controlling Cursed Seal on them, and they would do whatever he told them to.
There was no need to consider what they thought.
All he needed was a decent batch of expendable pawns.
With these people working for him, he could gradually recruit others, train his own confidants, and slowly draw more people to his side.
Once the people he'd won over from Konoha's Uchiha Clan and the other small clans arrived,
he would have a core group of loyal followers.
And then there would be another group of newcomers he had trained himself.
One group would be his kin, the other his retainers. Both would be loyal to him, and with the two new forces keeping each other in check, a thriving power would be born.
Soon,
midnight arrived, and all was silent.
Across the sky, dark clouds rolled in like ink, seeming to swallow everything. They swept across the heavens, as if driven by some mysterious force. The bright moon that had once hung high was completely obscured by layer upon layer of clouds, as though it had vanished into the endless darkness.
A dark night, a night for killing.
A hushed stillness shrouded the entire Harvest City. Not a sound could be heard. The samurai on the outermost wall stood like statues, watching vigilantly for movement beyond the city. The inner city, however, was like a sleeping beast, utterly silent.
In that stillness, a low incantation suddenly rang out: "Barrier Ninjutsu: Concealment!"
At the incantation, Uchiha Tenshu and his four Shadow Clones appeared like wraiths in the four corners of the inner city. Their figures flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, seeming to blend into the night.
Uchiha Tenshu's hands flashed through Hand Seals. In an instant, a transparent barrier spread like a veil over the entire inner city. This wasn't an ordinary barrier, but an invisible one that had been specially modified. Ordinary people couldn't detect its presence at all. Only when they came close and tried to cross it would they collide with its transparent defenses.
Like a transparent city wall, it completely enclosed the entire sealed area.
At that moment, the inner city, eight hundred meters long and wide, was sealed off completely. Not a sound could escape.
Thanks to Uchiha Tenshu's painstaking research into Barrier Ninjutsu, this barrier could not only turn invisible, but also prevent sound from passing between the inside and outside.
And now was the time to use it.
"How did you even come up with this Barrier Ninjutsu? You actually started by developing an ability like this!" A complicated look flashed through Uchiha Sakurako's eyes. Compared to Uchiha Tenshu's abilities, even a genius like her was nothing.
At his age, he could already develop his own Ninjutsu.
And this large-scale Barrier Ninjutsu was a specialized technique made for large-scale slaughter. Had he really become this proficient at it already, at his age?
There wasn't a trace of childish innocence in him!
Uchiha Sakurako shook her head, casting the thoughts from her mind, then drew her Ninja Blade as well.
The curtain of slaughter slowly rose.
The Otomo Clan, a seemingly ordinary family, was in fact the central target of this bloody storm.
So when the slaughter began, the two of them didn't do what most people would and clear out the sentries hidden in the shadows first. Instead, they headed straight for the center of the main city without hesitation.
They moved as fast as lightning, darting lightly through the streets and between buildings like birds, without exposing themselves at all.
Against the advance of these two Jonin-level powerhouses, the wandering shinobi recruited by the Otomo Clan were utterly useless.
At last, they reached the Otomo Clan's estate: the magnificent Tenshukaku, exquisitely designed and built entirely from stone. To an ordinary army, it would have been an impregnable fortress, enough to fill any enemy with despair.
Unfortunately, now
it faced shinobi.
The fortress in front of them didn't give the two of them pause for even a moment. Like wraiths, they easily evaded the so-called wandering shinobi lurking in the shadows and charged straight into the heart of Tenshukaku as if no one were there.
Soon, they reached the central area of Tenshukaku and came to a room guarded by shinobi. Inside were the Otomo Clan head and the shinobi captain charged with protecting him.
"Let's begin!"
Uchiha Tenshu spoke. At his feet, two shinobi slowly collapsed, their eyes vacant. They had clearly been severely affected by Genjutsu.
At that moment, Uchiha Tenshu's voice echoed on the wind, revealing an irrepressible excitement and anticipation.
"Who's there?!"
At the sound of Uchiha Tenshu's voice, the shinobi who had been hiding in the shadows finally noticed him.
Shock and disbelief spread across their faces. How had this person slipped in here without anyone noticing? They were elite shinobi tasked with guarding this place. They were already Jonin among the wandering shinobi, and they had sentries posted all around. Yet not one of them had detected his presence.
Just how strong was this person?
"Hmph, brat, I don't know who sent you, but the Otomo Clan isn't someone you can afford to provoke. If you want to make an enemy of the entire Land of Fire, then go ahead and attack! I'll tell you this: the head of the family is a relative of the Land of Fire's Daimyo. If you dare lay a hand on him, Konoha Shinobi Village won't let you get away with it!" The middle-aged shinobi captain tried to intimidate him. His fear was obvious, but he still put on an act, using the reputations of the Land of Fire and Konoha to threaten him.
An ordinary shinobi might have backed down after hearing that the other party was related to the Land of Fire's Daimyo and had ties to Konoha Village, deciding not to make a move.
After all, whether it was the Land of Fire's Daimyo or Konoha Shinobi Village, provoking either of them was basically the same as provoking the current God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Tenshu was utterly fearless and didn't take any of it seriously.
Uchiha Tenshu had rebellion in every bone. He didn't care what kind of trouble killing them might bring.
As long as he destroyed all the evidence,
who would know he'd done it?
Before you continue