About half an hour later, hundreds of people shivered like leaves in the cold wind on the lawn before Tenshukaku.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably with fear. Their eyes were filled with dread and unease, like frightened fawns quietly awaiting the judgment about to befall them.
At the front of the crowd stood around thirty surviving rogue ninja and over a hundred samurai, all fawning like lapdogs, their faces filled with deference and flattery.
Clearly, their backbones had been broken, leaving them with nothing but the desire to survive.
Even though there were only two people standing before them.
Even though they had the advantage of hundreds of people.
But after the slaughter that had just taken place,
everyone present already understood that the difference in strength between the two sides was vast. Anyone who resisted would meet certain death, with no other way out.
Even if someone truly had no fear of death and tried to fight back,
the others, afraid of being implicated, would immediately seize him and offer him to Uchiha Tenshu to prove their loyalty.
Because just moments ago,
the strongest and most influential among them—the ninja and samurai—had already abandoned the wicked Otomo Clan.
They had placed themselves under the Uchiha Clan's command.
From now on, they answered only to Uchiha Tenshu.
Loyalty!
"My lord, everyone who was living in Tenshukaku, as well as everyone from the inner city, has been brought here. I guarantee not a single person was left behind! What would you like us to do next...?"
One of the thirty-odd ninja, a small-time leader at the front, stepped forward, knelt, and lowered his head. His words were full of flattery, and he looked eager to serve.
The others also waited for Uchiha Tenshu's orders, as if ready to pledge themselves to him at any moment.
Uchiha Sakurako found their behavior contemptible. Though she didn't show it, she still turned her head away.
However,
Uchiha Tenshu didn't look down on them. On the contrary, he intended to entrust them with important duties.
At least, outwardly.
After all, it was people with no backbone who could serve him as loyally as dogs. Those who had remained steadfastly loyal had already died by his blade as enemies.
So what use was their loyalty to him?
In Uchiha Tenshu's eyes,
those who served him were loyal subjects.
Those who didn't were rebels.
And rebels deserved to die.
So Uchiha Tenshu nodded. "You've done well. You've made your stance clear to me, but this is only the first step. This is your pledge of allegiance, proof that you intend to break with the Otomo Clan."
"So, as the price of swearing loyalty to me, I want to see you prove yourselves! From now on, step forward one by one and receive the blessing bestowed upon those who are loyal!"
When Uchiha Tenshu finished speaking,
the ninja and samurai glanced at each other, trembling with fear. What the hell does 'blessing' mean?!
But before they could ask any questions,
the small-time leader who had stepped forward earlier immediately came forward again, his face full of honor. "My lord, please grant me your blessing." There wasn't a trace of resentment in his eyes.
Uchiha Tenshu didn't hesitate. With an approving nod, he formed a Hand Seal with one hand. A black Cursed Seal appeared and instantly spread across the man's chest. A black sun appeared there moments later—the same Cursed Seal Uchiha Tenshu had used to control Nakayama Hiroshi.
And yet,
after receiving the mark, the ninja leader didn't even look at it, as if he couldn't care less.
Uchiha Tenshu couldn't help admiring how readily he accepted it. "Good. Tell me your name."
"Your subordinate's humble name is Koike Junichiro, my lord!" Koike Junichiro answered at once.
"Good. Since you're the first to swear loyalty to me, I've decided to reward you handsomely. You may learn any three C-rank Ninjutsu from me, from any elemental nature, as well as receive a year's supply of secret ninja medicine."
Uchiha Tenshu spoke as if the Ninjutsu he was giving away were of no consequence. Perhaps others regarded them as closely guarded family techniques, afraid someone might learn them.
Uchiha Tenshu, however, didn't care in the slightest.
Ninjutsu was meant to be learned.
Only when more people learned it could Ninjutsu continue to advance. Besides, since Koike Junichiro would be serving him, the stronger he was, the better.
Uchiha Tenshu had no fear of anyone surpassing him.
And with the Black Sun Cursed Seal, there was no need to worry that Koike Junichiro would ever rebel against him.
As long as he continued upgrading the Cursed Seal,
Koike Junichiro would never escape his grasp.
Of course,
Uchiha Tenshu would only teach others Ninjutsu commonly used in this world.
If anyone wanted his cultivation techniques and secret manuals,
they would deserve to die.
After Koike Junichiro was the first to declare his loyalty, earning Uchiha Tenshu's approval and receiving Ninjutsu and secret medicine,
the other ninja were tempted too.
It wasn't that they couldn't see the reality of the situation.
If they refused, they might be suspected of still being loyal to their former master, and Uchiha Tenshu might kill them.
By contrast, accepting a Cursed Seal as their pledge of allegiance would not only guarantee their safety and keep Uchiha Tenshu from settling accounts with them, but also earn them Ninjutsu and secret medicine—things they'd never even dreamed of obtaining. It was an incredible bargain.
As rogue ninja, most of the techniques they used were either copied or crude Ninjutsu they had developed themselves. They were weak and dealt little damage. What's more, ninja lived by fighting, but in the past, their lack of strength had forced them to hide and scavenge for the leftovers that ninja from other clans didn't want.
So they knew all too well:
for a ninja,
strength was the foundation of survival.
Their superhuman abilities set them apart. Even if they weren't as strong as ninja from the established ninja villages, they were still many times stronger than ordinary samurai!
That was why a powerful and noble family like the Otomo Clan had treated them as secret weapons and granted them superior status. Did they think it was because the Otomo Clan was kind? It was all about strength!
So, after Koike Junichiro was the first to pledge his loyalty and receive Ninjutsu and secret medicine, it was clear that their new lord didn't think much of either. And they, too, had a chance to obtain them.
When they thought of gaining greater strength,
they naturally gave up on resisting.
One by one, the ninja abandoned any thought of fighting back.
After Uchiha Tenshu placed Cursed Seals on them, they became even more respectful.
And, of course, much more at ease!
Behind them, the samurai exchanged glances and also wanted to step forward and receive Uchiha Tenshu's Cursed Seal!
However, Uchiha Tenshu gave the Cursed Seal only to the strongest among them, the leaders.
As for everyone else,
sorry, they weren't worthy of it.
Uchiha Tenshu simply distributed a batch of poison he had previously developed, which required them to take an antidote on a fixed schedule. As ninja, learning about poisons and antidotes was essential.
And Uchiha Tenshu was a ninja skilled in every field.
They had to take the antidote every six months. Otherwise, their blood would gradually fail, and they would die.
After that, the samurai also took the timed poison.
At this point, Uchiha Tenshu had initially brought the rogue ninja and the samurai, who had barely learned to use Chakra, under his control.
There were thirty-five rogue ninja, with Koike Junichiro as their leader. As the first to pledge his allegiance, he was now in charge of the group. They were divided into eight squads of four, making thirty-two in all. The two remaining ninja were the second and third to join Uchiha Tenshu.
They had also earned Uchiha Tenshu's approval.
They were appointed the two vice-captains of the ninja force.
Regardless of their original strength, they had all been hovering around the level the rogue ninja called Chunin.
By Konoha's standards,
that was about the level of an elite Genin.
It would be easy enough to increase their strength.
Therefore,
the more loyalty someone showed him,
the more he would naturally rely on them.
As for the remaining samurai, there were only 150. Their leader was a young man in his twenties named Minamoto no Raishi Sada. He had little strength, but he had been the first samurai to pledge his loyalty. That was all there was to it—Uchiha Tenshu appointed him samurai general.
That was Uchiha Tenshu's way of employing people.
Before you continue