A Fortune Made Overnight

About half an hour later, on the grass in front of Tenshukaku, hundreds of people shivered like fallen leaves in a cold wind.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably from fear, and their eyes revealed a sense of panic and unease, much like startled deer, as they quietly awaited the judgment about to descend upon them.

The thirty-odd surviving rogue ninjas and over a hundred samurai at the front of the crowd acted like lapdogs, their faces filled with respect and sycophancy.

Clearly, their spines had been broken, leaving them with nothing but the raw desire to survive.

Even though there were only two people standing before them.

Even though they themselves held a numerical advantage of hundreds.

However, after the slaughter that had just taken place, everyone present had long since understood that the gap in strength between the two sides was as vast as heaven and earth; anyone who resisted would surely meet only death, with no other path to survival.

Even if someone truly unafraid of death wanted to resist, they would immediately be dragged out by others—terrified of being implicated—and offered to Uchiha Tenshu as a display of loyalty.

Because, just moments ago, these ninjas and samurai, who possessed the most power and authority among them, had already abandoned the wicked Otomo Clan and pledged themselves to the Uchiha.

Now, they answered only to Uchiha Tenshu.

Loyalty!

"My Lord, everyone living in Tenshukaku, as well as those in the inner city, have all been rounded up here. I guarantee not a single soul was left behind! How would you like to proceed..."

Among the thirty-plus ninjas, the leader who stood at the very front stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and lowered his head as he spoke, his words dripping with sycophancy, eager to prove his worth.

The others also waited for Uchiha Tenshu's orders, as if ready to pledge their lives at any moment.

Uchiha Sakurako found such behavior truly disgraceful; though she did not show it, she still turned her head away.

However, Uchiha Tenshu did not look down on these people; on the contrary, he intended to entrust them with important tasks.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

Because it was precisely these spineless individuals who could serve him with the loyalty of a dog. As for those who were truly loyal, they had long since died by his blade as enemies.

If that were the case, what use would such loyalty be to him?

In Uchiha Tenshu's eyes, those who could be used by him were the only loyal subjects. Those who could not be used were all traitors, and such traitors deserved to die.

Thus, Uchiha Tenshu nodded and said, "You have done well to show me your stance, but this is only the first step. Consider this your pledge of allegiance, proving that you intend to part ways with the Otomo Clan."

"Then, as the price for your loyalty to me, I want to see you prove yourselves! From now on, come forward one by one to receive the blessing bestowed upon those who are loyal!"

As Uchiha Tenshu's voice fell, the many ninjas and samurai exchanged glances, trembling with fear, secretly thinking, What the hell is this 'blessing' supposed to mean?

However, before they could voice any questions, the small leader who had spoken earlier immediately stepped forward and said with a look of honor, "My Lord, please bestow your blessing." There was not a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Uchiha Tenshu did not hesitate. He nodded in satisfaction, formed hand seals with one hand, and a black curse mark instantly appeared on the man's chest. A Black Sun Cursed Seal manifested there, identical to the one Uchiha Tenshu had used to control Nakayama Hiroshi.

Now, after being branded with this mark, the ninja leader didn't even glance at it, seemingly indifferent.

Uchiha Tenshu couldn't help but admire the man's self-awareness, so he asked, "Good. Tell me your name!"

"In reply to you, My Lord, this subordinate's humble name is Koike Junichiro!" Koike Junichiro replied instantly.

"Not bad. As the first to pledge your loyalty to me, I have decided to reward you handsomely. You may learn any three C-rank ninjutsu of the elemental styles from me, along with a year's supply of ninja secret medicine!"

Uchiha Tenshu spoke, completely disregarding the ninjutsu he was giving away. Perhaps others treated such techniques as closely guarded family heirlooms, terrified that someone else might learn them, but Uchiha Tenshu truly did not care.

Ninjutsu was meant to be learned.

Only by letting more people learn it could the art be continuously advanced. Furthermore, as subordinates loyal to him, the stronger they were, the better.

Uchiha Tenshu was not afraid of anyone surpassing him.

Not to mention, with the existence of the Black Sun Cursed Seal, he had no fear of them ever rebelling.

As long as he continued to upgrade the seal in the future, it would be impossible for them to escape his grasp.

Of course, these were merely the common ninjutsu of this world.

Uchiha Tenshu would only ever choose to hand such things over to others.

If anyone else dared to covet his cultivation techniques and secret manuals, they would simply be courting death.

Following Koike Junichiro's lead in pledging his loyalty, he gained Uchiha Tenshu's approval and was bestowed with ninjutsu and secret medicine.

The other ninjas were moved.

Under these circumstances, one could hardly blame them for failing to see the reality of the situation.

If they refused, they might be suspected of harboring lingering attachments to their old masters and be wiped out by Uchiha Tenshu.

Conversely, accepting a curse mark as a token of their allegiance not only guaranteed their safety from Uchiha Tenshu's purges but also granted them access to ninjutsu and secret medicine—things they had never even dreamed of. It was simply too good a deal.

As rogue ninjas, most of what they used were third-rate techniques they had plagiarized or cobbled together themselves; these were not only functionally poor but lacked any real lethality. Not to mention that, as ninjas, their very existence relied on killing, yet their lack of strength had forced them to hide in the shadows, surviving on the scraps left behind by the ninjas of other clans.

Thus, they understood deeply.

For a ninja, powerful strength was the foundation of survival.

It was precisely because they possessed strength beyond that of ordinary people—even if they were inferior to ninjas from formal hidden villages, they still surpassed common samurai by countless folds—that they could be revered as secret weapons in powerful families like the Otomo Clan and enjoy superior treatment. Was all of this because the Otomo Clan was kind-hearted? It was nothing more than a matter of strength!

Therefore, seeing that Koike Junichiro was granted ninjutsu and secret medicine after being the first to pledge his loyalty, it was clear that such things were of no consequence to their new master, and they, too, had a chance to obtain them.

Thinking of the possibility of gaining greater strength, they naturally abandoned any thoughts of resistance.

And so, one by one, the ninjas instantly gave up any desire to fight back.

After being branded with curse marks by Uchiha Tenshu, they immediately became even more respectful.

Of course, they also felt much more at ease.

Behind them, the samurai exchanged glances, and one by one, they also stepped forward, eager to receive Uchiha Tenshu's curse mark!

However, Uchiha Tenshu only bestowed the curse mark upon the strongest leaders among them.

As for the others, Sorry, they weren't worthy of it.

Uchiha Tenshu simply distributed a poison he had developed, which required a periodic antidote; as ninjas, poison and antidotes were essential subjects to master.

And Uchiha Tenshu happened to be an all-around ninja.

This poison required an antidote every six months; otherwise, the victim would slowly die from blood failure.

Subsequently, the samurai also consumed these time-released poisons.

At this moment, Uchiha Tenshu had essentially completed the initial subjugation of these rogue ninjas and the samurai who had barely learned to use Chakra.

There were thirty-five rogue ninjas, led by Koike Junichiro. As the first to defect, he was now the head of this group. They were organized into eight squads of four, totaling thirty-two men, with the remaining two being the second and third ninjas to pledge their loyalty to Uchiha Tenshu.

They had also earned Uchiha Tenshu's recognition.

They were appointed as the two vice-captains of the ninja unit.

Regardless of their original strength, they all hovered around the level of what rogue ninjas called Chunin.

Converted to standard terms, that was equivalent to the level of an elite Genin of Konoha.

Improving their strength would be quite simple.

Therefore.

Whoever sold their loyalty the most thoroughly would naturally be the one he trusted the most.

As for the remaining one hundred and fifty samurai, their leader, a samurai general named Minamoto no Raishi Sada, was a young man in his twenties. He lacked real strength, but since he was the first samurai to defect, there was nothing more to say—he was made the samurai general directly.

This was Uchiha Tenshu's method of employing people.