A Bomb All By Itself!

The next second.

"You know, I still don't really like you slave traders. How should I put it... it must be the influence of an old acquaintance's ideology." Uchiha Chiba snapped his fingers.

THUD!!!!

The middle-aged man instantly regained his senses.

Then.

He looked at the ring on Uchiha Chiba's finger.

"What? A genjutsu? Customer, this joke isn't funny at all..." The expression on the middle-aged man's face stiffened.

SLASH!!!!!

The Blood Scythe sliced through his neck.

"Quiet, I'm thinking." Uchiha Chiba smiled. He swung the scythe again, severing the chains. Minazuki Kokona looked at Chiba, dropped the chains, and came to his side.

"You, why did you save me?" Minazuki Kokona remained as cold as ever.

"Hmm, if I had to say... you're cute," Uchiha Chiba said casually. He looked into the distance; that Kage-level chakra was on its way.

In place.

Minazuki Kokona lowered her head.

Ignoring Minazuki Kokona.

Uchiha Chiba swung his scythe, liberating all the slaves in the slave district. Some slaves seized the moment to run, some were left in a daze, and others were so broken they refused to leave.

Of course, one must respect the choices of others...

SLASH!

A slave who had just rushed toward the exit was impaled by a short blade, his corpse tossed aside carelessly.

"Who are you, sir? Why come here to ruin my business? If you're a rival, I'll pay double the price to have you killed," a masked man said in a hoarse voice.

"Nothing much, I just found it an eyesore." Uchiha Chiba swung his scythe casually, and blood floated out from the recently deceased slave, then burrowed into the blade.

The man narrowed his eyes.

"Then, I'm sorry. Since you've trashed my place, you can leave your life here. You're just a brat with Kage-level strength... Men... even if you're strong, you'll die." The man waved his hand, and over a dozen Jonin walked in from behind.

A Kage-level fighter plus a dozen Jonin—an ordinary Kage-level would naturally not dare to make a move, but Uchiha Chiba was no ordinary Kage-level.

He smiled.

Chiba: Amused.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song!"

The flames spewed from Chiba's mouth transformed into a giant dragon, charging at the enemies with bared fangs and claws. The temperature of the fire was extremely high, instantly igniting the surrounding air and forming a sea of flames. The heat waves made it impossible for anyone to keep their eyes open. The dozen Jonin struggled in the sea of fire, letting out painful cries, but they could not escape the terrifying consumption of the flames.

Behind Chiba.

Minazuki Kokona quietly watched Chiba's profile.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Flame!"

The Kage-level powerhouse flew out from the flames, his hands coated in lightning. He clearly hadn't expected that the teenager in front of him would slaughter most of his subordinates in a single move. He was instantly enraged, his hands crackling with manic purple lightning. The next second!

BUZZZZZZ!!!!

The lightning-covered fist flashed before Chiba's eyes.

"Too slow. While I may not compare to experienced Kage-level powerhouses, I can still kill a half-baked one like you with ease." Uchiha Chiba's eyes shifted, his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly as his hands formed seals.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

The ninjutsu of Hanzo the Salamander, replicated by the Sharingan, was completed in that instant. A deep blue pillar of water surged upward, its terrifying force engulfing the man in front of him. The next second.

BOOM!!!!!!

The water pressure blasted a giant hole through the ceiling.

Fragments of flesh and blood drifted down like snowflakes.

"Dismissed, dismissed... I don't know why, but I always feel so satisfied after liberating a slave trader's stronghold... Could it be! Am I really some kind of bloodthirsty person? That's not right, am I being influenced by the Blood Pact?" Uchiha Chiba stretched and muttered to himself.

Perhaps the Blood Pact was having some effect...

Blood Pact: I want to call my defense attorney, I want to call my defense attorney!!!

The massive commotion here naturally drew the attention of the entire slave market. Several sharp-witted bosses immediately locked their doors and went into hiding.

Seemingly realizing that those who enslaved them were dead, the slaves behind Uchiha Chiba ran out of the underground like madmen, scattering in all directions.

A long time later.

The streets were empty.

"Should I go to the Land of Birds to take a look? No, forget it. I'll just set off for the Land of Wind in a while." Uchiha Chiba waved his hand, and the slave shops on the street were slashed into ruins. Seeing that no one else was running out, Chiba increased his intensity, and a terrifying blood attack shattered the earth, bringing the darkness hidden beneath the ground back into the light.

"Remove the restrictions on the slaves and let them all go." Uchiha Chiba put away his Blood Scythe. He had already used one-fifth of his blood reserves; after all, there was no war right now, so there was no way to replenish it.

Before long.

A scattering of slaves began to run out.

"That's about enough." Uchiha Chiba strode toward the end of the street, intending to leave this place.

Suddenly, a hand tugged at Uchiha Chiba's clothes.

"I will go with you." The voice was cold; it was Minazuki Kokona.

Chiba turned his head. "You didn't leave?"

"I cannot leave. If I go beyond a certain distance from you, my body will be in great pain." Minazuki Kokona stared at Uchiha Chiba's Sharingan; she seemed to be quite fond of those crimson eyes.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Fine, just follow me then." Uchiha Chiba rubbed his chin. One person more or less didn't really matter.

However, in reality, the slave seal only caused pain to the branded slave when it was activated; under normal circumstances, it would not cause any pain at all.

At this moment, Chiba did not know just how much the persona of this cold, unsmiling girl would collapse in the future...

Leaving the Land of Rivers, on the road.

"The Yuki Clan should all be able to use Ice Release, right?" Uchiha Chiba was a bit curious, as the only member of the Yuki Clan to appear in the original story was Haku from the early stages.

"Mother said that most males of the Yuki Clan can use Ice Release, and very few females can, but I can too," Minazuki Kokona replied indifferently.

"Ice Release: Frozen Snow."

Minazuki Kokona formed hand seals, and then, with a wave of her hand, a small snow tornado was unleashed. Although her strength was likely only at the level of a Chunin, that attack still turned a tree into ice crystals.

"Looks pretty good. By the way, I am actually from... Konoha. We are currently at war with the Land of Wind. While I am out executing missions, you can just stay at the camp," Uchiha Chiba said, his pace remaining steady as he walked.

"But if I leave you beyond a certain distance, I will die," Minazuki Kokona said calmly. It had to be said, this girl was truly natural at lying.

"Tsk... I forgot about that again. But I still can't take you along to execute missions. Hmm... how about this? I'll just leave my shadow clone behind. That should solve the problem, right?" Uchiha Chiba quickly came up with a solution.

"Fine." Minazuki Kokona didn't make a move, simply speaking in her usual indifferent tone.