You're Looking to Die, Aren't You!

"The Feudal Lord will not be pleased."

A young, capable ninja.

Spoke to a man.

A burly ninja whose imposing aura could not be concealed, even with a desk partially obscuring his frame!

"Dodai! I will say this one more time: this is a direct order from me, the Third Raikage!"

"Bring me the head of that brat Uchiha Genmei; I must offer it as a sacrifice to Kazunosuke!"

"Forget about the Feudal Lord!!!"

Bang!

The desk split into two pieces.

Looking at the Raikage, who had clearly lost his composure, the young Dodai covered his face in resignation.

He sighed:

"Do as you please, then."

Picking up the intelligence report in his hand, his spirits lifted:

"According to this intel, that brat is currently leading a team to rotate guard duty for the Chinoike clan."

"His subordinates currently consist of eighteen regular members, six patrol captains, three assistant police inspectors, two police inspectors, and one superintendent."

"Including that brat himself, who holds the rank of senior superintendent, that makes thirty-one people in total!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Raikage said solemnly:

"Truly formidable."

"Uchiha!"

"This power cannot be underestimated. Dodai, you arrange the ambush."

Dodai's expression turned serious:

"Let us schedule the ambush for after the Dainagon departs from Hell Valley."

At the border between the territorial waters of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water.

Uchiha Genmei looked at the rolling hills surrounding them.

He turned to a young, refined-looking ninja and asked:

"Brother Yuta, according to the map, we should be almost there, right?"

Uchiha Yuta looked stern:

"Hell Valley is about forty kilometers ahead."

"Also, I cannot accept the title of 'brother'!"

"I am currently only a police inspector, while you, My Lord, hold the rank of senior superintendent, which is a higher position than mine. Please address me by my rank while on duty, Lord Genmei!"

Uchiha Genmei felt a headache coming on. This police inspector was young and promising, but he was also incredibly rigid. He had figured out his personality throughout the journey.

He was a great partner for work, but a stubborn rock in private matters.

"Forty kilometers, is it? It seems we are almost there!"

A moment later.

They arrived at Hell Valley.

The guard rotation went off without a hitch.

Uchiha Genmei arranged the duties, following the established protocols to the letter.

He returned to his quarters, sat cross-legged on the bed, and frowned in thought.

Is my intuition failing me? The entire journey has been far too smooth.

He focused for a moment.

Forget it. If the soldiers come, I will block them; if the water comes, I will earth it up. I have enough confidence in my own strength.

I just need to finish this month's guard duty safely.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Uchiha Yuta put away the scroll that had just been delivered by a ninja cat.

He paced to the window, lost in thought.

The next day.

Finished handling the morning's work.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Please, come in."

Uchiha Yuta pushed the door open and walked over to Genmei's desk, bowing as he reported:

"Lord Genmei, the Dainagon of the Land of Lightning has delivered the commission to the warehouse."

"Very good. Where is the Dainagon now?"

"Reporting to Lord Genmei, the Dainagon could not bear the barrenness of Hell Valley. He has gone elsewhere to sightsee and is expected to return to the Land of Lightning the day after tomorrow."

Uchiha Genmei felt a weight lift from his heart.

He had been worrying about how to deal with the nobility, but this Dainagon was quite convenient; by going off to sightsee, he likely wouldn't be coming back at all.

It saved him quite a bit of trouble.

Staring at the composed Yuta, Uchiha Genmei nodded:

"Excellent. Have the ninja cats take the commission back to the clan."

"The current work is arranged. I'm going out to get some air."

He walked along the streets of Hell Valley.

He had arrived just last night, when there was hardly any activity.

Looking out this morning, however, smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household.

Though the shops along the street were few, there was still a certain amount of foot traffic.

Uchiha Genmei pondered. The Chinoike clan had been mentioned in the original work.

At the time, he had felt the later parts were just dragging on, so he hadn't paid much attention.

All he knew was that this clan, like the Uchiha clan, shared a common ancestor.

Indra!

A hundred years ago, they had participated in the political struggles of the Land of Lightning's Feudal Lord's court. After failing, the Feudal Lord had hired the Uchiha to defeat them.

They were exiled to Hell Valley and imprisoned.

There was something called the Ketsuryugan, but he didn't know anything else.

He had learned about it from the relevant files in the Police Force.

The Ketsuryugan was a dōjutsu-type kekkei genkai.

Its genjutsu was no weaker than the Sharingan, and it could manipulate blood to turn people into human bombs.

It was only slightly inferior to the Sharingan in terms of insight.

In other aspects, it could be said to be not the least bit weaker than the Sharingan, perhaps even slightly stronger.

Suddenly, a commotion ahead interrupted his thoughts.

"Gabimaru, Gabimaru, the jinx Gabimaru."

"Gabimaru, Gabimaru, the wailing, blood-weeping Gabimaru."

"Gabimaru, Gabimaru, the man-eating demon Gabimaru."

He saw a group of children surrounding a handsome, white-haired youth.

They were chanting in unison, singing a nursery rhyme they had made up for him.

Unfortunately, the aura of despair and numbness clinging to his entire body ruined his appearance and grace.

The surrounding Chinoike clansmen walked past him with cold, disgusted expressions.

It was as if he were some filthy thing.

Uchiha Genmei, intrigued, pulled over a passerby nearby.

He asked, "Why do you all treat that youth like that?"

The burly passerby he had grabbed looked at Genmei, who was holding onto him.

With a look of disgust, he said, "Go ask that jinx yourself. I have nothing to say to you Uchiha!"

Genmei raised an eyebrow and said flippantly:

"Oh? I can understand you hating me for being an Uchiha, but I am the Superintendent currently on duty."

"In other words, I am your superior officer right now. Are you sure about that?"

Upon hearing this, the look of disgust vanished, and the burly man looked helpless:

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you."

Emptiness, numbness, and a sense of despair.

These feelings permeated every fiber of Gabimaru Oyashiro's being.

As a genius ninja, Gabimaru's life should have been wonderful.

But ever since he awakened those cursed eyes, his life had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Though the death of his parents from illness had been heartbreaking, he had managed to pull himself together with the comfort of his childhood sweetheart and wife.

But!

Misfortune struck again.

His wife had contracted a strange illness, and no matter what medicine she took, or how much of it, nothing worked.

Her body grew weaker with each passing day.

She had fallen into a coma the day before yesterday and had not touched a drop of water or a grain of rice for two consecutive days.

He didn't know if she would be able to pull through today or tomorrow.

Yui.

She was about to die!

Was he to watch Yui die with his own eyes?

Ignoring the noisy children around him, Gabimaru clutched the packet of medicine and headed toward home.

He couldn't accept it; he refused to accept it!

The closer he got to home, the more despair filled his heart!

He wanted to die!

He could not accept the outcome of watching Yui die right before his eyes!

A massive void formed within his heart.

Ah~

His ocular power was intensifying.

He couldn't understand it.

His own wife was about to die!

Were these eyes rejoicing?!!!

Destroy it all!

Yui's end.

It was too unbearable to look at, too painful to witness.

Gabimaru raised his hand, just about to...

"Young man, you want to die, don't you?"

"Shall I grant you that wish?"