What Was the Body Count?

A giant beast wreathed in blue demonic flames.

She stared at the unexpected visitor before her, crouched low and on high alert.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke:

"What are you doing here, Uchiha boy?"

"And how do you know my name?"

Matatabi's gentle voice made Uchiha Genmei freeze.

A female cat?

In his previous life, he had stopped watching the Naruto anime after Nagato died.

He'd only made it through the manga in fits and starts, and couldn't quite remember the Tailed Beasts' genders.

So Matatabi was a gentle female cat?

And she didn't hate the Uchiha the way the Nine-Tails did?

"How do I know your name? That's none of your concern."

"And you don't hate the Uchiha?" A puzzled question mark seemed to rise above Genmei's head.

"Why would I hate the Uchiha? The Senju are the ones I hate. They're the ones who deserve to die."

Uchiha Genmei tapped his palm, understanding.

"So you were captured by the First, Senju Hashirama."

Matatabi fell silent.

Buzz!

A gigantic arm of Susanoo materialized around Uchiha Genmei, holding a Divine Sword and a Gourd.

"Ugh... Kid, what are you doing!" Matatabi cried, wary at the sudden change.

"What am I doing? I'm setting you free, of course!"

Hearing this, Matatabi scoffed.

"I've never heard of the Uchiha knowing Sealing Jutsu. You can't break this seal."

Uchiha Genmei wasn't offended. Instead, he replied with eager confidence:

"Is that so? The only way to find out is to try."

He pondered the Wine God Gourd's criteria. It recognized conceptual individuals.

All chakra within a body, whether foreign or native, counted as a person as long as it was part of a separate consciousness inside that body.

What an incredibly powerful spirit tool.

Let's see if it can do what I have in mind!

He focused his thoughts.

"O Gourd, all the divine wine of this earth is yours. Transform it into my blade, and pierce through every obstacle!"

Rip!

Within this mental space of Gyobu, the chakra that represented the Sealing Jutsu, the chakra sustaining the seal on the Jinchūriki,

turned into streams of divine light redolent of wine, darting like fledgling swallows returning to their nest, straight into the Divine Sake Gourd.

At the astonishing sight, Matatabi's eyes widened.

She exclaimed, "Uchiha boy, what is that spirit tool of yours?!"

The chains that embodied the seal grew faint.

The Tsumugari Great Blade in his right hand flashed.

Clang!

The chains snapped apart!

"Something that can set you free!"

The Uchiha boy's imperious voice rang in Matatabi's ears.

In the real world,

Genmei took a step back after finishing everything!

Here it comes!

An enormous mass of chakra poured out of Gyobu's body, and the giant demonic cat appeared once more!

Genmei felt a little disappointed. He hadn't absorbed the Tailed Beast completely. Did the Gourd not consider a Tailed Beast part of its Jinchūriki?

He'd have to strengthen it and develop that ability further. This spirit tool would be incredibly convenient for dealing with Tailed Beasts.

"I'm finally out! Damn that seal!"

After her exclamation, the giant beast lowered her head and looked at the boy who had surprised her.

She spoke gently. "Thank you, boy..."

"If you're really grateful, then do it now."

"Divine Sake!"

Genmei's excited words cut her off before she could finish.

A stream of golden liquid poured down over her head!

Excellent. The Divine Sake had locked on!

"Kid, what are you doing, meow?!" Matatabi yowled in fury, drenched in the liquid ambrosia. Her long-abandoned catlike speech habit had slipped out.

Before she could take her anger out on Uchiha Genmei, a force began pulling at her.

It was the giant divine being's enormous wine gourd.

"What is that? My chakra!~"

Massive streams of blue chakra rushed toward the gourd's vast opening.

Genmei felt no change in the gourd. It was like an endless abyss, swallowing every last bit of a Tailed Beast's chakra.

In an instant,

the giant beast disappeared!

Genmei looked bewildered and dismissed Susanoo.

"Where's the cat?! Where's my enormous cat?!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Hmm? What was that sound?

A small blue cat leaped out of the bushes!

With tears in her eyes, she stood on end and glared at Genmei.

Her furious voice rang out. "Where's my chakra? Where'd all that chakra go?!"

"Evil Uchiha brat, give it back to me, meow!~"

The furious little female cat pounced at Genmei.

Then he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.

After a series of heart-rending meows,

she quieted down.

A deep crimson descended upon the land. Moments later, the Tenshukaku in Hell Valley had fallen into hell.

Uchiha Yuta didn't waste time chatting with Genmei. He directed the Military Police Force to handle relief efforts.

Genmei placed Matatabi back on his shoulder and gazed toward that land of blood and fire, as though he could see through everything.

Before long, all was quiet.

The crimson faded from Hell Valley, and a handsome, white-haired boy came walking slowly toward him.

He stopped before his lord.

His lord seemed to have spent all his passion in the battle. He asked softly, "How many did you kill?"

"A hundred enemy heads." Gabimaru calmly answered his lord's question.

"How fares the Tenshukaku?"

"Reduced to ashes."

"And the Gosho?"

"Devoured."

His lord laughed, laughing with unrestrained delight.

"My blade is forged!"

The next day.

The morning sun rose, and all creation flourished.

Uchiha Genmei's office.

"After working with them for over a hundred years, the Uchiha are still the most reliable. They're efficient, and their name is untainted."

"The Chinoike Clan's shinobi forces have been completely wiped out. I'll set off at once to report this good news to the Feudal Lord, and the full mission payment will be issued as well."

The Dainagon sounded relaxed.

"Then I have you to thank, sir. It's just that a large force from Kumogakure showed up during the mission and got in the way. I killed a great many of them, so I'm worried Kumogakure might demand an explanation."

Hearing Uchiha Genmei's complaint, the Dainagon gently waved his Bat Fan.

He didn't seem concerned.

"I'll take full responsibility for this. Don't worry, Lord Genmei."

As he spoke, he raised his Bat Fan to cover his face.

He spoke frankly to the powerful shinobi before him:

"Besides, Kumogakure had the nerve to try to take over the Chinoike Clan. That's the business of us nobles. They've overstepped."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Dainagon."

After seeing him off, Uchiha Genmei felt a wave of irritation. This world was truly bizarre.

Zabuza didn't dare lay a hand on wealthy merchants, and Kumogakure feared the Feudal Lord's displeasure! Or rather, all the shinobi villages did. The nobles held their purse strings, after all.

What a load of nonsense, this so-called era of shinobi villages.

It was the same old way of doing things as in the Warring States era. Shinobi did the dirty work at the bottom of society, and what difference did it make if they formed organizations?

They were still doing the same work.

The Feudal Lord's son became a Feudal Lord, the shinobi's son became a shinobi, and the merchant's son became a merchant. That was one thing.

But in a world where supernatural powers existed, ordinary people sat above superhumans. Uchiha Genmei found it absurd.

Never mind. He wasn't yet powerful enough to stand alone against the whole world. He'd deal with that later.

Taking stock of his gains mattered more right now.

He focused his thoughts and looked at the panel.