Extinction: Fuma Clan (1)

"Wind Demon Shuriken!"

"Summoning: Manda!"

With both hands, Uchiha Mingye Hozuki Gengetsu summoned two massive shuriken into his hands before hurling them out. Under his control, the Wind Demon Shuriken transformed into multiple shadows to assault Shangguan Yingjie. However, Mingye showed no signs of dodging; he slapped the ground with one hand, and a colossal black python emerged. The Wind Demon Shuriken landed on Manda's body without leaving so much as a scratch. Shangguan Yingjie's eyes turned bloodshot, yet he felt no fear at the sight of the giant serpent.

"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground beneath Manda turned into a swamp, and its body began to sink. Mingye sighed again. This time, the sigh was not out of reluctance, but because he had resolved to kill Shangguan Yingjie. The ninjutsu talent the man displayed had stirred a hint of wariness in him. While Shangguan Yingjie could never defeat him or the Uchiha clansmen, Mingye feared that letting him live today would lead to regret tomorrow. The sliver of conscience was snuffed out, and he leaped from the top of Manda's head, charging straight at Shangguan Yingjie.

"Where is this master's blood sacrifice!"

"Everyone here is yours to eat!"

Manda didn't even glance at Shangguan Yingjie, staring instead at the descending Mingye, its tone suggesting it wanted to kill him. But at Mingye's reply, Manda actually gave a human-like smile before turning away, flicking its tongue as it went off to find humans to fill its belly.

"Multiple Shadow Shuriken!"

"Wind Chaos Performance!"

The massive shuriken were thrown once more. Mingye paused in mid-air, took a deep breath, and spread his arms. Whirlwinds rotated in front of him, forming a wall that altered the trajectory of the countless incoming shuriken. Standing on the ground, Shangguan Yingjie flicked his fingers repeatedly; the deflected shuriken turned back around. Sensing the technique of chakra string control, Mingye displayed his own strength, vanishing in a flash. A second later, he appeared before Shangguan Yingjie and swept his leg, knocking him to the ground.

Shangguan Yingjie's reaction was far from slow. As he was swept off his feet, he slammed a hand into the ground, using the impact to prop himself up, and unleashed a flurry of kicks at Mingye. A thin snake appeared on Mingye's arm, darting into Shangguan Yingjie's body and biting his leg. As Mingye retreated to dodge the kicks, he tugged on the snake. The creature, teeth locked into Shangguan Yingjie's leg, did not let go. Dragged by the snake, Shangguan Yingjie was pulled up and slammed back down. Mingye stepped forward and kicked him in the abdomen, sending him flying several meters away.

Shangguan Yingjie spat out a mouthful of blood and scrambled to his feet, only to feel a sharp pain in his leg. Tearing his trousers, he saw the bite wound had turned black, and a faint, putrid stench wafted from it. When he looked up, Mingye was already closing in, landing a series of punches on his shoulders, heart, and abdomen, before wrenching both of his arms out of their sockets.

"Wind Style..."

Straining to hold his breath and endure the agony, he tried to counterattack, but Mingye gave him no chance. A punch to the chin dislocated his jaw, rendering him unable to speak, and a follow-up kick sent him crashing into a nearby house.

"I know you hate me, and I hate myself too. This isn't my first time killing, but it is the most terrifying one, because this is the first time I've actually wanted to kill someone! Heh! But I must say, you really were a good friend, so I won't let you suffer for long. I'm sorry, my friend, because I once gave you a chance. If you had run away back then, or even if you had come to seek revenge in the future, that would have been fine. But you chose the path you shouldn't have. I'm sorry!"

Staring fixedly at Mingye, Shangguan Yingjie could not utter a single word due to his dislocated jaw and arms. He could only watch as Mingye walked over step by step, picked up a short blade from the side, and plunged it into his heart.

Watching the blade sink bit by bit into Shangguan Yingjie's heart, Mingye felt a struggle within, but his movements did not falter. Once the blade was buried in Shangguan Yingjie's chest, Mingye sat down beside him, patted the head of the man who had already breathed his last, laid his body flat, and leaned against the wall, looking at the corpse with a bitter smile.

"Mingye!"

It was unknown how much time had passed when Shimizu suddenly appeared before Mingye. Seeing Mingye in a daze, he instantly understood what was on his mind. Mingye smiled faintly and shook his head, knowing what Shimizu was worried about, and explained.

"Uncle Shimizu, I'm fine! Count the heads and see if the Fuma Clan ninjas are truly all dead!"

"Mingye... sigh, take care of yourself. I can only tell you one thing: you did nothing wrong! You don't need to carry any heavy burden!"

With a long sigh, Shimizu truly didn't know how to console him. Killing was not a skill; it was an ability one had to possess to survive. In this world, if you didn't kill, you would be killed. It was just like needing to drink water and eat every day; killing was an indispensable part of life. But if he really had to offer comfort, it was something he didn't know how to put into words. He shook his head.

"I know, and I believe I did nothing wrong!"

"It is only this world that is wrong!"

After Mingye stood up and replied to Shimizu, he hoisted Shangguan Yingjie onto his shoulder. He reminded himself silently in his heart as he walked past Shimizu, leaving the house and heading toward the woods. This was his first true friend—a friend he had befriended with no guard up, with the mindset of a normal person. The first friend he had killed with his own hands would also be the first friend he would bury in the earth.

Shangguan Yingjie.

After sitting by the corpse for a while, Mingye left again. Stepping out of the room, he suddenly raised his arm and spoke to Ara, who was coiled around it.

"Stop sucking, will you? I don't have much blood to begin with. Can't you see that everyone here is already dead!"

The snake head poked out from Mingye's sleeve, and Ara looked at Mingye with a human-like expression of disdain, questioning him.

"If it weren't for this master, would you even look like a normal person? You've studied the Art of Qi for three years and still can't completely purge the chakra bloodline in your body. Tell me, are you a failure?" Although Mingye couldn't see Ara's expression, he could imagine the snake-face from its tone. After three years of living together, he was no longer the boy who feared snakes, so he joked back.

"Why don't you go find out who the geniuses are and tell the Sage Granny to capture them for training!"

"Ungrateful brat, next time, the devil will help you!"

Ara's cursing didn't make Mingye angry, because what it said was the truth. The main reason he had been captured alive by the Fuma Clan instead of being killed was that there was no chakra fluctuation in his body—or rather, when Ara sucked his blood, he was a person with absolutely no chakra. That was how he had been able to infiltrate the Fuma Clan and carry out his series of plans. Ara had not only acted as his eyes and ears but had also helped him suppress his chakra bloodline and helped him put the deadly poison from Ryuchi Cave into everyone's food boxes at night. Though he felt grateful, the rumbling sounds echoing in his ears made Mingye stop the words of gratitude about to leave his lips, and he said to Ara, "You're satisfied too, aren't you? Take Manda with you when you go."

"I know!"

Ara glanced at Manda, who was not far away acting like a scavenger, not only eating people but also destroying houses. It was infuriating. Manda was too arrogant; if it weren't for its presence here, Manda might have attacked Mingye as well. Simply enough, it bit Mingye's finger again and performed a reverse-summoning, disappearing along with Manda from the midst of the Fuma Clan ninjas and returning to Ryuchi Cave.

"This isn't my first time killing, is it? How pretentious of me!"

When Ara on his arm disappeared and returned, Mingye felt the chakra energy in his body beginning to emerge autonomously once more. His mood suddenly grew heavy as he kept replaying the scene of the killing in his mind. Mingye suddenly mocked himself, shook his head, and headed down the mountain, wanting to quickly leave this so-called place of slaughter.

In the General's hall, Shimizu knelt on one knee, holding a square wooden box above his head, and spoke to the General seated on the throne.

"Greetings, General. I have fulfilled my mission; this is the head of Fuma Kotaro!"

The General's eyes flickered. He had never expected that they could completely annihilate the Fuma Clan, which had been like a malignant tumor, in less than a month. It seemed to have been done too easily, making the General look at the Uchiha clan ninjas with new eyes. The look of astonishment flashed away, and he began to praise and reward Shimizu.

"Good! As expected of the Uchiha clan's ninjas, this General is very satisfied. From today on, you shall take over the security of West City, and one-tenth of its tax revenue shall belong to your clan!"

"Thank you for your grace, General!" Shimizu did not show much excitement. Although it was a reward, he knew that the so-called security of West City was merely one street, and one-tenth of the tax was barely a hundred strings of coins. Heh, if divided among the more than four hundred ninjas of the Fuma Clan, not even one string of coins would go to each person.

"Hehehehe! Jonin Shimizu, could you tell this old man how you managed to resolve the entire Fuma Clan in a single night?"

Just then, Fujiwara Muneyoshi asked with a chuckle. Shimizu looked at him with a cold face and responded with disdain.

"None of your business!"

"Hehehehe!"

Watching Shimizu and Fujiwara Muneyoshi, the General's lips curled into a smile again. In the art of governing, the simplest method was balance and division. Once a faction formed, it was necessary to support another force; otherwise, the so-called "subject overcoming the ruler" or "son overcoming the father" would happen to him. In these chaotic times, one couldn't even fully trust one's own children. Seeing Fujiwara Muneyoshi hit a wall with Shimizu, the General reaffirmed their positions in his heart. Fujiwara Muneyoshi was his strategist, but a strategist could only use his mouth; when it came to real blades and guns, he still had to rely on these ninjas. Among the ninjas under his command, it seemed only the Uchiha clan was constantly at odds with Fujiwara Muneyoshi. In this situation, the General nodded subconsciously, deciding to provide some support to the Uchiha clan to give them some so-called powerful capital.