Found It!

That gesture disgusted not only Seiichi, but also the owner of the arm—the woman the critically injured patient was trying to lick.

She struggled to wrench her arm free from the two men, who were now motionless.

There happened to be a big, fat toad by her feet.

Without even thinking, she instinctively grabbed the toad and stuffed it hard into the critically injured patient's mouth, even driving it farther in with her rather delicate fist.

The critically injured patient's eyes bulged, his mouth stuffed full, with two toad legs still twitching outside it.

After a while, the toad's legs stopped moving, and so did the critically injured patient.

The sight infuriated the two Grass Ninja.

This was the son of Kusagakure's leader. If he died, neither of them would get away with it.

Blinded by rage, they completely forgot that they had suddenly become unable to move.

The woman did not stand there in a daze. She seized the chance to escape.

But as soon as she turned around, she saw Seiichi standing in the doorway, looking at her.

"Aaaah!!!"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you!"

Seiichi chose the words that would make the woman before him shut up as quickly as possible.

Sure enough, the moment he said that, the woman clapped her hands over her mouth, terrified that the slightest sound would get her killed.

Seiichi's genjutsu had broken when he acted to restrain the two Grass Ninja.

That was why the woman had noticed him immediately.

The woman's scream also alerted the two Grass Ninja that something was wrong. First they were startled, then their faces instantly turned deathly pale.

"Let me ask you. Do you know where Kusagakure's production base for counterfeit Uchiha products is?"

"Speak!"

"N-no... I... I... I don't know. I... I'm n-not... n-not w-with... with them..."

"Here, do as I say. Take deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out..."

"Still stuttering?"

"No, my lord."

"Go on."

"My lord, I'm not with them. I wandered into this area, and they captured me and brought me here. They locked me up as soon as I arrived. I don't know their village well."

Now the woman told Seiichi as quickly as she could that she had nothing to do with Kusagakure.

After all, Seiichi's tone hardly suggested he was here to visit friends or relatives.

Not to mention the conspicuous Uchiha emblem on his clothes.

By now, there were probably few people in the Shinobi World who did not recognize it.

"Release!"

The two Grass Ninja had sunk into despair the moment they heard Seiichi's words.

The Uchiha Clan had come knocking.

Leaving aside whether Kusagakure could withstand an Uchiha assault, judging by what had just happened, the two of them certainly could not.

Suddenly, they realized they could move again.

In unison, they prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique to flee.

Fight back?

What a fucking joke. Running might not get them out alive.

But fighting would definitely get them killed.

Even an idiot would know which option to choose!

But before either could finish a single hand seal, Seiichi sent them both flying with one kick, right onto the critically injured patient on the bed.

Well, that one kick made them accept their fate.

The two climbed off the bed and obediently knelt before Seiichi.

"I ask, you answer. Can you do that?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Where is Kusagakure's production base for counterfeit Uchiha products?"

"Right here. Just go farther inside."

"Whose idea was it?"

"Our leader's."

"Who was responsible for making the counterfeits?"

"An ordinary refugee. A refugee who wandered into Kusagakure. To stay alive, she said she was a very good cook. Later, our leader had a sudden idea and ordered her to copy your Uchiha products."

"She?"

"Yes, my lord. A woman."

Hearing that, Seiichi turned to look at the woman from the Uzumaki Clan.

What was going on with Kusagakure?

Was it a gathering place for highly capable female wanderers from across the Shinobi World?

Did it even come with forced recruitment?

"How do you know all this?"

Seiichi had only asked casually, without expecting to get any valuable information.

Yet the moment these two opened their mouths, everything they said was useful. What a windfall.

"We're the leader's close guards. We know most of what goes on in the village. Please, whatever you do, don't kill us! We can be very useful!"

As they begged for mercy, both men prostrated themselves before Seiichi with impeccably proper form.

"Come with me!"

Seiichi ignored the two Grass Ninja and addressed the woman instead.

"Ah, oh. Yes, my lord."

The woman had also accepted her fate. She might die either way, so she might as well follow a powerful Uchiha.

The two left the room and headed farther inside.

"What's your name?"

"My lord, my name is Suzune."

"Uzumaki Suzune?"

"My lord, you've misunderstood. I..."

"I know Kushina. I can take you to see her."

The woman—no, Uzumaki Suzune—instantly raised her head to look Seiichi straight in the eyes when she heard that, and her eyes reddened.

She did not know why, but although this was her first time meeting Seiichi, Suzune had a feeling that he was not lying to her.

"Thank you, my lord!"

Suzune bowed to Seiichi in thanks.

"My lord, I think we're here."

After they had walked for a while, Suzune suddenly spoke.

"You've mastered the Mind's Eye of the Kagura!"

"Yes, my lord. There's a lot of chakra in there."

"Stay close."

Seiichi sent the room's door flying with a single kick.

"Who's there?"

A middle-aged man was counting money with a group of Grass Ninja.

Behind them, people were making various sauces and seasonings.

This was what Seiichi had been searching for all along: the production base for counterfeit Uchiha products.

"U... U... Uchiha!!!"

At the sight of the fan emblem on Seiichi's chest, the Grass Ninja's eyes nearly popped out.

"He's alone! Hurry, focus your attacks and kill him! The secret here must not get out!"

Their leader lived up to his position, reacting instantly and providing a solution at once.

"Immobilization!"

Everyone present except Seiichi and Suzune froze.

One Grass Ninja had just lifted a foot. Unable to keep his balance after being immobilized, he fell flat on his face with a smack.

Suzune noticed Seiichi's eyes instantly transform into red Sharingan bearing intricate patterns.

At the same time, her Mind's Eye of the Kagura told her how terrifying the man before her was.

Chakra in quantities too great to measure, and Yin Release Eye Power so immense that Suzune could not look directly at it.

Every bit of it told her that this was a terrifying being, like a demon god from the abyss.

Then there was the astonishing presence he revealed, so vast that it seemed it could blot out the sky.

It told every Grass Ninja present in no uncertain terms: he was not someone they could afford to provoke!

Seiichi walked past them.

Bind and Immobilization were both Space-Time Ninjutsu Seiichi had developed using his Mangekyō Sharingan ability as their foundation.

The more characters in the name, the greater the power.

So far, he had only developed them up to five characters.

But judging by his tests, the immobilization time of the four-character version was enough for him to kill Fugaku with ease.

As for these people...