Light and shadow shifted, and the trees and moonlight of the Demon Slayer World instantly faded around him. The next moment, he had set foot on the soil of the Shinobi World once more.
As soon as he landed, Zongyan lowered his head and carefully inspected the demon in his hand.
It remained in the same state as when it had been captured, showing no unusual changes from traveling between worlds.
"Good. The demon showed no abnormalities during the transfer between worlds. That means things from other worlds can all be brought back."
Zongyan nodded in satisfaction. After storing the Demon Slayer World's exclusive portal before him in his status panel, he became a black shadow and sped toward the Uchiha Clan's base in the Land of Rice Fields.
A secret Uchiha outpost lay hidden amid a secluded mountain range in the Land of Rice Fields.
Defensive works disguised as mountain rock surrounded the outpost, with two concealed sentries on duty. Two Uchiha Jonin leaned in the shadows of a rock wall, chatting during their shift.
"Toru, have you heard? The idea that let our clan secretly bring the Land of Rice Fields' daimyo under control actually came from Young Master Zongyan!"
The man called Toru slowly nodded, a reflective look in his eyes.
"That's right. Now the entire Land of Rice Fields is under our Uchiha's control, and all kinds of resources keep flowing back to the Clan Grounds. It's much faster than completing missions."
"Who would have dared imagine we had an option like this in the past?"
After saying this, he couldn't help turning toward his companion, his curiosity stirred.
"Ren, do you think we'll get a turn at awakening the Mangekyō after we finish our assignment here?"
Uchiha Ren folded his arms and looked deeper into the outpost, a hint of anticipation appearing on his face.
"I reckon there shouldn't be many whose contributions are greater than ours, right? After all, we're carrying out a top-secret clan assignment."
At this point, Uchiha Ren changed the subject, reflecting on the contribution system.
"Speaking of which, I heard Young Master Zongyan was the one who proposed this clan contribution system."
Hearing this, Uchiha Toru grew animated.
"That's not all. Wasn't he the one who brought that Altar at the Clan Grounds back to the clan?"
"I even heard Clan Elder Yashiro say that Young Master Zongyan proposed this plan for the Land of Rice Fields too!"
"Really? To think Young Master Zongyan has done so much for the clan at such a young age!"
"In terms of contributions, ability, and vision, there probably aren't many in the clan who can compare."
"If only-if only Young Master Zongyan could become Clan Head someday."
Uchiha Ren couldn't help voicing his praise.
Uchiha Toru, however, shook his head slightly. His thinking was much more realistic, and he lowered his voice to reply.
"I'm afraid that won't be so easy. Young Master Zongyan's achievements are certainly brilliant, but he still has Young Master Itachi above him. Itachi is also a once-in-a-century genius, and he currently serves in the Anbu. His reputation in the clan is no less impressive. The rules of seniority are there, and they aren't something merit alone can easily overturn."
"I understand all that, but the achievements Young Master Zongyan has made, one after another, really do inspire conviction from the bottom of my heart."
The two were in the middle of their heated discussion when an extremely faint whistle suddenly swept through the night air.
Their expressions instantly sharpened. They stopped chatting at once, their scarlet Sharingan quietly spinning as both fixed their gazes on the direction of the sound and went on guard.
Only when they saw that the newcomer was Uchiha Zongyan did they immediately deactivate their Sharingan and bow in unison.
"Greetings, Young Master Zongyan!"
Zongyan still held the demon, tightly bound with rope and struggling feebly. He simply raised a hand to indicate that there was no need for ceremony.
"Where is Clan Elder Yashiro?"
Uchiha Toru hurriedly bowed and answered, "Young Master Zongyan, Clan Elder Yashiro is handling miscellaneous affairs deeper inside the outpost."
"All right. Continue your patrol. I'll go see Clan Elder Yashiro."
With that, Zongyan carried the demon straight through the defensive works and headed into the outpost.
After passing through several corridors, he soon found Uchiha Yashiro.
Inside the room, Uchiha Yashiro was bent over a desk, reading a scroll of records. He raised his head at the sound.
With a swing of his arm, Zongyan tossed the tightly bound demon straight onto the floor.
"Clan Elder Yashiro, I've brought you a gift."
Yashiro's gaze fell on the hideous, ugly monster writhing and struggling on the floor. The corner of his eye twitched slightly, his face full of speechless bemusement.
"Young Master Zongyan, who in the world gives something this ugly as a gift? Just looking at it gives me an eerie feeling. This is more than I can handle."
Seeing his look of distaste, Zongyan hurriedly began explaining.
"Clan Elder, you mustn't underestimate this thing. It has a very unusual ability to regenerate its body. Even severed limbs can grow back, and if it's kept 'well fed,' its strength can keep increasing."
"This thing doesn't look human. If you want to keep it fed, what does it eat?"
Yashiro raised an eyebrow and bent closer, carefully examining the monster's constantly writhing body. A measure of curiosity entered his eyes, but he did not rashly reach out to touch it.
"This thing looks completely inhuman. Since it needs to be 'well fed' to grow, what does it eat? The flesh and blood of ordinary beasts?"
Zongyan's expression darkened slightly as he explained what demons ate.
"Humans!"
"They feed on humans, devouring the flesh and blood of living people to supply the energy for their regeneration and combat."
As those words fell, Yashiro's expression abruptly changed. He instinctively drew back half a step, his gaze turning grave.
"It eats people?!"
"That's right."
Yashiro put aside his earlier joking attitude and nodded solemnly. His gaze fell on the demon struggling nonstop on the floor as he rapidly considered the matter.
A moment later, a calculating gleam flashed through his eyes.
"In that case, finding a food source shouldn't be too difficult."
"Here in the Land of Rice Fields, plenty of serious criminals are arrested every day. Under their laws, those crimes already carry the death penalty. They'll die either way."
He lowered his voice, his tone conveying a cold reality.
"Rather than execute them outright and let them go to waste, we might as well feed them to this monster. First, we can test the limits of its strength. Second, we can put waste to use and have them contribute something to the Uchiha."
Uchiha Zongyan agreed.
"Since you already have an idea, Clan Elder Yashiro, I'll leave this thing with you to study."
After settling the matter of the demon, Zongyan asked about the current situation in the Land of Rice Fields.
Yashiro had nothing to hide and went over the important points of everything that had happened during this time.
After hearing the full account, Zongyan gained a general understanding of the current situation. Since Konoha had yet to notice anything amiss, they certainly had to put their full effort into increasing the clan's strength.
"Keep everything here as it is, and continue along our original course. The clan will be relying entirely on you, Clan Elder Yashiro."
"What are you saying, Young Master Zongyan? This old man is merely putting what little strength he has left to use. It's the younger generation the clan must truly rely on."
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Clan Elder Yashiro, Zongyan used the Reverse Summoning Technique to return to the clan.
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