The bandits had only been subdued for the time being and tied up. Mukai was not about to let saintly compassion take over and simply release them.
Of course, he would not kill them without cause, either.
As a transmigrator, he possessed the greatest cheat in the ninja world: information!
Naturally, Mukai would not overlook Nagato's hidden trait, his Uzumaki bloodline.
At its most basic, it let him see into a person's heart.
Nagato had displayed this trait when they first met in the Land of Rain.
He had placed more trust in Mukai and been somewhat wary of Sasori, who had nearly begun to turn dark at the time. That alone showed it.
Even if it had not yet developed to the level of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's Negative Emotions Sensing or the Mind's Eye of the Kagura,
Nagato could still get a simple sense of which of these bandits were evil.
Nagato had not expected Mukai to know this secret of his.
Even so, he did not refuse. He sensed the bandits, then stepped forward and began pointing them out:
"This one, this one, and this one...
These people are all filled with tremendous malice and hostility.
But Mukai, I can only sense it vaguely. I'm not sure if I'm right."
Clad in his flashy Zealot Mecha, Mukai was about as tall as a grown man.
He patted the rather timid Nagato with an air of seniority and encouraged him:
"That ability of yours is amazing. At the very least, it can help you tell who's a well-meaning companion,
and who's an enemy with ill intentions, can't it?
Being able to tell them apart is enough. Leave the rest to me!"
With that, Mukai and Sasori hauled the bandits Nagato had identified over to one side.
He addressed the honest-looking bandits who remained:
"You're lucky. You've passed the test for now, and you've been given a chance to live.
But!
Now that you've been given a new life, you must make a clean break with your past!
From today onward, you're no longer bandits. You're ordinary people who support yourselves with your own hands!
Ordinary people who live with their heads held high under the Akatsuki's protection!"
Mukai then introduced them to Yahiko, who was eager to get started.
Hearing Mukai's words, Yahiko was flattered and surprised.
But he did not lose his nerve. He stepped forward and spoke about the Akatsuki's goal of peace.
Meanwhile, Mukai quietly took the malicious men Nagato had picked out and returned ahead of the others to their base in Moon Sake Town with Sasori.
"Mukai, you're back? Did everything go smoothly?"
Konan had placed a special paper crane on each of them,
so she could get a rough sense of where Mukai, Yahiko, and the others were.
The crane she had given Mukai was the most special one she had made using the Dance of the Shikigami.
Not only could this crane vaguely sense Mukai's location,
but once unfolded, it could also be used to communicate in simple writing.
So when Konan sensed Mukai's return, she came out to greet him at once.
Mukai put away his mecha, ruffled Konan's hair, and handed her a purple wildflower.
He had spotted it on the way and picked it.
Ignoring Sasori's disdain beside him, Mukai walked into the courtyard with Konan and gave her a brief account of the attack on the bandits.
Naturally, he left out how he had miscalculated and nearly made a fool of himself.
As he spoke, he also shot Sasori a threatening look.
Sasori was leading the captives with the Mountain God Mecha. Seeing Mukai's look through the puppet's senses, he slapped his forehead in disgust.
Could they still have fun together or not? How had Mukai become so vain in front of Konan?
Why was there a sour stench in the mecha?
Naturally, Mukai knew nothing of Sasori's complaints.
He asked Konan to produce some paper, then whispered a few instructions in her ear and asked her to write down the statements.
Mukai's instructions were not intimate in nature.
Instead, he considerately told Konan that he might have to execute some bandits as a warning,
and that if she was afraid of bloodshed, she could take the statements in a nearby room.
Konan felt a warmth in her heart and shook her head with a smile.
She was no greenhouse flower. Searching the battlefield for supplies with Yahiko and the others had long been an everyday occurrence for her.
She could handle this much.
Since Konan said so, Mukai no longer insisted that she stay away.
In the ninja world, how could anyone avoid witnessing killing and bloodshed?
He began an unconventional interrogation right there in the courtyard:
"Speak. Tell me every bad thing you've done, one by one.
I'll decide whether you live or die based on your crimes."
The first bandit Mukai questioned was the one Nagato had identified as harboring the most malice.
"Fuck you! I haven't done a damn thing wrong!
You little brat, let me go!
Don't you settle disputes through peace and communication?
Why are you still tying me up?"
Before Mukai and Sasori had taken this bandit away, he had heard a few lines of Yahiko's principles, and now he was using them here.
Mukai did not get angry. With precise control, he released a high-voltage electric arc from his hand.
As the current increased, the defiant bandit began to wail.
Unmoved, Mukai continued to increase the current. He electrocuted the bandit for a full ten minutes, stopping only when the man breathed his last.
He brushed the charred black ash from his hands and addressed the others:
"You know in your own hearts whether you've done anything wrong.
Answer the question I just asked, one at a time.
I don't mind killing every last one of you thieving scum.
This is your last chance. Don't even think about lying. I have plenty of ways to get the others to expose you.
When that happens, you'll do more than scream for ten minutes before you die.
Now, we'll start with you. Confess!
Remember, this is your only chance to live."
The bandit Mukai singled out had already been terrified by the scene of the man screaming.
When Mukai pointed him out, he confessed everything he had done wrong, including the things he had stolen as a child.
Mukai listened to his confession. The worst of his misdeeds was having injured a villager while taking part in a raid.
As the bandit waited anxiously, Mukai pronounced his sentence:
"Your crimes aren't too serious. You can be spared the death penalty, but you won't escape punishment.
I sentence you to three months of reform through labor!"
The bandit had not expected to get through it so easily. Once his hands were untied, he wept on the ground with joy.
The bandits who passed were given food that had been prepared for them, better than what they had eaten at their stronghold.
Using both mercy and might, Mukai soon compiled a record of the crimes of these dozen or so men.
Four of them had each murdered more than one person. Naturally, there was no question that they deserved death.
Mukai would execute them after a public trial in town.
The others' crimes varied in severity, but for the most part did not merit death.
They would be released after building the canal.
This was his first step toward establishing order in Moon Sake Town.
Establishing a clear code of laws.
As for Yahiko, he could continue on his path in the name of love and understanding!
He would lend Yahiko a hand while keeping Konan safe.
But he would not try to correct Yahiko's naive beliefs just yet.
Some things left the deepest impression when experienced firsthand.
Now that the hidden threats around Moon Sake Town had been cleared away,
the other main task was naturally to excavate this special canal.
Once the positioning and route surveys were complete, excavation of the canal tunnel officially began.
Mukai's hands flew as he rapidly formed Hand Seals at the speed of a man who had been single for twenty years:
"Earth Release-Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"