"Kill?"
Shu Shiraishi exhaled a grayish-white smoke ring. The smoke was dispersed by the autumn wind.
He patted the dust off his hands.
"That's such a waste."
He turned his head and looked at the abacus in Shikahei's arms.
He stretched out his finger and forcefully flicked the stuck wooden abacus bead.
"Snap."
The wooden beads returned to their place, striking the frame with a crisp sound.
Shikahei was so startled that his hand trembled, and he almost dropped the ledger.
He quickly clutched the abacus and took a half-step back.
Shu Shiraishi ignored him, his gaze passing over Shikahei's shoulder.
Looking into the distance, there were three thousand eight hundred Kumogakure prisoners of war bound together like pretzel knots.
These men usually train their muscles and bones in the mountains of the Land of Lightning. They are all as tall as iron towers, with bulging muscles.
"Aren't we currently short-staffed for our No. 2 base and railway construction?"
Shu Shiraishi pointed at the group of people.
"Three thousand eight hundred free Chakra- fueled tanks. Top-quality fuel."
He threw the cigarette butt into the mud and stubbed it out with the sole of his military boot.
"Push it into the pit and bury it. What will you use to mine the Land of Land of Lightning?"
Shikahei's mouth was open, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
His preconceived notions about traditional prisoner exchange regulations were shattered by Shu Shiraishi's words.
Instead of using it to pay the ransom, they're just using it as forced labor?
These are Jonin and Chunin. These people are arrogant and proud; do you really think they'd obediently go and do manual labor?
Shu Shiraishi didn't give Shikahei a chance to ask questions.
He strode towards Kagami Uchiha.
"Take them all back. Starve them for three days. Give them only cold water."
Shu Shiraishi gave the order.
"Three days later, have Orochimaru take the supplies to the concentration camp to retrieve the people."
Three days later.
South of Konoha. A newly built prisoner-of-war reformation camp.
This area used to be a large wasteland. Now it's surrounded by a three-meter-high barbed wire fence.
The wire mesh was electrified, occasionally bursting into blue sparks and making crackling sounds.
More than three thousand Kumogakure prisoners were crammed into the mud.
They were starving for three days and three nights, with only one bucket of foul-smelling well water available each day.
Their lips were cracked and peeling, and their faces were ashen.
Several of the seriously injured were lying in the mud and water, barely breathing.
The camp gate was pushed open.
Two heavy metal flatbed carts were pushed in.
The vehicle was piled with hundreds of dark iron rings.
Orochimaru, wearing a white lab coat stained with engine oil, walked beside the flatbed cart.
His eyes were sunken, and his dark circles were even more pronounced.
But the excitement from working on the machines these past few days hadn't subsided yet. A glint of cunning gleamed in his snake-like eyes.
Shu Shiraishi moved a wooden chair and sat in the center of the camp.
The Uchiha's Urban Management Brigade, armed with Chakra submachine guns, set up machine gun barrels on the surrounding towers, their dark barrels pointed intently downwards.
"Distribute them. One for each person."
Shu Shiraishi pointed to the iron rings.
Dozens of Jōkan rushed into the crowd.
They grabbed the iron rings. Two people at a time, they held down one Kumogakure prisoner.
They roughly put the black iron rings around their necks.
Click.
The latch is a dead lock. Once closed, it fits perfectly.
A ring of cold metal probes was attached to the inside of the iron ring, piercing directly into the Chakra points at the back of the neck.
A Kumogakure's Lightning Release Jonin got enraged.
He was so hungry he was dizzy, but his inner fighting spirit remained.
"Get out of my way! I'm an elite soldier from Kumogakure Village!"
He shoved aside the Jōkan who was holding him down and quickly Hand Seals.
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
He opened his mouth, preparing to unleash lightning.
The chest cavity just started to exert force.
Within the black iron collar around his neck, the inky Four Symbols Seal Array instantly lit up with blue light.
A surge of high-voltage current suddenly shot out from the inner metal probe.
It was inserted directly into his central nervous system.
"Ugh--!"
The Lightning Release Jonin let out a piercing scream.
The Hand Seals were interrupted. The gathered Chakra was instantly drained by the collar.
His eyes rolled back, and he crashed straight into the mud.
His muscles convulsed violently, and he vomited large amounts of white foam.
A smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Orochimaru stood to the side and made a mark on the hard copy with the charcoal pencil in his hand.
"Forced Chakra extraction. The collar's electric shock punishment system is functioning normally."
He licked his lips. "But the voltage is a bit too high. This test subject is probably ruined."
The crowd was deathly silent.
The remaining Kumogakure prisoners stared at their companion, who was foaming at the mouth.
The fierce glint in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by deep fear.
That iron ring was like a death knell.
They turned their prized Chakra into instruments of torture that could electrocute them at any moment.
Shu Shiraishi sat in a chair.
I changed my posture. My right leg is now crossed over my left leg.
" Chakra Suppression Collar."
He looked at the group of terrified prisoners.
"A crudely made product that Orochimaru just rushed out. It only has two functions."
"First, I'll seal off 80% of your Chakra. The remaining 20% will only be enough for you to do heavy physical labor."
He held up two fingers.
"Secondly, whoever dares to Hand Seals, whoever dares to lay a hand on someone from Konoha."
"This thing explodes. It'll blow your heads into rotten watermelons."
The prisoners instinctively reached for the iron rings around their necks.
It felt cold to the touch. The heavy, metallic feel made it hard for them to breathe.
" The Prisoner of War Labor Reform Act officially takes effect today."
Shu Shiraishi's voice boomed through the loudspeakers, echoing throughout the camp.
"No salary. Only one meal of stale porridge a day."
Quarry, steel plant, sewers.
He stood up and kicked the chair over.
Go work in there.
"If they don't die, then kill them. Those that die, throw them into the blast furnace as fuel."
Konoha doesn't support idlers, much less prisoners of war who just eat and do nothing.
Shu Shiraishi turned and walked out of the camp.
Behind them, the crack of whips from the Uchiha Urban Management Brigade rang out.
"Slap! Slap!"
"Stand up! Report to construction site number two! Anyone who's slow will have their legs broken!"
More than three thousand Kumogakure Elites who were once high and mighty.
Wearing humiliating collars, they looked like a herd of slinking livestock.
They were driven toward the noisy construction site.
The nascent heavy industrial city of Konoha began its rapid, frenzied development, fueled by the blood and sweat of these free slaves.
A few days later.
Konoha No. 2 Heavy Industrial Base
A massive Chakra hydroelectric power station is under construction here.
The air was filled with choking, gray cement dust.
The pile driver made a loud "thump-thump" sound, which made people's eardrums go numb.
The ground was covered with puddles of mud and water of all sizes, mixed with scrap steel bars and wooden planks.
Toroi walks on the construction site.
He was originally a renowned Jonin Kumogakure. His Magnet Release technique was unparalleled, allowing him to manipulate square Shuriken to kill people invisibly.
Now.
His expensive Kumogakure Concealment Armor was long gone.
He was wearing a vest made from a torn burlap sack, the rough hemp threads binding his skin until it was red.
A greasy, blackened, dirty rag was placed on his shoulder.
Toroi was bent over.
He had four 50-pound bags of cement on his back, totaling 200 pounds.
The cement dust leaked out of the bag, covering his head and face. Sweat washed down, forming a hard, gray crust on his face.
The cold, black iron collar was tightly fastened around his neck.
The heavy cement pressed down on his spine, causing it to creak under the strain.
The rough ropes of the burlap sack dug deep into the skin of his shoulders, drawing blood.
"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!"
A shout of cursing came from behind.
A Uchiha wearing a red armband walked over, Genin on a piece of grilled meat that was dripping with oil.
Oil smeared on the Genin's lips.
Toroi smelled the aroma of roasted meat.
His stomach rumbled loudly.
For the past few days, he's only been given a bowl of porridge mixed with sand each day. The stomach acid is almost rubbing his intestines raw.
He swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed awkwardly on his dusty neck.
He didn't dare stop.
Biting his cracked lower lip, he pushed off with his feet.
I stepped onto the scaffolding where construction was underway.
That was a makeshift plank made of two thick bamboo poles.
Below is a deep pit, thirty meters deep, for the power station's foundation.
The bottom of the pit was covered with a dense array of spiral steel bars, resembling a giant barbed wire mesh.
Toroi stepped onto the bamboo plank.
Two hundred pounds of weight were pressed down, and the bamboo made a creaking sound that made your teeth ache.
The springboard suddenly bent downwards in an exaggerated arc.
Toroi stumbled.
My calves started shaking violently.
A gust of autumn wind blew by.
A cloud of cement dust rose up and flew straight into Toroi's eyes.
It's so spicy it hurts.
He wanted to raise his hand to rub his eyes.
But he gripped the edge of the cement bag tightly with both hands, not daring to let go.
If he lets go, the 200 pounds of cement will break the balance. He and the cement will fall into the steel hell below.
He could only squeeze his eyes shut, tears mingling with cement dust as they streamed down his face.
My vision was completely blurred.
He wanted to refine Chakra.
Even just using Magnet Release to pull the nearby metal frame together would help stabilize the center of gravity.
The Chakra just moved slightly within the meridians.
The black iron collar around his neck immediately lit up with a blue light.
"Hiss."
A powerful electric current shot straight up his neck and into his brain.
Toroi froze, his eyes rolling back in his head.
He spat out a mouthful of white foam. He bit his tongue hard and tasted the strong metallic taste of blood.
The pain instantly brought him to his senses, and he forcibly suppressed his Chakra.
He was panting heavily, not daring to use even the slightest bit of strength.
Relying solely on his exhausted physical strength, Earth Flow unsteadily down the swaying bamboo planks.
A former elite Jonin who mastered Magnet Release.
Guests at the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
Right now, it's just a brick-moving machine that could break down at any moment.
Toroi walked to the center of the diving board.
He lowered his head slightly.
Through blurry, tear-filled eyes and swirling cement dust.
Looking down at the bottomless steel foundation.
A gust of cold wind blew by, chilling him to the bone in his thin, tattered hemp clothing.
I wanted to cry but couldn't.