Compared to Lava Release, Wood Release at least didn't put innocent bystanders at risk of dying when he carried out justice.
"Chizumi, are you in a bad mood, meow?"
Kitsujiro, perched on Uchiha Chizumi's shoulder, suddenly asked.
"Not exactly. I just figured a few things out."
Chizumi shook his head. Compared to Lava Release, what he wanted to do now was judge the Grass Country itself.
If a single town could carry sin that thick, he didn't even want to imagine how deeply rooted the evil of the entire Grass Country must be.
And that kind of evil should not exist.
"Let's go."
"To the Grass Country. I have a feeling this time, the number of people we kill may not be any lower than it was in the Land of Water."
Once Kitsujiro had settled himself on his shoulder, Uchiha Chizumi vanished from Konoha again. And when he reappeared, it was in the very same town he had just judged moments earlier.
In only half an hour, the people who had been struggling in the lava pits had all died already. But Chizumi could tell that before dying, they had paid dearly for their sins.
When Chizumi appeared again, the townspeople all lowered their heads even further.
They didn't know who he was. They were still terrified that he might casually kill them too. All they could do was bow their heads and pray he would spare them.
As for Uchiha Chizumi, he gave the people of the town only a single glance before turning into a streak of light and flying into the sky.
This was another use of Radiance Release.
Once Radiance Release had been developed to a certain point, Uchiha Chizumi no longer needed to enter full Radiance Release Chakra Mode to fly freely through the air. For him, it was a convenient way to travel.
Or rather, it was a way to execute evil even faster.
As Uchiha Chizumi began appearing throughout the Grass Country, even the Grass Village ninja—slow as they were—gradually started getting word.
But the moment the Grass Village jōnin learned that the one slaughtering people across the Grass Country was Uchiha Chizumi, every single one of them fell silent.
"How about… we just disband the Grass Village?"
"If we all scatter and flee across the shinobi world, then no matter how fast Uchiha Chizumi kills, there have to be some people he can't catch, right?"
One of the Grass Village elite jōnin spoke slowly.
He knew perfectly well how many innocent people he himself had killed in his lifetime.
And since the Grass Country was an ally of the Land of Fire, everything that had happened in both the Land of Water and the Land of Fire had made the Grass ninja understand one thing clearly:
If they appeared in front of Uchiha Chizumi, they were almost certainly dead.
Because of Uchiha Chizumi, the Grass Village had even considered defecting to the Land of Earth.
The problem was…
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had only just died, and after hearing that news, the Grass Village could only resentfully give up on the idea of seeking shelter with the Land of Earth.
"We're still allies of the Land of Fire. We should pressure Konoha. At the very least, they should drag Uchiha Chizumi back!"
"At the rate he's killing, he'll probably reach the Grass Village itself in less than two days!"
Another Grass ninja proposed his idea. He still believed Uchiha Chizumi was under Konoha's control. After all, whether it was the slaughter of Fire Country nobles or the purge of the Land of Water, everything Uchiha Chizumi had done seemed to benefit Konoha.
In that jōnin's view, so-called Absolute Justice was nothing more than Konoha finding a new excuse to eliminate its enemies.
"I'm afraid Konoha has probably been dissatisfied with us Grass ninja for a long time already…"
A third Grass ninja spoke up. He also didn't believe that Uchiha Chizumi acted independently of Konoha. He believed Konoha had long wanted to purge the Grass Country and was simply using Chizumi to do it.
"What I don't understand is why everyone's so scared of one Uchiha Chizumi."
"Sure, he might be strong—stronger than any Kage, maybe—but can he really kill every last one of us in the Grass Village?"
"Our village has nearly a thousand ninja. If we fight together, maybe we can actually keep Uchiha Chizumi here for good!"
One of the more radical Grass ninja slammed his hand on the table, clearly disgusted by the cowardice of the others.
In his view, no matter how strong Uchiha Chizumi was, he was still only one man. With a thousand Grass ninja, they ought to be able to drown him in spit if nothing else.
"Did you forget how many ninja the Land of Water had?"
"Even under the Bloody Mist policy, Kirigakure still had seven or eight thousand ninja. And I don't think I need to explain how that ended for them, do I?"
"Or do you actually think we Grass ninja are stronger than the Land of Water?"
Another Grass ninja sneered. He couldn't understand where the radical faction's confidence came from. If the Grass Country really had strength comparable to the Land of Water, they'd already be making a bid for great-nation status.
The real problem was this: Uchiha Chizumi already had a proven record of suppressing an entire hidden village by himself—and not just any village, but one belonging to one of the Five Great Nations. That was why nobody else had seriously considered fighting him head-on from the beginning.
"How about we ask Mui for help?"
"If Mui is willing to help us resist Uchiha Chizumi, then I think we can let him become the Grass Shadow!"
Another Grass ninja spoke up. The Grass Village had one very special place under its influence: Hōzuki Castle.
Ever since Mui left the Grass Village and founded Hōzuki Castle, the place had gradually gathered several hundred ninja of its own.
Even Konoha had acknowledged Hōzuki Castle's diplomatic standing. And as the lord of Hōzuki Castle, Mui was significantly stronger than the Grass ninja here—otherwise there would've been no way he could leave a village like the Grass Village, which believed in survival of the fittest.
"Or we could just flee to Hōzuki Castle directly."
"Once we leave the Grass Village behind as an empty shell, then whether Mui wants to or not, he'll be forced to confront Uchiha Chizumi, right?"
Another Grass ninja thought that idea sounded excellent. And the eyes of the others flickered as well, clearly tempted by the idea of abandoning the sinking ship that was the Grass Village while there was still time.
But the moment they thought of the property and wealth they still had in the village, they hesitated again.
Meanwhile, after purging one town after another, Uchiha Chizumi had already arrived at the Grass Country's capital.
Compared to the capital of the Land of Fire, the Grass Country's capital wasn't even as prosperous as Kirigakure. Even here, in the capital itself, you could still see gaunt civilians everywhere, all skin and bones, all with lifeless eyes.
Farther off, nobles could even be seen cracking whips and flogging civilians for their own amusement.