Yuzuru had barely taken a few steps inside Kusagakure when the village's shinobi surrounded him.
A man who appeared to be their leader glared coldly and demanded, "Three-tomoe Sharingan… You're a member of the Uchiha clan? What business do you have in our village?"
"I'm here to take two people with me," Yuzuru replied calmly.
The Grass ninja leader frowned. "Who?"
"Michio and Kyoko."
At that, the leader's expression darkened.
Not long ago, he had discovered that the kunoichi named Kyoko possessed an extremely unusual ability.
During a mission, Michio had fallen into an explosive tag trap and been gravely injured.
According to the teammates who were present, Michio's internal organs had been shattered—there was no conceivable way he could survive.
But Kyoko had immediately placed her arm into Michio's mouth.
The next second, something miraculous happened.
Michio's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even the greatest medical-nin in the shinobi world couldn't do something like that.
After being pressed for answers, Kyoko finally admitted her special trait.
No matter how severe the injury, as long as someone bit into her body, they would be healed in an incredibly short time.
The Grass leader had immediately ordered Michio and Kyoko to be detained, strictly forbidding anyone from spreading the news.
But now… how had someone come looking for them so quickly?
Seeing the leader lost in thought, Yuzuru grew impatient. "Will you hand them over on your own, or should I slaughter you all and retrieve them myself?"
At those words, anger flared across every Grass ninja's face.
The Uchiha were indeed an elite clan, but this man had barged in alone—fine. Yet to claim he would wipe out their entire village…
That was far too arrogant.
They were still a recognized shinobi village in the Land of Grass!
Compared to the other Grass shinobi, however, the leader felt a trace of fear.
If possible, he truly didn't want to provoke the Uchiha.
But Kyoko's ability was far too valuable. Obtaining her was equivalent to gaining countless extra lives.
No shinobi could resist such a temptation.
With that thought, the leader asked casually, "How did you know Michio and Kyoko were here? Did the Uchiha clan send you?"
Yuzuru shook his head. "No… Before coming, I wasn't even sure they were here."
"Is that so?" A ruthless gleam flashed in the leader's eyes. "Kill him!"
If they eliminated the intruder quietly, there would be no fear of Uchiha retaliation.
The three-tomoe Sharingan was powerful, but this was their territory.
With his jonin strength and more than a hundred Grass shinobi, killing one man shouldn't be difficult.
At his command, the Grass shinobi quickly backed away to create distance.
More than ten of them formed hand seals in unison. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Another group joined in immediately. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Dozens of fire dragons converged into a single massive torrent, enhanced by the Wind Release, roaring toward Yuzuru.
Yuzuru remained still, making no effort to evade. He simply raised the Uchiha war fan before him and said lightly, "Uchiha Reflection."
Boom!
The instant the flames struck the fan, they rebounded with even greater force.
With no time to defend, dozens of Grass shinobi were swallowed by flames, their screams echoing like a scene from hell.
Yuzuru did not pause. He charged straight into the chaos, swinging the war fan left and right.
Every strike claimed the life of one—sometimes several—Grass shinobi.
Seeing the situation collapse, the Grass leader tried to flee, but Yuzuru instantaneously appeared behind him, grabbing him by the throat.
"W-Who… who are you?!" the leader choked out.
In just a matter of minutes, nearly all his comrades had been slaughtered.
The man before him could not be a nobody.
Yuzuru replied calmly, "Since you sincerely asked, I'll mercifully tell you."
"I am Uchiha Yuzuru."
The leader's pupils shrank sharply. Then he let out a bitter smile.
"Uchiha Yuzuru… So it's you. I was too greedy. I should have asked sooner."
"But to die at the hands of someone like you… that's almost an honor."
"My name is Kenfu. Go on, finish it."
Seeing the leader's acceptance of death, Yuzuru instead released his grip.
It wasn't because he enjoyed the flattery—he simply thought of something better.
Kenfu collapsed to the ground, coughing hard and gasping for breath.
After a long moment, he asked in disbelief, "You… aren't going to kill me?"
"I plan to unify the entire shinobi world," Yuzuru said. "If you're willing to cooperate with me here in the Land of Grass, I'll spare you."
As the leader of Kusagakure, Kenfu would know the country well.
Keeping him as an administrator would make ruling the Land of Grass far easier.
Hearing this, Kenfu froze for a moment, then immediately dropped to one knee. "I am willing to serve you unto death, Lord Yuzuru!"
Yuzuru nodded in satisfaction. "I'll send someone to coordinate with you. When they arrive, simply explain everything about the Land of Grass in detail."
"Yes!" Kenfu agreed instantly.
For a small country like theirs, becoming part of a great nation was something they had always wished for.
Until now, the larger nations only treated them as war buffer zones, refusing to accept them.
But following Uchiha Yuzuru would undoubtedly benefit them greatly.
"All right. Take me to Michio and Kyoko."
Yuzuru was in a good mood. He hadn't expected conquering a country to be this easy.
At this rate, unifying the shinobi world might not be as difficult as he once thought.
"This way, Lord Yuzuru," Kenfu said obsequiously, leading him deeper into Kusagakure.
Though nearly all his comrades had died at Yuzuru's hands, he felt no hatred.
He understood perfectly well—only by submitting to overwhelming power could he and the survivors continue to live.
Kusagakure was small, so they quickly arrived at a rundown wooden hut.
"Lord Yuzuru, this is it."
Kenfu unlocked the chains and pushed open the door.
Inside, Michio and Kyoko stood frozen in fear.