After a few days, Kagase pushed open the door and stepped out of the room. At the sight of him, the movements of the surrounding villagers instantly came to a halt, and all eyes fell upon him.
In those gazes, there was reverence for a powerful person, but above all, fear of something "non-human," just like when they had looked at that demon earlier.
He also understood that his current appearance was not normal, so he ignored their expressions and simply stood at the threshold, observing the busy villagers.
"Sir… do you need something?" Maki quickly set down the bucket of water she was holding, trotted over to him, and bowed deeply, her voice tinged with nervous respect.
Kagase could see the gratitude in her eyes, as well as the fear hidden deep within them.
His gaze passed over her and settled on the man not far away. It was Maki's husband, the one who had found the Edo Tensei scroll.
At that moment, the man was holding a wooden stick, his eyes darting around evasively, his reverence completely filled with fear.
"Don't be nervous," Kagase's voice was flat, without the slightest hesitation. "I came to say goodbye."
He could understand the fear of these ordinary people. Appearing in the form of Edo Tensei, it was already fortunate that they hadn't driven him away with hoes.
On the contrary, the little girl beside the man broke free from her father's hand and ran to Maki's side, snuggling against her mother. She stared at him with wide, round eyes, her gaze full of curiosity, without a trace of fear.
"Thank you for taking care of me during this time," he said to Maki, pulling out from his robes a wooden tablet the size of a playing card and handing it to her. "This is for you, as thanks for awakening me."
Maki quickly waved her hands, her voice flustered. "Sir, there's no need for this… Why are you leaving so suddenly? The village can still prepare food for you…"
"I know you are all afraid of me," Kagase interrupted her, maintaining a calm tone. "In fact, I am dead, and I cannot stay with you forever. If I remained here, the villagers' fear would eventually turn into rejection toward your family."
He handed her the wooden tablet. "This tablet seals one of my clones. If you encounter a demon again, smear it with blood and throw it at the demon, or break it directly. The sealing technique will activate and protect you once."
Maki held the wooden tablet tightly, her eyes slightly reddened. In the end, she bowed deeply to him. "Then, sir, have a safe journey, and may your path—whatever it may be—prosper!"
Kagase crouched down, looked at the little girl in front of him, gently patted her head, and a rare hint of a smile touched his lips. "Aya, I'm leaving. Goodbye."
"Goodbye!" the little girl's voice was clear.
"Come on, hold out your hand. I have something fun for you," Uchiha Kagase deliberately lowered his voice, his eyes veiled with a trace of mystery.
Aya immediately stretched out her small hand in front of him, tilting her head as she asked, "What is it?"
Kagase gathered a trace of bluish chakra at his fingertips and gently touched her palm. Three black tomoe appeared on her pale palm, then quickly vanished.
He had sealed a ninjutsu into the girl's palm. It could be activated in case of danger and could only be used once, but it was enough to save her life when necessary.
"Huh? It's gone!" Aya turned her palm over again and again, frowning slightly with a puzzled expression.
Uchiha Kagase stood up and nodded to Maki's family. "If fate wills it, we will meet again."
With that, he turned, waved his hand, and his figure quickly disappeared into the forest at the entrance of the village, leaving only the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.
— —
"ROAR—!"
The roar of a beast, like a booming thunderclap, suddenly tore through the night.
Kagase stopped, looked up, and in the dark forest beneath the low night sky, among the pitch-black shadows of the trees, an enormous grizzly bear suddenly leapt out from behind a mountain rock. Its scarlet beast eyes locked onto him, saliva dripping from its fangs. Its four limbs kicked up leaves as it charged straight at him.
Faced with that impact, accompanied by a chilling wind, he did not move, remaining completely still. Just as the grizzly raised its front paws to pounce, Kagase's figure suddenly dissolved into an afterimage and vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared behind the giant bear.
With a soft "click," the katana in his hand slid neatly back into its sheath, and he immediately stepped forward to continue on his way. The grizzly, still driven by inertia, lunged forward. As its massive body crashed to the ground with a thud, its huge head struck with a dull impact, and blood sprayed from its neck.
"What a pity," Uchiha Kagase smelled the blood behind him and felt a slight regret. "I've heard bear paws are delicious, but I don't know how to cook them."
Although the body sustained by Edo Tensei did not need to eat, he could clearly perceive flavors, even if it wasn't necessary. The energy for his current body depended entirely on the Edo Tensei sealing technique, which absorbed natural energy and converted it into chakra to sustain the body's function.
But after thinking for a moment, he turned around, looked at the grizzly bear's carcass, and murmured, "After all, I killed it. I should take it with me, if only to sell it."
"Kamui!"
As his Mangekyō Sharingan rotated slightly, the space in front of him rippled into a spiral vortex, and a scroll fell out from within.
This scroll had been custom-made in a city he had passed through earlier, and he had later personally inscribed a sealing technique into it to create a storage sealing scroll.
Kagase unrolled the scroll and sealed the grizzly bear's carcass into it. Then he tossed it back into the Kamui dimension.
As for why he didn't throw it directly into the Kamui dimension—because storage scrolls used sealing techniques to preserve items, whereas objects thrown directly into the Kamui dimension would rot over time.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Kagase stopped, turned his head to the left, and fixed his gaze on the dense forest ahead.
"Awoo—!"
With a strange, piercing howl, a crimson figure suddenly burst out, snapping tree trunks along its path.
It was a monster nearly three meters tall, entirely crimson, with two long, curved, sharp horns growing from its head. It wielded a large wooden club in both hands, and each of its steps made the ground tremble slightly as it charged straight toward him.
But under the Hypnotic Sharingan of Uchiha Kagase, the monster seemed to move in slow motion. He slightly dodged the club, and bluish chakra suddenly erupted from his feet as his figure leapt like an arrow over the monster's head.
His right foot, wrapped in chakra, was raised high and then brought down rapidly toward the monster's head.
With a dull "boom," the monster's head slammed into the ground instantly. The surrounding earth collapsed, forming a crater half a meter deep, and cracks like spider webs spread outward.
Uchiha Kagase landed beside the dying demon, untied the scroll on his back, unfolded it in front of his chest, and pointed it at the fallen creature. "Sealing Technique: Reincarnation Seal!"
The scroll was suddenly seized by a strange suction force. A pale green life energy slowly flowed out from the monster's body, being drawn into the scroll like a stream.
This technique was an improvement he had made based on the "Forbidden Technique: Samsara of Heavenly Life" created by Chiyo. Unlike the original, which used the user's life force to revive others, this sealing technique could store the life force of an unconscious enemy within the sealed space.
This was a preparation he made for true rebirth while creating the Edo Tensei scroll, intended to work together with another technique to free himself from the chains of Edo Tensei.
"Complete. One step closer to my resurrection."
As the last trace of life energy was absorbed, the monster on the ground turned into a withered husk. Kagase sealed the scroll, slung it back over his shoulder, turned around, and continued on his path.