Chapter 33 – Punishing Evil, Promoting Good
"Itabi, let's go."
Although Uchiha Itabi didn't understand why his clan leader wanted to cause trouble for a group of ordinary people, he didn't really care. After all, the clan leader had said it himself—these were bad people.
In almost an instant, more than a dozen people died simultaneously, their bodies releasing visible souls. Yet, most of them weren't complete human forms; they resembled clusters of light more than anything else.
Uchiha Ming wasn't sure if everyone's soul looked like this. He would need more comparisons later on to confirm.
With a thought, he activated the Soul Forge. Instantly, the souls of those dozen people flew toward Uchiha Ming. Standing beside him, Itabi didn't so much as blink, as if he saw nothing at all.
"Itabi, did you see their souls just now?"
"Clan Leader, you don't think I'm a three-year-old, do you? Trying to scare me in the middle of the night? I've definitely seen more corpses than you, but as for souls, I've never seen a single one."
Itabi thought his clan leader was just teasing him.
It seemed clear now: aside from himself, no one else could see souls. That wasn't surprising. In the shinobi world, the only ways to directly perceive souls were with the Rinnegan, during the Reaper Death Seal, or perhaps when performing the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Soon, his own body began reacting. A vigorous energy surged outward from within him. The strengthening of his physical body wasn't obvious yet, but his chakra had definitely undergone a noticeable change. Overall, there were no instant effects—this was clearly a growth-type ability.
The most important discovery, however, was that after absorbing the souls of those drug dealers, fragments of leftover souls drifted toward Itabi while Ming was distracted. To his surprise, those remnants successfully merged into Itabi's body.
"What? It can be shared with allies?"
Ming wasn't sure if he had imagined it, or if it really was possible to share souls with chosen people.
That was easy enough to test. Soon after, Ming took Itabi to hunt down another Hell's Kitchen thug. In Hell's Kitchen, there might be a shortage of many things, but evil souls were never lacking.
Ming once again activated the Soul Forge, focusing his will on Itabi. As the villain's soul shattered, fragments of it flew toward Itabi again, while the larger, more intact soul remained still. Only when Ming willed it did the complete soul fly into him.
Clearly, complete souls couldn't be shared—at least not yet. Only fragments could be distributed. But even so, Ming was thrilled. The Soul Forge wasn't just a passive ability; it could be actively controlled.
True, Uchiha Madara alone was a match for nations, but in the end, he was betrayed by everyone. Now, however, the Uchiha clan was more united than ever. Empowering his clansmen could only be a good thing. Ming had no interest in being a lone wolf—wasn't it better to have capable people under his command?
"Itabi, looks like fortune favors you. This counts as your blessing. Tonight's mission is over. You handle the aftermath—clean up the traces."
With that, Ming disappeared in a flash.
"What's with Clan Leader being so mysterious?"
Itabi muttered, though he obediently began tidying up the scene for his leader.
The Uchiha revered strength, that much was obvious. Besides, Ming himself was the clan's benefactor—no one questioned him.
For the next month, Ming continued taking Itabi with him to punish evil in the nights. After weeks of this cleansing, even Hell's Kitchen's crime rate had plummeted. Hell's Kitchen might not have many good people, but its criminals weren't fools.
Every night, bodies were dragged out—sometimes just a few, sometimes a dozen, and once as many as forty-nine corpses in a single night. The gangs of Hell's Kitchen were terrified.
Most frightening of all—after all this time, there wasn't a single witness, not a single survivor, not even one cry for help. Criminals were used to licking blood off the blade, but they weren't suicidal. Such ruthless efficiency completely cowed the scum of Hell's Kitchen.
Of course, it wasn't that there were no witnesses—it was just that under Itabi's Sharingan genjutsu, they remembered nothing. For all his playful attitude, when it came to missions, Itabi was absolutely reliable.
And Itabi wasn't a fool. Over that month, his long-stalled chakra reserves and physical reflexes had begun improving again. He had been an elite jōnin for years, but his progress had been painfully slow. Now he knew—Ming had been deliberately helping him grow, though how he did it, Itabi didn't ask.
As Itabi's strength grew, further training in chakra control or taijutsu alone would barely move the needle. He had been close to his natural ceiling. Yet now, with his body brimming with chakra and subtle physical enhancements, he felt better than ever.
That day was the clan's monthly Uchiha Sparring Tournament, essentially a friendly exchange of duels. Previously, Itabi, Tekka, and Homura had been evenly matched—none could suppress the others.
This time, however, Itabi was full of confidence. After stagnating for so long, he finally felt the drive to move forward again.
"This match will focus only on taijutsu. To be honest, our clan has neglected taijutsu far too much."
Ming observed that the Uchiha relied too heavily on the Sharingan. While he would never dismiss its value, taijutsu was indeed a weakness among many clan members.
"From now on, we must train both ninjutsu and taijutsu. Taijutsu must be nurtured from a young age. Itabi, you'll be responsible for training the children in taijutsu. But first, you need to show the results of your own training."
Since he now had competent subordinates, Ming decided to entrust them with more responsibility. After a month of absorbing soul fragments, Itabi's progress already far surpassed Tekka's or Homura's.
Sure enough, on the training field, Itabi easily overpowered Tekka in taijutsu. Whether in strength, speed, reflexes, or timing, Itabi had the clear advantage.
"Impossible! Itabi, how did you manage this? Just last month, after half a day of fighting, we were still even. How could you dominate me so quickly now?"
"I heard you've been going out with the Clan Leader every night this past month? Did he give you special training? No… even with special training, your power shouldn't have improved this much!"
Homura was just as baffled. He and Tekka knew Itabi's level better than anyone. Yet today, he had stunned them all.
"Don't push Itabi. I asked him to keep it secret. But don't worry—you'll get your chance too. Starting tomorrow, Tekka will join me on missions. Next month, it'll be Homura. Everyone gets a turn, so don't disappoint me."
Ming understood that resentment came not from scarcity, but from unfairness. It was time to raise Tekka and Homura's power as well.
"Hah! I knew there was something fishy. Clan Leader, next time there's a good deal like this, you'd better call me first!"
"Enough, enough. The Clan Leader has his plans. Everyone will get their chance. What's the rush?"