Thick fog shrouded the suburban town in the dead of night. Moonlight barely pierced through the cloud layers, casting pale, sickly spots of light upon the stone-paved roads.
The wind whimpered as it swept past withered trees, and the occasional bark of a wild dog echoed from the distance, only serving to accentuate the town's eerie tranquility.
A ghostly shadow glided silently through the forest outside the town, pale fingers digging into a tree trunk.
The demon grinned, revealing ghastly white fangs. Her vertical pupils glowed with a bloodthirsty scarlet hue in the darkness.
Sniffing the air for the sweet scent of living humans, a suppressed hissing sound escaped her throat. Her sharp fingernails scratched madly against the bark.
She didn't know why, but the people in this town smelled so delicious!
Even though she had feasted in another village just two hours ago, stumbling upon this town made her feel as if she had starved for three days straight!
They smelled even more fragrant than Marechi blood.
She couldn't take it anymore. She felt as if ants were crawling all over her body; her teeth ached with an unbearable itch, and thick saliva began to drool uncontrollably from her mouth!
Thud—
Her head fell off.
It tumbled across the grassy forest floor, rolling over and over until it hit a clod of dirt and came to a stop.
The constantly spinning perspective made her want to vomit, and the pain of her severed neck finally stimulated her brain!
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
A piercing scream of rage tore through the silent night.
She glared with her bloodshot eyes, finally seeing her attackers clearly.
They were two black-haired men. Both pairs of eyes emitted a dark, blood-red glow, with three tomoe spinning around their pupils.
Are these... human eyes?
However, everything that followed had nothing to do with her. The moment she saw those eyes, her defeat was already set in stone.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan."
"Senior, wouldn't it have been better to just control her with Genjutsu?"
"Aren't you overestimating her a bit too much?"
"Trash like this doesn't require you to use your blade, sir."
A young man with long, loose black hair, wearing a dark blue high-collared short-sleeved shirt, spoke as he walked over and picked up the female demon's head.
He then placed the severed head back onto the demon's body.
The moment the head made contact with the body, the wound began to heal rapidly.
In roughly three or four seconds, there was no longer any trace of a scar on the female demon's neck.
At this moment, the demon's entire body was frozen in place, unable to move a single inch, her expression vacant and dull.
"The Clan Leader researched this with us. The more humans a demon eats, the faster their injuries regenerate."
"We can't seem to kill them at night no matter what we do. We can only let the sun burn them to death during the day."
"This one seems to have eaten quite a few."
The long-haired youth observed the female demon for a moment before suddenly exclaiming:
"Eh, Senior!"
"This guy has writing on her left eye!"
"It looks like... Lower Four?"
"She's different from the other demons!"
The other young man wore a long black high-collared robe, with his hair tied in a short, high ponytail at the back of his head. In his right hand, he held a straight-bladed sword that radiated a cold light.
He was the one who had silently severed the female demon's head just moments ago.
With a flick of his blade, he shook off all the blood before sheathing it. Only then did he speak:
"You only realized that now?"
"Why else did you think I drew my sword?"
"But she really is weak."
"I thought she might be some kind of special demon."
"Anyway, tie her up first. Let the Clan Leader deal with it."
The long-haired youth in the dark blue shirt nodded.
"Yes, Senior."
After trussing the female demon up with steel wire, the two dragged her along the ground, heading back into the town.
.....
In the very center of the town, an ancient, simple estate stood quietly in the night.
The estate's outer walls were constructed from thick earth and bamboo, topped with dark tiles that reflected a cold, hard sheen under the moonlight.
The tall gates were tightly shut, with sentries posted both inside and outside, as well as around the perimeter.
Outside the master bedroom in the inner courtyard, a purple-haired woman wearing clan attire knocked gently on the door, speaking in a respectful tone:
"Tetsu-sama, apologies for the disturbance."
"Uchiha Hikaku and Uchiha Inabi have arrested a demon attempting to infiltrate the town during their patrol mission outside."
"The two of them are waiting for your orders in the outer courtyard."
"Please make your decision."
Uchiha Tetsu, who had been sleeping soundly in the bedroom, snapped his eyes open. He sat up, turned on the electric lamp in the room, and spoke towards the door:
"Mn."
"Tell them to wait."
After getting dressed, Uchiha Tetsu pushed the door open and stepped out.
The purple-haired woman who had reported the incident was still waiting outside. Seeing Uchiha Tetsu emerge, she respectfully fell in behind him.
Name: Uchiha Naori
Gender: Female
Number: 99
Chakra Nature: Fire, Water, Yin
Chakra Control: S
Chakra Amount: A
Specialties: Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu
Strength: Kage Level (Standard)
Sharingan Level: Mangekyou
Mangekyou Ability: Unlocked
Susanoo: Unlocked
Background: An elite of the Uchiha Clan, creator of Izanami. She possesses a calm and gentle personality, great wisdom, kindness, and integrity. Gifted with extraordinary talent, she holds the noble quality of self-sacrifice for the sake of the clan's peace.
As he walked, Uchiha Tetsu reviewed Naori's detailed information.
She was the ninety-ninth Uchiha clansman he had drawn since arriving in this world.
When he first arrived, he awakened a system called "Uchiha Clan Management."
Every day, the System gifted him one free draw, and the result was always a member of the Uchiha clan.
At first glance, this system sounded incredibly overpowered.
But in reality, you never knew what kind of Uchiha you were going to get.
Today was Uchiha Tetsu's 169th day in this world, and he had already drawn 168 clan members.
However, the vast majority of these 168 people were civilians with no abilities whatsoever.
The elderly, the weak, the young, and the disabled—he had them all.
Fortunately, this world was reasonably safe.
Initially, Uchiha Tetsu thought that being given this system meant he was in the Naruto world.
But the problem was, this wasn't the Naruto world at all!
Not only that, but this world was infested with creatures called demons.
If not for his clansmen acting as guards, he really wouldn't be able to sleep well at night.
He had hoped the System would give rewards for killing demons, but there were none.
Could it be that this broken system was only good for daily gacha pulls?
Because of this, his current policy was: kill the demons if they come, ignore them if they don't.
Every time they caught a demon, they couldn't get anything out of them even with Genjutsu, and once, a demon even self-destructed during interrogation.
Who knew what was hiding behind these things?
There was no profit in killing demons.
Carefulness sails the ship for ten thousand years.
He wouldn't take even a sliver of risk for something with no benefit.
Since he was now the Clan Leader of the Uchiha, he had to prioritize the safety of his clansmen above all else.
Currently, the strongest clansman under Uchiha Tetsu's command was Uchiha Naori, who was following behind him.
Naori did not have the iconic black hair of the Uchiha clan. Instead, she had long, slightly wavy purple hair with bangs that covered her eyebrows, giving her a very gentle appearance.
She wore a black high-collared, long-sleeved Uchiha clan robe over a dark gray long skirt. The Uchiha fan emblem was emblazoned on her back, and two straight-bladed swords hung from the right side of her waist.
Her waist was wrapped in bandages, intended to help secure her swords, but they instead accentuated her perfectly mature figure.
Naori was a character from the Naruto anime filler; she didn't appear in the original manga.
However, thanks to this, Uchiha Tetsu was able to acquire a clansman who had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan.
If he were relying solely on the manga canon, there were barely any Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyou.
Lost in thought, Uchiha Tetsu arrived at the outer courtyard. Dressed in a black kimono, he tucked his hands into his sleeves, feigning a mature and seasoned demeanor.
At the same time, he saw Uchiha Hikaku and Uchiha Inabi in the yard.
The one with the high ponytail was Uchiha Hikaku, and the one with long, loose hair was Uchiha Inabi.
Uchiha Tetsu naturally checked their panels as well.
Name: Uchiha Hikaku
Gender: Male
Number: 71
Chakra Nature: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, Earth, Yin
Chakra Control: A
Chakra Amount: S
Specialties: Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu
Strength: Kage Level (Entry)
Sharingan Level: Three Tomoe
Mangekyou Ability: N/A
Susanoo: N/A
Background: Though young, he possesses strength that ranks among the best in the clan. He has high leadership capabilities and was a ninja from the same era as Uchiha Madara.
Hikaku was currently the second strongest combatant under Uchiha Tetsu. Although he only had three tomoe, being considered one of the best during Uchiha Madara's era was proof enough of his caliber.
Uchiha Tetsu continued to observe Inabi's panel.
Name: Uchiha Inabi
Gender: Male
Number: 10
Chakra Nature: Fire, Yin
Chakra Control: A
Chakra Amount: B
Specialties: Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu
Strength: Jonin (Elite)
Sharingan Level: Three Tomoe
Mangekyou Ability: N/A
Susanoo: N/A
Background: An elite member of the Uchiha Clan. He joined the Konoha Military Police Force early on and was responsible for monitoring fellow clansman Uchiha Itachi.
Inabi was the first combat-capable character Uchiha Tetsu had drawn in this world. Before drawing him, Tetsu had lived his days in constant fear.
Seeing Uchiha Tetsu, Hikaku and Inabi shouted in unison:
"Clan Leader."
Hikaku then reported the details:
"Reporting to the Clan Leader. Tonight, while patrolling outside the town with Inabi, I discovered this demon attempting to enter the town for nefarious purposes."
"She is different from the previous demons."
"There are characters engraved inside her left eye."
"I do not know what they signify."
Uchiha Tetsu also wanted to know what it meant. He stepped forward and scrutinized the female demon.
She had the appearance of a young girl with short white hair and a pair of horns on her forehead. The whites of her eyes were red, her pupils were purple, and there were symmetrical red lines on her face.
Most importantly, her left eye was engraved with the characters 'Lower Four'.
She was indeed different from the demons they had killed before.
"You two did well."
"Hikaku, what do you think of her strength?"
Hikaku's face remained impassive, and he replied calmly:
"Very weak."
"She didn't even notice when Inabi and I approached her."
Uchiha Tetsu then looked at Inabi:
"Inabi, what is your opinion?"
Inabi sneered, showing utter disdain for the demon:
"Clan Leader, I think this demon is no different from the others."
"However, rather than saying she didn't notice Senior Hikaku and me, it's more accurate to say that Senior drew his blade too fast. This thing couldn't react at all."
"By the time she realized what happened, her head was already on the ground."
"You have no idea how ridiculous this demon looked just now."
Although Uchiha Tetsu's face showed no emotion, his mind was racing.
Is she just a normal demon?
Is the writing in the eye just for fashion?
Uchiha Tetsu felt that wasn't impossible.
Regardless, it was better to dispose of the demon first and think about these troublesome matters after getting some sleep.
A groggy brain was prone to making mistakes.
"Just like before, let this demon get some sun."
Hikaku and Inabi acknowledged the order, dragging the female demon out of the courtyard.
After watching them leave with the demon, Uchiha Tetsu looked up at the night sky and yawned.
There was still some time before dawn.
He might as well go back to his room and continue sleeping.
However, halfway through his sleep, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Uchiha Tetsu was woken up again by a System notification.
[You led your clansmen to successfully exterminate Lower Rank Four: Mukago.]
[The following rewards have been distributed to your inventory:]
[Clansman Attribute Upgrade Card x1]
[Clansman Panel Experience Card x1]
[Gacha Draw Attempts x10]
[Building: Ninja Academy Complete Facility Set x1]