A few days later, Uchiha Retsu pushed open the door and walked out of the room. Upon seeing him, the villagers nearby froze, and all eyes focused on him.
In those eyes, there was awe for the strong, but even more so, the fear of the "non-human," just like when they had looked at that Youkai earlier.
[Remember this site's domain: Read Taiwan's Good Books, choose Taiwan Novel Network, twkan.com. Super worry-free.]
He also understood that his current appearance was not that of a normal person, so he ignored their expressions and simply stood at the doorway, watching the busy villagers.
"My lord, is... is there something you need?" Yuriko hurriedly put down the bucket in her hand, trotted over, and bowed deeply to him, her voice filled with nervous respect.
Uchiha Retsu could see the gratitude in her eyes, as well as the fear hidden deep within.
His gaze passed over her and fell upon the man not far away—Yuriko's husband, the one who had found the Edo Tensei scroll in the first place.
At that moment, the man was holding a wooden beam, his eyes darting about, his awe completely overshadowed by fear.
"Don't be nervous." Uchiha Retsu's voice was flat, without a hint of emotion. "I've come to say goodbye."
He could understand the fear of these ordinary people. Appearing in the form of an Edo Tensei, he was lucky enough not to have been chased out with hoes.
However, the little girl beside the man broke free from her father's hand and ran to Yuriko's side. Nestling against her mother, she stared at him with wide, round eyes, her gaze full of curiosity and devoid of any fear.
"Thank you for taking care of me during this time." Uchiha Retsu said to Yuriko, pulling out a wooden plaque the size of a playing card from his robes and handing it to her. "Take this. Consider it a gift for awakening me."
Yuriko waved her hands hurriedly, her voice flustered. "My lord, there's no need for this... Why are you leaving so suddenly? The village can still provide food for you..."
"I know you are all afraid of me." Uchiha Retsu interrupted her, his tone still flat. "I am indeed a dead man and cannot stay with you forever. If I remain here, the villagers' fear will eventually turn into ostracization of your family."
He pressed the wooden plaque into Yuriko's hand. "A clone of mine is sealed within this plaque. If you encounter a Youkai again, smear blood on it, throw it at the Youkai, or even just break it. The technique will trigger and protect you once."
Yuriko gripped the plaque, her eyes reddening slightly. Finally, she bowed deeply to him. "Then... please take care on your journey, my lord. May your martial fortune be great!"
Uchiha Retsu knelt down and looked at the little girl. He gently ruffled her hair, a rare, slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Little Chrysanthemum, I'm leaving. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Uncle!" the little girl's voice chirped.
"Come, hold out your hand. I'll give you something fun." Uchiha Retsu intentionally lowered his voice, a hint of mystery in his eyes.
Little Chrysanthemum immediately held out her small hand and asked with a tilted head, "What kind of fun thing is it?"
A point of pale blue Chakra condensed at Uchiha Retsu's fingertip, and he tapped it lightly onto her palm. Three black tomoe appeared on her fair skin and then quickly vanished.
He had sealed a Ninjutsu in the little girl's palm that would trigger in times of danger. It could only be used once, but it was enough to save her life in a critical moment.
"Eh? It's gone!" Little Chrysanthemum turned her palm over and over, her small brow furrowed in confusion.
Uchiha Retsu stood up and nodded to Yuriko's family. "Everyone, until we meet again."
With that, he turned and waved his hand. His figure soon vanished into the woods at the village entrance, leaving only the "shasha" sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.
---
"Roar—!"
A beast's roar like muffled thunder suddenly tore through the night. Uchiha Retsu paused and looked ahead. In the forest where the night hung low, amidst the ink-black shadows of the trees, a massive bear lunged out from behind a crag. Its crimson eyes were locked onto him, saliva dripping from its fangs, its paws sending dead leaves flying as it charged straight at him.
Facing this impact wrapped in a foul wind, he didn't move at all, just stood there quietly. At the moment the giant bear raised its front claws to pounce, Uchiha Retsu's form suddenly turned into an afterimage and vanished, reappearing behind the bear in the next second.
With a soft "click," his samurai sword was neatly sheathed. He then continued walking forward. The giant bear, still propelled by its momentum, lunged forward. When its massive body crashed to the ground, its large head hit the earth with a "thud," and blood gushed from its neck.
"What a pity." Uchiha Retsu smelled the scent of blood wafting from behind him and felt a bit of regret. "I've heard bear paw is delicious, but I don't know how to cook it."
Although an Edo Tensei body doesn't need to eat, it can clearly taste flavors; it's just unnecessary. The energy for his current body relied entirely on the Edo Tensei formula absorbing Natural Energy and converting it into Chakra to sustain his functions.
But then his thoughts shifted, and he turned back, staring at the bear's carcass and muttering, "After all, I killed it. I might as well take it; it's worth some money at least."
"Kamui!"
As his Mangekyo Sharingan rotated slightly, the space in front of him rippled into a spiral vortex, and a scroll fell out.
This scroll was something he had custom-ordered in a Castle Town he passed through earlier, and later, he had personally carved sealing formulas onto it to make it a storage sealing scroll.
Uchiha Retsu unfurled the scroll and sealed the giant bear's carcass inside. Then, he tossed it back into the Kamui Dimension.
Why not just throw it directly into the Kamui Dimension? Because a storage scroll uses sealing techniques to preserve freshness, whereas throwing it directly into the Kamui Dimension would cause it to rot over time...
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Uchiha Retsu paused. He turned to the left, his gaze fixed on the dense forest ahead.
"Awoo—!"
Amidst a strange, piercing howl, a crimson figure crashed through tree trunks and charged out.
It was a humanoid Youkai nearly three meters tall, entirely crimson, with two winding, sharp horns growing from its head. It gripped a thick wooden club in its hands, and every step made the ground tremble slightly as it swung the club straight at his face.
But under Uchiha Retsu's Mangekyo Sharingan, the Youkai's movements were like slow motion. He tilted his body slightly to avoid the club, and pale blue Chakra suddenly erupted from beneath his feet as he leaped above the Youkai's head like an arrow.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
His right foot, shrouded in Chakra, was raised high and then brought down swiftly onto the Youkai's head.
With a muffled "boom," the Youkai's head was instantly smashed into the ground. The surrounding earth collapsed into a half-meter-deep pit, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading in all directions.
"Another one delivered to my door." Uchiha Retsu landed beside the dying Youkai, untied the scroll from his back, and spread it out in front of his chest, aiming it at the fallen creature. "Sealing: One's Own Life Resurrection Seal!"
The scroll suddenly erupted with an eerie suction, and pale green life energy slowly rose from the Youkai's body, being sucked into the scroll like a stream.
This technique was one he had modified from Granny Chiyo's "One's Own Life Reincarnation." Unlike the original, which used one's own life force to resurrect others, this sealing technique could store the life force of an unconscious enemy within a sealing space.
This was a preparation he had made for his true resurrection while preparing the Edo Tensei scroll, intended to be used with another technique to break free from the shackles of Edo Tensei.
"Done. One step closer to resurrection."
As the last wisp of life force was sucked away, the Youkai on the ground had turned into a withered husk. Uchiha Retsu closed the scroll, strapped it back onto his shoulders, and turned to continue his journey.