I just can't seem to get some rest, can I? I thought to myself, feeling exhausted. It hadn't even been a couple of hours since my talk with Ashira and Muishiro, and yet more enemies were already arriving. I had instructed Muishiro and Haruma-san to alternate using Kagura Shingen every hour to monitor our sensing range and detect any potential threats.

It appeared that there were five Chūnin and a Jōnin among them. Although I had successfully taken down many of their kind in the past, I might have to take these ones as prisoners instead. I had declined Muishiro's offer of aid, as I didn't entirely trust him yet. I had bluntly expressed my disappointment to him, still upset about his near-fatal mistake with Ashira which would enforce that I was disappointed in him.

I let out a light yawn and stretched lazily as I began to use Body Flicker to move towards the group, simultaneously preparing all of my equipment. The question was, should I prolong the encounter? There could certainly be more individuals like Ashira, whose chakra was bound, which meant Kagura Shingen wouldn't be able to detect them.

I arrived at a nearby tree, not needing to lower my chakra signature. I had the same seal that protected us from being detected by other sensors, which I was carrying, and I activated it to remain undetected.

I smiled lightly as I saw six Kiri-nin and three of my clan members, bound by tight chains, looking utterly defeated. Among them were two shinobi and a kunoichi, all gagged. I winced at their injuries, their bodies a mess of deep, dark bruises, gashes, and burns. Their skin was cracked and raw, with blood oozing from fresh wounds and caking on their arms and legs. Whip marks crisscrossed their flesh, some of them open and weeping, others swollen and infected. Burn marks blistered their skin, charred and blackened in places.

We desperately needed information about the outside world beyond this island, and I knew that taking the Jōnin as a prisoner was our best bet. I couldn't help but idly wonder how he would react to being in that position. Would he scream in defiance or beg for mercy? The thought brought a hint of amusement to my lips, and I looked forward to finding out.

I threw a couple of ordinary kunai at them, causing them to leap away as I used Body Flicker to escape from the several water-techniques that were thrown at me. Using Kagura Shingen, I threw several gravity-seal kunai at where the Chūnin were hiding, the Jōnin out of my throwing reach as they attempted to jump away, likely thinking that it was an exploding tag.

The gravity-seal kunai struck true, and the Chūnin's bodies began to contort and twist under the intense force. Their bones snapped and cracked, the sound echoing through the air as their skeletons were crushed into grotesque, unnatural shapes. Their eyes bulged from their sockets, the whites and irises bursting like ripe fruit as the pressure built inside their skulls. Their skin turned a sickly shade of grey, and their organs began to liquefy, oozing out of their mouths and noses in a torrent of bloody, pulpy mess. The air was filled with the wet, squelching sounds of their bodies disintegrating under the crushing force of gravity.

I let off a light smirk, but it quickly turned to panic as I realised I had forgotten to account for the Jōnin. I spun around, only to be met with nearly a dozen sharpened blades of compressed water hurtling towards me. I attempted to Body Flicker, but I was a fraction of a second too slow. A blade sliced through my arm, severing a chunk of flesh and sending a searing wave of pain through my body. I bit down on a scream, my teeth clenched in agony as I stumbled backward, my vision blurring for a moment.

"Should have worked on some healing methods," I mentally berated myself, my mind racing with regret. As I regained my composure, I rapidly flickered away multiple times, knowing that even a mediocre shinobi would be able to detect the unmasked chakra usage. I hastily unsealed and bandaged the wound, my fingers moving with a sense of urgency. Just as I was about to finish, I heard the distinctive whirring sound of the technique coming at me once again. I leaped away, my body reacting on instinct as I narrowly avoided the attack.

"Another one of you escaped," the Kiri-nin sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "All of you are like fucking ants," he spat, his eyes flashing with contempt. I gazed back at him, my expression a blank mask, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. His attempt to rile me up fell flat, and I remained steadfast, I wouldn't let him make me sloppy.

The Jōnin just scoffed and blurred, and before I could realise what was happening, a fist was already buried deep in my stomach. I took a couple of steps back from the force of the kick, but instead of pain, a sly grin spread across my face. The Chikara Kaihō was working its magic - the weakness of it that the Jōnin had previously accidentally capitalised on was that it only absorbed physical damage.

The Jōnin frowned, clearly unaware of the tables turning, and dashed at me with a flurry of attacks. He threw a swift uppercut, which I absorbed without flinching. Undeterred, he unleashed a combination of punches and slaps, each one landing with precision, but I stood firm, the Chikara Kaiho neutralising the damage. He tried a few more punches, a hook, a cross, and even a spinning backfist, but I weathered the storm, my body refusing to yield.

Just as he kicked off the ground to put more distance and start to perform hand-seals, I activated the seal, and intricate fuinjutsu spread throughout my arm, glowing with energy. I took a step forward, channelling all my momentum into a single, devastating kick aimed at one of his legs. The Jōnin tried to turn mid-air, but the sheer impact was too much. His leg exploded into chunks of flesh, flying away in all directions, the bone cracking audibly. I deactivated the seal to conserve some strength, in case more enemies arrived.

Without hesitation, I shattered his other leg, and then both of his arms, my movements swift and merciless. The Jōnin's screams of agony were music to my ears.

I took out a storage-scroll and hurriedly bandaged him, lest he bleed out, the Jōnin unconscious by now from the pain. I rapidly flickered towards where the battle had originally taken place and saw the three Uzumaki as I ran towards them, smiling, ready to say something. But before I could utter a word, I saw their pale faces, their eyes wide with panic, rapidly shaking their heads in a desperate warning. And then, a massive explosion rocked the area, sending a blast of flames and debris flying everywhere. The force of the blast knocked me off my feet.

I stumbled backward, my ears ringing from the intense noise and pain wracking my entire body as everything burned around me. My vision blurred, and I struggled to stay upright. If it hadn't been for Chikara Kaihō partly absorbing the force of the explosion, I would have certainly died. I fell down on my knees, unable to focus, my body screaming in agony. I was glad that we had fought in a relatively clear location, but I knew the fires could spread quickly if I didn't put them out.

I felt like smashing my head against a tree, frustrated by the turn of events. This explosion would certainly spark attention towards this area, and it would be searched thoroughly when these shinobi didn't report back. We would either have to massively upgrade our defenses or run away altogether. I stood up shakily, my legs trembling beneath me, and attempted to perform a water-style ninjutsu to put out the fires. But nothing happened. I couldn't focus, my mind foggy and my body weakened by the explosion.

I shouldn't have gone alone, all of the previous victories went to my head. In the end, 'I ended up doing what Ashira would have done,' I thought, chuckling with self-loathing. I couldn't even mope around, I didn't have time to think anymore, I needed to hurry. I shakily got up and unsealed medical supplies. The medical supplies of this world, such as ointments, worked far quicker, apparently because of chakra being infused in them during their creation.

After roughly twenty minutes, I started to feel slightly better, and my focus began to return. The fire, however, had unfortunately spread too far, and I knew I wouldn't be able to put it out. I started to flicker towards the Jōnin, my mind racing with suspicion. If I had to think about what happened, the Jōnin was likely pretending to be unconscious, and in my haste, I didn't notice. He was likely the one to activate the explosion, I recalled the expression of fear on their faces, their battered and bloody bodies. I stomped my foot on the dead shinobi's head several times, feeling tears sting at my eyes as I realised the gravity of my mistake.

I started to flicker towards our base, knowing that we would have to fortify or abandon it. As much as it hurt to admit, I had to acknowledge that I had fucked up. My haste and overconfidence had put us all in danger, and now we would have to face the consequences.

I've decided to scrap the 'Knock-out Seal'. Unfortunately I didn't introduce it properly and is being thought of as a slavery-seal, my bad for comparing it to Hyūga's cursed seal. A lesson for me, to not write/upload chapters half asleep. And, people were right. It did not match Mashiro's character to do something like that.

So this now takes place right after his talk with Muishiro and Ashira. I apologise for any confusion and hope you enjoy the story as usual.

Do you want to read a chapter ahead of the public? Well, you can! It's available to all Supporting Characters ($5) up! Thank you Nick for becoming a Supporting Character!

Preview (Ending): It's time to prepare, and this world? It won't know what hit it.

Though, if you can't, then you can still motivate me like all other authors by liking, reviewing, replying and commenting. Seriously, literally every author asks for it. It's like cocaine, so do it!