Fortunately, there would still come a day when the suffering ended and sweetness followed. As long as [Absolute Justice] was carried out thoroughly across the Land of Water, the country could be reborn—and when that day came, it would also be time for her, a butcher with blood on her hands, to step down after her mission was complete.
Uchiha Chizumi stared into Mei Terumi's eyes for a long moment. Even under the gaze of those blood-red pupils, Mei didn't flinch or look away in the slightest. She was in pain, but she had already prepared herself to sacrifice everything.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Uchiha Chizumi, after a long time, called forth the Slug Sage—this time summoning an ultra-colossal slug in one go, several times larger than a tailed beast. Standing on Kirigakure's soil, it looked like a real hill.
"Chizumi-sama, what are your orders?" The gigantic slug extended its feelers and "looked" around. It had been a long time since a contractor had summoned it at such an enormous size, and it felt a little unaccustomed.
In truth, every slug in Shikkotsu Forest was a part of the Slug Sage. But because their sizes differed, so did their "personalities"—and naturally, the way they carried themselves when speaking with a contractor also differed.
"Slug Sage. She has volunteered to carry out [Absolute Justice] in the Land of Water in my place. I want you to help supervise the execution of justice," Uchiha Chizumi said. He wouldn't simply "let it go" just because he chose to trust Mei—that wasn't how justice should work.
"I see. How would you like me to do that?" The slug's feelers twitched slightly, curious as it "looked" toward Mei.
It agreed with Chizumi's ideals, but its millennia of experience had taught it this: people who could truly accept [Absolute Justice] were exceedingly rare. Even those who kept themselves clean were few—let alone those who accepted the creed and still made up their minds to follow it.
A self-motivated follower like Uchiha Izumi was already extraordinarily rare. It hadn't expected the Land of Water to produce humans who not only agreed, but were willing to follow Chizumi-sama as well.
"I want you to split into enough small slugs to replace my eyes—so Kirigakure's shinobi can carry them as they cleanse the evil entrenched in this land!" Chizumi gazed out at Kirigakure through the curtain of rain. Granted, a large part of the infamy of the "Bloody Mist" could be blamed on Uchiha Obito.
But even before Obito arrived, the Land of Water's shinobi had already been notorious for bloodshed and brutal methods—so much so that it had produced monsters like the first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, lunatics who killed for fun.
That alone showed how deeply rooted evil was in this land. So no matter how resolute Mei appeared, Chizumi would not lightly place everything in her hands.
"Understood. I will cooperate fully."
The slug's immense body slowly rippled, splitting into several hundred pillow-sized little slugs. Three of them crawled onto the shoulders of Genji, Mei, and Ao respectively.
Mei and Ao both stiffened like boards, yet they didn't dare voice the slightest objection as they watched the little slugs climb onto them.
On the battlefield, no matter what terrifying enemy she faced, Mei would never feel fear. But this slug represented Uchiha Chizumi's will. Even if her instincts as a woman rejected a soft-bodied creature like this, she didn't dare show even a hint of disgust.
"Please bear with it a little. I'll try not to touch you," the small slug on Mei's shoulder said softly, as if sensing her discomfort.
"You can talk?!" Mei glanced at the slug on her shoulder, a little shaken. She had assumed it was simply the giant slug's offspring—at most, a living "eye" for Chizumi. She hadn't expected it to possess the ability to think and communicate.
Good thing she found out now. Otherwise, if someone tried to pull something later and the slugs saw it, the opportunity she had fought so hard to secure—having Kirigakure carry out [Absolute Justice]—would go straight down the drain.
"Long time no see, Katsuyu-sama," Genji greeted, his expression complicated, before Katsuyu could answer. Then he spoke as if introducing her—or reminding Mei and Ao of something: "Katsuyu-sama is the summoning beast of Konoha's Princess Tsunade. Each little slug is effectively a clone of Katsuyu-sama."
Compared with younger-generation shinobi like Mei and Ao, Genji—who had lived since the Warring States era—clearly knew far more about Konoha.
"That's right. All slugs are me—though different slugs can have different personalities, you know~" The little slug on Genji's shoulder was noticeably more lively, its tiny feelers trembling nonstop.
Mei forced a strained smile. Genji's words were clearly meant as a warning to her and Ao. This old man might not have the decisive ruthlessness of past Mizukage—or of Mei herself—but he was still a pillar of Kirigakure.
"Go. Gather every Kirigakure shinobi you believe can enforce justice, and bring them here!" Only after Katsuyu finished exchanging greetings did Uchiha Chizumi look at Mei. Under the gaze of those blood-red eyes, Mei felt as if she'd been pricked by needles, her whole body trembling slightly. "The Slug Sage will take the place of my eyes and watch as [Absolute Justice] descends upon this nation!"
"…Yes, Chizumi-sama!" After a moment of silence, Mei took a deep breath and answered firmly.
At this point, there was no room left for regret. Compared with letting Chizumi unleash a massacre across the Land of Water and completely shatter Kirigakure's future, Mei would rather shoulder even more infamy—because that way, the Land of Water and Kirigakure might still have a chance to endure.
Watching Mei and Ao's figures gradually fade into the rain, Genji sighed quietly. Then he bent at the waist and spoke to Chizumi in a slightly humble tone. "This isn't a place to talk. Why not come to my humble home and speak there? What do you say, my lord?"
"There is no need." Chizumi glanced at the white status box above Genji's head. Over a long life, this elder of the Land of Water could hardly be called spotless—yet he was still marked in white, and his "evilness" was even slightly lower than Mei's, who had once injured civilians by mistake.
—Given Kirigakure's environment and Genji's status, that was practically a miracle.
Though [Absolute Justice] allowed not the slightest compromise, every one of Genji's recorded crimes was followed by a record of restitution—most had even earned the victims' forgiveness. Reaching that point was, at least, commendable.
Since arriving in the Land of Water, Chizumi had seen far too many people who were barely human. Even he couldn't help but regard Genji a little differently—and his normally cold tone softened just slightly.
"Thank you for your understanding," Genji said, looking at Chizumi with mild surprise. He had seen countless proud, arrogant Uchiha. He'd assumed Chizumi-sama would be a second Uchiha Madara—yet it seemed the reality was not quite that.