A few days later, Uchiha Lie pushed open the wooden door and stepped outside.
The moment he appeared, the bustling villagers froze.
Axes paused mid-air. Buckets stopped swaying. Conversations died instantly.
All eyes turned toward him.
In those gazes, there was awe for the strong.
But far more than that—
There was fear.
The same kind of fear they had shown the Youkai.
Uchiha Lie understood.
With cracked, pale skin and unnatural eyes, he did not look like someone among the living. He was fortunate they had not driven him out with hoes and torches.
He said nothing, merely standing at the doorway and watching them repair their ruined homes.
"My lord… is there something you need?"
Yuriko hurried over, placing her bucket aside and bowing deeply. Her voice carried respect—but also unmistakable nervousness.
Behind her stood her husband—the man who had found the Edo Tensei scroll.
He gripped a wooden beam, eyes flickering uneasily. Gratitude warred with dread in his expression.
"Don't be nervous," Uchiha Lie said calmly. "I've come to say goodbye."
The words caused a ripple among the villagers.
Goodbye?
The little girl suddenly wriggled free from her father's hand and ran to Yuriko's side. Peeking from behind her mother, she stared at Uchiha Lie with wide, curious eyes.
Unlike the adults—
She held no fear.
"Thank you for taking care of me during this time," Uchiha Lie said. From within his robe, he withdrew a wooden plaque no larger than a playing card and handed it to Yuriko.
"Take this. Consider it a gift for awakening me."
Yuriko waved her hands frantically. "My lord, we cannot accept such a thing! And… why leave so suddenly? The village can still provide food—"
"I know you are afraid of me," he interrupted gently.
"I am a dead man. I cannot remain here forever. If I stay, your gratitude will eventually be replaced by suspicion. Suspicion will become fear. And fear… will become ostracization."
He pressed the plaque into her palm.
"A clone of mine is sealed within it. If another Youkai attacks, smear blood on it and throw it. Even breaking it will trigger the technique. It will protect you once."
Yuriko's fingers tightened around the plaque. Her eyes reddened slightly.
"Then… please travel safely, my lord. May your martial fortune be great."
Uchiha Lie knelt before the little girl.
He gently ruffled her hair—a rare, almost imperceptible smile tugging at his cracked lips.
"Little Chrysanthemum, I'm leaving. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Uncle!" she chirped brightly.
He lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"Hold out your hand. I'll give you something fun."
Her eyes sparkled. She stretched out her small palm eagerly.
A pale blue spark of Chakra condensed at his fingertip.
He tapped her palm lightly.
For a brief moment, three black tomoe appeared on her skin—
Then vanished.
He had sealed a one-time Ninjutsu trigger there. In true danger, it would activate automatically.
Enough to save her life.
"Eh? It disappeared!" she exclaimed, flipping her palm over and over in confusion.
Uchiha Lie stood.
"Until we meet again."
He turned and walked toward the forest.
The wind rustled through the trees.
And soon, his figure vanished into the woods.
---
"ROAR—!"
Night fell.
A thunderous beast's cry shattered the silence.
Uchiha Lie paused mid-step.
Ahead, beneath the canopy of ink-black trees, a massive bear burst from behind a crag. Crimson eyes gleamed. Saliva dripped from its jaws.
Dead leaves exploded beneath its paws as it charged.
Uchiha Lie did not move.
At the moment the beast leapt—
His figure flickered.
An afterimage remained where he had stood.
He reappeared behind the bear.
Click.
The soft sound of a blade being sheathed echoed faintly.
The bear's massive body continued forward under momentum.
Then—
Its head separated cleanly from its body.
Blood sprayed.
The carcass crashed into the earth with a heavy thud.
Uchiha Lie glanced back.
"What a pity."
"I've heard bear paw is delicious."
He tilted his head slightly.
"…Though I don't know how to cook it."
An Edo Tensei body required no food.
Yet it could still taste.
Still feel.
Still experience.
Its energy came from the Edo Tensei formula absorbing Natural Energy and converting it into Chakra.
But waste was waste.
After a moment's consideration, he turned around.
"Since I killed it… I might as well take it."
His Mangekyo Sharingan spun.
"Kamui."
Space distorted into a spiraling vortex.
A storage scroll fell from the dimension.
Earlier, he had commissioned it in a castle town and personally carved sealing arrays onto it.
He unfurled it and sealed the bear's carcass inside.
Why not toss it directly into Kamui?
Because the Kamui Dimension preserved nothing.
Without sealing techniques, flesh would rot.
He rolled up the scroll and sent it back into the vortex.
Just as he prepared to leave—
He paused.
From the left—
"Awooooo—!"
A shrill, piercing howl.
Trees shattered.
A crimson figure burst from the forest.
It was humanoid.
Nearly three meters tall.
Skin red as fresh blood.
Two twisted horns curled from its head.
It gripped a massive wooden club.
Each step trembled the ground.
The club swung downward toward his skull.
Under the Mangekyo's perception—
The movement was slow.
Uchiha Lie leaned slightly.
The club slammed into empty air.
Chakra erupted beneath his feet.
He shot upward like an arrow, soaring above the monster.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
His right leg descended, wrapped in dense Chakra.
Boom!
The monster's head was driven into the earth.
The ground collapsed into a crater half a meter deep. Cracks radiated outward like spiderwebs.
The creature twitched weakly.
"Another one delivered to my door."
He landed calmly beside it.
From his back, he unfastened a scroll.
Unfurled it.
Aimed it at the dying Youkai.
"Sealing: One's Own Life Resurrection Seal."
The scroll pulsed.
An eerie suction force erupted.
Pale green life energy began to rise from the monster's body.
Like mist.
Like smoke.
Like a river being drawn backward.
The energy streamed into the scroll.
This technique was derived from Granny Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation.
But modified.
Instead of sacrificing his own life—
He harvested others'.
Stored it.
Prepared it.
For resurrection.
As the final thread of vitality was extracted, the monster's massive body shriveled into a withered husk.
Uchiha Lie rolled the scroll closed and secured it.
"One step closer."
True resurrection required life force.
Large quantities.
And powerful sources.
This world—
Rich in Natural Energy.
Filled with Youkai.
Perhaps it was not an accident he arrived here.
Perhaps—
It was an opportunity.
He stepped forward.
The forest swallowed him once more.
And under the silent moonlight—
A dead man continued walking.