Next Bonus Chapter, 200!
We're almost close to the bonus chapter!!
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All across the shinobi world, the violence that used to fill every road and settlement was gone. In its place was a stillness that felt strange to everyone.
"What a change. All of this happened in a single day..."
Shukaku looked down at the land. The bandits had disappeared, and the local tyrants who once preyed on the weak were gone too. After a long pause, he turned to Kurama.
"Do you think Teacher went too far?"
Shukaku never thought the world could be split into just good and evil. Most people were somewhere in between, shaped by their situations, fears, greed, or desperation.
He thought Manji would only go after the worst bandit leaders, break up the biggest criminal groups, and get rid of the most dangerous threats. That seemed like it would be enough.
But Manji wiped out crime everywhere, from the strongest warlords to the smallest village thugs. He changed the whole social order in just one day. No society can last if it expects everyone to be completely pure.
Kurama grinned, his eyes filled with approval. "I don't see the problem. They deserved it. Teacher handled this perfectly."
Kurama had traveled the shinobi world for centuries and seen more cruelty than most could imagine. He watched the powerful hurt the helpless and saw innocent people die because no one stood up to their abusers. To him, Manji's purge was overdue.
"If evil people are left, they'll just keep hurting others," Kurama said. "Letting them live only means more innocent people will suffer. What Teacher did is what real protection looks like."
"I suppose..."
Shukaku looked down at the land as it recovered and nodded slowly. He wasn't as harsh as Kurama, so Manji's actions still bothered him. But when he thought about all the people who had suffered, his doubts started to fade.
........
The ordinary people of the shinobi world felt the purge more than anyone else.
For generations, they had faced bandit attacks, heavy taxes, corrupt leaders, and bullies who acted like they owned whole villages. Most people worried daily about having enough food or if armed men would show up before night.
Now, the Sage of Six Paths had come down to the world and judged everyone himself. The bandits, corrupt officials, warlords, and petty tyrants who hurt people were gone.
For the first time, many civilians no longer feared being robbed, beaten, or killed without anyone stopping them.
People dropped to their knees, tears running down their faces, and bowed to Manji's departing clones. Faith that had faded for centuries came back stronger than ever.
All over the shinobi world, people shouted that a new day had finally arrived.
Drums boomed in the streets. Villages that once only knew fear were now full of laughter, and crowds celebrated like the world had started over. For a moment, everyone in the shinobi world went through the same relief.
News of Manji's purge reached Mount Myōboku almost immediately.
No one there doubted his choice. The people of the mountain supported the Grand Sage and got ready to help his campaign.
Shima sent out the White Zetsu intelligence network and agents across the shinobi world. Some helped Manji's clones finish off the last criminal groups, while others calmed scared civilians, rebuilt damaged places, and brought order where the purge had left gaps.
Fukasaku and Black Zetsu stayed up all night in the archives, writing down what happened for future generations.
By candlelight, they wrote in detail about how Manji created thousands of clones, descended to the shinobi world, and wiped out millions of criminals in a single day. Every word showed their respect for the Grand Sage's mission to save the oppressed and rid the world of those who hurt them.
"In Shinobi Calendar Year 241, morality collapsed, faith withered, and suffering spread across the shinobi world. Unable to endure it any longer, the Sage of Six Paths descended from Mount Myōboku and began his great purge."
........
As Manji moved through the shinobi world, the major shinobi clans watched in fear.
Each clan worried that the Sage of Six Paths would come after them next.
Their fears proved justified.
After breaking up the criminal powers in the civilian world, Manji turned to the shinobi clans. Any clan that gained power through murder, extortion, or raids was destroyed instantly. The criminal groups started by wandering shinobi disappeared too.
Some clans had joined the hunt for the Tailed Beasts. Others stayed out of it but gave up the Six Paths faith and openly rejected Manji's rule.
........
While the clans waited for judgment, only one family celebrated their luck.
The Hyūga Clan.
"My God, that was close!"
The Hyūga clan leader sat on a tatami mat, looking at the report his scouts had brought. His face was pale.
The whole shinobi world had changed in a single night.
A moment later, he felt a wave of relief.
"Thank heaven those old fossils refused to let us join the Tailed Beast hunt. Or the Hyūga Clan might have been destroyed with the others!"
The Eight-Clan Alliance had asked the Hyūga to join their campaign. The clan leader thought about saying yes, thinking that catching the Tailed Beasts could make his family stronger.
But before he could agree, the oldest elders in the clan spoke out against it.
"The Tailed Beasts have remained beyond human control since ancient times. Our ancestors forbade their capture, and the laws of our ancestors must not be changed!"
Their stubborn refusal kept him from joining the alliance.
Most shinobi clans had become less religious over time, but the Hyūga elders stuck to old customs. They always gave the same reason whenever someone wanted to change tradition: their ancestors made the law, so it had to stay.
That same stubbornness also kept the Hyūga Clan's faith in the Sage of Six Paths alive.
The clan leader poured himself some sake and laughed.
"I never thought I'd say this, but those old men finally made themselves useful!"
........
Inside the Pure Land was a wide, empty space with nothing but pale light.
Manji appeared at its center.
He made this realm after reaching the Six Paths level. Without any limits, creating a place for the dead was now easy for him.
Right now, the Pure Land was only as big as one or two soccer fields. It would have to grow before it could hold all the souls from the shinobi world.
Manji didn't plan to do that work himself.
"I have more important matters to handle. These people can expand it for me."
The Totsuka Blade appeared in his hand. With a small motion, Manji let out several of the souls trapped inside it.
Uchiha Gen, Senju Shima, and the leaders of the Uzumaki, Shimura, Sarutobi, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans appeared in front of him.
Confusion covered their faces.
They remembered dying, but didn't know why they had woken up in this strange white place. Then they saw Manji.
"GRAND SAGE!"
Fear ran through the group. Each clan leader fell to their knees and bowed with their foreheads to the ground.
"..." Manji looked at them without showing any emotion. He didn't plan to hurt them anymore.
He understood why they had acted as they did.
They wanted to end the Warring States Period. Deep down, they didn't mean harm. They just chose the wrong way and told themselves that controlling the Tailed Beasts was worth any cost.
If they had followed the example that Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha would later set by joining their clans and starting a village, Manji wouldn't have stepped in.
He waved one hand—
Several pickaxes appeared in the air and floated toward the kneeling clan leaders.
"From this day forward, you will expand the Pure Land." Manji's voice carried across the empty realm. "This will be your sentence. You will continue working here for eternity."
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