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Lord Ayato stared at the massive bed before him, the very place where his arch-rival and bitter enemy, the Warlord Takin, used to sleep. Or rather, he stared at what was left of him. There wasn't even a complete corpse left behind for a proper burial. Instead, there was only a vast, spreading pool of dark red blood and small fragments of flesh and bone scattered across the mattress and the floor around it. No body. Nothing recognizable. Only... remains.
Ayato's skin turned completely pale from the sheer horror of the sight, as an intense fear and dread crept into his heart. This was especially true after he and his accompanying forces had inspected every military base and barracks scattered in and around the city. Every single one of them was in the exact same gruesome state. A thousand soldiers or more in this city alone had all been killed in the same unimaginable, horrific manner. They were cut into small pieces—blood everywhere, total destruction.
What seemed most obvious was that they hadn't even resisted. There were no signs of a fight or a struggle. In fact, many of them—most of them, truly—had died right in their beds, sleeping, without even waking up. A silent death. Swift. Absolute.
One of Lord Ayato's followers standing behind him—a young military commander whose face was white with shock—spoke in a slightly trembling voice:
"Lord Ayato... who... who could have done this? What kind of power could—"
Before he could finish his logical question, Ayato cut him off sharply. He turned toward him with a sudden movement, looking him directly in the eye with a gaze full of warning. He spoke in a firm, harsh tone:
"Don't you dare finish that question!"
A short, tense silence followed.
"From now on, this matter and what happened here tonight are strictly taboo. It is never to be spoken of. No questions, no discussions, no inquiries." He looked sternly at the young commander, then at all his followers standing around him in the room—about ten high-ranking officers. They were all looking at him with astonishment and fear.
He continued in an even more threatening tone: "And anyone who violates this direct order will be executed immediately. Do you all understand?" He looked at each one of them with a cold, hard stare that brooked no argument. The message was crystal clear: Stay silent. Forget what you saw. Do not ask.
The officers looked at each other with hesitation and fear. Then they all answered in a single, low, obedient voice:
"As you command, Lord Ayato."
Ayato, of course, knew the truth. He knew who had done this. Who had killed thousands of soldiers in a single night without a sound, without a trace, and without resistance. "Lord Dragon." The young man with blue hair. Absolute power. This was a clear warning to him, a display of strength, and a reminder of who truly held control. Ayato would not be stupid enough to speak of this to anyone. He would take the secret to his grave. He would ensure that everyone who saw this sight today remained silent as well—through fear, threats, or any means necessary. Because the alternative... was death. A death just like Takin and his army.
As for Dan, after reaching his private base in the middle of the wilderness, he went directly back to his isolated personal laboratory. He didn't go to sleep. He wasn't tired because he hadn't expended much of his energy. Instead, he sat at his large wooden table. He opened an old paper scroll he had obtained from the headquarters of the warlord named Takin while he was there. He had taken it from a small library in the palace before leaving.
The scroll explained in detail how to use Chakra to enhance a sword during duels and combat—a fundamental technique used by warriors in this era. He looked at it with focus for a few moments. Then... he lost interest completely.
He said in a low, indifferent tone: "A simple and trivial technique..."
He closed the scroll and set it aside on the table. After a moment, he stood up and placed it in his small private library—a wooden shelf filled with scrolls. He wouldn't study it any further; there was no real benefit in it for him. But he kept it anyway to join his collection.
He thought silently: In this early era, most of the techniques used in the world are still very raw, primitive, and limited. They haven't yet evolved into the vast diversity and great complexity known in later ages, like the distant future he saw in the anime. All the warriors possess now are basic techniques: body enhancement with Chakra, weapon enhancement, and some very simple Ninjutsu. No complex Genjutsu, no diverse elemental techniques. No advanced Fuinjutsu, with the exception of the Sage of the Six Paths, who possesses a high level that enabled him and his brother to seal their mother. As for the rest, it hasn't appeared yet.
The variety would only come later. With time. Especially with the increasing intensity of constant wars in the coming decades and centuries. Pressure would drive innovation, and conflict would give birth to new techniques. Necessity is the mother of invention, and war is the greatest necessity of all.
He sat down again at his table, looking at his own research spread out before him. Complex diagrams of vitality seals, detailed drawings of the human nervous system, and dense notes on Chakra flow in the brain. This was his real work. His grand project.
The second stage of the brain seal: sending Chakra threads a hundred times thinner than a hair through the blood, spreading them into every vein and artery of the brain, infiltrating the spinal cord and the entire nervous system, and linking them with the vitality seals already present in the bones, muscles, and organs. It was a near-impossible task. It required non-human control. It needed at least five years of precise daily work.
But if he succeeded... the resulting power would be immense. Total control over every cell in his body. Superhuman processing speed. Absolute memory. Abilities far beyond human limits. This was the goal. This was the path.
Dan looked toward the small window in his lab. The sky was beginning to turn a light orange. Dawn was approaching. A long night had ended. A night in which thousands of humans were killed, and here he was now, having forgotten them to focus on more important matters. A night in which he had changed the political map of the region—doubling Ayato's territory and expanding his family's hidden influence. He had succeeded in creating a strong and stable external front for his family.
A big step forward. But at a price. A bloody price.
Did he regret it? Dan thought silently for a long moment. No. No regret. He did what seemed necessary. Survival—in a world as harsh as this, on a planet doomed to destruction at the hands of the Otsutsuki—requires cruelty sometimes. It requires difficult decisions. Sacrifices. Blood. This was the reality, and he would face it with eyes wide open.
He then said in a faint voice, "Humans really are terrifying creatures; they can rationalize anything that might be in their favor, no matter if it is evil or good."
He stood up from his chair and stretched a little. He decided to sleep for a few hours, even though his body didn't need it, just to turn off his brain for a bit from this train of thoughts. Tomorrow, he would continue his work. His research. His training.
Life goes on. The world turns, and it will not stop for him.
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