The man's hand gripped his own hair.
His body suddenly trembled violently as if electrocuted.
"Aaaaarrrgggghhh!!!" the man screamed, piercing the silence of the beach.
Where he fell to his knees, clawing at the wet sand with his nails, writhing like a possessed person, his face turned red, then blue from the excruciating pain he was enduring.
Several ninjas around the man hurriedly stepped back, some could only stare in horror.
One nearly stumbled backward in the sand, while others stood frozen, their bodies stiff as stone.
Reiji did not move.
He merely tilted his head slightly and smiled coldly, like a child watching an animal that had just been caught in a trap.
"Do you see that man?" Reiji said in a flat tone. "Where that man just thought of one bad thing about attacking me..."
Reiji's smile widened, slowly morphing into a mocking grin.
"...but that man forgot. He has signed the Cursed Contract."
The wind blew again, as if adding to the pressure of the atmosphere.
"From now on, every intention, even the slightest spark of thought to harm the Uzumaki Clan... will be paid with suffering like that."
"And that... is just the first warning."
Reiji stared at the man who was still groaning and writhing like a convulsing worm.
"If that man tries again, even just with the intention... he will die."
"And not a quick death. But a slow one. From within."
"As if his body is being eaten alive. That man will scream silently. Rotting... in full awareness."
The atmosphere froze.
There was no sound.
The crashing waves seemed to recede.
Thousands of ninjas now looked like the living dead, their faces pale, eyes wide, skin crawling.
Some trembled involuntarily, even experienced Jonin bowed their heads, as if reluctant to meet the gaze of the teenage boy.
Thirty-one ninjas who chose to surrender and remain as war prisoners stood a bit away from the crowd.
They looked at Reiji with a mix of fear and relief.
They knew they were no safer—perhaps quite the opposite.
But at that moment... they were grateful they hadn't gone home.
They did not want to be caught between life and death like that man.
In the distance, to Reiji's right, stood the leader of the Uzumaki Clan and its members.
Among them was Kaito, who was usually calm and unflappable.
However, this time, Kaito's eyes widened slightly, his jaw tightened.
Where Kaito recognized Reiji.
The prodigy.
The sealing genius.
The new hope of the clan.
But this... this was the other side.
The side that only emerged when the lives of the entire clan were at stake.
And although all of them claimed to be shocked, none felt any objection.
Reiji was doing what had to be done.
The boy turned back to the ninjas who had now lost their fighting spirit.
"Go." Reiji's voice was as cold as ice piercing through bone.
"Drag your battered bodies back to your respective villages."
"Tell your leaders: if they dare to touch, attack, interfere, or even just provoke the Uzumaki Clan..."
"Then they will summon a disaster they cannot imagine, even in their worst nightmares."
Where Reiji paused.
Reiji's jaw hardened, and his eyes radiated the embers of restrained anger.
His next words came out heavy, like the rumble preceding a storm.
"And if there is still a grudge you hold... direct it all towards Konoha."
"They are the traitors."
"Ungrateful bastards."
"They left us at the brink of destruction."
"We... have no more ties with them."
The atmosphere became silent.
Too silent.
The ninjas from Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure tensed.
Some swallowed hard, others exchanged glances, trying to understand the meaning of Reiji's words.
But their conclusion was the same: the anger of the Uzumaki Clan was not only directed at them.
There was a deeper, more piercing, more terrifying hatred—for Konoha, the former ally that had turned away.
And somehow, that was the most frightening part.
________________________
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