In the capital of the Land of Fire, the night curtain, like a massive piece of black velvet, enveloped the hustle and bustle of the day.

In this quiet darkness, the lights of the Daimyo's mansion, like diamonds scattered on black velvet, were brilliant and extravagant. Among them, the mansion of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Tokugawa Shigeru, was the most dazzling one in the entire area.

Inside the mansion, there were magnificent pavilions and rockeries with flowing water; every detail highlighted the owner's almost pathological luxury. Outside the mansion, dozens of samurai wearing the Daimyo's family crest, along with two Chunin from Konoha hired for this purpose, stood guard in every corner like statues, their eyes missing nothing.

For this heavily guarded fortress, tonight was no different from any other night in the past.

However, none of them knew that a pair of eyes was coldly watching all of this from another dimension.

Inside the Kamui Dimension, Qi's figure emerged from the void. Floating before him was an intelligence scroll personally collected by Shisui, which detailed everything about Tokugawa Shigeru.

This favorite of the Daimyo was known for his greed and extravagance. Intelligence showed that in the past few years, Tokugawa Shigeru had abused his power to repeatedly embezzle Konoha's military funds, pocketing the largest portion for himself. That money was supposed to be used to compensate the Uchiha clansman members who had sacrificed their lives in the war.

An old blood debt.

The corners of Qi's mouth twitched.

The next second, his figure vanished from the Kamui Dimension.

Inside the master bedroom of Tokugawa Shigeru's mansion.

This pampered Minister of Internal Affairs was lying on his massive bed, which could accommodate ten people, embracing two beautiful maids, immersed in a sweet dream.

Suddenly, the air in the room twisted without warning.

A pitch-black vortex, like an eye opening out of thin air, quietly appeared in the center of the room.

Qi's figure stepped slowly out of the vortex without making a sound, like a descending Shinigami. The black combat outfit he wore looked completely out of place with the luxurious furnishings in the room.

He didn't even bother to hide the sound of his footsteps.

"Who!"

A maid sleeping on the outer edge of the bed was the first to be awakened by the sudden commotion. Opening her sleepy eyes, when she saw the figure standing in the shadows, a terrified scream almost burst from her throat.

But the sound could not be released.

Qi's gaze swept over her lightly.

Those scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan, in the dim light, were like two points of burning ghost fire.

The maid's body stiffened abruptly, her eyes instantly becoming vacant. Her entire person, like a puppet with cut strings, collapsed softly and fell into a deep sleep once again. Only this time, her dreams would be decided by the caster.

The commotion here finally woke Tokugawa Shigeru.

"What's going on?"

Tokugawa Shigeru rubbed his eyes and sat up impatiently. When he saw the uninvited guest in the room, all his sleepiness vanished in an instant, replaced by a fear that seeped into his bones.

"You... who are you! Someone! Guards!"

Tokugawa Shigeru screamed in terror, scrambling and crawling toward the corner of the bed.

However, his cries for help seemed to be swallowed by an invisible barrier and could not reach outside the bedroom at all. Qi had long since used Kamui to completely isolate this space from the outside world.

Qi did not answer the question, but simply stepped forward slowly.

In Tokugawa Shigeru's vision, which was twisted by extreme fear, those scarlet eyes locked onto his own.

Mangekyō Sharingan, activate.

Hum!

Tokugawa Shigeru's body shuddered violently, and the world before him collapsed instantly. The magnificent bedroom disappeared, replaced by an endless blood-red space. He was firmly bound to a cross by iron chains, with piles of bones beneath his feet.

"Where... is this..."

"Your mental world." Qi's voice, like the judgment of a god, came from all directions. "Here, I am the law."

In the genjutsu world, Qi did not waste any time. He transformed into the deepest fear in Tokugawa Shigeru's heart, easily crushing the fragile will of this pampered noble.

In just a few short seconds, Tokugawa Shigeru, with tears and snot streaming down his face, clearly confessed the locations of all his secret vaults, how to open them, and the source of every bit of his ill-gotten wealth.

After obtaining all the necessary intelligence, Qi did not stop there.

Killing him would be too easy.

Qi's Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated, and with unprecedented precision, his ocular power began to deeply tamper with and implant memories into Tokugawa Shigeru.

A brand new, incomparably glorious memory was constructed.

In the memory, Tokugawa Shigeru saw countless displaced civilians within the Land of Fire and orphans who had lost their parents in the war, and his heart was greatly touched. A feeling called "compassion" and "universal love" surged within his chest.

Thus, a great decision was made.

Tokugawa Shigeru anonymously donated all the wealth he had accumulated in his life to a charitable organization called "Light of Fire" to help those impoverished people.

After doing all this, Tokugawa Shigeru felt no reluctance; instead, he experienced an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and honor as if his soul had been sublimated.

"I... am such a noble person..."

In the genjutsu world, Tokugawa Shigeru was moved to tears, deeply touched by his own "good deeds."

In the real world, a cold sneer curled the corners of Qi's mouth. Releasing the genjutsu, he looked at Tokugawa Shigeru, whose eyes had become clear and satisfied, stepped back slowly, and merged into the vortex of space once again.

Next, it was time for the harvest.

Using the intelligence he had just obtained, Qi's Kamui shuttled silently between the underground of Tokugawa Shigeru's mansion and several secret strongholds within the capital.

Boxes of gold, rolls of banknotes, and caskets of jewelry were continuously sucked into the different dimension under the distortion of Kamui, disappearing without a trace.

The entire process was clean and efficient, without alerting anyone.

When the last secret vault was completely emptied, Qi left quietly, as if he had never appeared.

The next morning.

Tokugawa Shigeru woke up from his sleep, feeling refreshed and invigorated, his soul seemingly a bit lighter.

Habitually wanting to touch a large banknote in the secret compartment of his bedside table, he touched nothing. Tokugawa Shigeru was slightly stunned, then immediately remembered his "great" decision from last night.

Not only was Tokugawa Shigeru not panicked in the slightest, but a gratified and noble smile appeared on his face instead.

"Money is merely an external object." Tokugawa Shigeru muttered to himself.

He even immediately summoned the mansion's butler and issued an order that left everyone stunned.

"Immediately go and prepare a grand banquet! I want to invite all the celebrities and nobles in the capital; I want to share with them the insights about the true meaning of life that I gained last night!"

At dusk, at the banquet.

Tokugawa Shigeru stood in the center of the guests, holding his wine glass high, with a saint-like radiance on his face, and delivered a speech with tears in his eyes.

"To me, money is just dirt! Being able to contribute to the impoverished people of this country is the greatest honor of my life!"

The guests looked at each other, all wondering if this Minister of Internal Affairs had gone mad.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away at the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Qi was standing in front of the mountain of gold, counting the huge sum of money that was enough to buy half the country.

The largest sum of funds needed to establish the nation was easily obtained in a way no one could have imagined.