Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku [90]

In the distance, atop the roof of a building, stood two figures.

One of them appeared to be a young man, with green hair, violet eyes, and a scar beneath his left eye that resembled a surgical suture.

Despite his youthful appearance, this was none other than the Fourth Mizukage.

The other figure remained concealed in the shadows, beyond the reach of the moonlight.

Clad in a black cloak patterned with red clouds and wearing a spiral-patterned mask, he was Uchiha Obito—the one secretly manipulating the Fourth Mizukage.

Their eyes were fixed on the battlefield below, where the shinobi of Kirigakure clashed with members of the Kaguya clan.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the two had been watching silently from this vantage point.

"Rin… I won't let a single one of those who hurt you go unpunished."

Gazing into the distance, Obito murmured to himself, a twisted smile forming beneath his mask.

Whether it was the Kaguya clan being slaughtered or the Kirigakure shinobi falling, it all pleased him.

After all, both sides were targets of his vengeance. This battle was a result of his machinations behind the scenes.

By the time the fighting ended, blood had splattered walls and ground alike. The Kaguya clan's corpses were piled high like a mountain, and the Kirigakure forces had suffered heavy losses as well.

His mood only improved.

"The Kaguya clan's corpses were stolen?"

When he saw the wandering shinobi—actually Uchiha Fugaku in disguise—stealing the Kaguya bodies and escaping from Mei Terumi, his brows furrowed slightly.

But soon, he relaxed.

"They're just corpses. If they're gone, so be it. I was going to have them burned anyway."

"The Kaguya clan is finished. Next up is the Yuki clan."

"But unlike the hot-headed Kaguya, the Yuki are far more composed. Provoking them into rebellion won't be easy."

Resting his chin thoughtfully on his right hand, he pondered how to manipulate the Yuki clan into rising up—so he could, in turn, eliminate them.

Whoosh!

A masked Kirigakure Anbu quickly approached, heading straight for the Fourth Mizukage.

Obito vanished into a swirling vortex.

"Lord Mizukage, we've just received word—the Yuki clan has killed the shinobi assigned to monitor them and escaped under cover of night. Their current whereabouts are unknown."

The masked Anbu reported respectfully.

"They defected? Send out a pursuit unit. Dead or alive—doesn't matter."

Ordered the Fourth Mizukage, still under Obito's control.

"Understood, Lord Mizukage."

With that, the Anbu vanished, off to rally a team to hunt the Yuki clan.

Hum—

In the moonless shadows, Obito reemerged.

"They actually defected… and tonight of all nights..."

For the Yuki clan to flee at the exact time the Kaguya launched their coup—it was far too much of a coincidence to believe.

"They must've known about the Kaguya's plan and used the chaos to escape unnoticed."

The thought crossed his mind.

This wasn't chance—it was strategy. The Yuki clan had used the Kaguya rebellion as a distraction to facilitate their own defection.

"Clever…"

He let out a cold snort. Compared to the impulsive Kaguya, the Yuki were indeed much smarter.

"But how many of them can actually escape?"

A cold smile curved his lips.

A clan as large as the Yuki couldn't possibly disappear without leaving a trace. There would be signs of their flight—signs that could be tracked.

With Kirigakure's forces in pursuit, Obito believed that even if a few escaped, it wouldn't be many.

---

The next day

A large group of shinobi surrounded the place where Uchiha Fugaku had been staying.

After the Kaguya corpses were stolen, Kirigakure circulated a sketch of the disguised fugitive's face, which quickly led them to this location.

However, Fugaku had anticipated that this hideout would be discovered, and had already left during the night, never returning.

Naturally, he left nothing behind that could reveal his identity or allow him to be tracked.

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

Deep in the forest, a small campfire burned.

Next to it, a middle-aged man in a blue shinobi uniform held a skewered fish over the flames.

The fish was plump, gutted, and seasoned with spices.

Soon, a rich aroma filled the air. Unbothered by the heat, the man bit into it, his mouth immediately filled with flavor.

He finished the fish quickly, spitting out the bones. In no time, he had eaten two.

This man was none other than Uchiha Fugaku, disguised with transformation techniques.

Now that his wandering ninja identity had been compromised, he had assumed a new one—that of a Kirigakure shinobi.

"The commotion caused by seizing the Kaguya corpses left no time to search for Kimimaro. But it doesn't really matter."

He didn't consider Kimimaro essential. Though Kimimaro possessed the powerful Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai, he also suffered from a fatal hereditary illness.

That made his body unsuitable for corpse forging or cultivation. Even Orochimaru's advanced medical techniques could only keep Kimimaro alive into his teens.

If Kimimaro had fallen into his hands, he likely wouldn't have lasted that long—Fugaku lacked the means to treat him.

"Orochimaru's already been driven off. Whether or not Kimimaro ends up in his hands again, there's a good chance he'll die fleeing from Kirigakure."

Having obtained enough Kaguya corpses, Fugaku moved on. His thoughts turned now to another kekkei genkai of Kirigakure—Ice Release.

"The Yuki clan is surprisingly clever."

From his current disguise as a Kirigakure shinobi, he had already learned that during the Kaguya uprising, the Yuki clan had scattered and fled.

That gave him a slight sense of regret. Their scattered defection meant it was now impossible to harvest their corpses en masse as he had with the Kaguya.

Whoosh!

Fugaku extinguished the fire and departed.

The shinobi he was impersonating was involved in the pursuit of the Yuki clan, giving him a perfect cover to continue searching for their members throughout the Land of Water.

A few hours later, he arrived at a forest where several corpses lay—a clear sign that a battle had recently taken place.

"A fight happened here not long ago. One side was definitely from the Yuki clan."

His eyes scanned the area—the ground, the trees, and the bodies. Among them were ice needles that had yet to fully melt.

The use of ice as a weapon was a dead giveaway.

And with the ice still intact, the battle must have occurred only a short time ago.

"They went this way!"

Activating his Sharingan, Fugaku tracked the residual movement patterns on the ground and set off at speed in pursuit.