Otsutsuki Puppets took over the Rain Village. Uchiha Fugaku and the others were waiting for their respective villages to send people to take over.
Swish—
suddenly, an item on Uchiha Fugaku's body reacted strangely, as if it was touched by some power.
Then, three figures, hand in hand, suddenly appeared around him.
It was not because their speed was too fast that their movement trajectory could not be seen, but because they suddenly appeared around him by moving through space.
These were three Konoha ninjas.
One of them wore a blue hat and had long brown hair.
One of them had short brown hair and a hideous scar on the left side of his face.
One of them also wore a blue hat and had a small mustache on his chin.
These three people were Shiranui Genma, Bizu Reito, and Iwashi Tatami.
The three of them were once the guards of the Fourth Hokage and were taught the Flying Thunder God Jutsu by the Fourth Hokage.
However, because they did not have a very high spatial talent, they were not able to fully cultivate the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and could only activate it together.
Moreover, each use of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu consumes a significant amount of energy due to their lack of mastery of the technique. Even with their combined strength, they can only perform it two or three times in a row. While participating in the Five Kage meeting to ambush the Akatsuki, Uchiha Fugaku worried that the Akatsuki would take advantage of his absence to retaliate against Konoha, so he brought along an item imprinted with the three's Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
In the event of an attack on Konoha, the three could use the technique to contact him and quickly return him to Konoha.
"Hokage-sama, there's trouble in the village!"
the three anxiously exclaimed upon their appearance.
"Is it the Akatsuki that attacked the village?"
Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly inquired.
Having destroyed the Akatsuki's stronghold, Amegakure, the Akatsuki would likely retaliate against the five major ninja villages, including Konoha. Hearing the news of the village's calamity, his heart sank.
"It's probably not the Akatsuki, but the village has indeed been attacked. The attackers are targeting the Hyuga Clan. Hinata Hanabi, the daughter of the Hyuga Clan's head, has been abducted!"
Shiranui Genma said.
"They're targeting the Hyuga clan, and they've kidnapped Hanabi, the daughter of the Hyuga clan head?"
Uchiha Fugaku was stunned.
While the village had been attacked, the target wasn't all of Konoha, but only the Hyuga clan, and Hanabi, the daughter of the Hyuga clan head, had been abducted.
He felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Suddenly, he realized why.
This was exactly what happened when Ōtsutsuki Toneri seized the Byakugan, but it happened years earlier.
"Did Ōtsutsuki Toneri act in advance?"
Uchiha Fugaku wondered uncertainly.
If Ōtsutsuki Toneri really did, then it would be a good thing for him.
If he could follow the clues and find a passage to the moon, enter it, and kill Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
Using the corpses of the Hyuga clan members, he could fuse the pure Byakugan. Adding Ōtsutsuki Toneri's body should allow him to fuse the Samsaragan.
Perhaps he would possess the Samsaragan even before he obtained the Rinnegan.
"If I can obtain the Rinnegan, my combat power will skyrocket, and Nagato will no longer be my opponent!"
Uchiha Fugaku hoped.
The Rinnegan is an eye that rivals the Samsaragan. If he could obtain it, his combat power would skyrocket, and Nagato, who was once on par with him, would no longer be his opponent.
"Did Ōtsutsuki Toneri act prematurely? We'll know when we return to Konoha."
Uchiha Fugaku summoned Jiraiya and Hatake Kakashi and said to them.
"Something's happened in the village. I need to return early. I'll leave this here to you."
"What happened in the village?"
Hearing about the incident, Jiraiya and Kakashi grew nervous.
"Enemy has invaded Konoha and abducted Hinata Hanabi, the daughter of the Hyuga clan head,"
Uchiha Fugaku said.
"Having abducted Hinata Hanabi, the daughter of the Hyuga clan head, could it be that the enemy has set their sights on the Hyuga clan's Byakugan?"
Jiraiya asked in surprise.
"The specific reason will only be revealed after we return and investigate."
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.
Although he guessed the reason, he obviously couldn't tell them.
"Let's go!"
He addressed the last two words to Shiranui Genma and the other two.
Upon hearing his words, Shiranui Genma and the other two linked their hands, surrounding him, and then unleashed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Swish—
the scene before him shifted, and Uchiha Fugaku had returned to Konoha.
Upon returning to Konoha, he immediately rushed to the Hyuga Clan.
"Hokage-sama, please do everything in the village to rescue my daughter!"
Upon seeing Uchiha Fugaku arrive, Hyuga Hiashi immediately bowed and pleaded with him.
"Please, Hyuga Clan Leader, I will do everything in my power to rescue Hyuga Hanabi. I heard the enemy left behind puppets. Take me to see them,"
Uchiha Fugaku said.
"Hokage-sama, please this way!"
Led by Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku arrived at an open space belonging to the Hyuga Clan. Numerous humanoid puppets lay piled in ruins.
Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward to examine them.
He discovered that the technology used by these puppets was clearly not native to the ninja world, and the likelihood of their origin was high.
A crescent-shaped symbol on the puppets' clothing further confirmed their origins, sending them from the moon by Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
"Hinata Hanabi must not fall into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's hands!"
Whether for the sake of the Hyuga clan or for his own purposes, he must rescue her before the Ōtsutsuki puppets bring her to Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
He must not allow Ōtsutsuki Toneri to obtain her eyes.
With her eyes, and a pair of pure Byakugan, Ōtsutsuki Toneri would evolve into the Samsaragan.
The Samsaragan is on the same level as the Rinnegan, and facing an evolved Ōtsutsuki Toneri, he would likely be no match.
"Pass my order to the Inuzuka clan to send a ninja skilled in scent tracking!"
An ANBU ninja quickly departed, relaying Uchiha Fugaku's orders to the Inuzuka clan.
Soon after, the ANBU ninja returned, accompanied by a young woman with a ninja dog.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and a red inverted triangle pattern was painted on her face.
She was Hana Inuzuka, sister of Kiba Inuzuka, the head of the Inuzuka clan.
"Hokage-sama!"
Hana Inuzuka bowed respectfully upon seeing Uchiha Fugaku.
"Come with me and track down the enemy who attacked Konoha and abducted Hinata Hanabi. Those are puppets left behind by the enemy; you can use them to collect scent!"
Uchiha Fugaku instructed.
Although Konoha had already dispatched multiple search teams, he decided to personally participate in the search to prevent Hinata Hanabi from falling into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's hands.
"Yes,"
Hana Inuzuka replied, bringing her ninja dog to the pile of broken puppets to collect scent.
Nearby, Hyuga Hiashi excitedly stepped forward and greeted Uchiha Fugaku again.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
As the Kage of a village, Uchiha Fugaku personally participated in the search, demonstrating the importance he attached to this matter.
He was thankful for his decision to side with the Uchiha Clan.
If that decision hadn't been made, the village would have helped the Hyuga Clan rescue Hanabi, but it wouldn't have been so dedicated, with Uchiha Fugaku personally taking the lead.
"You're welcome, Hyuga Clan Leader. Hanabi is a member of the village, and the village will naturally do its utmost to save her,"
Uchiha Fugaku said sternly.
The Hyuga Clan's initial support for his ascension to Hokage had left him with a favorable impression of the clan.
Had it not happened, he would still have prevented Hanabi from falling into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's hands, but not with her safety as a prerequisite.
If necessary, he would have likely killed Hanabi to prevent Ōtsutsuki Toneri from obtaining the pure Byakugan.
"Hokage-sama, the scent has been collected, and we can begin tracking!"
Inuzuka Hana approached and reported to Uchiha Fugaku.
"Alright, let's go!"
Uchiha Fugaku summoned his fully-formed Susanoo, enveloping Inuzuka Hana and her accompanying ninja dogs. He
then soared into the air, pursuing the Ōtsutsuki puppet that had abducted Hinata Hanabi.
"Is this Susanoo?"
Suddenly trapped within such a massive creature, Inuzuka Hana was startled, then gazed at Uchiha Fugaku in awe.
She had heard from other villagers that the Fifth Hokage possessed a powerful ninjutsu called Susanoo.
Even from hearing others describe it, she had grasped its immense power.
But witnessing it with her own eyes was even more astonishing than the mere description.
Its enormous size, its mountain-like height exceeding a hundred meters, and its surging chakra fluctuations all demonstrated the jutsu's power.
With a whoosh—
the fully-formed Susanoo's flight was naturally swift. Uchiha Fugaku and Inuzuka Hana surpassed each Konoha rescue team that had set out before them, quickly securing their position at the forefront of the pursuit.
Because it had to stop every few miles to detect scents and adjust its pursuit direction, the Susanoo couldn't fly at full speed.
Even so, over an hour later, a flying group of over a hundred people appeared in their sight.
This group of over a hundred people were the Ōtsutsuki puppets and their flying puppets who had abducted Hinata Hanabi.
Sensing their pursuers, the Ōtsutsuki puppets reacted.
Half of them turned and actively approached Susanoo, blocking it.
The other half, carrying Hinata Hanabi, quickly retreated.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Fifty or sixty Ōtsutsuki puppets attacked Susanoo simultaneously.
Yellow orbs of light condensed and launched from their hands.
Faced with the almost simultaneous attack of fifty orbs of light, Uchiha Fugaku didn't control Susanoo to evade, but allowed them to collide with it.
Bang, bang, bang!
The yellow light balls hit Susanoo, making a banging sound, but Susanoo remained intact.
The power of these yellow light balls was not weak, but unfortunately they encountered the complete Susanoo with strong defense, and they could not cause any damage to the complete Susanoo.
Swish—
a black giant sword appeared in the hand of the complete Susanoo, and slashed at the fifty or sixty Ōtsutsuki puppets through the air.
A long black light was cut out, and it crossed with the fifty or sixty Ōtsutsuki puppets.
Boom, boom, boom!
Above the sky, continuous explosions sounded.
The fifty or sixty Ōtsutsuki puppets exploded together, turning into debris and falling to the ground.
Just one blow destroyed all the Ōtsutsuki puppets that blocked the way.
(End of this chapter)