Hidden Cloud Village, a village built atop towering mountains that pierce the clouds, often shrouded in mist year-round.
The residence of the Hidden Cloud Village's advisor, Dotai, is guarded day and night by ninja protectors.
One morning, a young man with darker skin carrying a food box approached.
Seeing this young man coming closer, the ninja guards on duty raised their alertness.
Only after confirming that this young man was not a disguised enemy using transformation techniques did they lower their guard.
"Troy, is it your turn to deliver breakfast to Advisor Dotai today?" one tall, bare-armed man called out.
"Yeah, it's my turn today," replied the young man with darker skin.
"Go on in, Advisor Dotai should be awake by now," said the tall man.
"Okay," the young man responded and quickly entered.
He arrived in the courtyard where he saw an elderly man.
The old man was slender, with an eye patch covering his left eye — it was Advisor Dotai of the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Advisor Dotai, here's your breakfast!" the dark-skinned young man said respectfully with a bow.
"Oh," Dotai said as he walked over.
But as he got closer, he frowned slightly.
He had seen this young man delivering meals many times before and naturally remembered him.
Each time, the young man had always been very respectful.
This time, his attitude was still respectful, but Dotai felt something was off.
There was no sign of transformation jutsu, so it wasn't someone else disguised, but his behavior showed subtle differences from before.
Dotai was highly cautious, so sensing the anomaly, he immediately tested him.
"How many days has it been since you last brought me food? Hey, when was the last time you delivered my meal?"
"I…" the young man with slightly darker skin began to answer, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes turned blood red.
Within the blood-colored irises was a black pinwheel pattern.
This dark-skinned young man was actually the No. 1 spore clone in disguise.
When Dotai asked about the last time he delivered food, the clone realized his cover was blown.
Though the transformation jutsu was flawless, speech and mannerisms could still give him away to someone familiar.
Fortunately, they were close enough for him to activate his dojutsu.
"Tsukuyomi—"
The pattern in his left eye began to spin as the Tsukuyomi genjutsu activated.
"An assassin…" Dotai shouted in alarm when the young man's eyes suddenly turned red, trying to warn the guards outside.
But before he could speak, he was dragged into the illusionary space created by Tsukuyomi.
In this genjutsu space, the sky was dominated by a blood-red full moon, casting a crimson light that suffused everything in a bloody hue.
Dotai was bound to a cross.
"Sharingan… and the Mangekyō Sharingan. Who exactly are you?" Dotai demanded loudly, struggling against his bonds.
"That's not something you need to know."
The No. 1 spore clone approached the cross and came close.
"You're either Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Fugaku—definitely one of the two—and you're attacking me. Aren't you afraid this will spark a war?"
"The Hidden Cloud Village won't know I killed you," the clone said.
As he spoke, he pulled out a kunai.
"Why are you attacking me?" Dotai shouted angrily.
"The Hyūga clan's leader, Hyūga Hizashi, wants you dead. That's why I'm here."
The clone stabbed the kunai into Dotai's abdomen and then withdrew it.
A bloody hole appeared, and blood began to flow out.
"Ah…" Dotai screamed, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
"I understand now. The Hyūga clan is seeking revenge for the past."
"Good that you understand," the clone said, stabbing Dotai again.
"For the next 24 hours, every minute and second will be filled with this pain."
The Tsukuyomi genjutsu doesn't directly harm the mind physically.
The intense mental torment comes from the victim experiencing 24 continuous hours of torture stretched within the illusion, even though in reality only an instant passes.
"Ah, ah, ah…"
Screams of agony echoed inside the genjutsu space.
After 24 hours in the illusion passed—only a moment outside—Dotai, an elite jonin-level ninja, fell silent and collapsed.
The mental damage was too great; he fainted.
The clone stepped forward, caught Dotai as he fell to the ground to avoid noise.
Then, covering Dotai's mouth with one hand, he grabbed his head and twisted it sharply.
Crack.
With a crisp sound, Dotai's head turned 180 degrees.
He went from unconscious to dead.
The clone took out a sealing scroll and stored Dotai's corpse inside.
Searching through Dotai's residence, he also sealed away any useful scrolls.
Carrying the food box, he left the residence and headed toward the village exit, using the excuse of going on a mission to leave the Hidden Cloud Village.
Several hours later, when the Hidden Cloud Village discovered Dotai was missing, they quickly suspected the dark-skinned young man, Troy, and issued a bounty on him.
By then, the No. 1 spore clone was already far away from the village and had assumed another appearance.
…
A few days later, Uchiha Fugaku arrived at the Hyūga clan.
"Hyūga Hizashi, please find a place where we won't be disturbed by outsiders," Uchiha Fugaku said.
"Alright," Hyūga Hizashi looked at Fugaku with some puzzlement and led him to a small conference room.
He had thought that after agreeing to the deal, Fugaku would leave the village to personally assassinate Dotai in the Hidden Cloud Village.
After all, Dotai was an elite jonin, and only someone with Fugaku's shadow-level strength could infiltrate the Hidden Cloud Village to kill him.
But unexpectedly, Fugaku did not leave the village and seemed to have abandoned the deal.
This confused Hizashi greatly.
Once inside the small conference room, Hizashi closed the door and set up a soundproof barrier before asking Fugaku,
"Fugaku, what is it that makes you so cautious?"
"To fulfill our deal, of course," Fugaku smiled.
"Fulfill our deal? You're not joking, are you?" Hizashi asked in surprise.
Fugaku had never left Konoha, so how could he have completed the deal with Hizashi?