Uchiha Fugaku did not speak up to interrupt the Third Hokage, nor did he stop Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Obito from stepping forward. Instead, he raised a hand to keep the others from acting rashly. Avoiding a direct confrontation with the Hokage was, to him, a blessing.
If possible,
he truly did not want to clash head-on with the Hokage.
Even if the Uchiha clan had justification this time, that didn't mean they could ignore the Hokage's orders and act recklessly. Doing so would only bring enormous trouble upon the clan.
"Shisui, Obito, explain. What happened?"
The Third looked at the two young Uchiha who had stepped forward and got straight to the point.
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Obito exchanged a glance.
"Obito, you speak."
Shisui said.
"Alright."
Obito did not stand on ceremony. He lifted his head, staring at the Hokage before him, and said in a steady voice, "After dinner today, Shisui and I went—like we usually do—to a secluded training ground in the clan's territory to spar a bit…"
"You often train together?"
The Third asked.
"For quite a while now. I'm the one who went to Shisui. When we were in the Land of Grass, I experienced firsthand just how weak and useless I was, so… after coming back, I thickened my skin and asked Shisui to guide me. After that, whenever we had time, we'd go train together… It's not that I don't ask Minato-sensei. It's just… with the Sharingan, Minato-sensei really can't help me much."
Obito explained.
His gaze drifted briefly toward the embassy behind the Third Hokage—where that annoying Koeda Kyoichi was inside.
"I see."
The Third nodded.
No matter how exceptional Minato was, he couldn't guide Obito in the specifics of training his Sharingan. That required someone from the Uchiha clan, and Uchiha Shisui was undeniably an excellent choice. Unlike Obito—formerly the dead-last—Shisui had been a famed prodigy of the clan from the very beginning.
Even though they were close in age,
Shisui certainly had the qualifications to instruct Obito.
"And then? After you finished sparring, you ran into the criminal who abducted Uchiha Tsuruha?" The Third continued.
"After our sparring, we walked back together. On the way, we happened to run into Mizushiro of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He had Tsuruha tucked under his arm…"
"Wait. Mizushiro didn't disguise himself?"
The Third frowned.
"He was disguised. But no matter how he disguises himself, he can't change his chakra… Hokage-sama, I previously escorted the Kirigakure envoy back to the village with Minato-sensei. I memorized the chakra signatures of the strong Kiri ninja in that group."
Obito explained carefully.
Then he added, "Even if we say chakra can be disguised… there's only one Shibuki in the entire ninja world!"
"You two fought him?"
The Third looked the boys over.
"No. Shisui and I tried to save Tsuruha, but Mizushiro drew the Shibuki and bombarded everything. The shockwaves forced us back. By the time the explosions stopped… Mizushiro was already gone. Neither of us are good at tracking. We couldn't pursue, so we had no choice but to return and report to the clan head. Then…"
Obito trailed off.
But the Third didn't need him to finish. He already knew what came after.
Then Fugaku gathered a group of Uchiha jōnin and came here to the embassy to pressure the Kiri ninja… not because they couldn't handle Mizushiro and were venting on others, but because the Sharingan's range of perception was too limited and tracking wasn't their strength.
So,
they came to look for Mizushiro's "accomplices."
"Saru."
The Third called loudly.
In the next moment,
an ANBU wearing a monkey mask appeared before him. "Hokage-sama, your orders?"
"You and Kenshira will lead a team to the Uchiha district and investigate. If you find any trace of Mizushiro, pursue him and bring Uchiha Tsuruha back. As for Mizushiro… alive or dead doesn't matter. If capturing him alive is too difficult, then bring me the corpse."
The Third issued the command without hesitation.
His swift decisiveness was worthy of the title "Hero of the Shinobi."
"Hokage-sama, Tsuruha is one of our clan's children. The Uchiha have a duty to take part in his rescue. Please allow me to send people as well—"
"Fugaku, leave this to me."
The Third cut him off.
He did not want ANBU and Uchiha shinobi working too closely. Ever since the era of the Second Hokage, ANBU had been tasked with monitoring the Uchiha clan. To keep ANBU "pure," not a single Uchiha had ever been allowed to join ANBU.
Nor had there ever been a mission where ANBU and Uchiha shinobi acted side by side.
"Saru and Kenshira will bring Tsuruha back. They're experts in pursuit and rescue. The Uchiha jōnin are all capable, but for this kind of mission… it may not be suitable. And worry clouds judgment. Fugaku, you should stay here and help monitor the remaining Kiri ninja."
"This…"
Fugaku hesitated.
He felt it wasn't right for the clan not to send people to help rescue Tsuruha—but the Hokage's reasoning… also made sense.
While he wavered,
the ANBU led by Saru had already set out, following the route the Uchiha jōnin had used and heading straight toward the Uchiha district.
"...Hokage-sama, this embassy… did something happen?"
Watching the ANBU vanish, Fugaku reluctantly accepted the Third's order. He did not send anyone after Saru's squad. Instead, he looked around the embassy and asked about the situation.
To be honest,
when he decided to bring a group of jōnin here to confront the Kiri shinobi, he had already prepared himself for being severely reprimanded afterward.
He just hadn't expected…
the Third Hokage to already be here.
He did not believe the Third came to the Kiri embassy for friendly conversation. Something must have happened for the Hokage to personally show up.
"There was indeed an incident."
The Third nodded. "Before receiving your message, the Kiri ninja here reported that Mizushiro of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had gone missing."
"Missing? If you ask me, this is just a thief crying 'stop, thief!'"
Behind Fugaku,
a young man around twenty years old let out a cold laugh.
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