Rebuilding Uchiha By Removing Fugaku

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Danzo left the Sarutobi clan's grounds and returned to the Root base.

Walking through a dark tunnel, he arrived at the door of a sealed cell. The faint sound of chains clinking inside indicated that someone was still alive.

Danzo stood before the door, speaking coldly, "It seems your clan leader is intent on avenging you, openly announcing that he's submitting the documents again."

From inside the cell, Uchiha Shisui's excited voice called out, "What? Did the clan leader really—?"

Danzo laughed mockingly. "Unfortunately, this time it won't go as he wishes. While I would love to eliminate Uchiha Toki, launching a war against the Uchiha clan would severely weaken Konoha. Consider him lucky this time."

A faint smile of relief appeared on Shisui's face in the darkness.

Indeed, his Kotoamatsukami had worked.

Since Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan had only recently awakened, he wasn't entirely sure of the strength of his Kotoamatsukami ability.

The Kotoamatsukami in his right eye, known as the "Light of Kotoamatsukami," was an illusion capable of launching wide-scale spiritual attacks. His left eye, however, contained the ability to modify a target's will entirely—an untraceable genjutsu that permanently altered the target's convictions, effectively turning them into Shisui's puppet.

The downside was its long cooldown period. Without the body of a Senju or a similar regeneration ability, Shisui's cooldown period for Kotoamatsukami extended to an entire decade.

Realizing he couldn't kill Danzo outright, Shisui had used his left eye's Kotoamatsukami to modify Danzo's will, making him prioritize Konoha's interests above all else.

This subtle shift in Danzo's psyche had led him to instinctively capture Shisui alive instead of gouging out his eyes immediately.

Since then, Danzo had unconsciously adjusted his actions. His uncharacteristic rebuke of Sarutobi Hiruzen during the earlier meeting was a clear example of this change.

In the cell, Shisui stared out toward the door, smiling faintly. "Danzo, as a personal disciple of the Second Hokage, you understand the Will of Fire better than anyone. Think about it carefully—who truly has Konoha's best interests at heart? Under whose leadership will the village flourish and grow?"

Danzo frowned but didn't reply immediately.

"Without you Uchihas, there wouldn't be so much trouble in the first place," Danzo muttered as he closed the viewing slit.

He then added coldly, "You'd better figure out how you'll contribute to Konoha. Otherwise, your eyes will be mine soon enough."

Turning away, Danzo walked down the corridor.

Two Root operatives appeared silently behind him.

"Keep an eye on Sarutobi Hiruzen. Konoha can't afford chaos now. I once looked up to him, but the Third Hokage is no longer fit for his role."

"Yes, sir!"

The two Root operatives disappeared in a blur. Danzo's expression darkened as he vanished into the shadows.

---

A few days later...

Toki left Konoha amidst cheers from villagers. Once again, he was heading to deliver official documents, this time accompanied by three elite members of the Archer Force.

Although they were nominally "Special Jōnin," all three had effectively achieved Jōnin-level strength under Toki's guidance in the training ground.

Despite their strength, Toki had purposefully chosen them for their versatility and teamwork rather than bringing back frontline elites like Uchiha Yatsushiro or Uchiha Inabi.

As the carriage moved slowly out of the village, Toki glanced toward the village wall.

There, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo were watching him intently.

With a smirk, Toki raised his hand and unceremoniously flipped them the middle finger before climbing into his carriage.

Sarutobi's face darkened.

Danzo, on the other hand, snorted disdainfully. "Attention-seeking nonsense."

Without another word, Danzo turned and walked away.

Sarutobi's expression grew even grimmer. Is he here to monitor me? What's gotten into Danzo lately? Why is he acting so strangely?

Meanwhile, Danzo wore a smug expression as he descended from the wall.

Konoha would fall apart without me. I am the one holding this village together.

---

As Toki's carriage moved through the Fire Country, the journey passed uneventfully until they reached a narrow valley.

Bow-22, one of the Archer Force members acting as the coachman, suddenly leaped onto the horse and whispered, "Patriarch Toki, there are numerous traps ahead. I also detect several concealed shinobi."

Toki opened his eyes, his expression cold.

"Traps, huh?" He stretched, his body cracking audibly as he disembarked from the carriage.

"Do they not know what happened to the Kumogakure's shinobi last time?" Toki muttered with a hint of mockery.

He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and a vortex appeared in mid-air, swallowing the entire carriage into the Kamui dimension.

Toki removed his ceremonial robes, replacing them with Uchiha battle armor, and strapped a short blade to his waist.

A bloodthirsty grin spread across his face.

"Spread out. Attack them separately. One word: annihilation."

"Yes!"

With a blur, Toki and his team scattered into the forest.

Moving swiftly and silently, Toki came to a halt in a dense grove. He crouched down, observing faint footprints hidden among the moss.

His eyes glinted ominously as he prepared to engage.

Then he looked at a broken branch nearby,

a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

"Clumsy forgery. As for the moss footprints, they might've been made by animals, but this poor imitation is definitely human. It seems I'm heading in the right direction."

Toki shifted his gaze to a wet stone with its face turned upward, a confident smile forming on his lips.

"Let me show you the horrors of an old veteran from the battlefield."

Toki murmured quietly, forming a hand seal.

"I've never had the chance to try this skill. Let's give it a shot this time."

"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, Toki created ten clones of himself.

As Naruto's iconic jutsu, its inclusion as a forbidden technique wasn't without reason.

On the battlefield, every ounce of chakra was precious, and no ninja would recklessly split their chakra to gain an edge through sheer numbers.

However, Toki, now elevated to Kage-level status after receiving three system rewards, had chakra reserves of around 50 units—not quite the 100 units Naruto had at graduation, but formidable nonetheless.

Dividing his chakra into ten parts still left each clone with roughly five units, sufficient even to contend with elite Jōnin.

This was the advantage of being Kage-level; elite Jōnin weren't even in the same league.

While they might contribute to a battle involving Kage-level ninjas, in a one-on-one fight, an elite Jōnin stood no chance against someone at the Kage level.

The clones dispersed with incredible speed, indistinguishable from the original. Meanwhile, Toki casually popped a soldier pill into his mouth to restore his chakra.

Soon, the scent of blood wafted through the woods.

These civilian ninjas, mere pawns sent against a Kage-level Uchiha, couldn't even resist before being mercilessly eliminated.

Kunai twirled between Toki's fingers, disappearing and reappearing like magic. A mocking grin spread across his face.

"Which idiot came up with this strategy—setting traps for a Kage-level opponent?"

"Oh, wait," Toki added with a smirk. "They probably don't even know I've reached the Kage level. What a pity."

As he spoke, a figure emerged from behind a tree.

With a swift motion, Toki plunged a kunai into the trunk, a muffled groan emanating from the other side.

A ninja in a vest fell to the ground, his heart pierced by the wind-nature chakra imbued kunai.

Toki stood tall, a chilling smile gracing his face.

"The hunt begins."

---

In a hidden tree hollow within the valley,

Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and a masked ANBU operative convened.

Koharu frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Isn't this overkill? The target is just a Jōnin. Most of the Uchiha clan's fighting force is on the frontlines. What's left are just a few Chūnin and Genin. Do we really need such a massive deployment?"

The 1,000 combat-ready ninjas mobilized for this mission represented the upper limit of Hiruzen Sarutobi's available forces. Deploying any more would compromise Konoha's intelligence and ANBU operations.

Having just emerged from the Third Shinobi War, Konoha's total ninja force—registered and otherwise—barely numbered 8,000. Of these, the Hokage could directly command only about 3,000.

The Uchiha clan had sent 2,000 to the frontlines, leaving another 3,000 in Konoha. Sarutobi's mobilization of 1,000, or a third of his forces, underscored how deeply he despised Toki.

Toki's maneuvers had not only disrupted Sarutobi's plans but also left the village vulnerable. This was the most significant political setback of Sarutobi's career.

Still, neither Koharu nor Homura fully grasped Toki's capabilities.

"Agreed," Homura scoffed. "A deployment of this size for an unknown Jōnin? Even Minato didn't receive this kind of attention back in the day."

Koharu sighed wistfully.

"What a loss Minato was. If he were alive, the Uchiha wouldn't even dare act up."

The ANBU operative tossed a stack of files onto the table, his tone icy.

"Read this. You're underestimating this 'unknown Jōnin.'"

Curious, Koharu and Homura skimmed the documents.

"What's there to see?" Homura muttered dismissively. "Just a Jōnin, without even a title—"

He froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening.

"A 12-year-old who awakened Sharingan with three tomoe? Promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin at 13? Illusion techniques surpassing most Jōnin?"

The more they read, the more shocked they became. Toki had saved countless lives on the battlefield, often appearing where he wasn't expected, as though he could predict the future.

"An enigmatic ninja whose existence seems to have been erased from history," Koharu murmured in disbelief.

The ANBU operative, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, broke the silence.

"Don't underestimate him. Uchiha Toki's intelligence suggests he's a tactical genius, capable of maximizing results with minimal resources. He's cautious by nature, so for him to bait us like this, he must have absolute confidence."

Koharu and Homura exchanged uneasy glances. They realized that Toki shared many traits with a younger Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle echoed through the air, the signal for an attack!