Inside the Uchiha clan grounds.
Candles were lit inside the forbidden area, casting a dim glow on a stone tablet engraved with writing.
Outside the door, two Uchiha clan members stood guard on each side.
Fugaku stood in front of the tablet with his hands behind his back.
He had just recently heard the news of Shisui's death, but word hadn't yet spread within the clan.
By tomorrow morning, though, everyone would know.
Shisui's death would surely shake people's faith in the coup. The plan would probably be pushed back again.
As Fugaku stood before the stone tablet deep in thought, the large doors behind him suddenly burst open.
A breeze swept in and blew out the candles, leaving the room in near darkness.
Only the moonlight shining through the door lit up the place.
Standing in the doorway was a man wearing a cat-faced mask.
At his feet were the two guards, lying on the ground—whether they were dead or just knocked out was unclear.
Fugaku's heart jumped. He threw a kunai at the figure and rushed forward, shouting sharply:
"Who are you?!"
A mask, dark clothes—he looked like he might be from the village's Anbu.
What was someone like that doing here at a time like this?
This was the Uchiha clan's forbidden ground. He had to get this guy out fast.
Hatake Satoru didn't answer. He silently shifted his body and dodged both kunai with ease.
Only after stepping inside could he fully sense everything in the room.
In an instant, the location of every object in the forbidden area appeared clearly in his mind.
The moment Fugaku rushed in, the dark figure vanished and reappeared right behind him.
Even with his Sharingan, Fugaku couldn't track his movements at all.
There was no chakra movement to follow.
Fugaku didn't have time to turn around fully. He just barely managed to grab the attacker's wrist as the hand chop came down, yanking it down hard.
Because of the momentum, the masked face ended up right in front of Fugaku's.
Judging by the thin wrist, the person couldn't be older than eighteen.
Quick and agile, sure—but still just a kid good at hand-to-hand fighting.
"Still too young."
Fugaku muttered and stared hard into the eye behind the mask using his Sharingan.
But almost mockingly, the eyes behind the mask were covered with black cloth. Fugaku couldn't lock eyes with him at all.
"No way!"
Fugaku's eyes widened in disbelief.
Anyone sneaking into Uchiha territory would definitely have some way to deal with the Sharingan.
But this guy—he couldn't even see anything around him!?
In that brief moment of hesitation, Hatake Satoru leaned back and kicked Fugaku hard, sending him flying and freeing his wrist.
"Ugh!"
Fugaku grunted and stumbled back a few steps.
Hatake Satoru wasn't here to fight anyway. Once there was some distance, he rushed straight into the inner part of the restricted area.
Fugaku clenched his teeth. The tight space inside the area made it harder for him to fight. There were too many things in the way.
"Damn it."
Letting this guy in was completely outside his expectations!
The restricted area was heavily guarded. No outsiders had ever gotten in.
But this guy got through the tight security while wearing a blindfold and ran right in.
Seeing Hatake Satoru heading deeper inside, Fugaku quickly formed hand signs.
Snake – Goat – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The fireball lit up the whole area instantly, and the flames it carried even re-lit the blown-out candles inside.
Fugaku followed up by throwing four kunai straight toward Hatake Satoru's position.
The restricted area wasn't that big—he had nowhere to run!
After a few sharp clinks, Fugaku brushed away the smoke and dust in front of him.
His eyes narrowed in shock.
"He... he's gone?!"
As the smoke settled and the candles flickered back to life, the light returned to the room.
The kunai were stuck deep in the wall, but there wasn't even a scrap of cloth on them.
The masked man's presence had completely vanished, like he'd never been there at all.
A few glass jars holding Sharingan had fallen to the floor—Fugaku had placed them there himself as clan leader.
Clearly, one jar was missing.
Soon after, the lights across the Uchiha compound came on all at once.
Everyone in the clan had been awakened by the sudden break-in.
Uchiha Fugaku called for an emergency clan meeting that night.
Hatake Satoru removed his mask and let it hang beside his head as he let out a long breath.
He tossed the jar in his hand into the air—the pair of red Sharingan inside spun as it floated.
These eyes really were like USB drives. Even after death, they could be taken out and stored for later.
Well, good thing they had stuff like this.
Hatake Satoru stretched a little, then quickly made his way back to the Hatake home under cover of night.
The dim light stayed on all night.
...
Early the next morning.
"Hey, did you hear? That Shisui of the Body Flicker jumped off a cliff last night."
"Serves him right, doesn't it? The Uchiha have been getting too full of themselves—one of them dying might bring them back down to earth."
"I mean, yeah, but he's still dead, you know? That's a bit much."
"I also heard someone went into the Uchiha's restricted area last night."
In just one night, so much had happened around the Uchiha clan.
Whether they were ninjas or regular villagers, everyone was talking about the clan, which already made people uneasy.
The whole village of Konohagakure was buzzing with whispers and gossip.
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