Rebuilding Uchiha By Removing Fugaku

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Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his son lying in his arms and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised his eyebrows at Toki with a smug smile and said, "It seems I've won this time!"

In Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, Uchiha Toki had shown mercy.

If Toki hadn't held back, there was no reason to return Shinnosuke to him alive.

With his son now safe, the tension that had weighed on Sarutobi eased completely. Like a victor, he glanced disdainfully at Toki, waved his hand, and turned to leave with his team of ANBU operatives.

The Uchiha clansmen behind Toki, seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's triumphant demeanor, gritted their teeth in frustration, barely holding themselves back from rushing forward.

Toki raised a hand, stopping them with a smile.

"Don't worry. Let the bullets fly for a while longer," he said calmly.

The happier Sarutobi Hiruzen was now, the greater his despair would be when he learned the truth later.

Toki could already picture the look on Hiruzen's face when Shinnosuke woke up.

And when the reports from the front lines arrived?

He hoped Sarutobi wouldn't collapse outright. After all, Toki wasn't done having his fun.

---

In the Village Hidden in the Clouds,

Within the Raikage's office, the Third Raikage's successor, A, stared blankly at the urgent reports from the front lines.

Boom!

The desk in front of him shattered into pieces as A's fist slammed down.

"Ahhhh!"

Several octopus tentacles shot out, wrapping tightly around A.

"Yo, big bro, calm down, hey~! The enemy's strength is crazy, hey~! Our troops and Jinchūriki are gone, hey~! Let's tread carefully now, hey~!"

Killer Bee, wrapped in the Hachibi's chakra, restrained A.

The Cloud Village's senior advisor, Tutai, breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness he'd called Killer Bee over. Otherwise, with A's fiery temper, who knew what kind of damage he'd cause next.

"Lord Raikage, please calm yourself," Tutai said cautiously.

"Now that Konoha has signed a peace treaty with Iwagakure, and the conflict with Sunagakure has ceased, it's already challenging for us to fight them alone—especially with their newly summoned beasts."

"Oroi reports that these beasts are likely undiscovered tailed beasts, each as powerful as a Jinchūriki. Moreover, Konoha has some strange ninja tool capable of deflecting even tailed beast bombs.

"With Matatabi captured, Konoha now has two Jinchūriki. It's impossible for us to continue this war."

The Fourth Raikage growled in frustration,

"You're saying we should surrender to Konoha and pay reparations? Over my dead body! I'll lead the charge myself and destroy them! What's a tailed beast anyway? I don't even care about it!"

Inside Killer Bee's mind, the Eight-Tails facepalmed, exasperated.

Killer Bee tilted his head in confusion.

"What's wrong, Octopops?"

The Eight-Tails turned away with a tsundere huff.

Bee, still clueless, began to rap again:

"Yo~ Big bro's got a point, hey~! Cloud's tough guys can fight all day, hey~! AB combo back on stage, hey~!"

The Fourth Raikage frowned, cutting him off.

"No, you're staying in the mountains. Keep training to master the long-range Tailed Beast Bomb. Once you've got it down, then you can come to the front."

Since the death of the Third Raikage, A had grown far more cautious. He didn't want to risk losing his only brother.

A defeated look flashed across Bee's face. Ever since their father's death, his brother had stopped trusting him.

"Yo~," he muttered dejectedly.

But before Bee could say more, A shot him a glare and barked,

"If you keep rapping, I'll break your legs!"

After venting, A finally seemed to calm down a bit.

"That damned Uchiha clan! Where did they even find those beasts? And how do they have so many trap specialists?"

He looked down at the shattered remains of his desk, feeling defeated.

"We can't win this fight, but surrendering isn't an option either!"

Tutai, sensing an opportunity, cautiously chimed in,

"Lord Raikage, don't forget—Konoha is in the midst of a coup. They don't have the bandwidth to deal with other villages right now. Perhaps we could negotiate peace for now and wait for the right moment to sow discord among their ranks. Once Konoha is in chaos…"

The Fourth Raikage frowned, clearly uninterested in politics.

His philosophy had always been straightforward: charge in and fight. All these convoluted strategies didn't suit him.

Still, he reluctantly nodded.

"Fine. Handle it however you see fit. But mark my words—Konoha will pay! And we're getting our tailed beast back!"

---

Back in Konoha Hospital,

Sarutobi Hiruzen paced nervously outside the operating room.

Finally, the red light above the door went out, and the medical ninja stepped out.

"How is Shinnosuke?" Hiruzen asked anxiously.

The medical ninja smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Lord Sarutobi. Although Shinnosuke's bones are broken all over and his cartilage is severely damaged, the chakra in his body is already working to heal his internal injuries. He should recover with time."

Hiruzen's tense shoulders relaxed.

"Mu-style must have helped his recovery," he muttered to himself.

Now that his son was safe, Hiruzen felt at ease.

The deaths of the chunin and jonin on the front lines? They were unfortunate but replaceable. With Konoha's population, another generation of shinobi could be trained in a decade or so.

But Shinnosuke? He was the Sarutobi clan's treasure—their hope for inheriting the power of Wood Style. As long as Shinnosuke lived, the rest didn't matter.

Taking a long drag from his pipe, Hiruzen smiled smugly.

All he needed to do now was wait for the front-line reports to come in. Once the truth of the Uchiha clan's actions spread, he could unite the other clans to stand against them.

---

Elsewhere in Konoha,

Spies from various clans returned with their reports, throwing the village into an uproar.

"What?! A Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Susanoo?"

"Wood Style?!"

"A new Battle of the Valley of the End?!"

"Uchiha Toki singlehandedly annihilated Sarutobi Hiruzen's entire force?!"

The Hyūga clan's patriarch froze in disbelief as he read the report. His eyes widened in shock.

He had lived through Konoha's early days and vividly remembered Uchiha's might. Even twelve years later, though the Hyūga clan had touted themselves as Konoha's foremost dojutsu clan, they were nothing compared to the Uchiha.

The gap between the two clans was like that between a sentry and a special forces soldier.

The Hyūga clan's rigid main-branch system had stifled the development of their branch members, leaving them ill-equipped compared to the main family. The disparity in power was glaring.

Now, hearing about Uchiha Toki's exploits, the Hyūga patriarch panicked.

He quickly summoned Hyūga Hiashi.

"Prepare some congratulatory gifts and send them to the Uchiha clan immediately!"

Hiashi frowned.

"But you said before that we shouldn't take sides lightly. We still don't have concrete information from the front lines."

The old patriarch glared at Hiashi and shouted,

"You don't understand the weight of the name Uchiha!

"And Sarutobi Hiruzen even tried using Wood Style to deal with Uchiha Toki, yet he still failed. This time, Konoha's power balance is truly shifting! Even if everyone on the front lines dies, no one will dare say a word against the Uchiha!"

At this time, Hyūga Hiashi was only 31 years old. The statues of the Valley of the End were erected the year he was born, so it was naturally impossible for him to have witnessed Uchiha Madara's heroic demeanor like Ōnoki.

However, seeing his father so nervous, Hyūga Hiashi couldn't help but become cautious himself.

"I understand. I'll make preparations immediately," he said.

A similar scene unfolded among the various clans of Konoha. After years of being manipulated by Hiruzen Sarutobi, they had almost forgotten their status as clans that originally sought the protection of the Uchiha and Senju clans.

Now, Toki's actions had reminded them of the terror of being dominated by giants.

For a while, the entrance to the Uchiha clan became crowded, resembling a royal palace receiving tributes.

The Uchiha gatekeepers, part of the Lancer Squad, were practically grinning from ear to ear.

Since the departure of Madara, when had they ever experienced such respect?

After the Senju clan took power, they had reduced the once-glorious Uchiha to mere jailers, isolated from the village and treated with disdain. Even worse, the occasional appeasement using the likes of Uchiha Kagami, who bowed to the village's will, only served to further disgrace their name.

But now, everything was different.

Under Patriarch Toki, they finally felt the same confidence and prestige their ancestors held during the Warring States period.

With the Senju clan practically extinct, there was no longer anyone who could suppress the Uchiha clan.

One of the gatekeepers arrogantly pointed at the ninja clan representatives gathered before him and barked, "Put the gifts over there. Register your clans; the patriarch doesn't have time for idle matters. He's preparing to welcome our victorious army!"

Hearing this, Hyūga Hiashi and the other clan representatives gasped.

The news from the frontlines had returned!

The Uchiha clan had won?!

Previously, the older generation alone had been wary of this new Uchiha patriarch. Now, everyone present realized the time for the Uchiha clan's resurgence had come.

The Uchiha had single-handedly turned the tide of two battlefields, crushing their enemies with overwhelming power. It was clear to everyone now that Hiruzen Sarutobi's faction had no hope of recovery.

Suppressing their dissatisfaction, the clans obediently placed their gifts in the designated shed and registered their names before leaving.

As they walked away, many of them wore conflicted expressions, as if grappling with the inevitable shift in Konoha's power dynamics.

Once the guests had dispersed, the Uchiha clan members brought the gifts and rosters to Toki.

At that moment, Toki was lazily reclining on a sofa, while Mikoto peeled oranges and fed him obediently.

One of the gatekeepers, Gun Eryi, eagerly handed over the ledger.

"Patriarch, here's the gift list from the other clans. Just as you predicted, they brought gifts," he reported excitedly.

Toki lazily flipped through the list.

Most clans had given monetary gifts or medicinal herbs, with the Nara clan contributing deer antlers and other medical supplies. The strangest gift, however, came from the Akimichi clan—premium snowflake beef—accompanied by a reminder to consume it before it spoiled.

Toki casually tossed the list aside and asked, "What about the Sarutobi clan?"

The clansmen couldn't suppress their grins.

"They haven't sent anything yet, but I believe they'll have no choice but to deliver something soon after hearing the news," one of them replied.

The Sarutobi clan had just boasted yesterday that Toki was no match for their patriarch. Even with their thick skin, they wouldn't dare show their faces today without swallowing their pride.

It was clear now why Toki had held back the clan from taking more drastic measures. He wanted to humiliate Hiruzen Sarutobi and his faction thoroughly.

Suddenly, one of the clansmen remembered something.

"The Shimura clan hasn't sent anything either," he noted.

Toki's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing in them.

"Danzo? Perfect. I still have to settle accounts with him over Shisui Uchiha," he said ominously.

With that, Toki disappeared from the compound in a blur, leaving his clansmen behind, gazing after him with admiration and fervor.

---

"Danzo! Get out here!"

Toki's thunderous voice echoed at the entrance of a cave on the outskirts of Konoha.

Inside the Root base, several Root ninjas immediately rushed out to block his path.

Even though Toki had become a figure that struck fear into most ninja, the Root operatives showed no hesitation. Their feelings had been completely erased, and they were essentially tools.

However, to Toki, these mere Chūnin-level fighters were no different from ordinary villagers.

A single glance from his Sharingan trapped them all in an illusion.

Under the oppressive aura of his kaleidoscope Sharingan, several of them began to tremble uncontrollably. The leader stumbled back several steps before collapsing in fear.

Suddenly, several wind blades shot out from deeper within the cave, hurtling toward Shiyu.

Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!

This technique was powerful enough to pierce even the second stage of Susano'o.

But to Toki, it wasn't worth dodging.

With both his Mangekyō Sharingan activated, he used the technique Limitless.

The wind blades slowed as they approached him, becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared entirely.

"What?! Impossible!"

Danzo was shocked. "What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

Although alarmed, he maintained a calm exterior.

"Patriarch Toki, what is the meaning of this? Why are you attacking Root? Are you defying the authority of the Defense Ministry?" Danzo demanded coldly.

Toki smirked.

"I received reports that your Root operatives were conducting human experiments in the village. Naturally, I came to investigate," he said, his tone casual.

Danzo's heart skipped a beat, but he snorted dismissively.

"Ridiculous! I would never engage in such activities. This is slander! If you don't believe me, you're welcome to search the base!"

"Alright," Toki replied immediately.

Danzo: "…"

Damn it! Aren't you supposed to say you trust me and let it go? What happened to mutual trust?!