"Any unusual movements?"
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes slightly.
The Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Mito clans had all been exiled from the village under charges of corruption and embezzlement of village funds. They were now stationed along the borders.
Although these four clans had been banished, Fugaku had not relaxed his vigilance. He had assigned people to keep them under surveillance.
After deploying his spore clones throughout the ninja world, he also instructed them to monitor the movements of those four clans and report immediately if anything suspicious occurred.
"The four clans are secretly searching for something called an 'Vessel.'"
The spore clone reported.
"Something called a 'Vessel'?"
Fugaku raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of such a thing. From the name, it sounded like some kind of object.
"Have you found out what exactly this 'Vessel' is?"
"No."
The spore clone shook his head.
"Keep investigating. I want to know what this Vessel is and why those four clans are looking for it."
"Yes, sir."
The spore clone responded and sank into the ground, disappearing.
More than ten days later – Hokage's Office.
With a growing pile of documents on his desk, Uchiha Fugaku had not gone to Ryūchi Cave that day. Instead, he stayed in the office to review paperwork.
Buzz—
A pitch-black vortex appeared in the middle of the office, and Spore Clone No. 2 stepped out of it.
"Any progress on the investigation?"
Fugaku looked up from his desk.
"Yes, there's been progress."
Clone No. 2 nodded.
"Explain in detail."
Fugaku set down his pen and looked at him intently.
"After tracking and investigation, we've confirmed that the 'Vessel' isn't an object—it's a person."
"A person?"
Fugaku was taken aback.
When he first heard the name "Vessel," he instinctively assumed it referred to an artifact. But to think it was a person—that was unexpected.
"To be precise," the clone continued, "it refers to a person with a special constitution."
"A unique bloodline limit?"
"Apparently not. When the four clans were screening candidates, they didn't use bloodline limits as criteria."
Fugaku frowned slightly. "Then what's their purpose in finding these 'Vessels'?"
"They're doing it on behalf of a secret organization."
"A secret organization…" Fugaku tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. "What's their relationship with this organization?"
"Most likely, they've already pledged allegiance to it in secret."
"Then they've chosen their own path to destruction."
Cold light flashed in Fugaku's eyes.
Though the four clans had been banished from Konoha's political center, he had never truly intended to let them go.
Now that they had aligned themselves with a hidden organization, they had given him the perfect excuse to wipe them out completely.
"An organization capable of swaying the Sarutobi and the others must not be simple. Have you found out anything about it?"
"According to recent investigations, this secret organization is likely the founding power behind the underground black market."
"The black market?" Fugaku's eyes narrowed in surprise.
Years ago, the Uchiha Clan had clashed with the underground black market.
At that time, many Uchiha leaders had been targeted with bounties, prompting Fugaku to lead a large-scale retaliation against the black market's outposts across the Land of Fire.
During that conflict, he discovered that the power behind the black market possessed advanced mechanical modification technology—something not to be taken lightly.
So he had chosen to withdraw, ending the feud before it escalated further.
He never expected that years later, their paths would cross again.
"Continue investigating the black market's backers. Expose every official and faction within the Land of Fire that has ties to them."
The order was given coldly.
The alliance between the black market's power and the exiled clans was, in fact, convenient for Fugaku—it gave him all the justification he needed to eliminate them.
However, for the black market to openly undermine Konoha's authority was another matter entirely. He would not allow that affront to go unpunished.
This was his chance to launch a sweeping purge—removing all officials and forces connected to the black market's hidden hand.
Somewhere near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
A small, quiet village sat near the border—this was where the exiled Sarutobi clan had settled.
Three horse-drawn carriages rolled into the village, guided by Sarutobi shinobi, and stopped before a large house.
From the carriages emerged five people—three men and two women.
At their head was a burly middle-aged man wearing a black cloak, a Roman numeral "III" tattooed on his face.
"You've arrived," said the Sarutobi clan head, appearing with several elders of the clan as he opened the door.
After confirming that the man in the cloak was not disguised with a Transformation Jutsu, they stepped aside and invited him in.
Inside, they entered a room where more than a dozen teenagers were bound with ropes, their mouths gagged, unable to move or speak.
"These are the 'Vessels' our four clans have managed to find over the past few days," the Sarutobi patriarch said with a smile.
"Not bad," the cloaked man replied, scanning the captives with a satisfied look.
"With this number of Vessels, your clans have earned one round of modifications from the organization. If any of them turns out to be a perfect Vessel, there will be additional rewards. The organization is never stingy in that regard."
Hearing that, the Sarutobi elders exchanged pleased smiles.
"Our chosen candidate for modification is ready. We hope the organization will arrange his transformation as soon as possible," the clan head said.
"I'll see that it's arranged quickly."
The cloaked man nodded.
The bound teenagers were loaded onto the three carriages, which then departed the village and headed toward the Land of Fire's border—leaving the country.
Suddenly—
The lead carriage came to an abrupt halt. The other two behind it stopped as well.
The cloaked man stepped down, scanning the surroundings.
Swish—
His eyes locked onto a direction, and he blurred forward, crossing dozens of meters in an instant before slamming his fist into the ground.
Crack!
The earth split open under the impact, forming a massive crater. Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb, trees toppling from the shockwave.
From beneath the ground, a figure was forced to emerge—
A man wearing an animal mask.
It was none other than the disguised Spore Clone No. 1, who had taken on the appearance of Uchiha Shisui.
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