[Note: Read up to Chapter - 40 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"Uchiha Kanzou… did you not hear me… what explanation do you have for bei—" Before Fugaku could finish up, a voice cut in.
"Deputy Captain isn't late, it's just that some people came too early since they have nothing better to do and want to hide their incompetence."
Uchiha Shin sneered as he looked straight at Fugaku.
Fugaku's face darkened further at the sight of Sasuke stepping in to defend Kanzou.
Just like Uchiha Souta, Shin was a loyal supporter of Kanzou—and also one of the clan's top-tier fighters, nearly matching Fugaku in strength.
Fugaku shot him a cold glare.
"I was speaking to Kanzou. Who do you think you are to interrupt?"
"Huh? You want to know who I am? Did your incompetence get to your brain? Or is it that nepo Daddy didn't give you his milk today?"
Shin snapped, face twisting in fury as he hurled insults at Fugaku.
"Uchiha Shin… mind your words!" Fugaku shouted at the man. He wasn't about to let Shin's insults slide.
"Or else what? Are you going to cry to your daddy?" ridiculed Shin, not at all afraid of Fugaku.
"You…" Fugaku's face twisted in fury.
Before things could escalate, Kanzou spoke calmly.
"Shin, don't waste your time on trash. He's nothing but trash. Why would you even bother with someone like him?"
Kanzou shot Fugaku a cold, disdainful glance. There was no attempt to hide the contempt in his eyes for someone who was only standing where he was because of nepotism. If not for that, he wasn't even worth the dust on Kanzou's shoes.
Quite obvious from his contemptuous insults, Kanzou had no respect for Fugaku. Not only because Fugaku was standing as an obstacle before him… but also because of Fugaku's great works in the canon.
Based on what Kanzou recalls from the canon, Fugaku was the man who had led the Uchiha clan to ruin. No matter the circumstances, the fact remained: the clan was destroyed under his leadership.
Calling an incompetent like him just a waste was being generous.
But Fugaku naturally didn't share the same thought… the insults hurled at him were beyond his tolerance limit as he shouted furiously, "Kanzou!" Drawing the blade from his back, and slashed at Kanzou in rage.
But as the blade struck, there was a puff of white smoke—poof!
Kanzou vanished, replaced by a chunk of wood. It was a simple substitution jutsu.
A mocking voice came from behind.
"The village forbids shinobi from attacking their comrades, Uchiha Fugaku-san. Are you trying to become a rogue ninja?"
Kanzou appeared behind him with a smirk and delivered a solid kick, sending Fugaku flying.
Though Fugaku was also an Elite Jōnin and far from weak, the gap in strength between him and Kanzou was significant. Kanzou had already stepped halfway into Kage-level territory.
Fugaku rolled across the ground before scrambling back to his feet, humiliated and furious under the gazes of passersby, he began to weave the hand signs, 'Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!'
"Tch… fool. You don't even understand who you're dealing with," Kanzou muttered with a cold snort as he weaved a hand seal of his own, 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!'
A massive Fireball, over ten metres in diameter, surged forward and collided with Fugaku's Fire Dragon.
In an instant, the fireball completely overwhelmed the dragon and continued its advance toward Fugaku.
"How is this possible?!"
Fugaku quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat, narrowly avoiding the attack. The spot where he had stood erupted into a sea of flames, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
With a grim expression, Fugaku stared at Kanzou.
He had used Fire Dragon Jutsu, a C-rank jutsu.
Kanzou, on the other hand, had used the tamer version of Great Fireball Jutsu—that is, Fireball Jutsu, a basic D-rank jutsu considered one of the most fundamental fire-style techniques in the Uchiha clan.
And yet, Kanzou's lower-ranked jutsu had completely overpowered his.
"Kanzou-sama's strength is truly beyond measure," Uchiha Shin said with deep respect in his voice. "Someone like Fugaku doesn't even come close. Only Kanzou-sama is worthy of becoming the patriarch."
Shin's admiration stemmed from Kanzou's overwhelming strength and talent that he has displayed from a very young age. In his eyes, Kanzou was the Uchiha clan's best and only hope of producing a true Kage-level powerhouse and returning the lost glory of the Clan.
Ever since Uchiha Madara left the Clan, the Uchiha had been in decline.
There was a moment of respite when Uchiha Kagami was accepted by the Second Hokage as one of his six disciples… but… that person couldn't bring any benefit to the Clan, and ended up dying a pitiful death.
So, after Madara left, not a single powerhouse had emerged in all these years.
The current patriarch was also not a powerhouse in the true sense, only a quasi-Kage-level shinobi, and due to the severe injuries he sustained during the Second Great Ninja War, it was doubtful he had much time left.
'It really must be Kanzou-sama…!'
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While Shin boasted about Kanzou, the man himself had already made his move on Fugaku.
In a blur, he appeared in front of Fugaku using the Body Flicker Technique and drove his fist toward Fugaku's abdomen.
Seeing the attack, Fugaku instantly activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan. But the moment his eyes locked onto Kanzou's, his body froze.
Of course, Kanzou had also activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Though they both possessed the same level of dōjutsu, Kanzou's visual prowess was far superior.
Fugaku might have been a few years older, but Kanzou had awakened his Sharingan at an early age and had far more combat and creative experience using it.
Not to mention the strength of his soul as a transmigrator, which was far stronger than that of Fugaku's, making the difference in Visual Prowess all the more obvious.
Of course, Fugaku was also not a slouch… He was an experienced ninja, the result of which was that the Genjutsu used by Kanzou's gaze only held him for a split second before he snapped out of it—but in a battle between shinobi of their caliber, that difference of a split second was more than enough to determine the victory and defeat.
Kanzou's fist smashed into Fugaku's gut, launching him over ten metres through the air.
He crashed through one of the nearby Konoha Military Police Force buildings, blood spraying from his mouth as he struggled to stay conscious.
Just as he tried to get up, his vision was filled with a foot rapidly approaching his face.
Bang!
It landed squarely on his head, imprinting a pattern on his face while slamming him back to the ground with brutal force.
His face was slammed into the dirt, crushed beneath Kanzou's boot.
"You dare challenge me? Hah… you really don't know your place," mocked Kanzou, grinding his foot into Fugaku's skull, distorting his face beneath the pressure.
"Deputy Captain is incredible!"
Shin couldn't hide his excitement as he watched Kanzou stomp Fugaku into the ground.
Until now, Kanzou had shown little interest in the position of patriarch. But this brutal display—publicly humiliating Fugaku—could only mean one thing.
Was Kanzou finally making a move for the Uchiha leadership?
"We must spread the word! Let everyone know that Kanzou-sama crushed Fugaku. That incompetent Fugaku is truly not fit to be the patriarch!"
Shin muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
But not everyone agreed.
"Kanzou, let go of Captain Fugaku at once!"
Supporters of Fugaku shouted in protest, enraged by the sight of their leader's defeat.
Kanzou didn't even spare them a glance.
To him, anyone who didn't dare act was beneath notice—unworthy of even being acknowledged.
"Uchiha Fugaku attacked a fellow Konoha shinobi. Arrest him."
Kanzou gave the order to Uchiha Shin.
"Yes, Deputy Captain."
As Kanzou lifted his foot, Shin immediately called over a few men from the Kanzou faction. Together, they seized Fugaku and locked him up without giving the man a chance to resist.
The few shinobi who had followed Fugaku stood frozen, exchanging uneasy glances.
They wanted to intervene, but none of them had the courage to go up against Kanzou and his loyal subordinates.
"What should we do now?"
"Report to the patriarch. He'll know what to do."
They couldn't stop Kanzou, nor did they dare to provoke him. Reporting to the clan patriarch was their only option.
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"What did you just say? Fugaku was arrested… by Kanzou?!"
The Uchiha patriarch—though only in his fifties—looked closer to seventy, worn down by illness and age. His frail frame trembled with fury.
"What is Kanzou trying to do?"
He strongly suspected that Kanzou was targeting his son in order to seize the position of the patriarch.
At present, the only person in the Uchiha clan with enough power and influence to rival Fugaku was Kanzou.
And no matter how much Kanzou pretended otherwise, the patriarch couldn't believe he had no ambition for the position of the Patriarch.
After all, it is only natural for a strong man to be ambitious… and a man who is strong, but not ambitious, is not truly a man.
But that was also the problem here… because this man was acting against his son!
"You just stood there and watched Fugaku get arrested by Kanzou?"
The patriarch glared at the shinobi before him, his voice seething with anger.
The men lowered their heads, silent and ashamed.
Had it been anyone else attacking Fugaku, they would have stepped in. But it was Uchiha Kanzou, who had not only defeated Fugaku in a matter of a few moves, but had done so without even breaking a sweat.
What could they have done? Getting involved would have been idiotic, as they too would have been locked up with Fugaku.
And more than anything… they were afraid.
Rumour had it that Uchiha Kanzou was absolutely ruthless.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 40 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]