Chapter 136

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Fugaku had fled, but he left behind his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Allowing Fugaku to leave was also the Great Elder's intention. Although Yōichi didn't act last night, the Great Elder saw that there was an irreconcilable rift between Yōichi and Fugaku.

Moreover, Fugaku was clearly defeated in every aspect, and staying in Konoha could have likely led to his death.

However, the Great Elder believed Fugaku might die on a mission, so he hoped Fugaku could leave and live in seclusion in the ninja world.

A simple struggle for the position of clan leader wouldn't require such drastic measures; failing just meant stepping down. However, the deep-seated enmity between them had already led to lethal intentions during their confrontation.

Now, Fugaku, clearly no match for Yōichi and heavily injured, was also stripped of the clan leader title.

Survival meant leaving the Uchiha clan.

Hachidai also believed it was better for Fugaku to leave the clan and Konoha, so he asked a medical ninja to use Healing Palm Technique to speed up the healing, improving Fugaku's condition by thirty to forty percent overnight.

Using the Healing Palm Technique to stimulate cellular division and speed up healing, although effective, was a method that depleted the body, generally leaving side effects and only used in emergencies on the battlefield.

Upon waking, Fugaku, having heard Hachidai's words, deeply felt the gap between himself and Yōichi.

Seek revenge?

This was beyond what training alone could achieve. He had already activated the Mangekyō; was he to follow in the footsteps of Madara from decades ago?

Though the events concerning Madara, who co-founded Konoha with the First Hokage Hashirama, happened decades ago, the upper echelons of the Uchiha clan were well aware of his story.

Originally, both Madara and his brother had Mangekyō Sharingan, and Madara took his brother's eyes, gaining a power beyond the Mangekyō after the transplant.

Fugaku, seeing no hope for revenge, thought of this and his son.

If he took the Mangekyō with him, Yōichi would undoubtedly pursue him relentlessly across the ninja world. Thus, he planned to leave the Mangekyō for Itachi, entrusting Hachidai to guide him well; Fugaku saw Itachi as a ninja who would surpass him.

Thus, he would transplant ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan. Even if he were caught in the ninja world by Yōichi, he wouldn't be able to reclaim his own eyes.

Fugaku planned well, but he hadn't considered that Yōichi harbored intentions to kill Itachi, something even Hachidai had noticed.

After weighing his options, Hachidai decided to hand over Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan in exchange for Itachi's safe upbringing.

"Elder Hachidai, this puts me in a difficult position."

Yōichi slightly frowned as he tapped on the table. His rage had subsided, but not completely vanished.

Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku's threat level had significantly decreased, and even if he obtained another three-tomoe, he posed no fear for Yōichi, or perhaps he never did from the beginning.

However, the fact that an enemy of his was alive and at large was repulsive to Yōichi.

"This morning, after returning from the office of the Third Hokage, I drafted a list of clan ninjas to support Kikyō Castle. Elder Hachidai, who do you think should lead the team?"

"I will lead the team, Clan Leader. I will not dishonor the Uchiha name. As for my position as division captain, please choose another clansman to replace me."

Hachidai, feeling slightly relieved at this, perhaps saw it as his final fate.

From the moment Yōichi entered, he felt his survival chances were slim. From the moment he helped Fugaku escape, he was prepared for this; if he didn't sacrifice himself, Itachi might not fulfill Fugaku's last wish.

Though he had given away the Mangekyō Sharingan, at least Itachi survived.

"Please allow me one day to settle my affairs."

"Meet at the guard squad headquarters at noon tomorrow."

After saying this, Yōichi stood up and took Fugaku's eyes.

After Yōichi left, Hachidai felt relieved, having secured Itachi's safety.

Although Hachidai had considered sending Itachi to Mikoto, Fugaku's insistence before leaving, to never do so, led him to abandon that idea.

Now, he could only entrust Itachi to another clansman under the guise of an apprenticeship, ensuring Mikoto wouldn't reclaim him.

As for himself, he could only fight desperately on the battlefield.

——————————————————

Leaving Hachidai's home, Yōichi contemplated how to utilize the Mangekyō Sharingan he had secured.

Whether to use them for himself to possibly awaken the Eternal Mangekyō was a difficult decision. Such a process would mean losing Fugaku's unique Dōjutsu.

Fusing the eyes wouldn't necessarily inherit the Dōjutsu, which would be a waste.

Fugaku's Dōjutsu, similar to the Yin-Yang Release used by Izanagi, was something Yōichi greatly envied. Fugaku's insufficient ocular power couldn't bring out the true potential of this Dōjutsu.

If he used it, he might first recreate the Chakra Cannon stolen from Kumogakure, having the complete blueprints memorized.

"I need to find a reliable person to transplant these eyes. Should I ask Mikoto?"

After pondering, Yōichi considered that even if he wanted Mikoto to use this Dōjutsu, he'd first need to develop a safe transplant method using Hashirama cells to ensure Mikoto received sufficient ocular power.

Otherwise, materializing a Chakra Cannon might deplete the dōjutsu's power halfway.

Yōichi shook his head, deciding to put aside these concerns for now as a transplant wasn't feasible in the short term, and focused on other matters.

Upon returning to the guard squad, he informed them of Fugaku's defection.

Everyone was shocked, thinking Yōichi was joking at first. Why would the former clan leader defect?

After repeatedly confirming the news, everyone believed that Fugaku had indeed defected, although they still couldn't understand why losing the position of clan leader would drive him to betray the Uchiha clan and the village.

As the news spread within the clan, few believed it initially, but as confirmations continued, some clan members began to vehemently curse Fugaku for defecting just because he lost his position as clan leader.

They could only think of this reason, so some started calling Fugaku a power-hungry coward, grateful that Clan Leader Yōichi had removed him. What good could such a person have brought as a clan leader?

At Hachidai's home, after everything was settled, he took Itachi to the home of another friendly clansman.

While Shisui was out buying yokan with Itachi, Hachidai had already spoken to that friendly clansman.

"Itachi, from today, you'll be staying at Shinsuke-san's house for a while. He lives near Shisui's place. If you have any questions, you can also ask Shinsuke-san."

Hachidai told Itachi, "I'm heading to the battlefield. I'll come to pick you up when I return. Until then, you should learn well from Shinsuke-san and Shisui-kun."

"Okay."

Itachi nodded, pondering for a moment, but as they walked, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and looked up to ask, "What about father? And I haven't seen mother in several days either."

"Your father? Isn't your father a traitor?"

A passing clansman, upon hearing Itachi's words and realizing he was the former clan leader's son, couldn't help but speak up.

"Your father has defected. He is a disgrace to the Uchiha clan."

"Shut your mouth!"

Hachidai scolded, still the division captain of the guard squad even if he was headed to the battlefield the next day.

"Don't let the sins of adults fall on a child. Itachi is only two years old!"

Hearing Hachidai's words, the man felt it was inappropriate to vent his emotions on a two-year-old child, but found it difficult to apologize to such a young child and left with his head down.

"Itachi, you might encounter many such situations in the future. Try to endure if you can."

Hachidai advised, and soon they arrived at Shinsuke's home.

He had already explained the situation to Shinsuke, although he didn't reveal the true reason behind Fugaku's defection and the divorce between Fugaku and Mikoto, simply stating it was due to irreconcilable differences. Hachidai himself didn't know the specifics.

He told these things to ensure Shinsuke wouldn't casually return Itachi to Mikoto, not even for a day, as per Fugaku's request.

After making these arrangements and instructing Shinsuke on guiding Itachi in his training, Hachidai left.

This was the limit of what he could do.

Otherwise, neither Fugaku nor Itachi might have survived.

But now, with Fugaku alive and Itachi assured safety, Hachidai felt he had fulfilled Fugaku's trust, even though the Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't left for Itachi.

——————————————————

"Fugaku has defected?"

Upon receiving this news, Hiruzen's pipe fell from his hand, but he quickly thought of the reason.

He had felt the clash for the clan leadership was a fight to the death and recalled the discord between Fugaku and Yōichi.

"Sigh, Fugaku, you could have joined the Anbu. Why choose defection?"

Hiruzen sighed deeply. If Fugaku had joined the Anbu, he was confident he could have protected him, as even the guard squad couldn't reach into the Anbu.

Unfortunately, Fugaku chose to defect outright, making it impossible now for him to join the Anbu even if that was his wish.

"Sigh."

Hiruzen quickly signed an S-rank missing-nin warrant for Fugaku, had it printed, and distributed to the Anbu.

However, he also informed the Anbu to capture Fugaku alive if possible.

But when Danzō heard the news of Fugaku's defection, he thought differently.

He had coveted the power of the Mangekyō for a long time, and even though Fugaku's last Susanoo was subpar, the two Dōjutsu that preceded it still greatly appealed to Danzō.

Upon learning of Fugaku's defection, Danzō immediately summoned ninjas skilled in tracking, giving them a priority task: to find Fugaku.

"If the Mangekyō were in my eyes, it would surely wield greater power than it did in Fugaku's, allowing me to better protect Konoha."

However, Danzō suddenly thought that if the Mangekyō was so powerful, why not also utilize the equally famous Wood Release?

"I remember Sensei researched the power of Wood Release. If we could find someone to re-study it..."

Danzō thought of Orochimaru, who had recently taken few missions and seemed to use shadow clones for teaching, staying hidden in his secret base researching.

If anyone in Konoha could rediscover the power of Wood Release, Danzō could only think of Orochimaru; he was similar to Tobirama in his eagerness to research unfamiliar things, unlike Hiruzen's approach to studying ninjutsu.

Danzō then called two members of the Root division, ordering them, "Go find Orochimaru, tell him I need to see him."

"Yes, Danzō-sama."

The two Root members immediately disappeared to search for Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, I hope you don't disappoint me."

Danzō suddenly felt hopeful about the future. If he could capture Fugaku and have Orochimaru unlock the power of Hashirama's cells, then controlling both the Mangekyō and Wood Release powers would make him Hokage.

The news of Fugaku becoming a missing-nin of S-rank was kept within a small circle, stopping at the upper echelons of Konoha and well-informed ninja clans, but it was still discovered by Zetsu hiding in Konoha.

This creature, quite peculiar, was created by Madara using Hashirama's cells and could mimic anyone, difficult to identify.

Only those controlling the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, capable of discerning good and evil, could detect Zetsu.

"Didn't expect that just yesterday I found out there were two Mangekyō in the Uchiha clan, and today I learned one has defected. If I tell Madara-sama, he will surely reward me with a buttocks, letting me experience what it's like to use a toilet."

Zetsu thought to himself, then slowly headed home with his cane. This clone couldn't move, as it had to play the role of Tobi's grandmother; but he could pass the information to other clones, letting his main body know and report to Madara.

(End of Chapter)