Blood was streaming from his eyes.
His vision grew dark and blurry.
But it was enough.
Fugaku gazed at the remaining Uchiha clan members nearby.
The little chakra left in his eyes was enough to guide his people toward a clearer future.
They had regrouped.
“Lord Fugaku, those Root ninjas are ruthless! They kill anyone they see, even ordinary Uchiha clan members!” someone tearfully complained upon seeing Fugaku.
“Yeah, let’s fight back, Lord Fugaku!”
“Silence!” Fugaku's sharp command silenced the clamor.
Looking at his clan members' angry faces, Fugaku sighed inwardly. This was the Uchiha.Proud, unyielding, and emotional.
Even he, the clan leader, found it difficult to suppress their intense emotions.
“Keep all your hatred inside for now. The Nine-Tails has failed, this round, the Uchiha have lost,” Fugaku said sternly. Not far off, Konoha’s Anbu were converging on them.
“…Now, everyone, follow the original plan and break through!”
There were only about twenty Uchiha ninjas left.
This was a huge loss for the clan.
Yet, it was also a trial by fire.
These members, with two or three tomoe and even some who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan by witnessing the deaths of loved ones, would become the backbone of the Uchiha revival. They couldn’t be lost here.
Suppressing the clan's various discontents with his authority, Fugaku turned to a girl, surprised but relieved.
“Izumi…” Fugaku comforted Uchiha Izumi, who immediately burst into tears.
Izumi, once Itachi's lover, was the only one who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan in this conflict.
She had witnessed her family's slaughter.
“How is Itachi?” Izumi asked, wiping her tears.
“He’s all I have left now.”
“Thank you for worrying about him, but for now… consider him dead,” Fugaku replied. “We’ll need your strength in the upcoming fight.”
Izumi nodded firmly.
She and her parents had opposed the coup, still holding some hope for Hiruzen and Konoha’s leadership. Thus, they had always remained on the fringes of the Uchiha’s core. 𐍂áΝŏᛒĘS
But after witnessing the massacre by Root ninjas, her hopes had been buried along with her parents.
With a common enemy, the Uchiha were now more united than ever.
No more pacifists or hardliners. Only one faction remained—the revenge faction!
Hiruzen and Danzo would never let them leave Konoha alive with their hatred. The upcoming battle would be difficult.
After organizing the breakout formation, Fugaku turned to Uchiha Tekka:
“Did you complete your mission?”
“Yes.” Tekka unveiled a cloth-wrapped bundle, revealing Ibiki’s head.
His head was the key to opening a specific Konoha prison.
“Good,” Fugaku nodded. As we break out, all of Konoha will pursue us. Stay behind and wait for the chance to rescue Setsuna. Don’t worry; I foresee that your mission will go smoothly.”
Uchiha Setsuna, a former rebel from the time of the Second Hokage, had been imprisoned since his failed coup. With the Uchiha needing manpower, they had to rescue him.
Tekka nodded, hesitating before asking:
“What about you, Lord Fugaku?”
“Will it be successful?”
Fugaku glanced at him, not answering directly. He addressed everyone:
“…Afterwards, Uchiha Setsuna will become the next clan leader,”
Silence fell, and Fugaku smiled.
“This is in case something happens to me… I can't see that far into the future, but I know him. When Konoha and the Uchiha were less tense, I often visited him in prison. I trust his abilities.”
“Alright, prepare to move. Everyone follow me, except Tekka.”
“We will carve a path through with blood.”
“Yes!!” Following their clan leader, the formation resembled a sharp blade aimed at Konoha’s defensive wall.
The air exploded in flames.
The blade dragged through the ruins, their hatred so sharp it seemed nothing could stop them. This blade, with unwavering determination, sliced through the fortified defense.
Then.
—A melee broke out!!
“Fang over Fang!!”
“Susanoo!”
Fugaku’s roar echoed as he faced two white shadows shooting towards him like drills.
The blue specter with its spiked chains appeared once again. Despite repeated summoning, its difficulty to handle remained daunting.
The chains ensnared the ninja dog, Kuromaru, but Kiba’s drill pierced Susanoo's chest.
“You Inuzuka truly are Konoha’s loyal dogs!”
Fugaku sneered, manipulating Susanoo to fling the dogs away.
The Uchiha behind him temporarily repelled their attackers.
“Keep moving,” Fugaku ordered.
Izumi noticed the clan leader’s voice trembling… After a day of battle, he was reaching his limit.
Susanoo over Fugaku’s head was now just a skeletal frame. Izumi took a deep breath and asked:
“What do I need to do to use this to help you, Lord Fugaku?”
Izumi, who had just awakened the Mangekyo, didn’t know how to use Susanoo yet.
“No worries, I can still hold on a bit longer…” Fugaku’s smile was strained.
The enemy closed in again, insects swarming.
From Inuzuka to Aburame, to the loyal clans under Hiruzen—the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka—the other Konoha clans seemed to have reached a consensus on the Uchiha’s rebellion.
The route from the Uchiha compound to the forest outside Konoha was short, but each step forward required blood. Konoha’s hit-and-run strategy, conserving strength while exhausting Fugaku, was effective.
At a critical moment, the eerie blue specter over Fugaku began to crumble.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes narrowed.
Time was up.
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