"Chief!"
Six men in black approached Uchiha Fugaku, addressing him respectfully.
"Mm."
Uchiha Fugaku acknowledged them with a nod. These men were unwaveringly loyal to their leader, each one possessing at least the strength of a Jonin.
The two leaders, Uchiha Haruto and Uchiha Kenji, who had previously ambushed Shimura Ryoma, were elite Jonin. If not for Sosuke Shimura sacrificing himself to give Ryoma a chance to escape, Fugaku wouldn't have needed to intervene. Haruto and Kenji alone could have taken down Ryoma.
"Fortunately, the clan leader intervened. Otherwise, Shimura Ryoma might have escaped!" Uchiha Kenji said, breathing a sigh of relief, though his voice carried a hint of shame as he looked at Ryoma's charred remains.
"Given that the opponent was an elite Jonin and had help, it's understandable," Fugaku replied, shaking his head, not blaming Kenji. Elite Jonin were exceptionally skilled at survival, especially with assistance.
Fugaku had anticipated such complications and had personally led the ambush to ensure success.
"There are severe burn marks on the body, but none around it. Is this the clan leader's Mangekyō Sharingan ability?" Uchiha Haruto observed Ryoma's charred remains with envy.
As a close confidant, he knew Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, though the specifics of its powers were unknown.
The ability to burn only the target without affecting the surroundings hinted at a powerful, mysterious eye technique, making Haruto long to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan himself.
"Clean up the bodies and all traces of the battle. Leave no evidence behind!" Fugaku ordered.
"Yes."
The six men responded promptly. Some crouched to clean up the surrounding area while others approached Ryoma's body with a container of liquid. They poured the liquid over Ryoma's body.
Hiss—
As the liquid touched Ryoma's body, it dissolved rapidly, leaving no bones, only a dark, human-shaped stain.
In a short time, all evidence of the battle was erased, and a special potion masked any remaining scent, ensuring even ninja dogs couldn't track them.
Satisfied that no traces were left, Fugaku led his team back to Konoha. By the time they returned, it was evening.
Using the Uchiha Police Force's methods to bypass the village's barriers, they sneaked back in without alerting anyone and returned to the Uchiha compound, replacing the shadow clones left behind. No one knew they had left the village, let alone that Ryoma and his companions had been killed by them.
In an underground room, dimly lit by a single candle, a frail old man sat cross-legged. His right hand and eye were bandaged, and a cross-shaped scar adorned his chin, giving him a cold and eerie appearance.
This was Danzo Shimura, one of Konoha's three great advisors and former leader of the Root.
Although the Root had been disbanded by the Third Hokage, Danzo still secretly controlled it, using the Seal of the Tongue to bind the Root members to his will.
"Master Danzo, the Shimura clan leader has an urgent report!" A Root ninja wearing a panther mask entered and knelt on one knee.
"Bring him in," Danzo ordered.
Soon, a man in his forties entered, guided by the panther-masked ninja. Wearing wooden clogs and a brown kimono, he was tall but slender—Daisuke Shimura, the current patriarch of the Shimura family. He removed his clogs and knelt before Danzo.
"Master Danzo, Shimura Ryoma has been out of contact for a day."
"Lost contact?"
Danzo's frown deepened. An elite Jonin losing contact was serious.
"Yes, yesterday he left the village with Ichiro Shimura and Sosuke Shimura for Shirakawa Town in the Land of Fire. Since then, they've not reported back as scheduled," Daisuke explained.
"What was their mission in Shirakawa Town?" Danzo asked.
"To persuade the largest merchant caravan of the Fire Nation to delay their arrival in Konoha until after the village meeting," Daisuke explained. The Shimura family coveted the profits from the caravan and had supported Ryoma's plan.
"Leopard," Danzo called out.
The panther-masked Root ninja entered and knelt.
"Danzo-sama."
"Take a team and follow the route to Shirakawa Town. Search for Shimura Ryoma, Ichiro, and Sosuke."
"Yes."
The Root ninja responded and swiftly exited. He gathered three other Root ninjas, and they left the Root base undetected, avoiding the village barrier just as the Uchiha had done.
A few hours later, they reached the battle site where Fugaku's group had fought Ryoma and his companions.
"There was a battle here," the panther-masked ninja said, touching scratches on a tree. Despite efforts to erase the evidence, some traces remained.
"Bug, can you track any scents?" he asked a bug-masked ninja.
"I've tried. The smells are mixed; I can't track anything," the bug-masked ninja replied.
"There are traces of corpse-dissolving water here," a female Root ninja with a butterfly mask noted, digging up soil to reveal a charred human figure. She recognized the residue from the liquid often used by the Root to destroy bodies.
"There was definitely a battle, and then the bodies were dissolved," the panther-masked ninja concluded, staring at the charred figure.
"Captain, what now?" the bug-masked ninja asked.
"Shimura Ryoma and the others are likely dead. The enemy left no tracks. Let's report back to Lord Danzo."
The four Root ninjas quickly left the scene.
(End of this chapter)