Late at night, the lights in one of the rooms of the Hokage Building remained lit.
Inside, three of Konoha's highest-ranking officials sat in heavy silence—the Third Hokage, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado.
The reason for their urgent gathering was clear—Team Crow had gone silent.
Suddenly—
Knock, knock, knock!
A sharp knock at the door broke the silence.
"Come in!"
The Third Hokage's gaze snapped toward the door as he gave the command.
An ANBU ninja stepped inside, approached the Hokage, and handed him a sealed scroll.
"Hokage-sama, this is a classified report from the search team."
The Third Hokage swiftly reached for it, unsealing it with practiced efficiency before scanning its contents.
As his eyes moved across the scroll, his hand trembled slightly, and his face paled.
The news was grim.
"What does it say?" Koharu Utatane asked urgently, noticing his reaction.
"Is it about Team Crow?" Homura Mitokado pressed.
For a moment, the Third Hokage remained silent, his eyes clouded with disbelief. Then, in a heavy voice, he said:
"One of the search teams discovered signs of a large-scale battle. Judging by the remains, Team Crow engaged in an intense fight… and they may have been completely wiped out."
"What?!"
Koharu and Homura both froze in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Impossible!" Koharu Utatane shook her head.
"A Kage-level warrior and six elite jōnin… all destroyed? How could that be?!"
Homura's hands tightened into fists.
"It doesn't make sense! Even if Uchiha Fugaku is strong, there's no way he could have annihilated them all!"
Both advisors had been fully briefed about the mission's target—Uchiha Fugaku.
And as far as they knew, Fugaku did not possess the strength to defeat Shisui, let alone an entire elite unit.
"But based on the evidence, Team Crow was most likely wiped out."
The Third Hokage's expression remained grim.
He had carefully planned this operation, sending Shisui precisely because failure should have been impossible.
And yet… here they were.
A Troubling Possibility
"Are we absolutely certain that no large group of Uchiha elites left the village?" Homura asked sharply.
"We've confirmed it multiple times."
The Third Hokage sighed heavily.
"If the Uchiha Clan had deployed their forces, we would have known. But they didn't."
Koharu's brows furrowed deeply.
"Then… how? How could this have happened?"
Homura suddenly frowned, considering another possibility.
"Perhaps it wasn't Uchiha Fugaku. Perhaps they encountered another enemy."
"Another enemy?" Koharu glanced at him.
"The mysterious Wood Release user."
At his words, both Koharu and the Third Hokage tensed.
If Team Crow had run into that individual, then…
"That could explain everything."
The last time Shisui faced that shinobi, he barely survived—at the cost of his right eye.
The mysterious Wood Release user had eliminated eleven highly trained operatives, leaving only Shisui alive.
"If that same enemy appeared again… then yes, even Shisui might not have stood a chance."
For a moment, this theory seemed plausible.
But then—
"No. There's an even greater possibility."
The Third Hokage's voice turned grave, his tone darker than before.
Both Koharu and Homura turned to him.
"What do you mean?"
The Third Hokage's face was shadowed in thought.
"Uchiha Fugaku may have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan… and if he did, it likely happened even before Shisui."
A Shocking Revelation
"What?!"
Both elders recoiled in shock.
"Uchiha Fugaku? With the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"That's impossible!" Koharu protested.
"With his level of talent, how could he awaken it?" Homura added.
But the Third Hokage's eyes held a chilling certainty.
"We've underestimated him."
"For years, Fugaku has maintained an image of weakness. But what if that was a deception?"
Koharu and Homura stiffened, considering his words.
"Think about it," the Third Hokage continued.
"Danzo's ambush in the Land of Rice failed spectacularly. How? Even with elite Root operatives, they were all killed. No one escaped."
"If Fugaku already possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, that failure makes sense."
Silence fell over the room.
Neither Koharu nor Homura wanted to believe it.
"If Fugaku truly possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan, then he would indeed be stronger than we anticipated."
But even then—
"Would he really be able to kill Shisui?" Koharu asked.
The Third Hokage frowned deeply.
"That's the one thing I don't understand."
Shisui was not only powerful, but his Body Flicker Technique was second to none.
Even if Fugaku had the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui should have been able to escape.
"Maybe he's not dead. Maybe he's just gravely injured."
Homura's voice held a rare sliver of hope.
"We should expand the search. If Shisui is still alive, we must find him before the Uchiha do."
The Third Hokage nodded.
"I will send additional teams to continue searching."
Meanwhile – In the Daimyo Prefecture
At the Iwai Clan Estate, Fugaku sat cross-legged in a luxurious guest room.
The dinner with Iwai Yoichi had gone smoothly, but now, he was alone.
He reached into his sealing scroll and removed the seal.
Poof!
Two bodies appeared before him.
One was White Zetsu.
The other—Uchiha Shisui.
Fugaku's eyes gleamed coldly.
Even after the intense battle, his pupil power remained strong.
But he knew—his identity had been exposed.
The Akatsuki now knew about him.
That alone was a massive threat.
"Nagato, with his Rinnegan… and Obito, with Kamui…"
Both were terrifying enemies.
But now, he had a chance to even the playing field.
His eyes fell on Shisui's body.
"If my theory is correct…"
"If I can use his body to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…"
He clenched his fist.
If that was possible, then his power would increase exponentially.
The threat of Akatsuki would no longer be absolute.
Fugaku's eyes darkened.
He wouldn't waste another second.
"Corpse Melting Technique—"
He threw White Zetsu's body in first, watching as it dissolved into his system.
After a moment, he checked his abilities.
"My Wood Release… has improved."
His gaze shifted back to Shisui's body.
"Now, let's see if I can ascend further."
(End of this chapter)