Mangekyō Sharingan!

No matter how carefully people planned, fate had its own designs. Perhaps not even Shinichi Hyuga himself had expected that exposing Obito's identity would still fail to make Konoha take that man seriously enough.

Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi were not omniscient gods. How could they have known just how much trouble Obito Uchiha was capable of causing?!

Shinichi Hyuga regarded Obito as a super boss, but in Minato and Hizashi's fixed impressions, Obito Uchiha had merely been an ordinary chunin, hadn't he?!

Minato had met Obito in person. Perhaps he thought somewhat more highly of the Space-Time Ninjutsu Obito possessed, but that was all.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had not taken Obito Uchiha to heart at all.

Compared to Obito Uchiha himself, what he truly cared about was the Uchiha Clan!

That night, Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi paid a visit to the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Before the Nine-Tails Attack, as one of Konoha's great clans and one of the founding shinobi clans, the Uchiha Clan had occupied the central area of Konoha. Their compound backed onto Konoha Training Ground No. 1, which was in fact the Uchiha's private training ground. Any outsiders who entered would be driven away by Uchiha clansmen.

Although this had once caused dissatisfaction among some people, it had been tacitly approved by the Hokage and the other shinobi clans.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze's visit was indeed rather sudden.

Fugaku's family had not made any preparations at all before welcoming the two Hokage into the clan compound.

Not long ago, Fugaku's wife had given birth to his second child. With Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval, Fugaku had named his second son Sasuke.

He had adopted the name of Hiruzen Sarutobi's father. In shinobi clan culture, this expressed Fugaku's respect for Hiruzen's father, while also showing his hope that his son Sasuke could become an outstanding shinobi like Hiruzen's father.

This was Fugaku Uchiha's initiative in showing goodwill toward the Third Hokage, not the absurd notion some enthusiasts claimed: "My son is your dad."

With such a connection between them, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze's sudden visit was not considered discourteous.

Both were shinobi clans with a thousand-year legacy, but the Uchiha Clan's Clan System was not as strict as that of the Hyuga Clan. As a result, the Uchiha did not reveal such rigid hierarchies in every aspect of their dealings with others.

After Fugaku led Hizashi and Minato into the living room, Mikoto served the guests tea and some refreshments before rising to leave.

As for Fugaku Uchiha's son, Itachi Uchiha, he left as well after holding the recently born Sasuke and allowing the two Hokage to see him. He did not remain at their side.

Only the three adults there to discuss matters remained in the spacious living room.

Fugaku did not know why the two Hokage had come. Thus, after taking his seat, he merely invited them to drink tea and said nothing more.

The Third Hokage was more of an accompanying presence on this visit, so he too silently drank his tea without speaking.

Minato, however, took a few sips of tea out of courtesy before getting straight to the point.

"Clan Head Fugaku, the Third Hokage and I have come to ask you about Obito Uchiha."

"Did you know that Obito Uchiha is still alive?"

A name that had long since faded from Fugaku's memories was mentioned once again.

"Obito Uchiha?"

"He's still alive?"

"Fourth Hokage, what do you mean by that?"

Fugaku was no stranger to Obito's name. Back then, he had personally approved Kakashi's possession of the Sharingan following the incident involving Obito.

After all, it had been during the Third Shinobi War, when Konoha had already suffered heavy losses. Even the Uchiha, who protected Konoha as the Police Force, had faced a severe test. For the village to unite against its enemies, Fugaku had displayed the resolve of a clan head and overridden all objections.

Hearing Minato suddenly bring up Obito's name, Fugaku's expression could not help but darken.

Were they using this as a pretext? Or was it something else?

As though he had not noticed the change in Fugaku's expression, Minato began recounting in detail how he had discovered traces of Obito Uchiha and set a trap. However, this version differed from the one he had told the Third Hokage; he deliberately omitted Shinichi Hyuga's existence.

Fugaku, however, clearly did not care about such minor details. What concerned him was that Obito Uchiha, who had supposedly died years ago, had returned to Konoha.

He thought the same way as the Third Hokage. Obito had deliberately concealed the fact that he was alive, then appeared before Minato dressed like that. There was no need to think further—he was clearly up to no good.

If Obito Uchiha represented only himself, that would have been one thing. But Fugaku knew that was simply impossible.

The Uchiha Clan had always been viewed differently in Konoha. If the clan produced another rogue shinobi, would that not hand others an excuse to make trouble for them?

It was not as though such things had never happened before!

"Third Hokage, Fourth Hokage."

"I truly know nothing about Obito Uchiha."

"I ask that you allow the Uchiha Clan to investigate this matter ourselves!"

"I will arrange for the Uchiha elite to search with all their strength for Obito Uchiha's whereabouts!"

"No matter what his purpose may be, we will never allow him to harm Konoha!"

The best way to deal with the Sharingan was with the Sharingan.

After hearing Minato say that Obito had mastered some profound Space-Time Ninjutsu, Fugaku, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, had already vaguely sensed that Obito might have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

After all, Space-Time Ninjutsu was not some ordinary ninjutsu one could learn whenever one wished. If Obito truly had the talent to learn Space-Time Ninjutsu, he might have mastered the Flying Thunder God during those years by Minato's side.

Then what could have allowed a dead last to suddenly master a technique of that level?

Wasn't the answer already obvious?

Moreover, judging from Obito's words and behavior, Fugaku could even conclude that the man harbored exceptionally intense emotions and bonds in his heart.

Such people were more likely to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Unlike Minato and Hizashi, Fugaku had already deeply understood the potential threat posed by that man.

However, he did not reveal this information to the Fourth and Third Hokage.

After all, he did not want the two Hokage to know too much. The more they knew, the more wary they would become of the Uchiha Clan. That was not what he wished to see.

Fugaku intended to quietly dispose of the matter before Obito Uchiha caused any major trouble.

He was fully confident in this!

Even if Obito had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, so what? Did the Uchiha Clan have only one person, Obito Uchiha, with the Mangekyō Sharingan?!

Fugaku's sincere attitude earned the trust of the Third and Fourth Hokage.

After a brief discussion, they reached a consensus.

Then Hizashi and Minato rose to leave. Fugaku warmly escorted them to the entrance of the clan compound. Watching the two Hokage disappear into the dim, long street, tomoe spun in Fugaku Uchiha's eyes. Then, the tomoe connected, merging into windmill-shaped pupils.

"Obito Uchiha..."

"I will not allow you to affect the Uchiha Clan's ability to survive in the village!"

"Our Uchiha... are already treading on thin ice!"