Uchiha Fugaku

The life of Uchiha Yuan finally reached its end under the shroud of that scarlet moonlight.

Obito stared intently at Yuan's corpse on the ground, an indescribable chill rising within his heart.

The body was withered and gaunt, like a piece of rotten, dried wood. The brilliance of the Mangekyō within those once-bright and eerie eyes had completely extinguished, leaving them dull and lifeless...

Beside Yuan's corpse lay that pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. Though they had lost their luster, they still radiated a hair-raising, sinister aura.

Obito felt an instinctive, extreme sense of unease; his intuition told him these eyes were incredibly dangerous and ominous, far from anything benign.

The technique Yuan had unleashed at the moment of his death—that terrifying power—still left Obito with lingering fears.

It had burned not just pupil power, but his very life force; the cost of such strength had hollowed him out completely.

"His first Mangekyō ability did indeed strengthen my own pupil power..."

When Yuan spoke of the contract being fulfilled, Obito had clearly felt his own Mangekyō's power surge significantly.

Ever since he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, even with the aid of White Zetsu cells, he had been unable to avoid a certain degree of degradation.

Yet, at the moment Yuan's final ability was triggered, Obito was astonished to find that his own Mangekyō Sharingan had been strangely replenished.

The degradation issues caused by his previous use of ocular techniques had been resolved out of thin air.

This unprecedented phenomenon at least confirmed the accuracy of the first piece of intelligence Yuan had provided.

The left eye was for support...

Next was the question of the right eye.

Regardless, what Obito needed to do right now was to confirm the truth about the destruction of the ninja world that Yuan had mentioned.

He looked toward those fearsome Mangekyō Sharingan, his brows furrowed deeply. After a moment of hesitation, he muttered to himself.

"Although I have no desire to touch your eyes, it is still better than letting Danzō or anyone else get their hands on them."

With that thought, Obito slowly reached out and removed the pair of eerie Mangekyō Sharingan from Yuan.

The moment his fingers touched the withered corpse, a cold, sinister aura washed over him, reeking of malice.

Obito frowned and severed a portion of the White Zetsu cells on his body to block this curse-like power.

He did not care about the discarded body fragments: "Still trying to scheme against me even after death?"

Dismissing it as nothing more than a tedious sealing curse, Obito paid it no mind...

He gripped the Mangekyō tightly, quickly activated Kamui to turn himself intangible, and vanished from the Police Force headquarters.

However, that portion of White Zetsu cells slowly merged into Uchiha Yuan's body...

Not long after Obito's figure disappeared, Root ninja finally arrived at the Uchiha Police Force under the cover of night.

This group of Root ninja had been dispatched by Shimura Danzō.

When something went wrong with the Shisui Sharingan Danzō possessed earlier, he had sensed that something was amiss and immediately sent Root to the Uchiha compound.

The Root ninja entered the camp swiftly and cautiously, seeing nothing but corpses strewn about and blood covering the ground.

The Root members began to process the scene without hesitation.

When they stepped into the deepest room of the Police Force, they came to a halt.

In the center of the room, Uchiha Yuan's corpse stood perfectly upright, black liquid seeping from its hollow eye sockets like a grotesque sculpture, making everyone's skin crawl.

The Root ninja approached cautiously, attempting to confirm the state of the body.

The moment one of the ninja reached out to touch Yuan's corpse, the body instantly transformed into countless withered, twisted, and eerie trees, spreading madly in all directions.

"Wood Release?"

"No, this isn't Wood Release..."

The Root ninja retreated in terror, but it was already too late.

These strange, withered trees writhed and twisted as if they had a life of their own, instantly turning into tentacles that tightly bound every single Root ninja.

The ninja struggled desperately, but their ninjutsu had no effect; they could only watch helplessly as their bodies were rapidly consumed by the trees...

Accompanied by a series of eerie devouring sounds, the bodies of the Root members were completely swallowed.

Immediately afterward, the withered trees seemed to have completed their mission; they extended downward, drilling eerily deep into the foundations of the Police Force, and slowly vanished.

The ground returned to calm, showing not the slightest sign of abnormality.

Uchiha Yuan's seemingly fragile corpse had, at this moment, completely transformed into countless roots, reaching deep into the earth beneath Konoha.

And those tree roots, quite literally, became the true roots of Konoha.

Nightfall, Uchiha clan compound.

Uchiha Fugaku sat quietly in the silent room, his expression as calm as water, as if he had long since seen through everything.

He looked at his son, Uchiha Itachi, before him, unable to suppress the unspeakable bitterness rising in his heart.

"Do not be sad..."

Fugaku's voice was exceptionally soft and warm, as if the tragedy and death before him had nothing to do with him: "I have never blamed you."

Faced with the reality of the failed clan coup, Fugaku felt no anger, showed no fear, and had no desire to slaughter the kin he cherished most.

He accepted the death fate had arranged for him with composure, his tone gentle as he spoke:

"You have made your own choice. I understand your plight and respect your decision. I have always been proud of you. No matter what happens, do not be afraid, and above all, do not blame yourself..."

Was the ninja world so vast that there was truly no other place for the Uchiha to exist?

Itachi lowered his head in silence, his gaze refusing to meet Fugaku's.

Fugaku sighed softly, looking at Itachi with a gentle, calm expression: "From this day on, Sasuke is in your hands. His future depends entirely on you to protect."

With that, he slowly closed his eyes, deciding to end it all in his own way.

He was prepared to face death, using his own life to draw a period to the future of the clan and Itachi.

But the very instant Fugaku prepared his heart to welcome death, a strange and clear voice suddenly echoed within his mind:

"Clan Head Fugaku, what is your wish?"

The voice was exceptionally familiar, yet equally strange—it was Uchiha Yuan.

Fugaku was slightly startled, memories rushing back like a tide.

It was a long time ago, on a moonlit night, when Yuan had engaged him in a peculiar conversation.

At the time, he had only listened carelessly as Yuan asked in an indifferent tone...

"Is your wish, perhaps, to revitalize the Uchiha clan?"

Fugaku had not paid attention to Yuan's inquiry at the time, nor had he answered the question.

Yet now, that conversation he had completely ignored surfaced with startling clarity in his mind; it even seemed that it was after that very day that his Mangekyo ocular power had received a powerful restoration and replenishment.

His Mangekyo Sharingan, which he had hidden away and never used, began to spiral out of control at this moment...

Revitalize the Uchiha...

Yuan's words, laced with enchantment, echoed incessantly in his mind.

A bizarre sensation...

Poured into his eyes, frantically draining away the ocular power he had kept hidden for so long.

Fugaku realized something was wrong and desperately wanted to warn Itachi, but to his horror, he found he could not make a single sound.

His throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible force, allowing only weak and helpless whimpers to escape.

"Father?"

Fugaku wanted to respond, but could only open his mouth powerlessly as the ocular power in his eyes drained rapidly, his vision gradually blurring.

That strange and evil power ruthlessly hollowed out his eyes, devouring his life and consciousness.

In the end, Fugaku's head hung low; he could no longer speak a single word, and the breath of life dissipated completely into the night.

"Father's ocular power has been drained dry..."