Corpse Melting

"Using Kakuzu's hand to get rid of me—now that's quite the plan."

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes were filled with mockery.

The reason Kakuzu had known his whereabouts was undoubtedly because this man had reported them to whoever stood behind him.

That person had deliberately leaked his whereabouts to the Underground Black Market, which had drawn Kakuzu here to assassinate him.

He just did not know whether the person behind it was the Third Hokage or Shimura Danzō.

Of course, that was not important.

Whether it was the Third Hokage or Shimura Danzō, both had suppressed and pressured the Uchiha Clan, seeking to destroy it.

Both were enemies, so it did not matter who it was.

"..."

Yamanaka Fu gave no response to Uchiha Fugaku's words. Enduring the intense pain in his mind, he forced himself to move, trying to flee.

He could not fall into Uchiha Fugaku's hands. If he did, death was certain.

"Still trying to run?"

Yamanaka Fu had barely taken a step when Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward and flashed to his side.

He swiftly drew a kunai and slashed it toward Yamanaka Fu.

Simply because Yamanaka Fu had seen him use the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could not let Yamanaka Fu live.

What was more, he was quite interested in Yamanaka Fu's sensory abilities.

No matter what, he could not possibly spare Yamanaka Fu.

"Slash—"

Yamanaka Fu hurriedly tried to dodge, but in his current state, how could he possibly evade Uchiha Fugaku's attack?

The kunai in Uchiha Fugaku's hand swept across Yamanaka Fu's neck, cutting open his throat.

"Gurgle—"

Blood sprayed from his neck. Yamanaka Fu clutched at it in agony, unwillingness in his eyes as his body collapsed helplessly.

Avoiding the spattering blood, Uchiha Fugaku wiped the blood from his kunai and returned it to his ninja tool pouch.

He crouched down, removed Yamanaka Fu's mask, and looked at his face.

"A familiar face!"

He had some impression of this face. This man had been one of the two guards who had accompanied Danzo during the Five Kage Summit.

Anyone qualified to serve as Danzo's personal guard naturally possessed the strength of an Elite Jonin.

Unfortunately, he had encountered Uchiha Fugaku.

The secret technique he had used had backfired on him, and Uchiha Fugaku had killed him with barely any effort.

"Now, let's see what this Corpse Melting secret technique can do!"

After scanning the surroundings and confirming that no one else was watching, Uchiha Fugaku activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Because of the foolish pride his former self had taken in the Uchiha Clan's bloodline, he had never used Corpse Melting before. This was his first time using it.

Buzz—

The Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye spun rapidly, and a strange black vortex appeared in the empty air before him.

He grabbed Yamanaka Fu's corpse with one hand and tossed it into the black vortex.

Yamanaka Fu's corpse vanished, as did the black vortex. At the same time, he sensed a space only several meters wide and long, filled with black liquid.

Yamanaka Fu's corpse appeared within that space, floating in the black liquid.

The black liquid seemed to possess terrifying corrosive properties. Beneath its surface, Yamanaka Fu's corpse rapidly dissolved and disappeared.

During this process, a type of biological tissue—similar to cells but not actually cells, and possessing bloodline traits—flowed from his left eye toward his brain.

The moment this tissue came into contact with his brain, it immediately caused changes there, as though it were undergoing some sort of transformation.

While this change was taking place, his head felt extremely hot, like he had a high fever, and sweat began pouring from his body uncontrollably.

After a long while—he had no idea how much time had passed—Yamanaka Fu's corpse disappeared completely, leaving not even bones behind.

The biological tissue was exhausted, and the burning feverish sensation in his brain faded. His body returned to normal.

Whoosh—

The black vortex appeared again, spitting out Yamanaka Fu's clothes and personal belongings.

"My senses have become sharper!"

He checked himself and immediately discovered that his senses had grown sharper.

Ordinary shinobi could also sense killing intent, pressure, chakra fluctuations, and aura, but their senses were not particularly sharp.

If the person they were sensing deliberately concealed themselves, they would be unable to detect them.

Sensory-type shinobi were called sensory shinobi because their senses were sharp enough to detect one or more of killing intent, pressure, chakra fluctuations, and aura.

Although he was a Kage-level powerhouse and his senses were sharper than those of ordinary shinobi, they still could not compare to those of sensory-type shinobi.

But now, he felt that his perception of chakra had increased severalfold, becoming extraordinarily sharp.

Clearly, after melting Yamanaka Fu's corpse, he had obtained the Yamanaka Clan's physical traits and gained their sharp sensory abilities.

If I obtain the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, I should be able to use them now as well!

He thought to himself.

Generally speaking, secret techniques could only be used by people with the corresponding special physiques. Even if someone without the necessary physique obtained the secret technique, they would still be unable to use it.

However, he felt that he was now no different from a member of the Yamanaka Clan.

If he acquired the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, he should be able to use them.

If I get the chance, I should get my hands on the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques!

Naturally, he would not turn down secret techniques, especially since the Yamanaka Clan's techniques were highly practical.

Thus, he intended to obtain the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques when the opportunity arose.

For others, acquiring another clan's secret techniques would normally be extremely difficult.

But for him, it would not be hard.

With the Mangekyō Sharingan, he possessed the ability to copy the techniques others used.

He did not need to see the scroll containing the secret techniques. So long as he saw someone from the Yamanaka Clan use one, he would be able to obtain the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques.

Great Fireball Technique!

A fireball appeared and landed on Yamanaka Fu's clothes and personal belongings. They immediately caught fire and turned to ash in an instant.

Leaving them alone, he walked over to Kakuzu's corpse, which had been reduced to mangled flesh.

"I can't leave the corpse behind!"

As far as he knew, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi could use corpses to perform a Forbidden Jutsu called the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

This Forbidden Jutsu could resurrect the dead and control them.

Moreover, aside from sealing them away, there was almost no other way to kill those who had been controlled.

Kakuzu was quite strong, so Uchiha Fugaku naturally did not want someone to resurrect him with this Forbidden Jutsu.

Not only might it expose his Mangekyō Sharingan ahead of time, but it could also make his enemies stronger.

Therefore, Kakuzu's corpse could not be left behind.

Fire Style: Majestic Flame Annihilation.

After forming hand seals, a fireball as enormous as a meteor appeared and crashed down where Kakuzu's corpse lay.

A vast area burst into blazing flames.

A moment later, the flames faded, and Kakuzu's corpse had vanished as well.

The Fire Style: Majestic Flame Annihilation ninjutsu was extremely powerful. It could burn even bones into ash.

"Although this delayed me for a while, the gains were pretty good!"

Looking toward the Land of Rain ahead, where rain fell endlessly, Uchiha Fugaku took a straw raincoat from his Sealing Scroll, put it on, and stepped into the Land of Rain.

The Yamanaka Clan's sensory abilities were merely an appetizer to him. What he truly valued was White Zetsu, who had perfectly fused with Hashirama Cells.

Obtaining White Zetsu's corpse and melting it to acquire Hashirama Cells—that was what he truly desired.