Eliminate

"So this is the Dojutsu contained within the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Uchiha Sen asked despairingly.

Even a Kage-level expert could never simplify a Ninjutsu that originally required hand seals to the point where no hand seals were needed.

Combined with that lightning-fast movement that resembled teleportation, the only explanation was that the other party had used the legendary Mangekyō Dojutsu.

"That's right. This is the Dojutsu contained within the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Uchiha Fugaku looked coldly at Uchiha Sen.

"Kill me... Please, kill me!"

Uchiha Sen was filled with despair.

He had tried to defeat Uchiha Fugaku, and he had tried to flee, but neither had been possible.

He knew there was no way he would survive today. His heart was consumed by despair.

All he wanted now was for the other side to grant him a swift death.

"It's time."

Seeing that Uchiha Sen was on the verge of a mental breakdown and had suffered enough torment, Uchiha Fugaku decided to end the battle.

Whoosh—

As if teleporting, he had been some distance from Uchiha Sen one moment, and the next, he was right in front of him.

Squelch—

A sharp branch extended from his right hand and pierced Uchiha Sen's body.

Then, it began growing inside Uchiha Sen's body.

Numerous offshoots sprouted, piercing Uchiha Sen's internal organs and bursting out from all over his body.

"Wood Release Kekkei Genkai?"

As an Elite Jonin, Uchiha Sen had stronger vitality than an ordinary ninja. Though blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, he did not die immediately.

He stared in astonishment at the branches piercing his body. Uchiha Fugaku actually possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

"That's right. This is the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai."

Uchiha Fugaku said.

With the current concentration of his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai bloodline, he should not have been able to use the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

However, True Illusion could turn the impossible into reality.

Within True Illusion, the concentration of his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai bloodline had increased, allowing him to use the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai that he normally could not.

"Spare... my mother..."

Only at the moment of death did Uchiha Sen realize that this Clan Head had concealed far more than anyone had imagined. He even possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

But that no longer had anything to do with him. He only hoped that his mother would not be implicated because of his identity as an informant.

"You don't need to worry about that. The Uchiha Clan will not take their anger out on her because of you."

Uchiha Fugaku said coldly.

Uchiha Sen was Uchiha Sen, and Uchiha Sen's mother was Uchiha Sen's mother. He would not vent his anger on Uchiha Sen's mother because of this.

Moreover, if they moved against Uchiha Sen's mother, it might make the Third Hokage suspicious of Uchiha Sen's death.

"Tha... thank you..."

Finally at ease, Uchiha Sen's body went limp and collapsed.

Uchiha Fugaku deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and released the Dojutsu, True Illusion.

The traces of battle left behind earlier vanished, while only the grotesque wounds on Uchiha Sen's body remained.

His internal organs had been pierced in multiple places, and his body had been impaled through in several places. He was completely dead.

Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward, removed Uchiha Sen's eyes, and damaged Uchiha Sen's brain in the process, preventing ninjas skilled in searching memories from reading memories from the corpse's brain.

Whoosh!

He slipped into the darkness and quickly vanished into it.

Only Uchiha Sen's eyeless corpse remained on the ground, beside a campfire that crackled as it burned.

Uchiha Sen's corpse could not be taken away, because he wanted the Third Hokage to see that Uchiha Sen had died under the Wood Release Ninjutsu, "Wood Style: Cutting Sprig." This would remove suspicion from the Uchiha Clan.

The Third Hokage would not suspect that the Uchiha Clan had discovered Uchiha Sen's identity as a spy and then assassinated him.

At noon the next day, Uchiha Fugaku quietly returned to Konoha and switched places with the Shadow Clone he had left behind, ending his journey to eliminate the spy.

The trip had taken a total of three days. An ordinary person's Shadow Clone could not last for so long.

Fortunately, after reaching Kage-level, his Chakra reserves were immense, allowing his Shadow Clone to persist for a longer period. It had not dispersed during that time.

Furthermore, with Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Yakumi helping to cover for him, he had not been exposed. The Third Hokage had not discovered that he had left the village.

"Father, you promised to accompany me in training Ninjutsu today."

Accompanied by a patter of footsteps, the young Uchiha Sasuke ran over.

"Don't worry. Since I promised you, I naturally won't break my word."

Uchiha Fugaku said with a smile.

Still only a young boy, Uchiha Sasuke had black hair, black eyes, and skin as fair as a girl's.

If he grew his hair long and put on a dress, he would probably be mistaken for a girl.

Yesterday, Uchiha Sasuke had asked him to accompany him in training. To avoid wasting Chakra, the Shadow Clone had changed the time to today.

After the Shadow Clone was released, he had already received those memories.

The two arrived at a training ground specially set aside in the backyard for practicing Ninjutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Standing more than ten meters away from a target, Uchiha Sasuke formed hand seals, puffed out his cheeks, and exhaled.

A fireball appeared and struck the target more than ten meters away.

Whoosh—

Flames engulfed the target, setting it ablaze like a torch as it crackled.

In terms of Ninjutsu talent alone, he really was somewhat inferior to Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Fugaku assessed inwardly.

When it came to low-level Ninjutsu, Uchiha Itachi could master them successfully upon his first attempt at training, reaching a high degree of proficiency.

But Uchiha Sasuke could not do that. He needed a certain amount of practice before he could reach the same level of proficiency.

It was not difficult to see from this that Uchiha Itachi's talent for Ninjutsu surpassed Uchiha Sasuke's.

This was also why the original owner of this body had valued Uchiha Itachi more highly.

However, it would be absolutely wrong to dismiss Uchiha Sasuke on that basis and believe that his talent was inferior to Uchiha Itachi's.

In his view, a ninja's strength was not determined solely by Ninjutsu talent. It also included talent for Taijutsu, talent for Genjutsu, and the concentration of one's Kekkei Genkai.

Though Uchiha Sasuke was inferior to Uchiha Itachi in Ninjutsu talent, he was no worse than Uchiha Itachi in other aspects.

Especially when it came to Kekkei Genkai concentration, he surpassed Uchiha Itachi. After all, Uchiha Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra's Chakra.

"Father, how was it? How did I perform the Great Fireball Technique?"

Uchiha Sasuke asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked expectantly at Uchiha Fugaku.

"You performed it very well. As a reward, I'll teach you a new Ninjutsu today."

Uchiha Fugaku said with a smile.

"Watch carefully. Pay close attention to my hand seals. The Ninjutsu I'm going to teach you is called the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. It can create multiple fireballs to attack multiple targets."

As Uchiha Fugaku formed hand seals, fireball after fireball shot forth. Target after target was struck, burned, and reduced to ash.

The following hours passed with Uchiha Fugaku teaching and Uchiha Sasuke practicing.

"Fugaku, Sasuke, dinner is ready!"

That evening, Uchiha Mikoto came to the backyard and called gently to them.

Seeing her husband teaching Sasuke Ninjutsu, she immediately understood that her husband had returned from outside the village.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her husband's departure from the village had not been exposed, and he had returned safely.

"Come on, it's time to eat."

Uchiha Fugaku met Uchiha Mikoto's gaze and gave a slight nod, conveying, I'm back.