The Masked Man

"Exactly."

Fugaku gave Dan an approving glance and nodded as he recalled, "Three years ago, Cloud Hidden had kidnapped Hinata Hyuga first. Hizashi Hyuga had killed their envoy in a rage while trying to save his daughter. But under pressure from the Fourth Raikage, the Third Hokage had still made the Hyuga Clan hand over Hizashi Hyuga's corpse to appease Cloud Hidden."

Dan pondered this, then continued along the same lines:

"The Konoha high command has persecuted the Uchiha even more harshly than the Hyuga Clan.

"If history repeats itself, then when faced with pressure from the Cloud Hidden Village, the Konoha high command won't just refuse to side with the Uchiha. They'll probably be overjoyed and seize the chance to oppress the Uchiha Clan under the guise of doing what's right.

"When that happens, the Uchiha will have no choice but to hand over their own 'Hizashi Hyuga'—and perhaps the heads of even more clan members."

The past offered a lesson for the future.

"Dan, you really understand me. You said exactly what I wanted to say."

Fugaku smiled, the approval in his eyes growing stronger.

Earlier that day, he had criticized Dan for being "too moderate." He hadn't expected his brother-in-law to correct himself so quickly and learn to consider what was best for the Uchiha.

In Fugaku's eyes, Dan's perspective already surpassed that of most clan members. He could look at problems and think about them from a higher vantage point, which was truly rare.

After this conversation,

his resolve to carefully cultivate Dan grew even stronger. He wanted his brother-in-law to become his right-hand man.

But before that—

"So my advice is this: when you go home tonight, fire that woman at once, and don't associate with her again. Dan, can you do that?"

Fugaku fixed Dan with a burning gaze, waiting for his answer.

"Who knows about Samui?" Dan asked before answering.

"I looked into it myself. Not even Mikoto or Itachi knows."

Fugaku gestured for Dan not to worry; the information wouldn't leak.

Dan nodded, then said calmly, "In that case, I'm keeping Samui."

What?

Fugaku thought he'd misheard. His brows furrowed again, and he looked displeased. "Dan, do you really like this woman that much?"

Yes.

Samui was beautiful.

In Fugaku's memory, he had only ever seen one woman like her—a fair-skinned beauty with blonde hair and a full bust—in all his years. That was Princess Tsunade, the legendary Sannin and princess of Konoha.

Was that why Dan couldn't bear to part with her?

"That's not why."

Dan shook his head in response to his brother-in-law's question and revealed the truth. "I knew Samui was a spy from the very beginning."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Samui's hair with his large hand, as though petting a cat.

What?

Fugaku was shocked again.

No wonder.

When he had told Dan that Samui was a spy, Dan hadn't been surprised at all. So he'd known all along.

"Then why have you kept her by your side?"

Once he'd recovered, Fugaku pressed him for an answer.

Because she's useful. She can be an employee and a housekeeper.

That was all there was to it, Dan thought.

But he knew Fugaku wouldn't be satisfied with that answer. After a few seconds of thought, he gave him another one:

"Brother-in-law, if the Konoha high command is so afraid of Cloud Hidden, why can't we use that to our advantage? We could use Samui to establish some sort of connection with the Cloud Hidden Village—or even harness their strength for the benefit of the Uchiha Clan."

At those words,

Fugaku shuddered. His pupils slowly widened, and a look of sudden realization spread across his face.

It was as if a bolt from the blue had struck him.

"I understand, Dan. You mean we should treat this woman like a pawn and use her to..."

"Something like that."

Dan cut him off. He had no idea what Fugaku thought he'd figured out, but as usual, he simply nodded along.

"If that's the case, I'll leave her in your hands."

Fugaku rose to his feet, reassured. As he spoke, he picked up the documents, and flames burst from his palm with a hiss.

Right in front of Dan, he burned the files on Samui to ashes.

"Then I'll be going."

Dan effortlessly picked Samui up in his arms and bid Fugaku farewell.

The lonely moon hung high in the sky.

The Naka River flowed quietly through the Uchiha Clan's forest.

On the riverbank stood the clan's ancestral shrine—the Naka Shrine.

Beneath the cold moonlight, Uchiha Yashiro came alone to the shrine's main hall. He glanced around to make sure no one had followed him, then went inside.

Under the seventh tatami mat from the right inside the shrine lay a hidden chamber.

This was the Uchiha Clan's secret meeting place.

Creak.

Yashiro pushed the door open and found that the torches on either side of the chamber had already been lit. A figure stood with his back to him before the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet.

"You're here."

The man slowly turned around.

"Lord Madara." Yashiro lowered his head and bowed deeply.

The man standing before him

wore black clothes and had wild, long black hair. An orange tiger-patterned mask covered his face, leaving only one eye exposed.

His first impression was of coldness and strangeness.

No one would have guessed

that this mysterious Masked Man was the Uchiha's former Clan Head, a legendary ninja renowned throughout the Ninja World, believed by everyone to have died long ago—

Madara Uchiha.

When Yashiro first met the Masked Man, he had assumed the man was just a pretender trying to scare him. That was until he suffered a crushing defeat at his hands.

The Masked Man claimed to be Madara Uchiha.

He had not only shown Yashiro the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan, but also revealed many Uchiha secrets that even Yashiro had never heard of.

The Masked Man said he had sought Yashiro out because he wanted to support the Uchiha's Radical Faction.

To take revenge on Konoha.

Yashiro believed him.

"Has anything happened in the clan lately? Is everything going according to plan?" the Masked Man asked casually, glancing at Yashiro.

Yashiro hesitated for a moment, then finally told him about Uchiha Dan.

"Oh?"

After hearing Yashiro's report, the Masked Man became interested in Dan.

He had incited Yashiro and the others to rebel against Konoha not to help the Uchiha Clan seize power or make one of their own Hokage.

On the contrary,

he wanted to use Konoha's power to eliminate the Uchiha.

Now,

Dan's "Suicide Attack Faction" ideology aligned perfectly with the Masked Man's own. The Uchiha and Konoha destroying each other was exactly what he wanted to see.

With that in mind,

"I'll meet Uchiha Dan myself and bring him into our ranks."

After leaving those words behind, a spiral distortion of space formed around the Masked Man's right eye, sucking his entire body into it.

He vanished without a trace.

Yashiro looked on in astonishment.

Though he had witnessed Lord Madara's abilities before, this casual manipulation of space still left him awestruck.

Was this the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Inside Konoha,

the Masked Man moved like a ghost, passing through the village as if no one were there. He soon found the Fitness Gym tucked away in an alley.

"Physical Transformation Department."

He read the words on the sign and scoffed. Then he stepped forward, passing straight through the firmly shut door without resistance.

Huh? Is no one home?

He entered the gym and looked around, but couldn't find Dan anywhere.

Well... he could wait a while.

So,

the Masked Man strolled around before finally pushing open the door to the Meditation Room. He plopped down on a cushion, propped his chin on his hand, and closed his eyes to rest.

Half an hour later,

just as the Masked Man was growing impatient and was about to lose his temper, the gym's owner finally returned.