Tracking the Kirigakure

After the transplant was complete, Uchiha Akira tested his new eye for a few seconds, then controlled his crimson left eye until it looked black.

This wasn't the time to study his Mangekyō Sharingan, though he could already feel the subtle changes brought on by the transplant.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he could control the eye with ease, even though it wasn't originally his. Unlike Hatake Kakashi, he wouldn't be unable to turn off his Sharingan.

Uchiha Akira didn't leave the battlefield right away. Instead, he began inspecting it.

The traces of Wood Release had already disappeared. Obito probably didn't want anyone to know that someone could use it.

Moreover, Uchiha Akira couldn't find Nohara Rin's body. He guessed Obito had taken it with him.

"What's this?" Uchiha Akira's gaze sharpened. At the edge of the forest, he spotted some thick, white liquid.

He thought carefully about the story and recalled a scene.

When Uchiha Obito saw Nohara Rin crash into Kakashi's Chidori, he awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and went berserk. Some white substance had flown off his body.

Uchiha Akira thought, Could this stuff be Hashirama Senju Cells?

With that thought, he took out a clear glass vial and collected nearly half a vial of the thick white substance splattered across the ground and tree trunks.

Once he had finished collecting it, Uchiha Akira left the scene. A few minutes had passed, so Konoha's reinforcements should be arriving soon.

Uchiha Akira returned to Konoha's camp that night. When he found Uchiha Fugaku, Fugaku looked surprised.

Uchiha Akira had returned rather quickly.

"Akira, you're back already?" Uchiha Fugaku watched him with a stern expression. "Did you find anything?"

Uchiha Akira nodded solemnly. "More than a hundred Kirigakure pursuers are dead. And they died horribly."

"What?"

Uchiha Fugaku's stern expression finally cracked. He stared at Uchiha Akira in disbelief and pressed him for details.

"More than a hundred Kirigakure Ninja, all at least Chunin rank, are dead? Does Hatake Kakashi already have the strength of the White Fang at his age?"

"He didn't kill them. When I arrived, Hatake Kakashi was already unconscious," Uchiha Akira said with a shake of his head. "Someone else killed those Anbu."

Uchiha Fugaku murmured gravely, "There aren't many people in the Shinobi World with that kind of power. Someone like that could change the course of a war."

After thinking for a while, he looked at Uchiha Akira. "Does Hatake Kakashi still have his Sharingan?"

"He does," Uchiha Akira replied.

"Who could it be? A powerful shinobi couldn't just appear out of nowhere..." Uchiha Fugaku fell into deep thought.

Uchiha Akira hesitated before speaking. "Clan Head, I also found something at the scene, but I'm not certain what it is."

Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted. "What did you find?"

"Possibly the cells of the First, Senju Hashirama." As he spoke, Uchiha Akira took out a vial containing the white substance.

Without a sound, Uchiha Fugaku's crimson Sharingan opened. He stared fixedly at the vial in Uchiha Akira's hand.

The sight left Uchiha Fugaku stunned. He murmured, "It really is the First's cells. I recognize the chakra, brimming with life force."

Uchiha Akira had confirmed it on his way back, which was why he'd brought the stuff out.

One person alone wouldn't be enough to research Hashirama Senju Cells.

The Uchiha Clan had wealth and influence to spare. They were well equipped to study Hashirama Senju Cells.

"So a powerful shinobi with Wood Release may have killed the Kirigakure Anbu..." Uchiha Fugaku's expression darkened. "Hatake Kakashi was unharmed. Could this Wood Release user be one of Konoha's hidden trump cards?"

Uchiha Akira found the idea amusing. Uchiha Fugaku had thought it over and ended up blaming Konoha.

Still, that worked in his favor. Under pressure, the clan would be more likely to act on his proposal.

"To think the higher-ups secretly brought back the First's Kekkei Genkai..." Uchiha Fugaku let out a long breath, feeling the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.

Uchiha Akira spoke up. "Clan Head, perhaps it's time for our Uchiha Clan to make some changes. Even Uchiha Madara, with the Nine-Tails at his side, couldn't defeat the First..."

Uchiha Fugaku understood what he meant.

After a long silence, he said, "Akira, the First's power isn't easy to master. Konoha conducted transplant experiments back then, but none of them succeeded. In fact, those experiments hastened the Senju Clan's decline."

By now, the Senju Clan had all but vanished. Much of the blame lay with the Wood Release experiments conducted in the past.

"But Konoha succeeded this time, didn't it?" Uchiha Akira said gravely. "Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, our Uchiha Clan can hardly stand against Wood Release. Uchiha Madara proved that. We have to find a way to gain equal power."

Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and looked at Uchiha Akira. "Akira, we must think this through carefully. Keep the First's cells safe. We'll discuss this after the war."

"I understand." Uchiha Akira nodded, then said, "Clan Head, if there's nothing else, I'll head back."

"Wait. Be ready to go on a mission at any time," Uchiha Fugaku said, stopping him.

"Clan Head, did something happen?" Uchiha Akira looked at him in confusion.

A faint smile appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's face. "Someone from the Hyuga Main Family disappeared while on patrol. We found traces of Kirigakure Ninja at the scene, and one Byakugan was taken."

Since the Senju Clan had all but disappeared, the Hyuga Clan was the only real rival to their Uchiha Clan in Konoha.

Uchiha Fugaku was in a good mood seeing his old rivals take a hit.

"The Byakugan was taken?" Uchiha Akira froze, then remembered something.

During the Third Ninja World War, the Hyuga Clan had indeed lost a Byakugan. It had been taken by a Jonin from Kirigakure named Ao.

"So be ready to go on a mission at any time," Uchiha Fugaku said with a solemn nod.

"I understand." Uchiha Akira nodded.

Deep in a quiet forest, Uchiha Akira held a gleaming kunai. Its mirror-smooth surface reflected a pair of unusual Sharingan.

Three black Tomoe revolved in his right eye, a normal Three-Tomoe Sharingan. His left eye was entirely different, its design resembling three interlinked sickles.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Akira had no trouble using the eye.

"It's not difficult... Since transplanting this eye, the chakra I produce has become much higher in quality. My eyesight has improved tremendously. No wonder it's a Mangekyō. Even at rest, it's a cut above my right eye!"

Carefully sensing the changes the transplant had brought, Uchiha Akira slowly nodded. He was very pleased with his new left eye.

Uchiha Fugaku's judgment had been right. Uchiha Akira had barely rested for an hour before he received a mission.

The objective was simple: kill the Kirigakure Ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Fire to steal the Byakugan, and stop it from falling out of Konoha's hands.