Flying Thunder God, Zetsu in the Shadows

Mo's eyes suddenly widened, and panic flashed across his face.

"Whew—"

Chiyo secretly let out a sigh of relief. "If I can snuff out this brat today, then even if this old woman dies here, it will have been worth it."

The next moment...

"Clang—!"

"Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The imagined scene of blood spraying everywhere never occurred. The steel wires pressed tightly against Mo's skin but could not advance an inch. Instead, the points where the wires connected to the two puppets' palms snapped apart under the tremendous force!

"Heh~"

With a soft laugh, all panic abruptly vanished from Mo's face. His right foot slid back as he gripped the hilt of the straight blade that had somehow already been sheathed. Lowering his body, he drew the sharp sword!

"Red Scorch: Dark Slash!"

A streak of black lightning arrived in an instant. Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a head frozen in astonishment suddenly flew into the air!

"Thud!"

The aged body hit the ground with a dull thump. Uchiha Mo spun his blade in a flourish, flicked the blood from it, then slowly returned Futsunomitama to its sheath.

[Wind Release Proficiency +5.13%

Yang Release Proficiency +5.17%]

If it had been an ordinary Sharingan, Chiyo's scheme might truly have worked. But how could Uchiha Mo, who possessed Clairvoyance, be affected by such an obstruction of vision?

From the very beginning, Mo had seen Chiyo's intentions perfectly clearly!

He glanced at the panel, somewhat surprised.

His Wind Release proficiency had increased a little less than he had expected, while his Yang Release proficiency had increased far more than expected.

After thinking it over carefully, Mo suddenly realized something.

Although Chiyo was one of Hidden Sand's top combat forces, her primary methods were still puppetry. It was therefore understandable that her Wind Release was not as formidable as he had imagined.

As for this Yang Release... Chiyo was actually a highly accomplished medical ninja! Though she made greater use of poison, her medical ninjutsu was indeed in the tier directly below Tsunade's.

Mo even suspected that if Chiyo had not grown so old, the value might have risen considerably further!

On the other side, after Chiyo died, her puppets quickly collapsed limply to the ground after losing their controller.

Mo's Shadow Clones also dispersed one after another, leaving behind only one to collect the puppets and the spoils from Chiyo's body.

Mo had deliberately restrained the spread of the flames to prevent the spoils from being destroyed. As the pinnacle creations of puppet master Monzaemon, these remaining puppets would surely fetch considerable benefits from Hidden Sand.

Naturally, such an exchange of benefits could not possibly be completed while Mo was still in Hidden Leaf.

The battle on the other side had also erupted completely. Hidden Sand's heavy puppet forces fought a rearguard action with the resolve to die, and they truly inflicted a certain degree of casualties on the Uchiha Clan.

Even though those lost were only Chunin, it thoroughly ignited the clan members' fury. Under Fugaku and the Jonin's rage, the Sand Ninja were on the verge of collapse.

After Mo's Shadow Clone handed the gathered spoils to the original body, it dispersed. Mo put the sealing scroll into his Ninja Tool Pouch and swiftly turned to join the battle on the other side.

Several minutes later...

The Uchiha stood amid ruins nearly covered with Sand Ninja corpses and puppet fragments. For a time, the atmosphere was heavy and silent.

"Let's go back..."

Mo glanced at the somewhat dispirited clan members and spoke calmly.

In this battle, the Uchiha Clan had lost over a dozen Chunin. However, two Special Jonin had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan through this battle and would presumably become full-fledged Jonin before long.

Fugaku nodded at those words. He looked around at the clan members and spoke to encourage them.

"Deaths on the battlefield are commonplace. I believe everyone understands that. Besides, these clan members will not have died in vain. They are the contributors who allowed the Uchiha Clan to keep advancing!"

As his words fell, the clan members gradually came back to their senses, and their low spirits slowly began to rise.

After all, how could anyone go to war without people dying? They all understood that. It was simply that the battle had only just ended, and the Uchiha Clan had always struggled to let go of emotional turmoil...

And so, the group set out on the road back to Hidden Leaf.

"Mo, I never expected even Chiyo to die by your hand..."

"Yeah, that old woman's reputation and strength were no joke. Mo, you've rendered another great service!"

"Chiyo's value to Hidden Sand was comparable to a Jinchūriki's. And Ebizo also died by your hand, on top of all your earlier achievements... I feel like once you're a little older, Mo, you could run for Fourth Hokage!"

"What do you mean, once he's older? Mo can do it now!"

"That's right! The only people who pose a threat to Mo are the Sannin, and among them, only Orochimaru has that ambition right now. Why don't we..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Didn't our Uchiha Clan just render great service? We can use that as a condition to make the Lord Third give us a Hokage nomination! With Mo's accomplishments by then..."

(PS: I saw this while scrolling through videos today and thought it was pretty funny, so I'm sharing it with everyone.)

Flying Thunder God, Zetsu in the Shadows

After the Uchiha group returned to the village, the troops led by Orochimaru had yet to return. However, the two of them received a summons from Lord Third Hiruzen Sarutobi ahead of time.

Arriving together outside the Hokage's office, Fugaku took the initiative to knock on the door. Judging from his stride and movements, although the man's face remained expressionless, he could not quite conceal the excitement in his heart.

Mo secretly shook his head.

At present, the conflict between Hidden Leaf and the Uchiha Clan had not yet intensified to the point of the Nine-Tails Uprising. Moreover, Fugaku was younger at this time, and his understanding of the true nature of Hidden Leaf's and the Uchiha Clan's circumstances was rather shallow.

Setting aside his thoughts, Uchiha Mo followed Fugaku into the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at the two of them, and nodded.

"I have a general understanding of the situation. You both did very well. Not only did you successfully protect the village, you also dealt Hidden Sand a painful blow!"

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused. His gaze shifted to Mo, and after taking a puff from his pipe, he continued.

"Especially you, Mo. I have already heard the report from the Reconnaissance Squad. Ebizo's and Chiyo's deaths are losses Hidden Sand cannot possibly measure. You did very well."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a faint smile. He leaned back slightly, then took a scroll from a nearby drawer.

"This is the Flying Thunder God technique I promised you. Study it here. Memorize all its contents, then destroy the scroll. You must not pass it on to anyone else. That is the village's rule."

Mo nodded and accepted the scroll. His eyes turned crimson, and the moment he opened it, he began scanning through it at lightning speed.

Although the Flying Thunder God technique did not suit Mo's fighting style and felt rather disconnected from his combat system, it was clearly still an excellent choice if used merely to increase his proficiency and expand his versatility.

On the other side, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze toward Uchiha Fugaku.

"Fugaku..."

"Lord Third..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He removed his spent pipe and spoke as he cleared out the ash.

"This time, it was thanks to the Uchiha Clan that the village suffered no losses..."

Hearing this, Fugaku was instantly excited. A joyful smile squeezed onto his stiff face, while several thoughts surged through his mind.

"Is it an advisory position? Or perhaps the Administration Department or Intelligence Division? Even the Medical Department or Education Department would be acceptable... At the very least, if the path for clan members to join ANBU could be fully opened, that would not be impossible to accept..."

"...It just so happens that during wartime, the village requires stricter control. Therefore, I have decided to add another unit to the Uchiha Police Force, on top of its existing three units."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit the pipe he had refilled with tobacco and placed it between his lips.

Fugaku's smile instantly froze. "This..."

"Lord Hokage... The Uchiha Police Force's current scale is just right for the Uchiha Clan. I believe what the Uchiha Clan needs is..."

"Oh? So you don't need it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly raised his head. Behind the smoke, a sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes as he stared directly at Fugaku.

"I..." Fugaku was immediately left speechless.

A smile curled across Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips. Without waiting for Fugaku's response, he turned to Uchiha Mo.

"Mo, what do you think?"

"..."

At those words, Mo slowly raised his head. Their gazes met as he replied in an even tone.

"I do not think this is a question worth answering."

"..."

In Kirigakure.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Lord Mizukage! Urgent intelligence from ANBU!"

The Third Mizukage sat behind his desk, lowering his head as he handled the documents before him. He replied quietly.

"Enter."

"Creak—"

The office door opened. A powerfully built ANBU member strode into the room, then dropped to one knee and lowered his head as he said in a deep voice.

"Lord Mizukage! Today, the village captured a spy that Hidden Sand planted some time ago. According to the intelligence provided by this spy, Hidden Leaf's defenses are currently extremely weak. The day before yesterday, Hidden Sand dispatched an elite puppet force to launch a surprise attack on Hidden Leaf. They should be engaged in a major battle right now!"

The Mizukage's hand holding the document paused slightly. "Is the information reliable?"

"I guarantee it with my life. It is absolutely reliable!"

"..."

The Third Mizukage set down the document and tapped the desk with one hand.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap..."

After a long while, the Third Mizukage suddenly raised his head. He seemed to have made some sort of decision as he spoke.

"Go summon Genji and the elders."

"Yes!"

With that, the ANBU member swiftly rose and left the Mizukage's office.

Deep underground, a white creature took in everything that had happened.

At the front line where Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud were fighting.

"Hehe~"

Black Zetsu hid deep among the tree roots. Yet his orange-yellow eyes were wide open as he stared unblinkingly at the massive dark-skinned muscular man above.

There was a gift there that he had carefully prepared for someone.

"Hm..."

The man held a scroll, his eyes rapidly scanning its contents.

"Hidden Sand actually launched a surprise attack on Hidden Leaf. It seems Chiyo has some courage after all! Hm? Even Kirigakure plans to join in the fun..."

As he muttered to himself, the man's eyes suddenly widened.

"Hidden Leaf's defenses are weak. The contingency plan against a possible Kirigakure incursion is to withdraw part of the surplus forces from the Hidden Stone front and dispatch Uchiha Mo and the Uchiha Clan to respond?!"

"Uchiha Mo?!"

The Third Raikage ground out the name through clenched teeth.

Though he had never met this person, the name was not unfamiliar to him.

It was this bastard who had killed Dodai and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki at Hidden Cloud's front line, along with countless elite troops. That was why Hidden Cloud had fallen into such a passive position in its war against Hidden Leaf!

If the war on the Third Raikage's side had not been unable to continue without him, he truly would have wanted to use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send himself there immediately and kill that Uchiha brat on the spot!

"Crack~"