A Boulder That Shattered the Lake's Surface

The white smoke slowly dispersed at the entrance to the underground chamber.

Fugaku Uchiha stood where he was, unmoving for a long while.

Everything the Shadow Clone Technique had seen before dispersing had returned to Lie Yang's original body. As for what Lie Yang had discovered in the Uchiha Stone Tablet, Fugaku had no way of knowing.

The only thing he could be certain of was that Lie Yang had been very calm before leaving.

There had been no excitement at obtaining a priceless treasure.

No shock at glimpsing a hidden secret.

It was as though the stone tablet the Uchiha had worshipped for years was nothing more than an ordinary object worth a glance.

That attitude left Fugaku with an unpleasant feeling in his heart.

He raised a hand to seal the chamber, then walked up the stone steps alone.

By the time he pushed open the stone door aboveground, night had already enveloped the clan compound.

Itachi had not left.

The young boy stood at the edge of the training ground, leaning against a wooden post as he waited quietly for him.

Fugaku glanced at his son, but did not immediately walk over.

The words Lie Yang's Shadow Clone had spoken before disappearing continued to echo through his mind.

Why had the Third Hokage stepped down?

Because the old order could no longer be maintained.

The failed pursuit was merely the surface reason.

The true reason was that Lie Yang's defection had torn open the flaws Konoha had concealed beneath its rule for years.

If the Third Hokage had insisted on a forceful siege, he would have needed to produce the power to suppress Lie Yang.

But Konoha did not have it.

Shisui had lost his eyes.

Kakashi's Kamui had been taken.

Might Guy had opened the Seventh