Even with the pressure turned up to maximum, the four pieces of flesh in the Sealed Bottle showed no sign of merging.
Just then, Fugaku paused. The Shadow Clone he had left at home had just dispersed.
The Third Hokage had returned to Konoha and summoned him to the Hokage's Office.
Fugaku took the four pieces of flesh out of the pressure machine, sealed them together in a bottle, and placed it inside a completed Sealing Formation.
He activated the formation. Its Formulas seemed to come alive, wrapping around the bottle completely.
When he left the Laboratory, night had fallen. He stepped outside, leaped onto the rooftops of the Uchiha District, and used the Body Flicker Technique several times. Soon he was beyond the district, heading toward the Hokage Building.
The Hokage had returned from the Capital surprisingly quickly. He had left at noon yesterday and come back this afternoon, meaning it had taken him only half a day to persuade the Daimyo and the Capital's many ministers.
It was unexpected, but it made sense. A Ninja Village was, at its core, an armed institution. Most ministers wanted nothing to do with one.
Once they made an enemy of it, their safety would always be in question.
Fugaku had placed those ministers under deep hypnosis, but he was not there to keep them under his control.
As time passed, fear and anxiety would weaken the hypnosis considerably.
In the Office, the Hokage was reviewing urgent documents from the past two days.
Fugaku knocked and entered. The Third Hokage smiled. "Fugaku, there you are. How was your rest these past two days?"
Fugaku returned the warm smile. "Thank you for asking, Hokage. After these few days of rest, I've recovered completely."
The Third Hokage nodded. "Thank you for your efforts in