He sealed the four newly separated portions of Tailed Beast Flesh and the original four pieces together in an airtight bottle.
He sealed the bottle inside a small Scroll he carried with him, left the Laboratory, and returned home.
It was already late at night, and all of Konoha had fallen silent.
Fugaku lay down in bed and fell fast asleep.
The next morning, Uchiha Jin was already at Fugaku's door.
"Did you make everything clear?"
Jin nodded. "I made a point of telling Fujimoto and Takigawa that the Assassination Team is to suspend operations while we're in the Land of Rain.
"Starting today, they're ordinary Uchiha. They'll quietly do their shifts with the Security Force."
"Let's go."
With several uses of the Body Flicker Technique, they left the Uchiha District and appeared on Konoha's streets, heading out of the village.
Atop the Hokage Office Building, the Third Hokage watched the villagers coming and going below. Among them were Fugaku Uchiha and Jin, walking out through the Konoha Gate.
The Third Hokage sighed inwardly. Fugaku Uchiha had surpassed his expectations. He was even more capable than Kagami Uchiha had been, a commander of rare talent.
If his surname had not been Uchiha, the Third Hokage would have liked to groom him as the next Hokage.
Once they were through the Konoha Gate, Jin let out a breath. "The watchers have finally all pulled back. We're only leaving the village. Did they really need to make such a fuss?"
Fugaku smiled. "They're just doing their jobs. All of Konoha's Great Families have their own intelligence networks.
"Since the Third Hokage assigned me to take over the Camp in the Land of Rain, their people naturally had to see me leave Konoha before reporting back.
"Come on. We've still got a long