Ghost Fire's expression remained cold, but his oppressive presence eased a little.
At that moment, Ryōta spoke:
"Brother... let me try."
"Ryōta!" Ghost Fire looked at his younger brother.
"I'll be fine."
Ryōta forced a smile. "Captain Shisui died protecting me. I can't let him have died for nothing."
"Besides... I also want to know who tampered with me."
Looking into his brother's determined eyes, Ghost Fire finally sighed.
"...All right."
He turned to Fugaku and said coldly, "But I have conditions."
"Name them."
"First, the strongest member of the Yamanaka Clan must personally perform the technique to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"Second, the Medical Team must monitor the entire process. If anything abnormal happens, stop immediately."
"Third..."
The Mangekyō pattern appeared in Ghost Fire's eyes, three curved blades slowly revolving:
"If my brother suffers any permanent damage because of this..."
"I'll make everyone pay."
His terrifying ocular power erupted again. This time, even Fugaku felt his heart pound.
Meanwhile.
Outside Konoha.
Two figures appeared silently on the branch of a giant tree.
They were Obito Uchiha and Zetsu.
"Three and a half years."
Obito gazed at Konoha in the distance, his voice low. "It's been three and a half years since the Uchiha's successful coup. We've been laying our plans in secret all this time."
Black Zetsu gave a hoarse laugh:
"It's worked well. The Uchiha now have fewer than fifty ninja capable of fighting."
"And... their hard-line policies toward outsiders have built up plenty of resentment toward them within the village."
White Zetsu tilted his head and added flippantly:
"I counted, you know. Over the past three years, the death rate on Uchiha missions has been more than three times higher than other clans'. Some of that was our doing, but most of it... they really brought