Even Haruma hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.
During his dealings with Danzo, Haruma had kept countless tricks up his sleeve.
He had long since inscribed Flying Thunder God Marks on the Two-Tomoe Sharingan he had no use for.
Before activation, the marks showed no sign of anything unusual.
It had only been an ordinary contingency, but unexpectedly, it had played a crucial role.
He had thought that infiltrating Root through the marks would get him discovered quickly.
Haruma's original plan had merely been to use the noise of battle to draw Sarutobi and the others into Root and have him give Danzo trouble.
He would let the Anbu see the laboratories inside Root, deepening the suspicions between the clans and the higher-ups.
Yet after he followed the marks inside, he found himself in a secret chamber.
Changing his plans, Haruma took off his clothes, which carried his scent, and carefully arranged the scene.
The Byakugan from the Hyuga Branch Family member he had kidnapped a while ago, which had already lost its function and rotted on the outside, also came in handy.
As for those secret technique scrolls,
only two actually contained secret techniques. The rest were merely some A-rank Ninjutsu scrolls Haruma had placed there on a whim.
These scrolls were all part of the stolen goods he had swiped from the Sarutobi Clan.
That was why he had carved those words beneath the wooden shelves, allowing everyone who arrived to recognize them at a glance.
Even after arranging everything, Haruma still wasn't reassured and had made a special trip to the Naka River to bathe and wash away his scent.
Haruma didn't know yet.
In front of that door, Danzo had also shifted the blame onto Sarutobi.
And Sarutobi, who had immediately destroyed all the evidence, had undoubtedly wiped away every trace of the frame-up as well!
After all, from Sarutobi's perspective, Danzo must have been behind all of this.
Having seen the Sharingan and Byakugan with his own eyes, Sarutobi hadn't questioned whether the scrolls were genuine.
Shocked by Danzo's audacity, he had immediately destroyed all the evidence.
Haruma soaked in the water, humming a song.
He watched the commotion around the Hokage Building from afar, secretly pleased as he saw shinobi continuously gathering there.
Before, you had Orochimaru to help take the blame. Let's see which of you two old foxes takes the fall this time.
Dressed in fresh clothes, Haruma flashed straight back to Haruma's cabin.
More than half the scrolls piled inside had disappeared, and Fugaku was still directing three young clan members as they moved the rest.
Seeing Haruma appear, Fugaku hurried over and asked, "Did the Third and the others discover you?!"
Haruma shook his head. "It's handled. They're probably still busy fighting among themselves."
"You disappeared without explaining anything and just shouted that something was wrong! I thought you'd been exposed!"
Fugaku let out a long breath of relief, his resentful gaze giving Haruma the creeps.
"What's this?"
Haruma pointed at the three clan members and gave Fugaku a puzzled look.
"I was worried Sarutobi would bring people over, so I was busy clearing things up!"
Fugaku pointed at his eyes and said gravely, "Don't worry. These three don't know anything."
Haruma nodded, immediately reassured.
Fugaku's mastery of Genjutsu surpassed even Haruma's current level.
"Then couldn't you use Genjutsu to control a group of people specifically for this?!" Haruma's eyes grew brighter as he spoke. "Have them copy secret technique scrolls twenty-four hours a day?!"
"Do you think I'm a Jinchūriki?!" Fugaku rolled his eyes. "Twenty-four hours, no less?!"
"Chakra isn't that easy to mold!"
Haruma ignored Fugaku's complaints, merely considering whether to get a Tailed Beast for Fugaku to use temporarily.
But even if he did get a Tailed Beast for his puppet, it would be best to get one native to the Shinobi World.
After all, the differences in personality between native Tailed Beasts and those produced by the system were far too obvious.
Haruma had no intention of letting anyone know the secrets concerning the system.
"Oh, right."
Haruma turned toward Fugaku and asked curiously, "I still don't know what your Mangekyō abilities are."
Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "You never asked, so I thought you'd already seen them in the future."
"Do you think I can look into the future whenever I want?"
Haruma waved a hand. "Would a little thing like this be worth wasting my ocular power to see?"
"Hmph!"
Fugaku snorted irritably. "Then is such a little thing worth your asking me in person?"
"You're a grown man, and you're still sulking?" Haruma said sharply. "You didn't learn this tsundere act from your Sasuke, did you?"
I'm sulking?
I'm a tsundere?
Fugaku stared at Haruma with wide eyes and couldn't help clenching his fists. Is this sneaky bastard even speaking like a human being?
"You..."
"All right, all right, we're talking business. Hurry up and tell me your abilities," Haruma said.
Fugaku ground his teeth, taking a long while to recover before explaining coldly, "When I first became clan head, I was full of hope. I wanted to lead the Uchiha Clan back to its former heights."
"But as time passed, with the Second Hokage and the village higher-ups growing increasingly wary of the Uchiha Clan, I became disappointed in Konoha."
"The beginnings of the Hawk Faction also developed around that time."
"Wait!"
Haruma tactlessly interrupted, "Skip the story. Just tell me the abilities!"
Fugaku swallowed his anger and pointed at Haruma. "You, you, you!"
Then, seeing Haruma's indifferent expression, Fugaku lowered his head as though resigning himself to his fate and said directly, "Illusion and reality."
"The ability I gained after awakening these eyes amplifies the effects of Genjutsu two to three times."
"The reality ability amplifies the power of Ninjutsu two to three times."
"Oh!" Haruma's eyes lit up. "Those abilities are pretty good."
"The Sharingan are eyes that reflect the heart, and the abilities of the Mangekyō are influenced by powerful desires within."
Stroking his chin, Haruma analyzed, "So you wanted to lead your clan back to its peak, but harsh reality made you realize that without strength like Madara Uchiha's or Hashirama's, your ideas would ultimately remain mere fantasies."
Fugaku gave a slightly melancholy sigh, seemingly acknowledging Haruma's analysis.
Haruma nodded thoughtfully. "Illusion and reality, indeed."
"Before awakening those eyes, you should have been lower Kage Level. With the Mangekyō's amplification, holding your own against someone at middle Kage Level shouldn't be a problem."
Fugaku hurriedly explained, "I can hold my own for a short time, but the chakra and ocular power consumption make it hard to sustain!"
Fugaku was afraid that once this sneaky bastard Haruma knew his abilities, he would send him straight off to fight some Kage.
With this brat's scheming personality, that really wasn't out of the question.
"All right."
Haruma nodded in understanding, then gave his instructions. "As for the scrolls, hurry and find a way to make a few more copies."
"Before long, there'll be another mission outside the village that I need you to complete."
"Outside the village?"
Fugaku pointed at himself. "If I, the clan head, leave the compound, there's no telling what those old foxes might do."
"Don't worry. I'll arrange everything."
Haruma said softly, "Before the decision on how to deal with Itachi comes out, just focus on finding ways to rake in money."
"When Sarutobi sends Itachi out of the village, you can go along with him."
Fugaku frowned and asked, "What mission needs me to go personally?"
"Isn't Shisui outside the village too?"
Haruma smiled mysteriously and leaned close to Fugaku's ear, whispering to him.