After attending a meeting with the Akatsuki, the man with the half-black, half-white face Zetsu descended into an underground chamber.
There, he met a man wearing a spiral-patterned mask.
This man was none other than the one even Nagato feared"Uchiha Madara."
But in truth, he was Uchiha Obito, a supposed-to-be-dead member of the Uchiha clan who now lived as a shadow of his former self.
"One of the Akatsuki members is dead Kakuzu," said the black half of Zetsu's face.
"Who killed him?" Obito's voice was cold as he asked.
Although Nagato appeared to lead the Akatsuki, Obito was the one truly in control behind the scenes.
Each member had been carefully handpicked by him, and all possessed strength beyond that of elite jōnin. The loss of any one of them was a major blow.
"It's likely Uchiha Fugaku, though we can't say for sure," said the white half of Zetsu.
"Uchiha Fugaku?" Obito narrowed his eyes.
As a former Uchiha himself, he naturally knew of Fugaku. While Fugaku was no slouch, he had only awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan and was considered elite jōnin at best.
By all accounts, someone of that level shouldn't have been capable of defeating Kakuzu.
"Could it be… he's awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Obito muttered.
Having experienced a dramatic power-up himself, that was the first possibility that came to mind.
The Mangekyō Sharingan a near-cheat-level ability of the Uchiha clan granted Kage-level strength the moment it awakened.
"If he really was the one who killed Kakuzu, then it's a strong possibility," Zetsu's white half added.
"This could affect our plans. We must get to the bottom of it," Obito said seriously.
"I've already dispatched numerous clones to investigate. We should have results soon," Zetsu replied.
"How's Nagato? Is he following the plan?" Obito asked again.
"For now, yes. He hasn't taken any unexpected actions," the black half of Zetsu answered.
"Good. Keep monitoring him. If he does anything outside the plan, inform me immediately," Obito ordered.
Whoosh—
Uchiha Fugaku was speeding through the forest, heading back to Konoha.
Suddenly—
He sensed a terrifying presence approaching fast.
After fusing with the body of Yamanaka Kazekaze, he had acquired the Yamanaka clan's sensory abilities. His perception had become razor-sharp.
A deep unease gripped him his body tensed instinctively.
Just from the aura alone, he knew the approaching entity was far beyond what he could handle.
Reacting instantly, he hid himself, suppressing every trace of his presence.
He made himself as lifeless as a rock, not letting even a hint of chakra leak out.
And just in time—
In the sky above, a figure clad in a black cloak with red clouds and spiky orange hair flew low overhead.
The man was scanning the area, clearly searching for something.
"Tendō… Nagato's strongest path."
Fugaku's pupils shrank slightly.
Most people wouldn't recognize the figure, but he did it was the most powerful of Nagato's six paths, the Deva Path.
With his current strength, if he were discovered by the Deva Path, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"He really came out himself…"
Fugaku was stunned.
Killing Kakuzu had actually drawn out the Akatsuki's main force Nagato himself. That was far beyond what he'd expected.
"Good thing I got the Yamanaka clan's sensory powers!"
If he hadn't sensed the danger from afar and hidden himself in time, he would've already been found.
He couldn't help but feel relieved. Choosing to fuse with that Yamanaka clan body had proven invaluable.
Unlike his past self who believed the Uchiha bloodline was unquestionably superior he now saw the strengths in other clans' kekkei genkai and special physiques.
Yes, the Uchiha's Sharingan was powerful, but so were the abilities of other clans.
One should never underestimate the bloodlines of others simply because of one's own.
With the ability to fuse corpses and inherit the powers of various clans, integrating other bloodlines into his own was clearly the optimal strategy.
Fugaku remained completely motionless for a full hour before cautiously resuming his journey.
To avoid potential ambushes, he didn't take a direct route back to Konoha. Instead, he circled far around, spending several days before finally arriving at the village gates.
"Captain!"
The guards at the gate, members of the Konoha Police Force, stood to attention as they respectfully greeted him.
"Has anything happened in the village while I was gone?" Fugaku asked.
"Nothing major. Oh except a few days ago, Root lost a whole team of elite shinobi."
The squad leader, Uchiha Nozomu a jōnin from the Uchiha clan replied with a bit of a smirk.
"A whole team from Root?" Fugaku frowned.
He had indeed killed someone from Root, but it was only one person—this didn't match the scale of what was being reported.
"They were wiped out by a powerful unknown enemy," Nozomu said. "The enemy could fly and fought at Kage level. Of the six-man squad, only one someone exceptionally skilled in stealth escaped. The rest were killed instantly. No resistance at all."
There was a hint of schadenfreude in Nozomu's voice.
The Uchiha clan's relationship with Danzo Root's leader was notoriously poor.
Seeing Root take such a massive loss? That was music to his ears.
"Kage-level and capable of flight…" Fugaku's mind immediately turned to the Deva Path of Nagato.
It fit the description perfectly.
"Could it really be…?"
He found it hard to believe it was just a coincidence.
The Root operative he'd killed had certainly gone missing. Danzo would've sent more people to investigate.
If his guess was right, the search party had crossed paths with Nagato's Deva Path.
Nagato was actively hunting whoever had killed Kakuzu. Even if he hadn't been, crossing paths with Root operatives would've been enough to provoke a deadly response.
After all, it was Danzo along with Hanzō of the Salamander who had once betrayed the Akatsuki, causing them devastating losses and costing Nagato his dearest friend.
With that kind of grudge, there was no way Nagato would let Root walk away.
In fact, Root might now be mistaken by the Akatsuki as the ones who killed Kakuzu shouldering the blame in Fugaku's place.