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ANBU Base, secret medical area—
Fugaku, who had regained consciousness, was sitting on the hospital bed with a somewhat dazed expression… not knowing what was going on in his mind. He still seemed to be processing what had occurred to him to put him in this terrible condition.
Hiruzen, who had come to check on him, sat on the chair beside the hospital bed and questioned gently, "How are you feeling?"
"I feel…" Fugaku opened his mouth to speak with some difficulty, but didn't know what to say. How was he feeling? Just from the flashes of memory about what had happened to him at Sora-ku… he felt greened and frustrated, not to mention also hopeless.
Can he even defeat Kanzou and recover everything that belongs to him? He began to doubt and question himself. The difference in their strength is already there… and having suffered another defeat, not at the hands of Kanzou, but at the hands of Kanzou's subordinates and his women, Fugaku seriously began to doubt whether he really has a chance…
Noting Fugaku's hesitation and uncertainty, Hiruzen pivoted to the more pressing matter. "How did you get injured?"
Fugaku had just recovered from his injuries when he went to Sora-ku to discuss an alliance with the Fūma Clan against the Uchiha Clan… but Hiruzen didn't know what had happened there for Fugaku to have become so severely injured.
Moreover, why was Fugaku found close to death in some random gutter in some random town that was quite far away from Sora-ku? Hadn't he gone to Sora-ku? Why was he found somewhere else? Who did he encounter? Who could have beaten Fugaku so brutally?
In fact, Hiruzen wasn't without guesses… The wound on Fugaku's chest that read, 'I, Fugaku, am a defeated Cuck!' was a good hint.
For someone to have carved that wound on Fugaku's chest… it was obvious that cuckoldry was involved, and the identity of the man who had cuckolded Fugaku with Mikoto was none other than Kanzou.
So, Hiruzen wondered if Fugaku's current state had a lot to do with Uchiha Kanzou…
"Did you encounter Uchiha Kanzou?" Hiruzen pressed.
Faced with that question, Fugaku hesitated for a moment before responding, "…yes."
"So it is… he is responsible for your condition?" murmured Hiruzen. Although he posed it as a question, he seemed almost certain of it.
In his mind, it really had to be Kanzou. After all, with Fugaku's strength, not just anyone can beat him up this terribly. The people in the Land of Fire who can do that are severely limited and can be counted on fingers. Moreover, whoever beat him would definitely not have a personal grudge against him involving the cuckoldry aspect and wouldn't bother to etch that humiliating remark on his flesh…
Kanzou is the only one who made sense.
Fugaku didn't refuse either. "…yes, it was that bastard… it was Kanzou." He nodded, clenching his fist painfully as he recalled all the humiliation that he suffered this time.
In fact, the ones who actually beat him up weren't Kanzou. It was Fūma Misaki and that unknown man whose name wasn't mentioned even once… they were the ones who beat him up and restrained him. Kanzou only later came and further humiliated him, greened him, and made his already bad condition more terrible… but… Fugaku couldn't bring himself to tell the truth to the Hokage and chose to lie.
The reason? Wasn't it obvious? If Hiruzen were to learn that he had been defeated… once again, and not by Kanzou but by his subordinates, then wouldn't Hiruzen lose all the remaining confidence in him?
He had already been defeated and ousted by Kanzou… later, he was brutally defeated by that eternal Genin Might Duy, who is only Kanzou's subordinate… and now, if Hiruzen learned that once again he had been bested by another one of Kanzou's subordinates… then Hiruzen would find him too incompetent and pathetic.
He, who couldn't even compete with Kanzou's subordinates, what chance did he have to compete with Kanzou?
Giving up on him would be the most logical choice… Fugaku himself wouldn't support such a pathetic man as himself, let alone Hiruzen…
But… even though he understood that he was pathetic and incompetent, he didn't want to lose the Hokage's support against Kanzou. Therefore, he chose to lie and concealed the involvement of Fūma Misaki and that unknown man who didn't die even when his heart was punctured, blaming it all on Kanzou.
Hiruzen, unaware of Fugaku's clever thoughts, obviously believed him and sighed helplessly. "Uchiha Kanzou… he really comes in and goes out of the village without alerting anyone…"
He believes that Kanzou also killed the two Jōnin of his Clan who had mysteriously died outside Konoha… but he doesn't have proof against that.
Well, fortunately, he now has a spy beside Kanzou and can know when Kanzou is secretly leaving the village.
—although he hasn't yet received any critical intelligence against Kanzou that would help him, he is still assured that nothing too bad would happen without him knowing now that he has eyes and ears besides Kanzou.
'Kurama Uroko wouldn't disappoint me…' he thought before putting that matter at the back of his mind and turned his attention back on Fugaku while questioning him about something else. "…However, weren't you supposed to go to Sora-ku? How were you found in a town that's far away from Sora-ku?"
"I was at Sora-ku… how I was found in another town… that… I don't know… I had lost consciousness…" responded Fugaku.
Hiruzen nodded. Kanzou must have beaten up Fugaku and thrown him away in that town… In fact, the Hokage was even weighing the possibility that Kanzou might have been trying to dispose of Fugaku's corpse. After all, Fugaku was found in a very bad state and was very close to death…
Kanzou may have dumped Fugaku in that gutter, believing that his life would end there and no one would manage to save him. Although not ending his life and leaving him on the verge of death to slowly die was a foolish thing to do for an experienced shinobi, and not recommended at all, with Kanzou's arrogance and his sadistic temperament, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
He might really have thought that no one would manage to find Fugaku, resulting in the Uchiha slowly dying in agony… And indeed, if he hadn't been found at the right time, he might have really died…!
Fortunately, he was found at the right time... otherwise—
But Hiruzen still had more questions, like how come Kanzou was at Sora-ku just when Fugaku went there?
Kanzou's presence at Sora-ku around the time Fugaku went there is indeed suspicious. Was it a coincidence? Was Uchiha Kanzou just happening to be there, and Fugaku was unlucky? Or was it something else? Did Kanzou know that Fugaku would be at Sora-ku? But how is that possible? How could Kanzou know that Fugaku would be at Sora-ku?
That information was only known to a select few people, and Hiruzen could be absolutely certain that no one among them could be a traitor… so how?
It had to be a coincidence, right?
Hiruzen definitely wanted to believe that it was merely a coincidence because if not… it means he has a traitor among his ranks, and that was not good news for him.
Trying to dig deeper, he asked Fugaku after a small silence, "…what happened at Sora-ku? How did you encounter Kanzou? And... about the support from the Fūma Clan?"
Aside from the matter of Kanzou being at Sora-ku, Hiruzen is also concerned about the support of the Fūma Clan.
Fugaku had gone to meet with the Matriarch of the Fūma Clan to win their support… Hiruzen could already guess that it probably didn't work out the way he would have liked… still, he wanted to hear if anything else happened there, aside from Kanzou beating him up…
Fugaku hesitated. He didn't want to talk about his defeat.
No, it wasn't just defeat — it was humiliation, and he didn't want to talk about it.
But just because he didn't want to talk about it didn't mean he got to stay silent. Hiruzen needed answers, and he, who needed Hiruzen to continue supporting him, had to give the Hokage the answers he sought. "Fūma Clan… they won't support me…" he said bitterly.
Failing to win over their support made him feel angry and helpless.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, murmured in disappointment, "...I see."
Although this was an expected outcome given the situation, it was also an undesirable one. "Weren't you confident that you could win over the Fūma Clan?" he pressed.
Fugaku was quite certain of winning over the Fūma Clan. So, how could the Fūma Clan already be supporting Kanzou?
Wasn't the Fūma Clan supposed to have worked with his father?
Did that clan that worked together with Uchiha Dōma for decades have no sense of loyalty towards Dōma's son?
Or could it be that Fugaku didn't know how to negotiate with the Fūma Clan? That shouldn't be the case, right?
"…It turns out that the Fūma Clan has already submitted to Kanzou. While they don't want to get involved in the internal strife of the Uchiha Clan… if push comes to shove, they'd side with Kanzou… and they were the ones who called him to Sora-ku…"
Hiruzen pursed his lips. This was more bad news. The Fūmas supporting Kanzou was definitely not a good thing for him and Fugaku…
"Are you sure you negotiated with them properly?" questioned Hiruzen.
"I… I tried everything… every method of winning over their support," Fugaku responded angrily… and hesitatingly added, "I even proposed a marriage with Fūma Chiaki's daughter… but I was rejected… they… don't intend to support me…"
Hiruzen blinked. "Even the marriage proposal was rejected?"
For the marriage proposal with the next patriarch to be rejected, that was a big deal. Hiruzen was surprised that the Fūma Clan, which is actually a subordinate Clan of the Uchiha, went that far.
"That woman—" Fugaku began, gritting his teeth angrily. The characters on his chest ached horribly at the reminder of Fūma Misaki straddling Kanzou's lap right before his eyes and kissing him like a slut. He continued, "…She'd rather be Kanzou's bitch than marry me…"
Just the humiliating words she had moaned out on the other side of the wall made him feel pathetic.
After learning the kind of slut she is, even if she had accepted his proposal, he'd have turned her down and not married her at all!
Fūma Misaki is a bitch… she doesn't deserve to be his wife—
How could he allow such a slut to be his wife? Definitely not!
Different from Fugaku hating on women for cuckolding him and choosing a man who is countless times better than him in every aspect, Hiruzen was taken aback to hear Fugaku's words. "What do you mean she'd rather be Kanzou's—" he questioned immediately.
"What I mean is..." Fugaku hesitated before explaining to Hiruzen about Kanzou and Misaki's relationship.
He didn't say that he was chained up and forced to hear Misaki's sensual moans from the other side of the wall for more than an hour… but he gave a pretty obvious hint of the kind of relationship they share.
As soon as Hiruzen learned of it, his eyes lit up. "…it makes sense… everything makes sense!"
Kanzou's relationship with Fūma Misaki explained everything: why Kanzou would be at Sora-ku, why he tried to dispose of Fugaku inside a gutter in a town far away from Sora-ku, and so on. Kanzou didn't want Fugaku's body to be discovered at Sora-ku… because it could attract attention to his visit there… and that could also expose some things that he might not want to get exposed.
Although there were also several discrepancies as well, such as why didn't Kanzou just burn Fugaku's body to ash, leaving nothing behind, and other things that Hiruzen couldn't fully understand, he still felt that his guess was right. Kanzou was trying to prevent things at Sora-ku from being exposed.
As for why he didn't want things at Sora-ku to get exposed? Wasn't it obvious? It must be because of his secret affair with Fūma Misaki that Fugaku discovered!!!
As soon as Hiruzen thought of that, he couldn't help but exclaim in happiness, "That's it!! This was what was needed!"
"You…!" Fugaku looked at Hiruzen in dissatisfaction. Here he was feeling his chest burn, but the Hokage… is getting excited and hopeful? Is he trying to laugh at him and mock him?
"Ahem…" Hiruzen cleared his throat first before explaining to Fugaku the plan that came to his mind.
Once again, it was related to the secret affair of Kanzou… the plan he had tried to use not long ago, but was slapped in the face with rumors coming about him in return. Against that maroon-haired woman, he wasn't sure… and they didn't even know who she was. No clue was found about her… but with this Fūma Misaki… surely things would work out this time, right?
In fact, Hiruzen even wondered if this Fūma Misaki might as well be the woman whom Jiraiya saw at that Izakaya… it would make sense. Although based on the description, Fūma Misaki and that maroon-haired woman looked different, Jiraiya, who might have been drunk at that time, may have made some small mistake which caused their search to be fruitless…
But it didn't matter… There was a lead in front of him again.
But before going with it, Hiruzen confirmed with Fugaku, "Are you certain about Uchiha Kanzou and Fūma Misaki's relationship, right?"
No mistakes can be allowed the second time. It would be bad…
Hiruzen's question made Fugaku once again recall being tied up and forced to hear all those sounds from the other side of the wall. Gritting his teeth, he said angrily, "There is no doubt about it…!!!"
Noting how bitter Fugaku was feeling, Hiruzen also felt certain that Fugaku wasn't mistaken. He had indeed been cucked again, which also explains those words, 'I, Fugaku, am a defeated Cuck!' carved on his flesh. Taking this into account, Hiruzen decided to trust him and proceed with the plan to create a crack between Kanzou and Mikoto.
But… but… but…
"…Rumors won't work," he murmured.
He had already tried going the rumor route, and it was obvious that the rumors wouldn't be taken seriously, and Kanzou would just dodge them like the previous time…
In fact, rumors would be bad as it would also allow Kanzou to retaliate in unexpected ways… and Hiruzen didn't want that to happen.
As he explained all of this to Fugaku, the Uchiha was also surprised… and thought to himself, 'It seems… that this defeat was not in vain.'
Although he was humiliated again, had to listen to Misaki moaning for an hour, and also had 'I, Fugaku, am a defeated Cuck!' etched on his chest by Kanzou, if he could use the intelligence obtained this time to get back at Kanzou, and ruin everything for him, then… he'd be happy to swallow this defeat.
"If rumors aren't going to work then…" began Fugaku.
Hiruzen finished for him, "The information has to reach directly to Uchiha Tadayoshi and Uchiha Mikoto…" and, pausing, he questioned Fugaku, "Do you have any method to make that happen?"
While the Hokage himself had a few people in the Uchiha Clan who could make that happen… he still felt that it was better for Fugaku to make this move himself.
Also, he didn't want to reveal that he had some spies in the Uchiha Clan to Fugaku; he wanted to let Fugaku try this on his own.
Fugaku thought about it and remembered the few people who were still loyal to him, including Uchiha Shinkurou, who hadn't been killed or kicked out of the Clan by Kanzou. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I can do that…"
If he relied too much on Hiruzen, he'd also not be able to control things properly, so he decided to try it again himself.
"Alright…" said Hiruzen, and after some thinking, added a suggestion. "Based on Tadayoshi's reaction, you can also propose to Uchiha Tadayoshi about mending your engagement with Uchiha Mikoto… that way he will be more…"
As soon as Hiruzen made that suggestion, Fugaku's face twisted in anger. "Don't you dare—"
Mending his engagement with Mikoto? Yeah, right, as if! He'd rather die than accept that slut as his wife!
Indeed, not only is Fūma Misaki a slut, but Uchiha Mikoto is also a slut!
Although… she is a Uchiha just like he'd prefer his wife to be, very capable, poised, elegant, and also definitely the most beautiful woman in the Clan who can make countless hearts throb with just a gentle smile of hers… but… but that's just a fake front of hers!
In reality, she is a cunning, manipulative whore who cuckolded him with Kanzou. Not only did she cheat him, that two-faced, lying bitch with crocodile tears even conspired against him and framed him falsely!
It was because of her false accusations against him that his reputation was ruined and he was exiled from the Clan! How could he ever marry her?
The only feeling he has towards her is endless hatred. He can't wait to chop her limbs and whip her dirty, sinful, used-up body to death, all while making that backstabbing cunt cry for real…
That's what he wants to do with her... Marry her? As if—
"Listen to me first…" But Hiruzen interrupted him. "You'd need support to take back the position of the Patriarch and manage the Clan… and while you may not want to… Uchiha Tadayoshi's support would be very valuable… and to earn that… you'd have to make some sacrifice…"
"…" Fugaku grew silent, not knowing what to say. While it's true that he felt visceral disgust towards Mikoto… Hiruzen's words cannot be denied either.
Even though he was unwilling… he had to… he had to—
"Damn it…!!!" he cursed grudgingly.
Although Fugaku didn't agree directly, his reaction seemed to imply that he understood what the Hokage meant.
Satisfied with that, Hiruzen said, "Well, that'll still take time… but first, find a way to make sure this information reaches Uchiha Tadayoshi."
"…I know," murmured Fugaku, sighing, still feeling too reluctant. At the same time, there was also one more important matter, and he mentioned that to Hiruzen. "…Fūma Misaki needs to be brought in at the moment of confession…"
Without her public confession and admission of guilt, it'd be difficult to actually confront and expose Kanzou's secret affair with her…
"Right…" Hiruzen agreed and said, "Leave that matter to me. I'll dispatch a squad to have her captured…"
Since Hiruzen said that he'd handle the matter, Fugaku had no problem, but he reminded Hiruzen, "Just don't underestimate the strength of the Fūma Clan… Fūma Misaki herself isn't that weak… and they also have a shinobi whose strength isn't inferior to mine… And that shinobi is also very strange. I had punctured his heart… but he didn't die from it…"
Having said that, Fugaku gave a more detailed explanation of the strength of Misaki and the unknown shinobi with eerie green eyes.
"Is there still someone like that in the Fūma Clan?" Hiruzen murmured solemnly upon hearing Fugaku's account.
If what Fugaku was saying was indeed true… then… it was definitely a big problem… and capturing Fūma Misaki might not be easy. At the same time, it also increased the threat of Kanzou since the Fūma Clan actually supports Kanzou... meanwhile, such a shinobi supports Kanzou!
Hiruzen couldn't help but become even more vigilant of Kanzou upon receiving this information.
Such strong people being loyal to Kanzou was definitely not a good thing for him. At this rate, a proper faction led by Uchiha Kanzou was standing up… and if it kept growing, it would definitely turn against him, because he was the Hokage whom Kanzou would want to replace!
This really made him feel pressured...
...
Sometime later—
It was already night, and Uchiha Shinkurou, who was taking a short break from his patrolling duties, leaned against a wall, smoking a cigarette…
Taking in a puff, he exhaled. "Haaah…" With a thoughtful expression, wondering about everything that had happened since Kanzou became the Patriarch of the Clan.
'I guess… It's not so bad,' he thought.
Although he was opposed to Kanzou and wanted Fugaku to become the Patriarch, he had to admit that ever since Kanzou became the Patriarch, things had been going well for the Uchiha Clan. They are earning more, and Kanzou isn't willing to be suppressed easily… and—
As he was having these thoughts, a rock slowly skidded across the street and landed at his feet.
Shinkurou's thoughts paused, and he looked at the small rock before slowly raising his head from the direction it had skidded from. Somewhat alert, he looked at the alley…
"!!!" Immediately, he froze. The reason? He noticed a figure in the alley. The darkness there made it difficult to recognize who the other party was… but the pair of gleaming scarlet eyes was enough for him to know. 'He is…' he thought internally.
The pair of gleaming scarlet eyes made contact with Shinkurou… before walking deeper while signalling something to him.
Shinkurou hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to follow after that figure… eventually, he put down the cigarette, pressed it with his foot, snuffing it off while glancing around to make sure that no one—human or animal—was watching him…
After making sure that the coast was clear, he slowly stepped into the alley on the opposite side of the street.
He had only walked a few steps when he came to a stop as he looked at the man. "Fugaku-sama!!"
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A/N:
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