Chapter 273 — "Life-Saving Straw"
That wasn't right…
Fugaku had a System.
He had even personally killed a transmigrator.
Which meant…
The brat he eliminated back then wasn't the "protagonist" transmigrator, but merely an unlucky side character.
Fugaku lay on his bed for nearly ten minutes, thinking it over.
Finally, he exhaled and made his decision:
He would fuse the Rinnegan now.
If a transmigrator tried something during these seven days, then so be it—
He'd simply hide, stay low-key, and avoid exposing his powerlessness until the fusion finished.
Seven days.
He could endure that much.
Making up his mind, Fugaku immediately activated the fusion.
A beam of light erupted from the glass container.
The two Rinnegan instantly dissolved into pure ocular energy and shot into his eye sockets.
Thanks to the System, he felt no pain or rejection—
just a subtle heaviness, as though his eyes had fallen into a dormant state.
The Sharingan was now inaccessible.
Pulling up the System panel, Fugaku checked the progress:
[Rinnegan Fusion — 7 Days Remaining]
He stared for a moment, then closed the interface, stepped out of the cubicle, and prepared to go home.
It was now just past six in the evening.
Under normal circumstances, he would already be near the entrance of the Uchiha district, ready to return home to Mikoto and dinner.
---
Meanwhile — in the Hyūga Clan compound…
Inside a modest single-family home,
Hyūga Castle lay on his bed, waiting for fate to decide his next suffering.
After returning from the hospital, Hyūga Iwa had spent the entire day hesitating before finally going to ask the branch-family head about a potential eye replacement.
And he still hadn't returned.
Unable to see anything, Castle felt every passing minute like an hour—
tormenting, suffocating, and filled with dread.
Perhaps because he had lost his sight, his other senses felt sharper.
When the front door opened, he could hear it clearly.
Every time, he hoped it was Iwa coming back with good news.
Every time, nobody came into his room.
The long silence gnawed at him.
"Just… hurry up and end it already…" Castle whispered bitterly.
Based on Iwa's earlier tone, he could clearly sense the outcome.
He probably would have to undergo the Byakugan replacement surgery.
That was the fate of the branch family—
the curse that dictated their lives.
Even if he begged to replace his eyes with ordinary civilian eyes, the main family would never approve.
He was still young, talented, and valuable.
Once he regained the Byakugan, he would simply become a "useful tool" again—
sent on missions, or made to guard the main family.
That thought alone filled him with despair.
Castle's mind spiraled.
Maybe… he needed outside help.
Someone with enough authority to pull him out of the Hyūga's shackles…
Perhaps—
the Hokage.
If he could provide valuable information, maybe the Hokage would shelter him…
That flicker of hope rose, but then—
A memory that didn't belong to him resurfaced.
The original owner's memory.
Memories he had skimmed over but never examined deeply.
Castle froze.
Wait…
This timeline…
Something was wrong.
"How did Uchiha Fugaku become the Fifth Hokage…?"
According to the anime, the Fifth Hokage should have been Tsunade.
So why was Fugaku the one in power?
This wasn't some minor change.
The entire worldline had been overturned.
Castle reviewed the memories with growing dread.
Uchiha Fugaku launched a coup before the night of extermination.
He led the Uchiha Clan to storm the Hokage Building.
He personally crushed Hiruzen Sarutobi's entire faction—the so-called "Konoha 4F."
Then he stabilized the village, rallied support, and later led a military expedition to the Land of Lightning.
Fugaku had slain the Fourth Raikage,
invaded Kumogakure,
and used the Uchiha Clan's Susanoo Army to level the village.
Castle felt his breath hitch.
So the man had really been that terrifyingly strong…
In the original plot, Fugaku awakened a Mangekyō but never used it—
and died quietly on the night of the massacre.
But in this world?
He had overturned the entire fate of the Uchiha Clan.
Castle clicked his tongue in disbelief.
According to the memories, Hyūga Hiashi was now a Hokage Advisor.
Nara Shikaku had become the Hokage's Chief Assistant.
"…So the Hyūga Clan and the Ino-Shika-Chō must have sided with Fugaku during the coup," Castle muttered to himself.
Otherwise, they would never have received such high positions.
The original owner's memories were vague on the details—they were just a low-ranking chūnin.
They only learned about the coup afterward, through rumors.
Castle's mind began racing.
Even if it wasn't Tsunade, the Hokage was still the Hokage.
Fugaku definitely had the authority to save him from the Hyūga Clan.
But… what could he offer Fugaku?
What information was valuable enough?
He dug into the fragments of Naruto plot he remembered—
And then a name jolted him upright.
A grin spread across his face.
"Uchiha Obito."
Who wouldn't be interested in that?
Surely Fugaku would want every detail about Obito—
His survival.
His identity as Tobi.
His role in the Nine-Tails attack.
His connection to Madara.
If he revealed all of that…
The Hokage would definitely protect him.
Castle had no idea that Obito was already dead—
that Fugaku himself had personally killed him.
Only Fugaku knew that secret.
Blissfully unaware, Castle trembled with excitement.
He had found his lifeline.
A life-saving straw he could cling to.
All he had to do…
was reach Uchiha Fugaku.
And then everything would change.
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