A day later, Uchiha Fujie broke out of the coffin.
During that entire day, he had been calculating every possible outcome while using the Mangekyo Sharingan's Absolute Control to further refine his mastery of ninjutsu.
More importantly, through the Sharingan of his that had been implanted into Danzo Shimura's arm, he could slowly begin assimilating Danzo.
Completely assimilating him and turning him into a clone would take a very long time. The gap in strength between them was simply too large.
If he did not possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, then with his current strength, it might take him ten years to fully assimilate Danzo.
Fortunately, he had left himself more than one backup plan.
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi or Danzo Shimura killed him, he could still revive.
That alone gave him the confidence to take risks.
As Uchiha Fujie walked down the street, he quickly attracted the attention of the villagers.
Whether they knew him or not, shock and fear appeared on their faces.
The Uchiha clan crest on his back made his identity unmistakable.
How was this possible?
Hadn't the Uchiha clan already been wiped out?
How had Fujie survived?
Or… was he even human at all?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three figures in black bodysuits and animal masks appeared, surrounding Uchiha Fujie.
"Come with us. Lord Hokage wishes to see you."
Their tone was cold and emotionless.
An ANBU squad normally consisted of four members. Three had come here, while the fourth had already rushed ahead to the Hokage Building to report the matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Uchiha Fujie thought to himself, They moved fast. It's been less than half an hour since I got out of the coffin, and ANBU is already here. If I weren't wearing Uchiha clothing, I probably wouldn't have been exposed this quickly. Still, it doesn't matter. I was going to be summoned to the Hokage Building sooner or later.
He nodded and left with the ANBU.
Although his pair of three-tomoe Sharingan had been taken, neither ANBU nor Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi definitely knew that Danzo had harvested some Sharingan, but he had chosen to turn a blind eye.
Then again, from Hiruzen Sarutobi's point of view, only the Mangekyo Sharingan was worth his notice. Ordinary Sharingan did not matter to him.
Uchiha Fujie departed with the ANBU, but the villagers continued talking among themselves. News spread rapidly, and before long, some ninja learned that he had survived.
Once the ninja knew, the information spread even faster.
By the time Uchiha Fujie arrived at the Hokage Building, nearly half of Konoha already knew that he had not died on the night of the Uchiha massacre.
Quite a few people in the village recognized him.
After all, it was rare to see such an adorable boy—one even cuter than many girls.
Some civilians already disliked the Uchiha clan to begin with. Their duties were similar to law enforcement, which was not exactly a popular profession. On top of that, most Uchiha carried themselves with pride.
A certain white-haired ninja glanced in that direction, his eyes flickering.
"An Uchiha…"
In the end, all he could do was let out a long sigh.
"Did you hear? They say that demon fox brat is the Fourth Hokage's son."
"No way. He's just the Nine-Tails brat. How could he possibly be the Fourth Hokage's son?"
"But think about it—the Fourth Hokage's wife was from the Uzumaki clan too, and that kid's name is Naruto Uzumaki. Could he really be the Fourth Hokage's son?"
The white-haired ninja had been about to leave, but the words made him stop in his tracks.
He knew who Naruto Uzumaki was.
And very quickly, he realized something was wrong.
How could ordinary villagers possibly know this?
That white-haired ninja was Kakashi Hatake.
He walked over to listen more closely. Before long, he discovered traces of genjutsu manipulation on the people discussing the matter.
What Kakashi Hatake did not know was that this was not the only place where such rumors were being spread.
At several other locations, people were discussing the exact same topic.
Standing beneath the Hokage Building, Uchiha Fujie curled his lips into a smile.
Diverting attention was a very useful tactic.
Compared to a weak and insignificant survivor like himself, Naruto Uzumaki's identity was far more important.
Even if the plan failed, it did not matter.
Uchiha Fujie simply wanted to disgust Hiruzen Sarutobi.
You want to bury the truth, do you?
Then I'll drag it into the light.
In his opinion, Naruto Uzumaki should never have been forced to live such a life.
"This is only the beginning, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Your life in hell is about to start."
Uchiha Fujie had no intention of killing Hiruzen Sarutobi so easily.
There were countless ways to torment someone.
A quick death would be too merciful.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the only one he would target.
Obito Uchiha, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane—even Itachi Uchiha.
None of them would escape.
As for Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha Fujie had not yet decided what to do.
In his previous life, he had been something of a fan of Itachi Uchiha.
But in this life, he had died during the Uchiha massacre because of him.
Uchiha Fujie did not have time to think about it further.
He had already arrived at the office.
"So, your name is Fujie, correct?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a gentle smile.
"Can you tell me how you escaped Itachi's pursuit? Most people believed you were dead. Even ANBU confirmed your death and buried you. So why are you alive now? Explain it to me."
This was a test.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had not personally participated in the massacre. He had not sent ANBU either, because he needed to preserve his image as the benevolent Hokage. Because of that, there were certain details he genuinely did not know.
He did not know whether the one who attacked Fujie had been Itachi Uchiha, Root, or the mysterious man Itachi had spoken of.
What he cared about most was Uchiha Fujie's attitude.
If this boy only hated Itachi Uchiha and knew nothing of the deeper truth, then perhaps he could be allowed to live.
In that case, with Fujie and Sasuke Uchiha left alive, the Uchiha clan could be rebuilt a hundred years from now.
And this time, it would be an Uchiha clan fully under Konoha's control.
"It was Izanagi," Uchiha Fujie said through gritted teeth. "Before my grandmother died, she used a Transcription Seal to place Izanagi on me. It is a forbidden Uchiha technique. It rewrites any injury the user suffers—even death itself—and restores the body to the state recorded by the Sharingan. That is why I revived."
"My chakra was too low. The moment the technique activated, it drained me completely, which is why I remained unconscious for so long."
"I will kill Itachi Uchiha one day. I'll definitely avenge myself on that bastard."
His explanation was barely plausible, but plausible enough.
The only true flaw in the story lay with Danzo Shimura's Root.
Still, Uchiha Fujie was not worried.
His Sharingan was in Danzo Shimura's arm.
For now, he could not fully assimilate him, but he could already influence his thoughts ever so slightly without being noticed.
Even so, Uchiha Fujie was tense inside.
He knew very well that the Third Hokage was nothing like the kind old man he appeared to be.
The death of Sakumo Hatake, the departure of the Sannin, the destruction of the Uchiha clan, and the concealment of Naruto Uzumaki's identity—whether or not Hiruzen Sarutobi had directly caused those events, he was connected to all of them in one way or another.
He knew about many things.
Even if one gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he had not actively pushed those events forward, merely standing at the top and allowing things to deteriorate was a crime in itself.
Uchiha Fujie had backup plans.
More than one.
But if he truly died, he would still have to experience death itself.
And if possible, he never wanted to go through that pain again.
"I see," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a sigh. "What happened to the Uchiha clan is truly regrettable. None of us expected Itachi Uchiha to be so utterly heartless."
The old fox immediately began playing the good man.
After exchanging a few more polite words, he prepared to let Uchiha Fujie leave. He even gave him some money.
"Itachi Uchiha is now an S-rank missing-nin. Konoha will deal with him."
"Go back to the Academy and study hard. Your late grandmother, and the classmates who care about you, surely would not want you to bury yourself in hatred."
And so, the Third Hokage released him.
What he did not see was the faint smile curling at the corner of Uchiha Fujie's lips the moment he turned away.
Amplified Desire really does work. Enlarging Hiruzen Sarutobi's sense of goodwill turned out to be effective. I wonder how he'll react once he fully recovers from it. Still, it doesn't matter. As long as he can't make a direct move against me, then in one or two years, once I fully control Danzo Shimura, everything will be out of your hands, Lord Third Hokage.