"Fine. If you won't tell me who you are, at least tell me—why are you impersonating my son?"
You think I wanted to?!
Rukawa scoffed inwardly but kept his expression calm and unbothered.
"That question… actually isn't all that important."
Fugaku: "..."
Here we go again.
If he weren't painfully aware he couldn't win in a fight, Fugaku would've slapped this arrogant brat across the room already.
So what, just because you're powerful, you get to act this smug?
Yes. Yes, you do.
And Rukawa was enjoying every second of it—treating Fugaku, a Kage-level powerhouse, like an afterthought.
"My son—Uchiha Rukawa. Where is he now? That's a very important question. His life is at stake. I expect a real answer."
Fugaku's voice trembled slightly with suppressed fury. He was right at the edge—one more provocation and his Mangekyō might unleash a full-blown Susanoo.
"Alright, alright. No more games."
Rukawa finally relented, looking serious for once.
"The questions you're asking... I can't answer them right now. But when the time is right, you'll understand everything."
So he admits it! He's been messing with me this whole time!
Fugaku wanted to explode, but again—the power difference kept his fury in check.
Rukawa, unconcerned, leaned forward and said:
"What you do need to focus on right now is something far more important—the life and death of the Uchiha clan."
"The Uchiha... is about to be wiped out. Did you know that?"
"I'm not sure of the exact date, but I estimate… it's happening in the next few days."
"What?!"
Fugaku jumped to his feet, stunned.
"That's insane! You're joking, right?!"
"There's no way… even if Konoha's upper brass has been putting more pressure on us lately, making the rift between us wider…"
"I still believe the Third Hokage wouldn't go as far as to massacre the Uchiha Clan!"
His expression was one of disbelief.
"Tch. You're giving Hiruzen way too much credit—and underestimating just how black his heart really is."
Rukawa's words dripped with scorn.
"No. I don't believe it. Even if Hiruzen is wary of us, he wouldn't do something that insane."
Fugaku shook his head, resisting the idea.
"Besides, I have someone undercover in the Anbu. If anything serious were happening, I'd know immediately."
"No intel from the other side means your theory is just paranoia."
He crossed his arms, proud of his counterargument, feeling smug for a brief moment.
But Rukawa remained eerily calm, his tone flat:
"Oh? And did you ever consider the possibility that your spy has already betrayed you and defected to Hiruzen's side?"
Fugaku let out a dismissive laugh. "Betrayal? No chance. The man I placed there would never turn on us!"
Rukawa gave him a look like he was watching a toddler insist the moon was made of cheese.
Itachi's already been brainwashed by Hiruzen—and you have no clue. Brilliant.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you mocking me? Are you saying my judgment is flawed?"
Fugaku frowned deeply, clearly annoyed.
"I'm not saying it—I am mocking you," Rukawa said bluntly. "You look like an idiot."
"You—! I'm not an idiot!"
Fugaku slammed his fist on the table, seething.
"Tch. Not an idiot?"
Rukawa sneered.
"Your so-called 'undercover agent'—it's Itachi, isn't it?"
"You think your plan is flawless, but Itachi already betrayed you. Most likely, he's been feeding all your clan's intel directly to Hiruzen."
BAM!
Fugaku's fist crashed into the tea table.
"Impossible! Itachi is my son! Why would he betray me?! Don't spew nonsense!"
"Believe it or not, that's the truth. I'm just telling you what's coming—what you do with that info is your problem."
Rukawa shrugged, unconcerned.
Fugaku's face was a storm of emotions.
He wanted to believe his son wouldn't betray him.
But Rukawa's confident tone was rattling him.
Someone with that kind of power—why would he lie about something like this?
Unless…
He's just messing with me. Again.
Given how annoying and gleefully arrogant this guy was, Fugaku couldn't entirely rule that out either.
Damn it! Should he believe him or not?!
His thoughts were a tangled mess—like a handful of earphone wires stuffed in a pocket and pulled out at random.
Suddenly, a new line of reasoning occurred to him. His expression firmed up, and he shot back:
"Even if—if—Itachi has betrayed us, your main claim is that Hiruzen is going to massacre the clan."
"I say that's nonsense."
"If Hiruzen really did that, all of Konoha's clans would be terrified."
"He'd be known as the Butcher of the Leaf. No clan would ever trust him again."
"And when that happens, he'd lose his title as Hokage."
"No one would tolerate a leader who slaughters an entire clan!"
Fugaku sat back, arms folded, fully convinced he'd won that argument.
To him, Rukawa was just some troll trying to stir up trouble with conspiracy theories.