"Clan Head!"
Six black-clad figures swiftly approached, bowing respectfully to Uchiha Fugaku.
"Mm."
Fugaku gave a faint nod in response.
Each of these individuals was absolutely loyal to him, and every one of them possessed at least jōnin-level strength.
At the forefront were Uchiha Hoshi and Uchiha Min—the very two who had previously ambushed Shimura Ryōma. Both of them were elite jōnin, a level above standard jōnin.
If not for Shimura Sōsuke sacrificing himself to create an opening for Ryōma to escape, Fugaku wouldn't have needed to intervene at all; Hoshi and Min alone would have been enough to eliminate him.
"Thankfully, Clan Head took action himself. Otherwise, Ryōma might have gotten away," Uchiha Min said, breathing a sigh of relief as he looked at Ryōma's corpse, his tone tinged with guilt.
"The target was an elite jōnin, after all—and he had someone helping him escape," Fugaku replied, shaking his head, showing no sign of reproach.
Elite jōnin, just one step below Kage-level, were notoriously difficult to kill. With outside assistance, it was no surprise Ryōma managed to slip away from a two-on-one encounter.
Anticipating such an outcome, Fugaku had decided to personally lead the ambush.
"There are severe burn marks on the corpse, but no signs of fire in the surroundings… Is this the Clan Head's Mangekyō ability?"
Uchiha Hoshi observed Ryōma's charred remains, a hint of envy flickering in his eyes.
As one of Fugaku's trusted subordinates, he was aware that his clan leader had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, the exact nature of the abilities within those eyes remained a mystery—even to them.
Judging by the condition of the body, it was clear that the Mangekyō Sharingan could ignite the target directly, leaving the surroundings untouched—a terrifying and mysterious dōjutsu.
It was a power Hoshi deeply coveted, wishing that he too might one day awaken his own Mangekyō.
"Clean up the corpse and any traces of the battle. Not a single clue is to be left behind."
Fugaku issued the order.
"Understood."
The six responded in unison. Some crouched down to erase the surrounding evidence, while others stepped forward, pulling out a container filled with a special liquid. They poured it over Ryōma's body.
Hsssss—
As the liquid touched the corpse, it reacted like snow under direct sunlight—rapidly dissolving the body.
In mere moments, even the hardest bones had vanished, leaving behind only a pitch-black humanoid scorch mark.
Soon, all signs of the battle were gone. Even the residual scents were masked using a special chemical, ensuring that not even a ninken (ninja hound) could track them.
Only after confirming that no trace remained did Fugaku lead his six-man squad back toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
By the time they returned, it was already dusk.
In the past, the Police Force had patrolled even outside the village, and they retained knowledge of how to bypass the village's barrier. Without alerting anyone, they reentered the village and swapped places with the shadow clones they had left behind at the Uchiha compound.
No one knew they had ever left, let alone that Shimura Ryōma and his team had been killed by their hands.
Deep underground, in a dimly lit chamber illuminated by a single flickering candle, an elderly man sat cross-legged in silence.
His right eye and arm were completely wrapped in bandages. A cross-shaped scar ran across his chin, and an aura of cold malice clung to him enough to make anyone uneasy.
This was Shimura Danzō, one of the three senior Konoha advisors.
He had also once led the secretive ANBU subdivision known as Root.
Though Root had been forcibly disbanded by the Third Hokage, in truth, it still operated under Danzō's command. With the Curse of Tongue Seal binding their loyalty, every Root operative remained his pawn.
"Lord Danzō, the Shimura Clan Head has an urgent report!"
A Root shinobi wearing a leopard mask entered and knelt on one knee.
"Bring him in," Danzō ordered.
Moments later, guided by the masked operative, a man in his forties entered the chamber. He wore traditional geta sandals and a brown kimono. Tall but lean, his sharp features exuded authority.
This was Shimura Daisuke, the current head of the Shimura clan.
He removed his footwear and knelt before Danzō.
"Lord Danzō, Ryōma has been missing for over a day now."
"Missing?"
Danzō's brow furrowed slightly.
For an elite jōnin to go missing—it signaled something serious.
"Yes," Daisuke continued. "Yesterday, he left the village with Ichirō and Sōsuke. They were headed to Shirakawa Town in the Land of Fire. Since then, there's been no word from them. They were supposed to check in regularly, but there's been complete silence."
"What was their mission in Shirakawa?" Danzō asked.
"They were sent to negotiate with the Land of Fire's largest merchant caravan. The goal was to convince them to delay their visit to Konoha until after the upcoming village council meeting."
Naturally, the Shimura clan was eyeing a share of the caravan's profits. Upon learning of Ryōma's plans, Daisuke had approved the mission without hesitation.
"Leopard," Danzō called out after a moment's thought.
The masked Root agent returned, kneeling once again.
"Lord Danzō."
"Take a team and retrace the route to Shirakawa. Find Ryōma, Ichirō, and Sōsuke."
"Yes, sir."
The agent vanished, quickly assembling a team of three Root operatives before silently departing from Konoha.
Like the Uchiha, Root also possessed secret methods to bypass the village's barrier without detection.
Several hours later, the team arrived at the location where Fugaku's ambush had taken place.
"There was a battle here."
The leopard-masked leader ran his fingers along the faint scars on a nearby tree.
Although most traces had been erased, eliminating every sign of conflict was impossible. For example, gouges in the trees could not be removed unless the entire tree was uprooted which would itself leave suspicious gaps in the terrain.
He turned to a Root operative wearing an insect-themed mask.
"Bug, can you pick up any scents?"
"I already tried. The scents are too mixed up no trace can be followed."
Another operative, a woman wearing a butterfly mask, had been digging nearby.
"There's residue from corpse-dissolving fluid here."
She uncovered a charred, humanoid outline in the earth. It was a mark she recognized well—Root used the same method to dispose of bodies.
"It seems the battle happened here. The targets were killed and their bodies dissolved," she said.
The leopard-masked operative studied the scorch mark closely.
"Captain, what now?" the bug-masked operative asked.
"Ryōma and the others are likely dead. We've lost the trail. We return and report to Lord Danzō."
With that, the four Root operatives quickly withdrew.