Fugaku has gone mad; he's going to create a new Uchiha clan in Kirigakure.

Tianzang's feet trod over the remaining flowers in the flowerbed, leaving clear imprints on the soft soil.

He entered the empty cat house, where only a few tattered straw mats, empty pottery jars, and a few cat hairs scattered in the corner remained.

"Wood Release: Root Exploration".

He formed a mudra with his hands, squatted down, and placed his palms on the ground.

Countless fine wood-elemental roots spread out from the palm of his hand, burrowing into the ground like living things, extending in all directions along the soil layers. These roots penetrated the foundation, entered the storage room, climbed the roof beams, and explored every inch of the entire cat house, inside and out.

After a while, without the support of chakra, these roots slowly disintegrated. Tenzo stood up, dusted himself off, and walked out of the house...

...

The main force of the Root has assembled at the entrance of Ninja Cat Village.

"Reporting to Lord Danzang."

Tenzo walked up to Shimura Danzo and knelt on one knee.

"According to the Wood Release reconnaissance, the entire village has been emptied, with no valuable items remaining. The evacuation should have occurred three to five hours ago."

"Lord Danzo."

At almost the same time, Ryoma Aburame also emerged from the Ninja Cat Village. A thin layer of dark clouds hovered around his body, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be swarms of parasitic insects.

"The parasitic insects have pinpointed the lingering scent and chakra smell in the village, heading northwest."

"northwest..."

Shimura Dan unfolded the ninja world map, swiping his finger from the location of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire all the way northwest.

"The Land of Smoke... The Land of Frost..."

After the Third Shinobi World War, the five great nations signed the "Post-War Treaty on the Division of Spheres of Influence".

Konoha stationed troops in the Land of Smoke and the Land of Hot Springs, while Kumogakure stationed troops in the Land of Frost, which borders the Land of Smoke and the Land of Hot Springs.

This is a delicate balance line.

"They want to cross the Land of Smoke and enter the Cloud Village territory of the Land of Frost."

Danzo concluded.

"Once we escape to the territory of Kumogakure, we can't openly pursue and kill them. Those barbarians in Kumogakure have been coveting the Sharingan for a long time."

He turned to the mountain wind.

"Yama no Kaze, using a mobile radio, contacted the commander of the Konoha ninja army in the Land of Smoke."

"Command them:"

"First, strengthen border patrols to prevent Cloud Village ninjas from crossing the border to provide support."

"Second, establish a blockade within the Land of Smoke to prevent the remnants of the Uchiha clan from crossing. If a target is discovered, any means are permitted to be used to intercept it, regardless of life or death."

"Aburame Torune, you stay here to protect Yamanaka Fu. Wait until the orders are relayed before joining the main force. The rest of you, follow me!"

"yes!"

...

The main force of roots traverses through the dense forest.

At that incredible speed, the forests on both sides rushed past, and as the group passed through the end of the dense forest, a wide, seemingly boundless, crimson river suddenly appeared before all the Root members, stretching across the sky and earth.

"The Crimson River?"

Looking at the river, Danzo Shimura stopped and narrowed one of his eyes slightly. As the head of Konoha's intelligence, he had an intimate knowledge of the geography of the entire ninja world.

The source of this great river is in the Land of Rain.

The sea breeze from the south of the Ninja World Continent blows into the Land of Rain along the narrow Land of Stone, Land of Vegetables, and Land of Rivers, bringing abundant moisture and causing continuous rainfall. The rainwater gathers into countless streams, forming a dense network of waterways at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire. These waterways eventually converge and flow into this great river.

The great river flows through the Land of Fire, then through the Land of Hot Water, and finally northwards into the sea.

The river is reddish because a special type of algae grows in the middle and lower reaches. This algae is rich in iron and appears bright red under sunlight, turning the entire river blood-red.

"Reporting to Lord Danzo, the traces have completely disappeared here."

Ryoma Aburame stood by the Crimson River, his face looking rather grim.

"Oh..."

Danzo Shimura stared at the wide river with his one eye. Fugaku Uchiha chose to cross the river, his purpose clear: to use the river water to erase the traces and smell.

Unfortunately, it was all in vain, because Konoha's troops were also stationed on the border of the Land of Hot Water, forming a right-angle encirclement with the Land of Smoke next door. In his view, this was just the last struggle of these Uchiha remnants.

"The main force will rest where it is. Ryoma Aburame and Nozomi Inuzuka, you two will lead your teams and search for traces along the way. Fugaku Uchiha has more than 300 men. Even if they are hiding underground, they will still need food, water, and ventilation. As long as they move, they will definitely leave traces."

"Yama no Kaze, use the same method to notify the commander of the Konoha Ninja Army in the Land of Hot Springs, and tell them to be on high alert. Also, pay attention to those caves near the border to prevent Uchiha remnants from sneaking into the Land of Frost through the caves."

"yes!"

---Divider line

In the Land of Hot Springs, somewhere, inside a natural underground cave.

The spacious cave is large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

Under the glow of the campfire, the stalactites on the cave ceiling reflected a dim yellow light, while on the ground, hot spring pools of varying sizes were scattered, steaming with heat.

More than 300 Uchiha clan members have temporarily settled here.

Inside the cave, on a high ground.

Fugaku Uchiha looked down at the three hundred or so people.

At this moment, most people are soaking in the hot spring, which allows the scent to blend into the water, preventing them from being tracked, and also soothing their bodies and souls.

Especially for the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, even though they were carried by his clones all the way, it was still an extremely arduous task. That is to say, the Uchiha clan is naturally physically strong. If an ordinary person were to go through this kind of ordeal, they would be half dead if they didn't die.

"Fugaku, are you alright?"

Along the slope, Uchiha Mikoto also came over, came to her husband's side, took his hand, and her eyes were full of worry.

Looking at Fugaku's pale face, she recalled the scene from before: hundreds of clones were simultaneously deactivated, Fugaku's body swayed and he almost fell. Although he quickly regained his balance, she could clearly see the weakness he showed in that instant.

"fine."

Fugaku smiled, grasped Mikoto's hand in return, and pointed to his right eye.

"With it here, I'll be fine."

"it..."

Uchiha Mikoto looked curiously at her husband's right eye.

"What exactly is this ability?"

"Want to know?"

Fugaku Uchiha looked around; everything was temporarily calm.

"Come with me."

After saying that, he took Mikoto's hand and walked down the steep slope, heading deeper into the cave.

...

"Grandma, isn't Chief Fugaku afraid of the dark? Why are we going in there? It's so dark in there..."

While soaking in the hot spring, watching Fugaku and Mikoto disappear into the darkness deep within the cave, he asked curiously.

Grandma Cat sat on a rock by the pond, smoking her pipe. She wasn't taking a bath; she was, after all, a ninja, so there was no need for it. Hearing her granddaughter's words, she smiled slightly and shook her head.

"How could I be afraid of the dark? I should like it more."

"Why?"

"You'll understand when you grow up..."

Grandma Cat didn't explain; she simply took a deep drag of her cigarette and slowly exhaled.

Her sense of smell is much more acute than that of ordinary people. This is a physical mutation that has occurred after she was deeply bound to the Ninja Cat. Along the way, she was able to smell some scents that others could not.

For example, the unique aura emanating from Fugaku Uchiha.

Describing it as an aura is not quite accurate; a more precise description would be a pheromone.

This pheromone is usually only emitted by wild cats in heat during the spring, so what does that mean?

Naturally, these are things that children shouldn't know.

Of course, that's not the point.

The key point is that behind this extremely concentrated pheromone is a body that emits pheromones, which must possess a sufficiently strong and abundant life force!

Granny Cat has lived for so many years and has seen many ninjas and some special bloodline limits, but she has never seen anyone like Uchiha Fugaku, whose life energy is so abundant that it is almost overflowing.

Therefore, the answer is quite simple.

This clan leader is able to use the Reverse Summoning Technique and the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to create hundreds of clones, and afterwards he only suffers from temporary exhaustion. The only explanation is that his Mangekyou Sharingan is related to his life force.

Of course, she wouldn't tell anyone else this information; after all, some information, if known too much, can be fatal.

...

"Fugaku, you...you're insane!"

Deep within the cave, from the darkness came Mikoto Uchiha's slightly embarrassed curses, but soon, the curses turned into suppressed moans...

I don't know how much time has passed.

Everything returned to calm.

Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha were soaking in the hot spring, their bodies pressed together. Mikoto leaned against Fugaku's chest, her cheeks flushed.

Strangely, she felt the fatigue from running all day quickly dissipating, and she even felt more energetic. The only downside was that her legs were a little sore...

"So, Fugaku, what exactly... is going on?"

Mikoto raised her head and looked at her husband's blurry outline in the darkness. As always, she was a Jonin, and such changes could not escape her perception.

Fugaku gently combed Mikoto's wet, long hair with his left hand.

"Simply put... my right eye can provide endless vitality."

"vitality?"

"Yes, it constantly repairs my damaged body. Whether it's the strain of using the Reverse Summoning Technique or the mental impact of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, as long as I don't die instantly, this life force can restore me to my original state, provided that..."

Fugaku tapped his left eye.

"The premise is that my left eye can provide enough chakra. The left eye absorbs energy and converts it into chakra, while the right eye consumes chakra to generate life force. With the two combined, I am almost immortal until the chakra is completely depleted."

"I can even, in some way, infuse this life force into the bodies of other people."

Upon hearing the word "injection," Mikoto recalled what had happened in the darkness, and her cheeks flushed even more. After thinking for a moment, she scooped up a handful of hot spring water, rinsed her mouth, and then, trembling slightly, stepped out of the water to get dressed...

"Of course, this comes at a price."

As Fugaku gazed at Mikoto's exquisite body, which was faintly visible in the phosphorescent light, he felt a pang of regret at not being able to 'continue' and said this.

"What price?"

Mikoto Uchiha turned around and looked at Fugaku Uchiha, her eyes filled with worry once again.

"One of them is that vitality brings intense desire."

"Pah! That's indecent!"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Fugaku Uchiha smiled helplessly.

"Of course, this is not a big problem for us ninjas. Endurance is a basic quality of a ninja. The real price, after I used my right eye twice today, has finally been determined."

"The ability of my right eye, 'Takamisusu,' truly grants me near-infinite vitality. This vitality even allows my eye to resemble Madara Uchiha's eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. In other words, even an injured Mangekyou Sharingan can be repaired, eliminating any worry about blindness."

"But the problem is that this vitality is too vigorous, too pure, like a raging fire, like cooking oil. When vitality reaches its peak, it begins to 'evaporate' the soul. After all, we learned in school that the human soul is essentially a mass of yin-attribute chakra."

"Therefore, when this ball of chakra is placed in the blazing yang attribute chakra, it will be vaporized. When the soul is vaporized to a certain critical point, it will be like a tree that has been uprooted from the soil, losing its roots and eventually being taken away by the Pure Land."

"Do you remember the experiment about the first generation?"

"I remember Orochimaru and Danzo's experiments at Root."

"Although our Uchiha clan did not participate, we did know some information. Almost everyone who participated in the experiment died, from being devoured by the First Hokage's cells. Even though the person was dead, the cells still had terrifying vitality and could devour everything. They were more monstrous than monsters. Now that I think about it, maybe it was the same as my situation. The First Hokage died not from his injuries, but from this excessive vitality."

"I see, then you..."

"Peace of mind."

Fugaku Uchiha also got up and walked out of the water.

"I found a solution to the problem with your help."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes, the solution is..."

Fugaku Uchiha leaned close to Mikoto Uchiha's ear and whispered something, causing Mikoto's face to turn even redder...

"real?"

After a while, she shyly pushed away Uchiha Fugaku, her eyes looking at her husband with a thousand thoughts swirling around her.

"You better not be spouting nonsense, or else... hmph!"

As she spoke, she symbolically waved her fist.

"Of course I'm not lying to you. During this process, I will inject the excessive Yang Release chakra in my body into your body. Since a woman's soul is naturally more 'yin' than a man's soul, under the baptism of your soul, this chakra will become gentle and peaceful. Then I will draw it back through my left eye, which will nourish my soul and keep my soul and body at a balance."

"So that's how it is..."

Mikoto Uchiha nodded. Reflecting on what she had just experienced, she knew that her husband was probably not lying.

"That..."

Biting her lip, Uchiha Mikoto looked at her husband, slowly turned around, and placed her hands on the wall.

"Why don't you treat yourself again..."