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

Northern Territory, Lockdown Zone

The night was as dark as ink, pressing heavily upon the mountains and forests of the northern border of the Land of Fire.

The moonlight barely penetrated the clouds, casting dappled shadows among the treetops.

Under a huge ancient tree, the trio of Ino-Shika-Cho sat in a triangle, their backs against the trunk.

They did not light a fire.

After all, they're seasoned ninjas; they wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

...

"This is quite a show of force..."

Suddenly, Akimichi Choza's voice rang out in the darkness.

"It reminds me of the Third Shinobi World War."

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Inoichi, who was resting with his eyes closed on the other side of the big tree, did not open his eyes. He first gave a soft "hmm" and then continued to speak.

"The Uchiha moderate faction of three hundred people."

"There are at least seventy ninjas inside. The confirmed Jonin are Uchiha Yatsuho, Uchiha Inahisa, and Uchiha Tekka. But that doesn't mean the rest are Chunin. Jonin in the village need to vote and have their own rights. So the Hokage has always restricted the Uchiha's power. In fact, the Uchiha clan has at least ten Chunin with Jonin strength, or more precisely, at least Chunin with Special Jonin strength."

"Add to that the remaining Chunin who all possess Sharingan, even if most of them only have one tomoe, they can still be used as elite Chunin. Add to that Fugaku Uchiha, who is at the Kage level. You should know that some small ninja villages don't even have such a force. For example, Kusagakure only has three Jonin in the entire village."

"Therefore, calling it war is not a problem."

In the darkness, Nara Shikaku remained silent.

He sat cross-legged with his hands on his knees, his fingertips tapping lightly unconsciously. Only then did he slowly speak.

"Unfortunately, it was a war between villagers."

After those words were spoken, all three fell silent.

"Fifty squads."

Shikaku continued, speaking very softly, as if talking to himself.

"None of the thirty-odd squads that were found by Fugaku Uchiha died."

He raised his head and looked up at the dark night sky.

"This alone shows that Fugaku had no intention of killing. So this matter is not just a problem of the Uchiha clan. From the day the Second Hokage set the strategy of excluding the Uchiha clan, this was the outcome for Konoha."

Hai Yi frowned.

"Shikaku, there are some things you shouldn't say carelessly."

"Relax, relax, I was just venting to you two, but ask yourselves honestly, isn't that true?"

Shikaku shrugged and continued.

"Knowing that the Uchiha clan was stimulated and wanted to awaken their Sharingan, they were made into the security force. The Uchiha clan enforced the law impartially, which caused controversy. The village tried to smooth things over. On the night of the Nine-Tails, it was suspected that the Uchiha were involved. They were put under guard and then exiled afterwards."

"But if that matter really is related to the Uchiha clan, based on our confrontation with Chief Fugaku today, what do you think will happen to the village?"

Ding and Hai were both startled at the same time, and then they couldn't help but think at the same time, "That must be terrible..."

"Perhaps, according to what you said, Shikaku, that's what made Chief Fugaku want to escape..."

From the side, Akimichi Choza summarized.

"get away..."

The word struck him like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the chaotic thoughts in Shikaku's mind, and he sat up abruptly.

"Wait, escape?"

"Shikaku, what's wrong?"

"Haiyi, give me the map."

"What came to your mind?"

Choza Akimichi also joined in.

Nara Shikaku did not answer immediately. He unfolded the map, took out a small glow stick from his ninja tool bag, and gently turned it on. The eerie green light illuminated the northern region of the Land of Fire on the map.

His finger moved across the map, from the Crimson River to the Land of Hot Water, from the Land of Hot Water to the Land of Fields, and then back from the Land of Fields to the northern border of the Land of Fire.

Then, his finger stopped at the "lockdown zone".

"I've discovered something."

Nara Shikaku spoke slowly.

"Currently, most of Konoha's forces are tied up in the northern border, and even the village's 10,000 ninjas have to come to the northern border."

His finger suddenly moved south, across the vast land of the Land of Fire, all the way to the southernmost point of the map.

"This will lead to..."

He raised his head and looked at Dingzuo and Haiyi.

"The southern void."

---Divider line

The waves crashed against the rocks, creating a ceaseless roar.

This is the eastern coast of the Land of Whirlpools, a once prosperous island nation. Now, only ruins and a land ravaged by war remain. The Hidden Village of Whirlpools was destroyed in a war many years ago, and the people of the Land of Whirlpools were almost all slaughtered, leaving only a few survivors who fled to the ninja world.

Today, this island has become a transit point for maritime trade, a huge market jointly controlled by Konoha and Kirigakure, one on the east coast and the other on the west coast.

On the east coast, there is an inconspicuous wooden house all alone.

Uchiha Mikoto knelt on the tatami mat, her back straight, her hands on her knees, but her fingertips trembled slightly.

About two days ago, she swam underwater along the Crimson River to the estuary, barely taking a breath during the journey, because her husband "infused" her with a tremendous amount of life force.

Upon reaching the estuary, she secretly boarded a merchant ship bound for the Land of Whirlpools, hid in the cargo hold, and eventually arrived in the Land of Whirlpools. As her husband had requested, she secretly found a ninja from the Terumi clan of Kirigakure and delivered a letter to him.

Then came the waiting; she had been waiting for a whole day and night.

To be honest, she was a little nervous.

She was worried about her husband.

He was worried about his people.

She also misses Sasuke.

She would occasionally think of Itachi, and want to ask him why he could do this to her...

But in the end, she suppressed it all because of her husband's words: "Don't worry, I've got everything under control..."

"Swoosh~~"

Suddenly, the sound of wood rubbing together interrupted Mikoto Uchiha's thoughts.

The wooden door slid along the track, and then a figure appeared in the doorway.

Uchiha Mikoto raised her head and looked at the person who had come.

That's a woman.

A woman so beautiful that even she, a woman herself, couldn't help but hold her breath.

She looked to be in her early twenties, tall and slender, with long brown hair cascading over her shoulders, the ends of which were slightly curled. Her face, half bathed in moonlight and half in shadow, was exquisitely sculpted.

But what's most striking is her chest.

Even in her loose ninja outfit, her impressive curves almost burst through the fabric.

Mikoto subconsciously glanced down at her chest. She had always thought she had a good figure, but compared to the woman in front of her, the difference was obvious...

The woman entered the house, closed the door behind her, and knelt down in front of her.

"I am Mei Terumi, the current head of the Terumi family."

Mikoto Uchiha nodded, trying her best to keep her voice calm.

"Uchiha Mikoto".

"I know."

Mei Terumi smiled slightly, and for some reason, Mikoto Uchiha felt as if the room had become much brighter.

"We agree to what your husband mentioned in his letter."

Mikoto Uchiha was taken aback. While happy, she couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. How could it be so easy...?

"Haven't you read the letter?"

"No, I'm worried that if I'm exposed and captured halfway, I'll destroy this letter in advance. Even if I fall into the enemy's hands, no one will know what my husband's specific plan is."

"I see."

Mei Terumi nodded.

"Then take a look at this letter first, and then we can talk."

Mikoto took the letter and, by the moonlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden planks, began to read it carefully.

The letter contained only four points.

Article 1: The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura, is being controlled by the Sharingan. The person controlling him is the same one who controlled the Nine-Tails during the attack on Konoha. I can help break the control.

Article 2: In exchange, Kirigakure must accept the Uchiha clan and allow them to establish a new Uchiha clan in Kirigakure. The Uchiha clan will then unite with the Kirigakure bloodline limit ninja clan to fight against external enemies.

Article 3: Fugaku Uchiha's chakra needs to be contracted with a Hidden Mist Ninja Sword, and the entire clan of over three hundred people will be teleported to Hidden Mist at once using the Reverse Summoning Technique.

Article 4: The Uchiha clan and the Terumi clan will arrange a marriage between Uchiha Fugaku and Terumi Mei...

...

You don't seem surprised.

Mei Terumi looked at Mikoto Uchiha, whose expression was calm, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"What's so surprising?"

"Of course, it's the contents of the letter."

"I rarely concern myself with clan affairs, but our entire clan was forced to migrate because of this person, so it's only natural that Fugaku investigates him."

"Who told you that?"

Mei Terumi moved closer to Mikoto Uchiha, so close that Mikoto could feel Mei Terumi's hot breath.

"I mean, you don't object to your husband marrying me?"

"Ah, this...this..."

Mikoto Uchiha tilted her head, her face slightly flushed.

"Of course...of course I agree..."

"agree?"

"Um..."

"Hey, interesting. Although the ninja world is mostly monogamous."

Mei Terumi looked at Mikoto Uchiha and spoke slowly.

"However, it is common for many powerful ninjas to have multiple wives or husbands, so I agree to the marriage alliance with Uchiha Fugaku. This way, our descendants can inherit two bloodline limits, but..."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Mikoto.

"But I reviewed your information repeatedly before I set off. You are a very traditional woman. Even if you accepted this due to reality, you shouldn't act like this."

"Because...because..."

Mikoto Uchiha's face turned even redder.

She recalled the night before she set off, and how Fugaku had injected an excessive amount of fiery life force into her body to ensure she could swim to the estuary. Only then did she truly understand the "pain of excessive life force" her husband had spoken of. To be honest, she didn't really want to experience that burning sensation a second time, but her husband had to endure this pain every time he used the Sharingan's abilities.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is, she realized one thing: there's a limit to the amount of that scorching chakra she can convert on her own per unit of time...

In other words, regardless of the purpose—whether it's for her husband's health, the future of the crippled Uchiha clan, or to prevent herself from being "overburdened"—supporting her husband to marry several women is perfectly reasonable.

But she couldn't bring herself to say those words.

That's so embarrassing.

"because..."

Mikoto bit her lip, her voice barely audible.

You'll find out then.

"Huh?"

Mei Terumi blinked. As a woman who had never been in a relationship and whose energy was entirely focused on her family business and the political situation in Kirigakure, she didn't really understand the meaning behind those words, but she could tell that Mikoto wasn't lying.

"Okay, as long as you agree, it'll save us from future family conflicts, haha... cough, I mean..."

Mei Terumi seemed to realize that she might have been a little too proactive, after all, marriage had always been her dream, but she still needed to be a little reserved.

"this..."

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers, and her subordinates brought in a huge scroll from outside the door. It was completely black, with intricate sealing incantations drawn on it in silver ink.

"This is the summoning scroll of the Hozuki clan of Kirigakure. I spent a great deal of money to borrow it from the Hozuki clan. Through it, your husband can establish a contract with one of the seven ninja swords. However, after internal discussions within our ninja alliance, we have decided that your husband can only use this coordinate temporarily. Once his reverse summoning is over, we will retrieve our own ninja swords."

"no problem."

Mikoto Uchiha nodded. She knew that her husband rarely used a sword either. The seven swords of Kirigakure required special techniques to work with, and without those techniques, one could not unleash their full power.

"This is my husband's chakra and blood."

As she spoke, Uchiha Mikoto pulled a scroll from her bosom.

---Divider line

Fire Country - Northern Border

Fugaku Uchiha suddenly raised his head.

He sensed it.

That special, contractual connection that spanned thousands of miles was like an invisible thread, gently tugging at his chakra.

"It's done..."

...

"Grandma Cat".

Fugaku Uchiha's voice echoed through the silent forest.

"exist."

The old woman emerged from the shadows, her steps as light as a cat's.

"How many ration pills are left?"

Grandma Cat took out a dark purple scroll from her bosom.

"There are about two thousand more in this roll."

"Tsk, this thing is so convenient..."

"But it's also very expensive, Chief Fugaku."

A hint of pain flashed across Granny Cat's face.

"This specially made sealing scroll alone costs more than the soldier rations sealed inside. Unless it's a special circumstance, I wouldn't dare use it..."

Fugaku nodded; of course he knew it was expensive.

This also explains why, despite having sealing scrolls—artifacts that are almost like "storage"—the ninja world still relies on caravans to transport supplies during large-scale wars.

Nothing more than its high price.

The way the female supporting character [Tenten] in the original work used sealing scrolls is a wasteful act that only a rich second-generation could do. If a proper ninja army were to use this thing to transport food and supplies, they would probably lose all their military expenses before the battle even started.

"Yashiro-san!"

Fugaku turned around and called out into the woods.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a figure emerged from behind the tree.

"Chieftain."

The eighth generation knelt on one knee, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Fugaku looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

"How are you? Can you still hold on?"

"no problem!"

The voice wasn't quiet, but it sounded very tired.

Upon hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha smiled slightly.

"It's all over, the plan was a success, we can retreat now."

The moment the words left his mouth, Yashiro froze. A few seconds later, as if he had finally digested the meaning of those words, he let out a long breath and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Yashiro-kun, didn't you say you were fine?"

Yashiro didn't answer. He chuckled, but there was little joy in his laughter; it was more of a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.

Leading three hundred elderly, women, and children, they navigated, deceived, and fled in enemy territory. Every step they took was fraught with danger, and every decision concerned the life and death of the entire tribe. Such pressure can never be understood by those who have not experienced it firsthand.

But the more this was the case, the more Yashiro admired the man before him.

Uchiha Fugaku.

From the moment he defected from Konoha, crossed the Crimson River, outmaneuvered Kumogakure, used underwater teleportation, captured Hyuga, and now, after traveling thousands of miles, facing pursuers many times his size and the wrath of the entire Konoha, not a single person has died.

More than three hundred people of the tribe are all alive and here.

This is beyond what can be described as a "miracle".

"Go."

Fugaku's voice pulled Yatsushiro back from his thoughts.

"Gather everyone, we're leaving."