Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku

"Waaah—"

From the remains of his shattered body, a completely unharmed Orochimaru slithered out, his whole body covered in disgusting mucus.

Plop, plop, plop—

Under Orochimaru's wary gaze, Nagato's Deva Path slowly walked forward.

He came to a halt just a few meters away from Orochimaru.

For Kage-level combatants, this was a distance that could be crossed in an instant—a range ideal for a surprise attack.

But the Deva Path showed no concern at all and said coldly,

"Orochimaru, you've seen my power for yourself."

"Indeed I have. As expected of the legendary Rinnegan—what truly immense power!"

Orochimaru extended his long tongue, a look of intoxicated admiration in his eyes.

"Join the Akatsuki I created, and I'll overlook your offense today. Otherwise, you'll die right here."

A chilling aura radiated from him as the Deva Path spoke with icy detachment.

"Join the Akatsuki...? Very well, I'll join."

Orochimaru's mouth cracked into an exaggerated grin, forming a bizarre and twisted smile.

Even from their brief exchange, he had already realized he wasn't a match for the man with the Rinnegan.

However, although he couldn't win, he was confident that if he wanted to escape, he could.

But he was unwilling—unwilling to let the legendary Rinnegan slip through his fingers.

So rather than leave, it would be better to join this organization and stay close to the man—waiting for the right moment to seize the Rinnegan for himself.

"Each official member of Akatsuki has a codename. From now on, yours is 'Empty (Kū).'"

It was unclear whether the Deva Path had seen through Orochimaru's scheme or simply didn't care.

He tossed Orochimaru a ring with the character "空" (empty) inscribed on it.

"'Empty,' the symbol of rebirth? Fitting for someone like me."

Orochimaru caught the ring, carefully examined it to make sure there was no trick, and then slipped it onto his left pinky finger.

"I'll take you to Akatsuki's sub-base here in the Land of Rivers."

Turning away, the Deva Path led the way.

Orochimaru's gaze followed him, flickering with thoughts.

He had wanted to ambush the Deva Path but ultimately held back.

He still knew far too little about the Rinnegan and had no confidence he could succeed in a surprise attack.

Swoosh—

Not far ahead, a pale white figure silently rose from the ground—it was a White Zetsu.

"What is it?" the Deva Path asked, not bothering to shield the conversation from Orochimaru.

"We just received word: the two members sent to assassinate Uchiha Fugaku have failed. They've both been killed."

White Zetsu reported calmly.

"They failed?"

The Deva Path frowned slightly.

The two who had been sent weren't high-ranking members, but they were still elite jōnin.

For them to fail and not even escape came as a surprise.

"Yes. Uchiha Fugaku's strength exceeded expectations. We suspect he already possesses Kage-level power."

White Zetsu added.

"Uchiha Fugaku… has Kage-level strength?"

Orochimaru, who had been listening from the side, revealed a sly smile.

From their exchange, he gathered that the Akatsuki had dispatched two members to assassinate Fugaku for some reason—but both had been killed.

Given their strength, it meant that Fugaku's power had to be far beyond what they initially assumed.

"So he really does possess Kage-level strength. Looks like we underestimated Uchiha Fugaku after all."

A grin crept across Orochimaru's face.

Ever since the incident where he was caught infiltrating the Uchiha clan, he had a faint sense that Fugaku was no ordinary shinobi.

But now it was clear—they had underestimated him.

"To have such strength and remain hidden all this time… With Fugaku's cunning and composure, I doubt Lord Hiruzen will have peaceful days ahead."

The thought made his smile widen.

Nothing would please him more than seeing his former teacher suffer.

"Kage-level strength…"

The Deva Path remained silent for a moment.

Currently, aside from himself and the newly recruited Orochimaru, there were no other Akatsuki members stationed in the Land of Rivers.

Orochimaru had just joined, and whether he could be trusted was still uncertain.

However, since Fugaku had killed two Akatsuki members, he could not be allowed to go unpunished.

"Take Orochimaru to the Root base. I'll handle Uchiha Fugaku myself."

After giving instructions to the White Zetsu clone, the Deva Path ascended into the air and flew off toward the Land of Fire.

"Flight?"

Orochimaru watched him, growing even more excited.

Bit by bit, the Rinnegan's mysterious powers were revealing themselves to him.

Joining the Akatsuki and playing the long game was indeed the right move.

"With him taking action, Fugaku's chances of survival are close to zero."

Thinking of how Uchiha Fugaku would soon be facing such a terrifying enemy, Orochimaru shook his head slightly.

Even with Kage-level power, Fugaku likely wouldn't make it out alive this time.

After some time, Uchiha Fugaku finally regrouped with Uchiha Asami and the others.

"Captain, you're back!"

The group greeted him with relief.

"Yeah," Fugaku nodded, but his tone quickly turned serious.

"Just now, I was ambushed by two rogue ninja who were targeting the bounty on my head. I've already killed them, but I suspect there may be more of their comrades in the Land of Rivers."

"Also… our movements have been discovered by Orochimaru."

"Our position has been exposed…?"

Everyone's expressions changed.

Not only were bounty hunters after their captain, but even Orochimaru had now located them.

The strength of those bounty hunters was still unknown—but Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, was well known.

He was undoubtedly Kage-level—and possibly even stronger than most Kage.

"Pick up the pace. We're leaving the Land of Rivers immediately."

Fugaku ordered sternly.

He had already guessed why Orochimaru was here—most likely to reconnect with the Akatsuki.

He recalled that Orochimaru had once been a member of the organization.

While he wasn't afraid of the average Akatsuki member, now was not the time to draw their full attention.

According to his plan, only after becoming Hokage and gaining full control of Konoha would he consider dealing with the Akatsuki threat directly.

"Understood!"

Knowing how serious things had become, Asami and the others responded quickly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

They all picked up speed, rushing toward the Land of Fire.

While traveling—

Suddenly—

Fugaku's expression changed slightly.

Due to the dangerous situation, he had been continuously using the Yamanaka clan's sensory technique to the fullest.

Though it consumed more chakra, it allowed him to stay alert and detect threats early.

And just now—

He sensed an extremely faint chakra signature.