Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku

"More bounties related to the Uchiha Clan? "

Uchiha Fugaku looked surprised.

"Yes," Uchiha Hoshi replied. "Several high-ranking members of the clan have appeared on underground black market bounty lists—and the prices are very high."

"Especially you, Clan Head."

At this, Hoshi paused slightly before continuing, visibly shaken.

"The bounty on your head is fifty million."

"Fifty million? "

Fugaku was momentarily stunned.

Just a few days ago, he'd thought the bounty on him was too low. But in such a short time, it had nearly doubled, now reaching a staggering fifty million.

As far as he knew, even the bounty for Yūgao, the rogue Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails from Kirigakure, was only fifty million.

This showed just how massive this bounty really was.

After a moment of silence, Fugaku asked,

"Besides the Uchiha Clan, have any other Konoha clan leaders had new bounties placed on them? "

"No. Only Uchiha high-level members were newly added," Hoshi replied with certainty.

"It seems the Uchiha Clan has been specifically targeted by some faction."

A cold gleam flashed in Fugaku's eyes, and a faintly dangerous aura emanated from him.

If no other Konoha clans were targeted, it clearly wasn't an attack against the village as a whole—it was directed solely at the Uchiha.

"It's unlikely to be the work of the other four great ninja villages."

During the three Shinobi World Wars, the five great villages developed deep grudges. It was common for them to post bounties on each other's key figures in the black market.

If one of the other villages were responsible, they would have targeted not just the Uchiha, but other prominent Konoha clans too.

So this bounty campaign likely wasn't orchestrated by one of the other four villages.

"It's more likely to be a force with strong hostility toward the Uchiha."

Whoever posted these bounties clearly had a personal vendetta. Spending so much money in the underground market could only mean one thing—deep hatred for the Uchiha Clan.

"What's your opinion? " Fugaku asked, turning to Hoshi.

"I agree. It's probably a faction with intense hostility toward us," Hoshi said firmly. "Definitely not another ninja village. More like someone with a grudge."

"Who do you think it could be? " Fugaku continued.

"Two possible culprits come to mind," Hoshi said after a moment of thought. "The Shimura Clan… and the Third Hokage."

He then laid out his reasoning.

"Danzo Shimura was secretly killed by our clan. The Shimura Clan may have already suspected this, and they could be holding a grudge. It's entirely plausible they would issue such bounties."

"As for the Third Hokage—between Danzo's death and the recent clash between him and the Uchiha, he might go as far as issuing bounties against us too."

"That does make sense…"

Fugaku nodded. Hoshi's analysis was solid.

However, in Fugaku's own mind, there was another suspect: the Akatsuki organization.

Not long ago, two full members of Akatsuki had been killed by his hand. Even Pain himself had been dispatched to deal with him.

Akatsuki certainly had the motive to place a bounty on him.

But currently, Akatsuki was busy taking bounty contracts from the black market to fund themselves—it was unlikely they'd spend money posting bounties.

More likely, they'd just send someone to kill him directly. That wouldn't cost them anything.

"I still think it's either the Shimura Clan or the Third Hokage. But I can't say for sure which one."

Hoshi frowned. Both parties had strong motives, but pinpointing the true source was difficult.

"If we want to know whether it's the Shimura Clan or the Third Hokage, there's actually a simple way."

Fugaku let out a cold laugh, already having an idea.

"What's your plan, Clan Head? " Hoshi asked, curious.

"Placing bounties on multiple Uchiha elites would cost a fortune," Fugaku explained. "If it were the Third Hokage, coming up with that money wouldn't be difficult."

He paused briefly.

"But if it were the Shimura Clan, raising that kind of money would be much harder. They would probably need to sell off assets to free up the funds."

"All we need to do is investigate whether the Shimura Clan recently conducted any major asset transfers. If so, we'll know whether it was them or the Third Hokage."

"Tracing the money… that's actually a very smart approach."

Hoshi nodded. The method was sound.

"Of course, this assumes it's one of the two."

Fugaku added, "But I believe it is. Only they are openly hostile to us at this point."

"Agreed," Hoshi said decisively.

Fugaku gave a brief nod, not mentioning the Akatsuki theory for now.

"When I return to Konoha, I'll have someone start investigating. I expect we'll have an answer soon."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Later, Fugaku quietly returned to the village and reabsorbed the spore clone he had left behind. He instantly acquired all the memories from the time he'd been away.

He headed to the police force and summoned Uchiha Yakumi to his office.

"Captain, you called for me? "

Yakumi looked puzzled.

"Yes."

Fugaku nodded and shared everything he'd learned from Uchiha Hoshi—the bounties, their analysis, and the possible suspects.

Yakumi was first shocked, then furious.

After calming down, he asked,

"Captain, do you want me to investigate the Shimura Clan? To see if they've had any major asset transactions recently? "

"Exactly. We need to determine whether it was them or the Third Hokage who placed the bounties."

Fugaku's face was cold.

This wasn't a minor issue. There were many bounty hunters and rogue ninja who would risk everything for that kind of money.

And don't forget, there was also Akatsuki—a powerful group known for targeting high-value bounties to fund their operations.

With bounties like this, any Uchiha working outside the village would be in serious danger.

"I'll investigate immediately."

Yakumi's voice was steady and serious.

He understood perfectly how dangerous this situation really was.