Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku

At the end of the passage, what greeted the three Uchiha was a seemingly ordinary room.

The room was empty, almost devoid of furniture, with no one in sight.

Click—

Uchiha Hiro quickly walked to the far wall and twisted the base of a mounted lamp.

With a crisp sound, the inner wall slid open from both sides, revealing a staircase descending underground.

The three descended the staircase, entering the lower levels beneath the casino.

What lay before them was a large, brightly lit hall, its stone walls lined with rows of lamps.

A handful of people were inside, dressed in various outfits—some like wandering ninjas, others wearing scratched-out forehead protectors marking them as rogue shinobi, and still others in samurai garb.

These individuals were browsing the bounty posters covering the walls, clearly selecting their next target.

The Uchiha trio walked past them, heading straight for the reception counter.

"Are you here to submit a bounty...?"

The receptionist glanced up but froze the moment he recognized Fugaku.

His face paled instantly, and without hesitation, he turned and bolted for a door behind him.

As the receptionist for this black market branch, how could he not recognize Uchiha Fugaku—the man with a 50-million-ryo bounty on his head?

There was no way Fugaku's sudden appearance here meant anything good.

But before he could get far—

Slash!

A sharp pain tore through his throat.

Uchiha Mei had closed the distance and, without wasting a second, slit his throat with a kunai.

"Murder!"

"Someone's making trouble!"

The bounty hunters who had been examining the posters turned in shock, expecting these three intruders to be dead meat.

After all, those who survived in the black market were rarely kind souls.

The black market didn't operate smoothly just by chance; it was backed by considerable force to prevent bounty hunters from killing each other for profit.

Sure enough, angry voices echoed through the hall.

"Who dares stir up trouble here?"

Two burly shinobi emerged, clearly seasoned fighters based on their aura.

"People here to wipe out the black market!" Uchiha Hiro and Mei shouted, eyes burning with killing intent as they charged the two men.

"Take down the black market? What nerve!"

The two black market shinobi roared back and engaged them in battle.

Fugaku, meanwhile, stood still. These opponents didn't warrant his intervention.

Instead, his sharp gaze swept across the black market hall.

"That... that's him!"

"Who?"

"Look at the top bounty... fifty million..."

"It's him! Run, quick!"

The bounty hunters paled as they realized who they were facing. Cold sweat broke out as they fled in a panic.

Fifty million was tempting, but it also screamed danger. Small-time bounty hunters like them knew better than to mess with such a monster.

Fugaku didn't stop them.

His target was the black market, not these small fry.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Claw Crimson!"

Uchiha Mei quickly formed hand seals, unleashing a volley of flaming shuriken that arced through the air like blooming scarlet flowers.

Thud!

One opponent failed to dodge and was struck by a burning shuriken. Flames engulfed him as he fell to the ground.

Rolling desperately on the floor, he finally managed to extinguish the flames, but a charred wound marked where the shuriken had struck.

Whoosh—

Meanwhile, Uchiha Hiro wielded a short blade with razor-sharp precision, unleashing a relentless flurry of cold steel.

His opponent, struggling to defend with kunai in both hands, barely kept up with Hiro's fierce assault.

Clang—slash!

With a sudden surge of power, Hiro knocked away his foe's kunai and slashed across his chest.

The man staggered back, a long gash spilling fresh blood.

Boom—

Hiro followed with a fierce kick to the stomach, sending his opponent flying with a painful grunt, his body curling in midair from the force.

"Not bad," Fugaku nodded slightly, satisfied.

Mei excelled in ninjutsu, Hiro in taijutsu. Both had the edge over their opponents.

Just as Fugaku believed the battle was all but over—

Suddenly—

"Use it now!" one of the injured black market shinobi shouted, tearing off his right glove.

The second hesitated briefly, then did the same.

To Fugaku's shock, their exposed right hands weren't flesh and bone—they were intricate mechanical prosthetics made of metal.

Despite being metallic, their appearance and functionality closely mimicked real hands. The only obvious difference was the large, hollow cavity in the center of each palm.

Whoosh, whoosh—

The two black market shinobi raised their metal hands, aiming at Mei and Hiro.

In the blink of an eye, two massive fireballs burst from their palms, hurling toward the Uchiha.

No hand seals, no buildup—just an instant attack.

Both Mei and Hiro's expressions changed as they scrambled to dodge.

The fireballs grazed past them dangerously close, the heat so intense they could smell their scorched clothing.

But before they could catch their breath—

Whoosh, whoosh!

Another pair of fireballs shot toward them, just as fast.

Again, no hand seals. Again, rapid-fire attacks.

The battle had suddenly turned against them. Mei and Hiro were now on the defensive, struggling to keep up.

"What are those...?"

Fugaku's eyes narrowed in surprise as he observed their mechanical arms.

These two had undergone advanced modifications.

To receive such cybernetic enhancements, they had to be backed by the mysterious forces controlling the black market.

Which meant—those forces possessed highly sophisticated augmentation technology.

"To think they've mastered such technology..."

Fugaku's view of the black market's hidden backers changed. Anyone capable of creating these weapons was far from ordinary.

But his thoughts turned grim as he glanced back at Mei and Hiro.

Both were suffering burns where they'd failed to completely dodge the fireballs. The battle was taking its toll.

If this dragged on, they'd be seriously injured—or worse.

"Genjutsu: Hypnosis."

Activating his Sharingan, Fugaku's tomoe spun as his gaze locked onto the two black market shinobi.

Their expressions dulled instantly as they fell under his hypnotic genjutsu, freezing in place.

The attacks ceased.

Fugaku stepped forward and questioned them:

"Tell me—who is the force backing this black market?"

He wasn't holding out much hope, but if there was a chance to uncover the truth, he would take it.

After all, issuing a bounty against the Uchiha Clan was no small matter.

But suddenly, he noticed something alarming.

The metal arms of the two black market shinobi were starting to glow red-hot.

His heart sank, pupils narrowing in realization.

They were going to self-destruct.

Without hesitation, Fugaku grabbed Mei and Hiro and leapt back, retreating swiftly as far as possible.