Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku

Half a Month Later

"Lord Hokage, you summoned me!" Shimura Naoya entered the Hokage's office, feeling a bit down.

Half a month had passed, and the suspected force targeting the Shimura clan still hadn't been found. Having received a summons from the Third Hokage today, he had a hunch about what the Third Hokage was going to say.

"Hmm." The Third Hokage nodded calmly, his gaze fixed on Shimura Naoya. "For the past half-month, the Anbu sent out two squads to track Shimura clan members on missions, but they found no trace of a force targeting the Shimura clan."

"I've decided to recall these two Anbu squads. You have no objections, right?" He had never been keen on deploying Anbu forces to assist the Shimura clan. Now, with no results after half a month, he immediately decided to withdraw the two Anbu squads.

"None." Shimura Naoya shook his head. Just as he suspected, the Third Hokage had summoned him today to recall those two Anbu squads. He didn't ask the Third Hokage to extend the monitoring period, simply agreeing. The Third Hokage seemed to be consulting him, but his tone left no room for discussion. Even if he had objected, the Third Hokage would have refused.

"If there's nothing else, you're dismissed." With his objective achieved, the Third Hokage dismissed him. Shimura Naoya's immediate agreement surprised him. He had expected a lengthy discussion but was met with quick compliance.

"Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave then!" Shimura Naoya bowed and exited the Hokage's office, leaving the Hokage Tower and returning to the Shimura clan compound.

"Was my speculation wrong?" Even he, at this point, couldn't help but doubt his earlier predictions. According to his theory, there was a high probability of a hidden force targeting the Shimura clan. Yet, after half a month, nothing had been discovered. This made him question his own conclusions.

"If my speculation is wrong, then were the previous incidents involving clan members, especially Shimura Tomohisa, truly just accidents?" His brow furrowed deeply. He didn't believe the deaths of Shimura Tomohisa and others were accidents, but given the current situation, it seemed increasingly possible they were.

"Is there a possibility that the hidden force detected the Anbu's surveillance and therefore stopped targeting the Shimura clan?" He unconsciously stroked his chin, lost in thought. If the hidden force had indeed discovered the Anbu ninjas and ceased their operations against the Shimura clan, it would explain why no trace of them had been found in the past half-month. This force wouldn't be nonexistent; rather, they had temporarily halted their actions because the Anbu's surveillance had been exposed.

"The Anbu dispatched elite ninjas this time, including even sensory ninjas." His eyebrows twitched, and he began to doubt his own hypothesis again. It was certainly possible for a hidden force to detect Anbu ninjas without being detected themselves, but the probability was not high. He pondered various possibilities, but after a long time, he still couldn't untangle his thoughts, so he reluctantly gave up.

Naka Shrine

At Naka Shrine, a high-level Uchiha clan meeting was being held, attended by at least elite Jonin. The participants included Uchiha Fugaku, the three elders, and four elite Jonin: Uchiha Atsuko, Uchiha Min, Uchiha Yakumi, and Uchiha Hoshi. Uchiha Ara was not present, but Uchiha Hoshi was. Uchiha Fugaku had sent Uchiha Ara to a secret Uchiha clan outpost to take over Uchiha Hoshi's work, allowing Uchiha Hoshi to return to Konoha.

"The Anbu have recalled those two ninja squads," Uchiha Fugaku announced. Both squads included sensory ninjas, and to avoid detection, he hadn't sent anyone to monitor them. He knew this because the two squads had encountered members of the police force on patrol when they returned to Konoha.

"So, we can resume targeting the Shimura clan?" Uchiha Atsuko asked excitedly.

"We need to wait a while longer," Uchiha Fugaku replied, shaking his head and sharing his hypothesis. "Even though these two ninja squads have returned to Konoha, it's possible they're feigning withdrawal, secretly leaving the village again to continue tracking Shimura clan members on missions."

"That's certainly a possibility," Second Elder Uchiha Mamoru nodded, agreeing with Uchiha Fugaku's assessment. He then added, "The reason we alerted the Shimura clan and the Third Hokage's faction, even leading them to deploy Anbu squads to set traps, is because we were too frequent in our attacks on the Shimura clan recently."

"Even though each incident was disguised as a natural death, it still aroused suspicion from the Shimura clan and the Third Hokage's faction."

"The Second Elder is right; we were indeed too frequent in our actions before," Uchiha Fugaku said with some apprehension. "It's fortunate that I was the one who encountered these Anbu squads. If it had been the four of you, you might have fallen into a trap."

"It would have exposed the Uchiha clan's targeting of the Shimura clan, and even your own lives would have been in danger." His gaze swept over Uchiha Atsuko and the others.

"The clan head is right." Uchiha Atsuko, Uchiha Min, and Uchiha Yakumi all nodded, feeling a chill of fear. Each of the two Anbu squads dispatched likely had more than one elite Jonin. If they had encountered them, even with their strength, their lives would have been in danger, and the Uchiha clan's involvement in targeting the Shimura clan would have been exposed.

"After a while, once we've confirmed there are no Anbu ninjas watching, we'll start targeting Shimura clan members on missions again," Uchiha Fugaku stated his decision. "However, this time, we can't act too frequently. We need to significantly reduce the frequency of our attacks to make these deaths seem more normal."

"But if that's the case, when will we be able to destroy the Shimura clan?" First Elder Uchiha Setsuna frowned. He harbored intense hatred for the Shimura clan and was eager to see their downfall. If the clan head hadn't stopped him, considering his age, he would have been among those targeting the Shimura clan.

"While it will take a considerable amount of time, it's safer and less likely to be discovered," Uchiha Fugaku explained. After a pause, he continued, "With the Shimura clan's current remaining strength, they no longer pose a threat to the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan's most pressing task now is to deal with the Third Hokage's faction." A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he recalled the recent challenges from the Third Hokage, forcing him to leave the village to pursue Orochimaru.

"The Third Hokage's faction?" Everyone except Uchiha Fugaku had a hint of coldness flash across their faces. Indeed, the Shimura clan no longer posed a threat to the Uchiha clan; they just needed to systematically eliminate the remaining Shimura clan members. The Uchiha clan's primary target now should be the Third Hokage's faction.

"To deal with the Third Hokage's faction, the traitor Uchiha Shisui is an unavoidable obstacle. It's time to eliminate that traitor, Uchiha Shisui." Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Fugaku made his decision.

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