Naruto: I am Uchiha Fugaku

Konoha — Tsunade and Shizune had returned once again.

Wearing a cold expression, Tsunade headed straight toward the entrance of the Root organization's base.

She had only one purpose for returning this time — to settle the score with Shimura Danzo, the man who stole her grandfather's corpse.

In a remote corner of the village, there was an entrance leading underground — one of the gateways to the Root base.

The Root organization's headquarters lay deep beneath the earth, just as its name suggested, like roots buried far beneath the surface.

"No trespassing beyond this point!"

Before Tsunade and Shizune could approach the entrance, four masked Root ninja suddenly flashed out from hiding, blocking their way.

Their tone was cold, and they acted as if strangers were absolutely unwelcome.

Perhaps they didn't recognize Tsunade, or maybe they did, but still had no intention of treating her any differently.

"Get lost."

Tsunade was already furious and had no intention of being polite.

Seeing the four standing in her way, she raised her leg high and stomped down hard.

The ground shattered beneath her foot, sending dirt and stone flying toward the four guards.

They were flung backward as if struck by artillery.

Without sparing them a glance, Tsunade walked straight toward the Root base entrance.

"Intruder alert!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

As if a hornet's nest had been stirred, more than ten Root ninjas stationed near the entrance surged out with killing intent, surrounding Tsunade and Shizune.

At the same time, an urgent bell rang from deep within the Root base.

Hearing the alarm, Root operatives within the compound began sprinting toward the entrance.

Whoosh!

Tsunade didn't retreat — she charged forward, diving into the group of more than ten before they could fully surround her.

A kick, a sweep, an elbow strike, a knee blow—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Utilizing her monstrous strength, Tsunade became a devastating force of nature.

No one could withstand even a single blow. In just moments, she had already taken down every one of them.

"Danzo! Get out here!"

She shouted, her face icy cold.

Telling Shizune to stay behind, she strode into the Root base entrance and advanced toward the reinforcements already converging there.

But even they couldn't stop her. She cut through them like a whirlwind.

She followed the underground corridor deeper into the Root base.

Several days later —

Uchiha Fugaku and a young girl with the Ice Release kekkei genkai were camping by a river.

The girl's name was Yuki no Natsu. She was one of the last survivors from a branch of the Yuki clan that had fled.

She was young — only seven — but mature beyond her years.

After witnessing Fugaku's power, she had obediently followed him without resistance.

She understood well: only Uchiha Fugaku could protect her from the pursuing Mist ninja and help her escape the Land of Water alive.

"Not a bad haul."

Fugaku was fairly satisfied.

Over the past few days, he had wandered the Land of Water like a ghost, using White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique and bringing the girl along.

Including the corpses he had already obtained, he now had over a dozen bodies from the Yuki clan.

More importantly, from one of them, he had acquired a copy of their Ice Release techniques.

But this was likely the end of his harvest.

The rest of the Yuki clan had either been killed with their bodies destroyed or had successfully fled the Land of Water. It was unlikely he'd find any more.

"Time to leave."

Fugaku had accomplished his goal.

This infiltration of the Land of Water had been to obtain the Shikotsumyaku and Ice Release. Now that he had corpses with both kekkei genkai, it was time to retreat.

The next day, in a coastal town in the Land of Water—

Disguised as an ordinary civilian, Uchiha Fugaku entered the town with Yuki no Natsu and approached the docks.

"Mist ninja guarding the harbor."

From a distance, Fugaku observed several Mist shinobi stationed at the docks.

Everyone entering was being strictly inspected.

"There are quite a few of them — two elite jōnin among them."

Using the Yamanaka clan's sensory technique, Fugaku probed the area and quickly gathered details.

Altogether, there were over fifty shinobi guarding the dock, including the two elite jōnin who were the strongest.

"A frontal assault won't work."

Though Fugaku could easily handle them with his power, the real problem was what would happen afterward — the Mist Village would receive word and dispatch reinforcements to hunt him down.

If he were pursued at sea by a large number of Mist ninjas skilled in Water Release, even he would be in serious trouble.

"No way to board directly."

Fugaku frowned.

With White Zetsu's transformation technique, he could easily fool the inspections. The real issue was Yuki no Natsu.

Anyone who had trained in chakra extraction emitted detectable chakra signatures, distinguishing them from civilians.

Yuki no Natsu had chakra — the guards would easily detect that she was a ninja.

Boarding a ship directly with her would be impossible.

"We'll have to board at sea…"

Fugaku found a solution.

Since the docks were heavily guarded, they would have to enter the water and board a ship mid-route to avoid Mist patrols.

His eyes locked on a man who had just exited the dock — likely a dockworker based on his clothes.

Fugaku walked toward him casually, seemingly by chance blocking his path.

The man instinctively looked up at Fugaku.

"Genjutsu: Hypnosis."

The moment their eyes met, Fugaku activated his Sharingan and cast a genjutsu.

He led the entranced man into a secluded alley.

"What are the Mist shinobi searching for?"

Fugaku asked.

"They're looking for members of the Yuki clan who defected," the man replied in a wooden tone.

"Just as I thought."

Fugaku's suspicions were confirmed — the Mist Village was hunting the Yuki clan survivors.

Of course, they were likely also searching for him, the rogue ninja who had stolen Kaguya clan corpses.

"When's the next merchant ship leaving for the Land of Fire?"

"The morning after tomorrow."

"That's all. You may go. Forget everything that happened."

After obtaining the intel he needed, Fugaku gave the command.

The man turned and walked away stiffly. Once he returned to the street, he paused in confusion.

"Huh? Why am I here?"

He frowned, puzzled. Somehow, he had wandered into this alley, even though he rarely came here.

Still, he thought little of it and hurried away.

Those placed under hypnosis would forget the moments before and after being controlled — and thus had no memory of the encounter.