Rebuilding Uchiha By Removing Fugaku

At the border of the Sand Village, Pakura clung to Toki's waist tightly as the vehicle abruptly came to a halt. She bumped into Toki's back again and couldn't help but complain:

"Why does this crappy thing of yours always squeak?"

Toki clicked his tongue twice internally, marveling at the endurance of the "Hero of Sunagakure." With a pure and innocent expression, he sighed:

"I don't know, maybe something's broken."

Pakura stood up straight, rubbing her aching chest.

"Finally! I'm done with this junk you call transportation!"

Toki smirked, staying quiet as he sealed the motorcycle into a scroll.

"Now for the sea route," he remarked. "We'll reach our destination soon enough."

Pakura glanced at the sealing scroll in his hand but didn't ask any questions, confident her strength was more than enough to handle any unforeseen trouble.

---

At the port, the pair saw a bustling crowd gathered at the pier. At the forefront, there was a reception center bearing the name Cardo Company.

Toki's eyelids twitched. He immediately recognized the name.

Gato, the shipping tycoon introduced in the Land of Waves arc, had clearly expanded his business empire. It made sense—after all, Kakashi had mentioned that Gato was one of the wealthiest men in the world.

The two of them bought tickets and boarded a ship without much fuss.

Toki glanced around, noticing several Sunagakure ninjas subtly following them. A faint smile crossed his face as he thought of the absurdity of the situation.

The Land of Wind and the Land of Water were separated by the Land of Fire and several smaller nations. It was almost laughable that these two countries were even at war.

The grudges between them had deepened during the battles at Amegakure.

---

On the deck, Pakura leaned against the railing, gazing out at the vast ocean.

Toki briefly considered pulling off the classic Titanic pose with her but dismissed the thought—it seemed like bad luck.

Instead, another idea crossed his mind: knocking her out and carrying her back to Konoha. After all, they had to pass by the coastline of the Land of Fire anyway.

"What's on your mind?" Pakura's voice pulled him back to reality.

Without thinking, Toki blurted, "Knocking you out and taking you home… uh…"

Pakura's eyes narrowed, and she sneered: "You? As if."

Toki laughed nervously, brushing off his slip of the tongue. Then, with a smile, he asked, "The hatred between Sunagakure and Kirigakure runs deep. Are you nervous about heading to Kirigakure this time?"

Pakura found his question amusing and felt a strange sense of joy.

[He has no idea my mission is to form an alliance with Kirigakure.]

"Nervous? Oh, very much so. When trouble comes, I'll just toss you to them and say the intel you gave me was bad."

Toki exclaimed dramatically, "Hey! Have some professional ethics, will you? Aren't ninjas supposed to be ready to sacrifice everything for their mission?"

At this, Pakura fell silent, glaring at Toki before turning away.

His words had clearly struck a nerve.

The warped values of ninjas often demanded they sacrifice everything—even their comrades—for the sake of a mission. As Kakashi once said, the longer one remained a ninja, the more they would begin to question their existence.

---

Unbeknownst to them, a white pitcher plant-like figure was observing Toki from the shadows.

The information it gathered was transmitted directly to Black Zetsu's mind.

"What is this guy up to?" Black Zetsu muttered.

A Konoha leader issuing a mission to Sunagakure? Something didn't add up.

---

Since Uchiha Madara's death, Black Zetsu had been guiding Obito and manipulating Nagato to achieve his goals. Nagato had been persuaded to begin hunting ninjas to prepare for the Six Paths of Pain.

Because the Rinnegan was not originally Nagato's, he needed time to craft suitable puppets to bear its strain. During this period, Obito, left idle, turned his attention to Konoha for revenge over Rin's death.

Using intel from White Zetsu and Madara's barrier seals, Obito successfully infiltrated Konoha during Kushina Uzumaki's childbirth, unleashing the Nine-Tails in what came to be known as the Night of the Nine-Tails.

Encouraged by this, Obito shifted his vengeance to Kirigakure, believing it was ultimately responsible for Rin's death. With Madara's help, he gained control over the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and intensified the Blood Mist policy in the village.

Obito spread rumors branding those with Kekkei Genkai as devils, escalating efforts to eradicate them in retaliation for Rin's loss. This chaotic vengeance frustrated Black Zetsu, whose true goal was the revival of his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

As Black Zetsu followed Obito like a social animal, he worked tirelessly to ensure that his carefully laid plans to revive Kaguya through the Rinnegan wouldn't be derailed by Obito's reckless revenge schemes.

To this end, Black Zetsu had secretly fueled the downfall of the Senju and Uzumaki clans, ensuring no new reincarnations of Asura Ōtsutsuki would rise. He had even planned for Obito to kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke to prevent the re-emergence of Wood Release in Konoha.

However, things took an unexpected turn when Uchiha Toki killed Shinnosuke, and Uchiha Toki led the Uchiha clan to prominence, seizing control of Konoha.

Black Zetsu grew increasingly wary of Toki, assigning White Zetsu to monitor him closely. The more he observed, the more unnerved he became.

Mangekyō Sharingan, Flying Thunder God, necromancy, and advanced scientific ninja tools…

Toki was proving to be a far greater threat than Black Zetsu had anticipated.

If it weren't for Toki's age, Black Zetsu would have suspected that he was the reincarnation of Indra. How could one person be so troublesome?

Now Toki had run off to Sunagakure on his own and was heading toward Kirigakure, currently under Obito's control. This made Black Zetsu seriously consider whether to take this opportunity to kill him in Kirigakure.

As Black Zetsu observed Uchiha Toki and Pakura getting closer and closer to their destination, a sinister excitement stirred in his heart. His gaze sharpened as he dissolved into black mud and made his way to Obito, who was hiding in the Mizukage's office and controlling Yagura.

"Perfect," Black Zetsu thought.

With White Zetsu's Wood Release, Obito's Kamui, the Jinchūriki Yagura, and the numerous shinobi of Kirigakure, even someone with Mangekyō Sharingan wouldn't stand a chance!

Moreover, as a creation of Yin-Yang Release, Black Zetsu was certain Toki hadn't achieved the level of an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Without that, Toki couldn't possibly overcome the advantage of overwhelming numbers.

Black Zetsu reached the Mizukage's office and shared his plan with Obito.

Obito frowned, skeptical.

"Uchiha Toki? That guy?"

Black Zetsu nodded, while Obito's mind flashed back to Toki's face, one filled with unrestrained disdain.

If even someone like Itachi could be manipulated, Obito had harbored thoughts of trying to use Toki as well. But Toki had shown no interest in cooperating, viewing Obito as little more than a crazed lunatic.

This wasn't because Toki knew of Black Zetsu and Madara's schemes against Obito. It was simply that Obito's self-absorbed philosophy disgusted him.

Obito's so-called "peace for the ninja world" and his dream of creating a world with Rin were nothing but excuses to mask his selfishness. What Obito truly desired wasn't a peaceful world with Rin in it—it was a world where Rin loved him.

Toki saw through this clearly. If Obito really cared about the real Rin, he could have revived her using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique after obtaining the Rinnegan. But Obito didn't, because he knew Rin would still love Kakashi and not him. Thus, he fixated on creating a fake world where Rin loved him, refusing to face reality.

Toki's open disdain for this attitude left a lasting impression on Obito, making Obito loathe him even more.

Still, Obito scoffed at Black Zetsu's warning:

"Isn't he just a Jōnin? Is all this really necessary?"

Black Zetsu could barely keep from rolling his eyes.

"A Jōnin? This guy's almost at the Super Kage level!"

---

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, the Uchiha clan's residence was bustling with activity. Two massive warehouses had been set up at the entrance, overflowing with gifts from various ninja clans.

The head of the Uzuki clan pleaded

desperately with Uchiha Setsuna:

"Lord Setsuna, I'd really like to meet Clan Leader Toki. I was ignorant about the ninja school matter before..."

Setsuna sipped his tea leisurely and replied:

"Clan Leader Toki is out of the village, and we don't know where he is. But Chief Toki always says that the Uchiha clan never forces anyone. If you don't want to attend the ninja school, then don't."

Hearing this, the Uzuki clan leader panicked and exclaimed:

"Who said that?! Of course, we want to! All children of ninja school age in our clan must attend! Anyone who says otherwise will deal with me!"

Similar voices of desperation rose from other clan leaders:

"Our Kato clan too!"

"And the Moonlight clan!"

In the distance, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio watched this scene with mixed feelings.

Nara Shikaku sighed:

"The Uchiha clan's completely changed the game. The chakra requirements for those scientific ninja tools are ridiculously low."

Yamanaka Inoichi added:

"Hiruzen's proud Five Elements Ninjutsu seems like child's play in comparison."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had spent decades mastering the Five Elements Ninjutsu to reach Kage level, relying on the mutual counterbalance of chakra natures to suppress his opponents. But the Uchiha clan's scientific ninja tools could now perform Five Elements Ninjutsu with no chakra cost at all, simply by using sealing scrolls.

Even Tenten's summoning techniques paled in comparison. And with these tools, even ordinary people could match or surpass elite Jōnin in power.

This new reality had sent the traditional ninja clans into a frenzy. Unable to suppress the Uchiha clan's rise, they now begged to join them instead.

Setsuna, recalling Toki's words, couldn't help but grin as he thought,

"Make them beg to join? No, make them grovel."

He then declared to the clan leaders:

"Alright, alright. Leave your gifts. We'll notify you when admissions begin."

The clan leaders eagerly asked:

"And the benefits you mentioned before? Are those included?"

Setsuna nodded with a smirk:

"Science gloves come with enrollment, but parents must pay tuition to purchase the ninjutsu scrolls. As for the psychic beasts, you'll have to capture them yourselves. The Poké Balls required for capturing them cost 100,000 ryō each."

"100,000 ryō?!" gasped the clan leaders.

Setsuna waved dismissively.

"Is that a lot? That's the discounted price. When other countries come to buy, it won't be this cheap."

The clan leaders panicked.

"What? Other countries can buy these too?! That's a strategic resource!"

Setsuna scoffed:

"You don't understand. This is all part of Chief Toki's strategy."

With no choice but to trust his words, the clan leaders reluctantly left, sighing as they realized how little control they now had over the ninja world's future.