Chapter 181: The Identity of the Masked Man

I have repeatedly cross‑checked the intelligence given by the Hokage; this is the spot where Iwagakure originally ambushed Kakashi's squad. This ruin has never been moved, and beneath it should be Obito's corpse.

Over the wasteland of the Grass Country, Fugaku carefully surveyed the surroundings, slowly nodding as he listened to the explanation from the person beside him.

After guessing the possible identity of the masked man, Shisui could no longer hold back and sent Fugaku with money to the Land of Fields to find Orochimaru, who transplanted First Generation cells. Once he adapted to the First Generation cells, Shisui dispatched him to the Grass Country to locate where Obito originally died.

"Then, I'm counting on you."

Fugaku is only the muscle; the other two are the main search force—one is a member of a Hyuga branch family, and the other is a member of the Yamanaka clan.

The Hyuga clan member nodded, said nothing, activated his Byakugan to scan the ruins inch by inch. After a full fifteen minutes, he turned back, frowned, and said, "There are some bones on the outskirts, but the intel says Obito was only a thirteen‑year‑old child; there are no remains here that match that description."

"According to Kakashi, he was crushed by a massive stone on half his body while trying to save Kakashi; see if anything matches that."

Fugaku's expression was solemn; Shisui had already told him his speculation to make Fugaku take the matter seriously. Though Fugaku thought the chance was slim, he was still extremely angry.

The Hyuga ninja, hearing that, searched again and soon found a half skeleton.

"Found it, but the situation is odd—right in this direction."

Fugaku nodded in understanding, clapped his hands, quickly formed a seal, and the stone slab above was peeled away layer by layer. He soon dug a pit nearly ten meters deep, revealing a massive stone.

Yet Fugaku's face didn't redden, his breath didn't gasp; he remained composed.

The two were both astonished at the sight.

"What kind of monsters are the Uchiha!"

In his heart, he gradually understood the Hokage's decision to release Fugaku; with Konoha's talent dwindling, keeping Fugaku's power in the back‑yard would be a waste.

"It's this stone."

The Hyuga ninja pointed at the massive stone and said, while Fugaku leapt down to observe below. He saw a darkened spot beneath the stone; the three, accustomed to fighting, naturally recognized it as old bloodstains.

"There are some traces under this stone, but no complete remains."

The Hyuga ninja said again, leaving both of them a little puzzled.

"If someone dug up a body, they'd take the whole thing; leaving part of it—what does that mean?"

Fugaku stayed silent, recalling Shisui's speculation.

"Could it be that Obito activated the Mangekyou before being buried alive, and the eye technique residing in those eyes let him pass through matter, thus surviving?"

Fugaku speculated, and the more he thought, the more plausible it seemed.

"Step back."

Fugaku spoke, and the two understood his meaning, immediately leaping out of the deep pit. Then the massive stone was flung away by Fugaku, revealing several crushed bone fragments.

The Hyuga ninja stared at the broken bones below, analyzed them carefully, and said, "There is at least one intact arm here."

"Then it seems correct; take it back."

Fugaku's mood was downcast; there was no complete Obito corpse here, indicating Shisui's guess was likely correct.

He recalled the former Obito; though he couldn't claim to know him well, he knew some of Obito's deeds.

He was kind‑hearted and eager to help.

As for his clan, Obito lost both parents early; the Uchiha could not say they were indebted to him, yet they never lacked support—monthly stipends were paid on time, allowing him and his grandparent a stable life.

After Obito became a member of the Minato class, the clan further assisted him greatly.

As for the Village, a Uchiha of this temperament became a priority concern; he was the bottom of the ninja academy yet became Minato's student, with a genius like Kakashi as a teammate, and the Konoha leadership contributed significantly.

The clan and the Village both treated Obito properly.

Why did Obito unleash the Nine‑Tails to devastate the Village, betray the Uchiha, and even kill the Fourth‑generation couple? That was his teacher; was it simply because Minato failed to reach him in time? Fugaku could not make sense of it and ultimately blamed Obito's premature activation of the Mangekyou, which twisted his personality, leading him to commit such deeds.

The party sealed the remains and immediately turned back.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Grass Country, Danzo had already stationed people here; assistants on both sides of the main camp were summarizing recent intel for him.

"The Iwagakure forces already know we have deployed troops; their movements have immediately diminished. According to a messenger from our spy in Iwagakure, Ōyagi has not yet considered gathering a large army, and we indeed have not observed massive Iwagakure concentrations."

Iwagakure ninja are the most adept at group jutsu among the five great nations; they usually operate in large squads, dealing massive damage on the battlefield.

Danzo gave no reply; he was not surprised by such intel. Before arriving, Shisui had said Ōyagi would inevitably retreat, and Danzo came here just to claim credit.

"What Ōyagi does is none of our business; just keep your eyes on the front, kill anyone who crosses the line, and make Iwagakure see Konoha's stance."

"Yes!"

The two stepped back, and Danzo, as usual, summoned a few Jonin he valued.

The few entered the camp, immediately saluted, and then remained silent.

"How have you considered it? Today is the deadline; my patience is limited. As long as you nod, I will never shortchange you!"

Danzo watched the few speak calmly, then waved his hand and tossed out several scrolls.

"Ninjutsu, money, I never shortchange my own."

The few wrestled internally; Danzo's offer was indeed generous. The ninjutsu he gave them were B‑rank foundations. Though rank only indicates training difficulty, when different ranks are presented, they still prefer higher‑ranked techniques.

Moreover, Danzo even displayed a list of forbidden techniques for them to peruse.

With the Third Hokage's connection, Konoha's forbidden techniques posed no defense for Danzo; he wielded far too many ninjutsu.

He also promised that after they joined Root, he would heavily train them, and within two years their strength would greatly increase.

They had also heard Danzo's reputation wasn't great, but he gave so much that they truly could not refuse.

"When I retire, I can use my Root connections to get you into the ANBU, bringing you back to the surface."

"I am willing to serve Lord Danzo!"

"I am willing to serve Lord Danzo!"

The crowd bowed their heads and spoke one after another.

Danzo, seeing this, nodded with satisfaction; it was easier to recruit these civilian Jonin, as the ninja clan's guys were each more refined and simply unwilling to deal with him.

However, he also knew that these civilians chose to trust him because Shisui publicly showed reliance on him.

"Hmph, little brat, no matter what you plan, once I gather enough manpower, I'll eventually deal with you."

But soon Danzo frowned; recruiting ninja this way was too slow and costly—only this mission had military funding.

Among the jonin, someone noticed Tuan Zang's expression was off and asked, "Lord Tuan Zang, do you have any concerns? I, your subordinate, am willing to ease your worries."

A few of them took Tuan Zang's scroll, naturally stood on Tuan Zang's side, and also voiced their positions.

"The Root's missions are heavy; even with your joining, manpower remains insufficient. I, an old man, worry for the Leaf Village. How can we recruit enough people to work with me for the Leaf Village?"

Since the few have not yet been planted with the Tongue Curse Root, Tuan Zang remains very restrained.

The crowd did not find it strange; the village has few jonin, the Root's reputation is poor, and if not for Tuan Zang's generous offer, they would not have joined.

"I, your subordinate, do have an idea."

At that moment, a middle‑aged ninja with long hair among them had an inexplicable gleam in his eyes and said slowly.

"Oh? Let's hear it." Tuan Zang looked at the person, recalling his name, Fu Bu Liangsan, an unremarkable civilian jonin who was not conspicuous among the jonin.

"The village has a limited number of jonin, most of whom are entrusted with important tasks by the Hokage, so it is normal that the Root cannot recruit people. Why not set your sights on those chūnin?"

"Given the weight of the Root's missions, how could those chūnin possibly accomplish them."

Tuan Zang was somewhat disappointed; even a declining Root would not resort to filling ranks with mediocre chūnin.

"Most chūnin are not strong, but that does not mean they have no chance to become jonin. If we can provide them with a suitable ninja technique when they need it, their growth will naturally accelerate greatly.

Lord Tuan Zang could scout the village for a group of chūnin with decent talent and invest in them early. If they later happen to become jonin, they will remember your kindness; even if they do not, there is no real loss to you."

"Oh?"

Tuan Zang's eyes flashed, and he looked at the jonin before him with surprised interest.

"Providing them with a suitable ninja technique in advance, without extra training, yet reaping timely results—you're clever; this method is quite good."

Even these jonin before us would join the Root because of some powerful ninja techniques; thus one can imagine how important a suitable technique is for civilian ninjas.

It is even more so for those civilian chūnin!

Tuan Zang's heart raced; he suddenly thought of a good way to defeat Shisui.

If he were to pass on the cultivation methods of certain ninja techniques to the village's civilian ninjas, the entire Leaf Village's civilian ninjas would back him, and he could defeat Shisui at the jonin council and become the Sixth Hokage without any other means.

With that thought, Tuan Zang found it hard to calm down for a long time, watching the rare upward curve of the person's mouth.

"First, go carry out the mission; I will never shortchange you."

"Understood."

Seeing that Tuan Zang accepted his suggestion, Fu Bu Liangsan's eyes flickered slightly as he left with the others.

A few days later, Shisui subsequently received three pieces of intelligence.

1. Kakudo was rescued by a masked ninja; the masked ninja also possesses the ability to absorb people, but while using that ability, he cannot remain immune to physical attacks.

2. They did not find a complete skeleton of Obito; Obito may indeed still be alive, and the masked person might be him.

3. After the Leaf Village reinforced the Grass Country, it abandoned the notion of attacking the Iwagakure camp; the Fourth Raikage, seeing the great forest's retreat, also contemplated withdrawing troops, yet the Fourth Raikage seemed somewhat reluctant, and the decision to pull back the Cloud Hidden army grew increasingly restless.

"Is it really Obito?"

Shisui looked at the intelligence, feeling especially conflicted.

He doubted Obito, but it was only a passing thought; when the evidence was actually presented, Shisui didn't know what to say.

"That's hard to say."

Fugaku shook his head, also unsure what to say.

Shisui was silent for a moment, then a sharp hue flashed in his eyes.

"Regardless, I must uncover the masked ninja's identity."

Yan Shifan, seeing this, thought for a moment and said, "I actually have two methods."

"Please, teacher, teach me!"

"Doesn't our clan have a forbidden technique that can summon back the dead? If this Obito hasn't died, that technique cannot be performed."

Yueye Jianzun!

Shisui and Fugaku immediately caught on, but after Yan Shifan's reminder, Shisui thought not only of Yueye Jianzun but also of the Impure Earth Reincarnation.

However, he did not decide immediately, instead waiting quietly for further developments.

"The second method is Kakashi; isn't that eye of his Obito's? If we remove that eye and examine it, and it is also a Mangekyō, then it must be Obito without doubt."

Shisui and Fugaku both inhaled sharply, amazed at how quickly Yan Shifan's mind worked, having instantly thought of two methods.

"Let's go straight to the second one; the first method isn't reliable, it can only confirm Obito's status."

Fugaku also suggested the same.

Shisui, hearing this, rose and paced, thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Removing the eye is not a major surgery for a ninja; if that eye is not a Mangekyō, it can be returned, and it would not affect Kakashi much.

Only the justification is hard to find.

Seeming to see Shisui's concerns, Yan Shifan suggested, "When Obito's body returns, retrieve the eye, craft a prosthetic eye to complete the body, and enter the clan shrine with the title of hero."

The reasoning is a bit far‑fetched; Obito's corpse should have turned to bone by now, so the eye would naturally be useless.

"Let's do it that way; if I cannot clear his identity in a day, I will be uneasy."

Shisui agreed, then immediately summoned Kakashi.

Fugaku, bearing a criminal record, could not appear directly, so he kept wearing the ANBU mask.

"Hokage!"

Kakashi was somewhat excited; he guessed that the Fifth Hokage summoned him because the intelligence had been compiled and they were preparing to set out to retrieve Obito's remains.

"Obito's skeleton, I have already had someone bring it back ahead of schedule."

"What?"

Kakashi was startled and instinctively asked, "Really, Hokage?"

After asking, Kakashi realized it was inappropriate, lowered his head and said, "Sorry, Hokage."

"No problem, Obito brother is a hero of the Uchiha clan; I've always admired him. I'm pleased we could retrieve his skeleton. However, the clan elders know your eye was gifted by Obito and hope to temporarily take it back to craft a prosthetic eye to complete his body, so that he can be reburied properly in the shrine."

Facing Shisui's request full of doubts, Kakashi did not hesitate and nodded in agreement.

"I understand, Lord Hokage!"

Kakashi said, then lifted his mask to reveal the three‑tomoe Copy Wheel Eye, and was about to extract it.

Shisui stopped him, asking in puzzlement, "Do you know medical ninjutsu?"

"No."

Shisui fell silent; although he knew a few, he still summoned the specially prepared senior ninja.

A moment later, the three‑tomoe Copy Wheel Eye was placed in a bottle filled with special medicines and set before Shisui.

Kakashi covered his eye socket and went back to rest.

"Whether it's yes or no, a single trial will reveal it."

Shisui sighed softly, then slowly raised his hand.

I saw many people pointing out typos in the comments today, haha, I have some free time now, so I'll fix them right away, but I didn't have time to check this chapter; if you see any, feel free to post them, and I'll correct them one by one.

Love you all (づ￣3￣)づ╭~

(End of chapter)