Chapter 178: Tracking Fang Technique

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Tracking Fang Technique

At the Uchiha estate.

Uchiha Fugaku sat silently in the main hall, his expression grim.

Just then, an Uchiha clansman hurried inside. Leaning close to Fugaku’s ear, he reported in a low voice, "Clan Head, we’ve managed to gather information about the Kumogakure delegation. Gloya was abducted. The one who did it appears to be a bounty ninja after the bounty on Gloya’s head."

"Abducted?!"

Fugaku’s expression immediately turned grave upon hearing this.

After several days of secret contact, Gloya, the chief of the Kumogakure delegation, had finally agreed to sneak into the Uchiha clan grounds tonight and meet with Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan Head.

Yet Fugaku had waited in the clan grounds for half the night, only to receive news like this.

What Fugaku didn’t know was that Gloya had only intended to send a shadow clone tonight. He had planned to use his final opportunity before his death to further sow discord between the Uchiha and Konoha.

Unexpectedly, however, the moment his shadow clone slipped out of the Kumogakure delegation’s residence, Hyuga Kagami saw through it.

As a result, the shadow clone never made it to the meeting.

After pondering in silence for a long while, Fugaku asked in a low voice, "Where’s Shisui? Wasn’t he supposed to be responsible for protecting the Kumogakure delegation tonight?"

The Uchiha clansman who had been gathering information shook his head. "We still haven’t managed to uncover exactly how Gloya was abducted. But whatever happened probably didn’t occur inside the delegation’s residence. There aren’t any traces of battle over there."

Fugaku thought for a moment before ordering, "Find Shisui immediately and get to the bottom of what happened."

"Yes!"

The Uchiha clansman immediately disappeared from the hall.

Fugaku turned his gaze toward the darkness outside, his expression shifting uncertainly.

After probing Shisui on several occasions, Fugaku could now confirm that Shisui had sided with the village.

And it was precisely because of this that the Uchiha clan’s attempts to establish contact with the Kumogakure delegation had been so troublesome.

Otherwise, with Shisui’s status as an ANBU, making contact with the Kumogakure delegation on behalf of the Uchiha clan would have been effortless.

Shisui’s stance in favor of the village only strengthened Fugaku’s determination to bring Shinichi back.

According to Fugaku’s plans, once Shinichi returned to the clan and helped the Uchiha launch their coup, the village higher-ups would inevitably stop trusting Shisui.

And with nowhere else left to turn, Shisui would have no choice but to return to the clan’s side.

That was also why Fugaku had yet to confront Shisui directly.

Because Fugaku believed that once the Uchiha launched their coup and internal conflict completely erupted, the village higher-ups themselves would help him push Shisui back into the arms of the Uchiha clan.

When that happened, three pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan would be enough to sweep through the village and seize the position of Hokage that the Uchiha clan had coveted for so many years.

A short while later, another Uchiha clansman leapt into the hall and reported in a low voice, "Clan Head, our men monitoring the Hokage Building have reported back. The Third personally led a large force of ANBU to pursue the bounty ninja who abducted Gloya!"

Fugaku wasn’t surprised by this. Instead, he rose to his feet and ordered, "Assemble the Police Force’s jonin squad!"

The chief of the Kumogakure delegation had been abducted inside the village. Even if it was only for appearances, the Third still had to show that he regarded the matter with the utmost seriousness.

So Fugaku wasn’t surprised that the Third had personally joined the pursuit.

The Uchiha clansman froze for a moment before asking, "Clan Head, are we joining the manhunt as well?"

Fugaku replied, "How could we let such a good opportunity to make contact with the Kumogakure delegation slip away?"

Fugaku didn’t care about anything else.

Right now, there was only one thing on his mind—making contact with the Kumogakure delegation and confirming whether Uchiha Shinichi had truly defected to Kumogakure.

"Yes! I’ll gather the jonin squad immediately!"

The Uchiha clansman suddenly understood.

Only now did he realize that joining the manhunt was merely a pretext. Fugaku’s true objective was to use the manhunt as an excuse to establish contact with the Kumogakure delegation...

......

At the Root base.

Root shinobi constantly came and went, reporting all manner of intelligence to Danzo.

When he heard that the Third had personally led a large force of ANBU in pursuit of the mysterious man, a thoughtful look appeared on Danzo’s face.

He turned to the subordinate beside him and asked, "Have you identified the mysterious man yet?"

A Root shinobi standing beside him handed Danzo a file. "Judging by his attire, the target appears to be ’Kawa,’ the bounty ninja who has recently been making a name for himself in the black market."

"Kawa?!"

Danzo frowned as he took the file.

After giving it only a cursory glance, he hurled it heavily onto the ground and roared, "This is all the information you managed to gather?!"

Aside from a simple description of Kawa’s attire, the file contained nothing more than the fact that he was a bounty ninja.

Beyond that, there was no useful information whatsoever.

Seeing Danzo fly into a rage, the Root shinobi immediately dropped to one knee and explained, "This Kawa seems to have appeared out of nowhere. There were no previous traces of him at all, so we weren’t able to uncover anything more."

"Useless!"

After snarling the rebuke, Danzo continued, "Keep investigating! I want to know who this Kawa really is—and who he’s working for!"

......

In the forest outside Konoha’s walls.

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Kakashi’s right hand before shifting his gaze to the bloodstains on the ground.

During their brief clash earlier, Kakashi’s Chidori had only grazed Kagami’s right arm.

As a result, the wound on Kagami’s right arm had been caused by the lightning released from the Chidori itself, and none of Kagami’s blood had gotten onto Kakashi’s right hand.

Therefore, as long as he dealt with the few drops of blood on the ground, he could prevent anyone from tracking him by scent.

That was one thing he absolutely had to guard against when fighting Kakashi.

After all, who told Kakashi to have an entire pack of ninja hounds at his disposal?

Having made up his mind, Hyuga Kagami rapidly formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

In an instant, an enormous wave of water came surging forward with such overwhelming force that it seemed intent on flooding the entire forest.

Kakashi’s expression stiffened, and he hurriedly shouted to Guy beside him, "Watch out!"

Guy immediately responded, "Got it!"

Moving in perfect sync, the two simultaneously leapt onto the trees. Yet neither took their eyes off Hyuga Kagami, closely watching his every move.

After using the Great Waterfall Technique to wash the ground clean, Hyuga Kagami chuckled softly and formed another series of hand seals.

"Water Style: Multiple Water Dragon Technique!"

Three enormous water dragons, each a full meter thick, instantly rose from the ground.

Amid sprays of splashing water, they coiled around Hyuga Kagami like living creatures.

Hyuga Kagami pointed toward Kakashi and Guy in the trees.

Immediately, all three massive water dragons lunged toward them!

Kakashi didn’t dare take the attack lightly and immediately formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

In an instant, a water dragon surged up beside Kakashi as well, shielding him.

Guy, meanwhile, launched himself toward another tree, evading Hyuga Kagami’s water dragon attack.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to force Kakashi and Guy back, Hyuga Kagami hesitated no longer. He immediately turned around and fled deeper into the forest.

Just then, Kakashi’s voice rang out from behind him:

"Summoning Technique—Earth Style: Tracking Fang Technique!"

Poof! Poof! Poof!

In an instant, eight holes appeared in the ground surrounding Hyuga Kagami.

Eight ninja hounds burst out from beneath the earth and lunged straight at him...