That afternoon, Uchiha Fugaku returned from the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
"You're back!"
Uchiha Mikoto stepped forward to help him remove his outer robe.
Her long black hair was neatly tied up, and she wore a dark-colored dress, exuding a gentle and serene deanor.
A smile graced her face, and there was a lighthearted tone in her voice it was clear she was in a good mood.
"What's got you so cheerful today?" Fugaku asked.
"Itachi just received his mission pay. He took Sasuke and out to a restaurant for lunch. It's a sha you were at the police force otherwise, the four of us could've eaten together as a family," Mikoto said.
"That is unfortunate," Fugaku said with a look of mild regret on his face though inwardly, he felt no regret at all.
He had little affection for that ungrateful son of his, Uchiha Itachi. Given the chance, he usually preferred to avoid him.
"Where are Itachi and Sasuke?" he asked.
"Sasuke's training in the backyard. Itachi got assigned a mission this afternoon and already left," Mikoto replied.
"I see."
Fugaku responded quietly and made his way to the backyard.
There, in the backyard, little Sasuke was diligently practicing kunai throwing.
His technique with throwing weapons had beco quite proficient, his movents fluid and precise.
His aim was solid too he hit the bullseye nine tis out of ten.
"Not bad."
Fugaku nodded in satisfaction.
For soone Sasuke's age, this performance already marked him as a prodigy.
Fully aware of Sasuke's imnse potential, Fugaku had never relaxed in supervising and guiding his training.
Under his strict guidance, Sasuke was clearly ahead of others in his age group.
Not wanting to interrupt Sasuke's training, Fugaku quietly left the backyard and returned to his study.
"…Hmm?"
Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, his gaze fixed on the bookcase by the wall.
Lying quietly on the wooden floor near the bookshelf was a single, nearly invisible strand of hair.
That hair should have been under the bookshelf's leg, yet now it was exposed no longer pressed beneath the furniture.
That could only an the bookshelf had been moved!
Perhaps Mikoto had shifted it while cleaning… or perhaps soone had broken into the house and accessed the hidden chamber.
Fugaku moved the bookshelf aside, lifted the wooden panel beneath, and revealed a staircase leading downward.
Lighting a lantern, he held it steady and descended the stairs into the secret chamber.
His eyes swept the room.
On the left stood a weapons rack three ninja swords forged from rare chakra tal sat untouched.
He walked over to the right side, to the bookshelf lined with scrolls.
These were the Uchiha clan's collection of secret jutsu scrolls, far more powerful than standard techniques.
One by one, he examined them none were missing.
"Could it really have just been Mikoto cleaning?" he wondered aloud, puzzled.
Nothing had been stolen. That made it highly likely Mikoto had simply moved the bookshelf while tidying up.
"Sharingan."
Still feeling uneasy, he activated his Sharingan to examine the chamber more closely with its heightened perception.
"Soone has touched a scroll!"
Through the Sharingan's vision, he imdiately noticed sothing out of place.
This chamber was never cleaned, not even by Mikoto, and dust inevitably accumulated on everything.
One particular scroll, however, had clearly less dust than the others—and faint traces of a handprint could be seen on its surface.
"Sharingan Secret Techniques."
He picked up the scroll and saw the title it docunted forbidden techniques related to the Sharingan.
The seal was still intact—but that ant little.
The sealing jutsu he'd used wasn't particularly advanced. It wasn't impossible to undo and reseal it again afterward.
Judging by the evidence, soone had likely done exactly that.
"The intruder was most likely a mber of the Uchiha clan."
His brows furrowed.
The scroll detailed advanced techniques only usable by those with the Sharingan. Outsiders might have interest, but no one would desire it more than an Uchiha.
Thus, the most probable culprit was another Uchiha.
"Earlier today, Itachi took Mikoto and Sasuke out for lunch…"
Recalling what Mikoto had said, Fugaku's furrowed brow relaxed slightly—but a cold expression appeared on his face.
With people normally in the house, sneaking into the hidden chamber undetected would be extrely difficult.
Though Mikoto no longer worked as a shinobi, she was still a jōnin. Evading her detection was no easy feat.
Whoever the intruder was, they had to have acted while the house was empty—when Itachi took the others out.
"The timing is too convenient."
He didn't believe the break-in was a coincidence.
In his eyes, the two events were not only related—they were likely orchestrated together.
If his suspicions were correct, Itachi had arranged the lunch outing to give the thief the opportunity to sneak in.
"A mber of the Uchiha clan, aided by Uchiha Itachi…"
Fugaku let out a cold snort.
If Itachi was involved, then identifying the thief beca much easier.
Within the clan, the only one Itachi would assist in such a matter was Uchiha Shisui.
The thief could only be Shisui.
"Though our clan possesses powerful techniques derived from the Sharingan, many co with severe side effects. That's why their existence is a tightly kept secret—known only to myself and the three elders. How did Shisui find out about them?"
Fugaku had identified the thief, but one question still lingered.
This intrusion had clear intent—Shisui had co specifically for the Sharingan secret techniques.
But logically, he shouldn't have known about their existence.
"Knowing that Shisui is an informant, the three elders would never leak information to him. If not them, then who?"
Fugaku's mind turned to another possibility.
The Third Hokage was a student of the Second Hokage who had spent his life battling the Uchiha and thus understood their secrets deeply.
The Third might very well have learned of these techniques from his teacher.
It was even possible that Shisui's theft was done under the Third Hokage's orders.
"Interested in our Uchiha clan's Sharingan secrets? Fine… I've long been interested in the Scroll of Seals myself."
A dangerous glint flickered in Fugaku's eyes.
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