"No, you can't be him!"
Aburame Shibi shook his head repeatedly.
A Wood Release Kekkei Genkai shinobi was a terrifying existence who once faced the siege of twelve elite jōnin-level ninja, killing eleven and letting only one escape.
He couldn't believe that such a fearsome figure could be Uchiha Fugaku—the man who had been weak and submissive for years under their suppression, always giving ground.
He couldn't accept it. He didn't want to accept it.
"A mere insect-controlling clan dares to oppose the Uchiha? I'd really like to know where you got the courage!"
Uchiha Fugaku's voice dripped with contempt.
He made no effort to explain that he wasn't the Wood Release user. Letting Aburame Shibi die in fear under such a misunderstanding was far more satisfying.
"Uchiha Fugaku, you killed fellow Leaf shinobi! Lord Hokage and Danzo won't let you get away with this!"
Aburame Shibi was trembling with rage, the veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted.
"No, I won't let them get away with it!"
Fugaku's eyes were cold, filled with a bone-chilling frost.
The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha leadership, led by the Third Hokage, would only end when one side was completely destroyed.
"Enough. Time for you to go."
With a gesture, Uchiha Fugaku activated a Wood Release jutsu. The sharp branches that had pierced Shibi's body suddenly sprouted numerous offshoots.
One of them, under Fugaku's control, drove through Shibi's throat and into his skull.
It obliterated Shibi's brain tissue, eliminating any possibility of memory extraction.
On Shibi's face remained a frozen mix of horror and rage. Blood gushed from multiple wounds as his body crumpled powerlessly to the ground.
With that, Aburame Shibi and the two other Aburame jōnin were all dead.
Meanwhile, from another perspective:
The deaths of Shibi and his two companions played out in a different scene.
The three Aburame ninja had encountered Uchiha Fugaku blocking their path, shock written across their faces. They attempted to flee in different directions.
But before they could even move, something strange happened.
Their bodies suddenly went stiff, frozen in place.
Then—
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
One after another, ghastly wounds burst open on their bodies. Blood gushed like fountains, staining the ground crimson.
Their bodies collapsed, twitching briefly before falling still.
The eerie deaths were the result of falling into Fugaku's right-eye dōjutsu: True Illusion.
From the moment they encountered him, they had already been trapped in the illusion.
But none of the three had realized it.
Compared to Itachi's Tsukuyomi, True Illusion replicated the real world in flawless detail—making it far more difficult to detect.
Even if they had noticed something was off, their strength was insufficient to break free. After all, it was a Mangekyō Sharingan technique. Without Kage-level power, escape was impossible.
What's more, unlike Tsukuyomi, True Illusion could affect multiple people at once. All three were dragged into it simultaneously.
Seeing each other inside the illusion only reinforced their belief that it was reality.
"So this is how Konoha's reputation is destroyed."
Fugaku glanced at the five unconscious boys from the Ishigaki Clan, then vanished into the forest.
Much later, the five boys gradually woke up. When they saw the corpses of the three Aburame ninja, they panicked and fled back to Ishigaki Village.
Once there, they reported the deaths to the clan. After some hesitation, the Ishigaki Clan decided to report the incident to Konoha.
In a darkened room, Shimura Danzo sat cross-legged, his right hand and right eye both wrapped in bandages.
The dim light cast shadows across his already sinister face, intensifying the gloom around him.
Footsteps approached rapidly. A man wearing an insect-faced mask entered and knelt on one knee.
"Lord Danzo, we just captured a shinobi from Ishigaki Village. From his interrogation, we learned that Clan Head Aburame Shibi and two other Aburame jōnin were ambushed and killed while returning from their mission."
"Dead?"
Danzo's brow twitched slightly, a flicker of surprise in his voice.
The two jōnin were one thing—but Shibi, as the clan head, was even stronger than most elite jōnin.
That such a figure died on what should've been a routine mission made Danzo uneasy.
"Do we know who killed them?"
"According to the Ishigaki shinobi's account, the three were killed by Wood Release jutsu. The killer is believed to be that Wood Release Kekkei Genkai user."
The masked man answered.
"Lord Danzo, the Hokage is certain to investigate their deaths. Once that happens, our forced conscription of the Ishigaki Clan might be exposed."
"The Third Hokage must not learn of this."
Danzo's voice was low and grim.
His relationship with the Third Hokage was both cooperative and antagonistic. If Sarutobi Hiruzen found out, he'd surely use it to tighten the leash.
"Then what should we do?" the masked man asked.
"Take a team to Ishigaki Village. Make sure the clan—and the entire village—never speak again."
Danzo's voice remained calm, but his words were chilling.
The entire Ishigaki Village, with hundreds of residents, was to be eradicated without hesitation—all to prevent exposure.
"Also, dispose of the Aburame trio's bodies. We can't risk anyone extracting memories from them."
"And what should we tell the Hokage?"
"Say that the Wood Release user attacked Ishigaki Village. The Aburame trio encountered the attack while on their mission, tried to intervene, and were killed."
Danzo said flatly.
"Understood."
The masked man nodded and left the room.
Soon after, he led dozens of Root operatives out of Konoha and toward Ishigaki Village.
Under the cover of night, the massacre began.
The Root ninja, cold and expressionless beneath their masks, descended upon the village with ruthless efficiency.
Screams echoed through the darkness—women, children, the elderly...
A chorus of helpless, despairing cries rang out under the night sky.
In no time, the hundreds of villagers were slaughtered.
Then a great fire was lit, consuming the entire village and erasing all traces of the battle.
The flames blazed so brightly, they could be seen from miles away.