Rebuilding Uchiha By Removing Fugaku

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Tsunade in the original storyline suffered a lot due to the tragic deaths of her younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan, which led her to develop hemophobia.

But in this alternate storyline, Toki has filled the emotional void left by Nawaki and Dan, so she hasn't fallen into despair or developed hemophobia. However, out of guilt and uncertainty about how to deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen, she still chose to leave Konoha, leading a life similar to her original story.

The only difference is that, from time to time, she borrows money in Sarutobi Hiruzen's name, as a way of venting her frustrations with him.

Despite Sarutobi's subtle manipulation (PUA), Tsunade was unable to completely free herself from the "Will of Fire" ideology for a while. The mental conditioning was so powerful that, had Minato known of it, he might not have been able to protect his son from psychological neglect.

However, at this moment, Tsunade no longer cared about the "Will of Fire." In her current state, motivated by her deep affection, she could block out all mental manipulation. She only wanted to find Toki quickly to prevent him from repeating her clan's past mistakes. Ignoring any embarrassment, she hurriedly dressed and ran out.

But Toki had already left the hotel long before.

"Just ran into an ex-girlfriend," Toki muttered to himself as he quickly leapt through the trees. "Good thing I was a little tipsy; otherwise, I might've ended up as miserable as Jiraiya."

He remembered how furious Tsunade had been when he first arrived, chasing him down in a rage. Half of Konoha likely knew about it at this point. So, he had initially hidden from Tsunade, not wanting to get on her bad side again.

However, something didn't sit right with Toki, as though Tsunade wanted everyone to know about their encounter.

Pausing in the middle of a tree, he touched his chin and shook his head. "No way. Tsunade wouldn't be so bold."

Then, glancing westward into a bush, he called out, "Aren't you tired of crouching there?"

"Attack!" came a low shout.

Countless shuriken and kunai shot out from the shadows, blocking every escape route.

Toki's previously casual expression turned icy. He performed a quick hand seal and sank into the ground just as explosive tags went off.

One of the ambushers hidden in the shadows exclaimed, "That speed!"

"Found you," Toki's voice came from beneath one of the ninjas' feet.

The ninja looked down in horror, meeting Toki's blood-red Sharingan. The next instant, Toki pulled him into the earth with a deadly twist of his neck.

"There he is!" yelled a captain in white robes, spitting a massive fireball toward Toki.

Another ninja, sensing Toki's presence below ground, performed an earth-release jutsu that pushed Toki to the surface, making him visible just as the fireball closed in.

"Tch," Toki muttered, grabbing the fallen body beneath him and tossing it at the oncoming flames to shield himself. Using the brief cover, he slipped out of the attack range.

"This is all you've got?" Toki said with a faint smirk as he eyed the surrounding ninja. "Konoha or Kumogakure?"

The root ninjas remained silent and charged forward.

Toki shook his head, sighing, "Maybe I could let you go…"

But the next instant, he stepped forward, and countless identical afterimages surrounded his opponents.

The lead jounin's eyes widened. "This—this is teleportation! The Body Flicker Technique?!"

But before he could say more, Toki's kunai slit each of their throats in a swift blur.

All the attackers fell to the ground, convulsing as the jounin's life slipped away. He tried to speak, but blood poured from his mouth, and he died with his last words unspoken.

Toki flicked his kunai to clean off the blood, muttering, "Who says Shisui's the only one who can use the Body Flicker?"

He crouched to check for clues on their identities, but suddenly, all the bodies combusted in eerie green flames, burning away any evidence.

Toki narrowed his eyes at the corpse-destroying technique. "An ANBU move for sure, but from which side—Konoha or Kumogakure?"

In reality, ANBU operatives would often conceal their identities, not like in the comics where their faction was obvious. Typically, they erased all identifying marks to prevent enemies from gaining intelligence from their remains. Notably, Kakashi's visible role in ANBU was a deliberate leak, a rare exception due to his ties to the Fourth Hokage.

Toki, finding nothing, shook his head. It no longer mattered who the attackers were. With his current strength, assassinating him would be a nearly impossible task.

After confirming that no one would return for the bodies, he leapt up and vanished into the trees.

More than half a day later, a group of masked ninjas arrived at the battle scene. Their leader examined the area carefully and found the coded message left by their fallen comrade. The group exchanged looks before they all disappeared in a flash.

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