Throne Of The Uchiha

Real Illusion (The sneak attack had failed. What was supposed to be a swift blitz had devolved into a head-on clash. Though they held the advantage in numbers, the carefully crafted plan was now in shambles.

"Aburame Nozawa, Yamamoto Ichisuke, and Kodamaru—support by harassing six of the enemy Chūnin," ordered Uchiha Fugaku, voice calm but sharp as a blade. "Everyone else, engage one-on-one. Hyūga Ning and I will each take on a Jōnin."

Though the Chūnin were fighting solo, the three-man support unit could prevent enemy breakthroughs and ensure survival—even if they couldn't overpower their foes directly.

"I didn't expect to run into heirs of Konoha's two great clans—Hyūga and Uchiha—during a simple patrol."

A tall Iwagakure ninja stood confidently, eyes locking onto them. "Word is, the Uchiha and Hyūga have always been rivals. Funny to see you on the same team. Kuroiwa, capture them alive. The intel they carry might be priceless."

He wasn't boasting—his chakra signature alone suggested elite strength. Either this was a seasoned Iwa Jōnin… or a dangerously arrogant one.

Fugaku's eyes narrowed. A serious opponent, right out the gate. With practiced ease, he flicked several kunai into the air. They spun and ricocheted, colliding mid-flight and redirecting unpredictably—an Uchiha specialty refined over generations.

"So this is the Uchiha clan's famed shurikenjutsu," the tall ninja muttered. "I'll remember this technique."

"Akagi," Kuroiwa warned, "don't let your guard down. The Sharingan excels at genjutsu. Eye contact could mean death."

Though Akagi remained silent, Fugaku caught the subtle tightening of his grip—caution had replaced confidence.

With two kunai drawn, Akagi charged. His speed defied his bulky frame, but to the trained eye of the Sharingan, even blinding motion had flaws.

Fugaku stepped forward to meet him. Taijutsu was his strength, and within close range, the Sharingan's predictive abilities were lethal. Each movement, each twitch of a muscle, was laid bare to him. And when the time was right, a genjutsu would open a critical gap.

But Akagi was no rookie. He kept his gaze indirect and wove hand signs quickly.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

A thick wall erupted from the ground. Akagi pounded it, launching chunks of stone toward Fugaku.

The Sharingan spun. Dodging came naturally, the world slowed around him as he weaved between rock fragments. But he didn't charge. Fugaku had seen enough Earth-style users to know—most Earth jutsu chains were traps. If he moved in recklessly, he'd likely trigger a follow-up.

Instead, he circled, watching for signs of another jutsu, and launched several shuriken at odd angles, using sleight-of-hand to curve them unnaturally.

Elsewhere on the field, Fugaku quickly assessed the situation. The Konoha Chūnin were cooperating well—Aburame Nozawa's insects disrupted enemy chakra flow, Ichisuke's wind jutsu kept foes at bay, and Inuzuka Maru had already isolated a Jōnin and taken the fight deeper into the forest, assisted by his ninken Aimaru.

Hyūga Ning, a branch member trained in Kaiten, held off another Iwa Jōnin with sharp precision. The gentle fists kept his enemy from weaving seals.

The situation was stable—for now. But enemy reinforcements could arrive at any time.

Back in his own battle, Fugaku saw his opponent leap to dodge the shuriken. Mid-air, Akagi wove hand seals again.

"Earth Style: Hiding in Rock Technique—Yellow Spring Swamp!"

But Fugaku's Sharingan had already dissected the seals. In an instant, he activated the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing in a blur.

The mire of chakra-imbued mud exploded beneath where he once stood, missing him entirely.

Scarlet tomoe spun as Fugaku closed the gap. Now.

A kunai lunged at Akagi's heart. The Iwa ninja's instincts screamed, and he twisted midair, avoiding the fatal strike—but just barely.

Fugaku didn't let up. Dual kunai slashed in a flowing rhythm. He forced Akagi onto the defensive, keeping him from forming seals. The genjutsu came in waves—brief flashes of color, displaced shadows, subtle bends in the terrain.

They weren't full illusions. Not yet. But they nudged Akagi's senses, feeding him the wrong information, without triggering his alarm.

That was the trick of the Sharingan: not brute-force genjutsu, but psychological manipulation. A single illusion wasn't always enough—but multiple subtle, real-time misperceptions? Those could lead even veterans to their deaths.

Their weapons clashed again. Fugaku's Sharingan pulsed. This time, Akagi saw Fugaku stumble into a shallow pit.

An opening.

His kunai slashed toward Fugaku's throat—but missed.

A spike of pain bloomed in Akagi's chest.

His eyes widened. He wasn't there.

The stumble, the pit, even the body tilt—it had all been a complex illusion stacked with precise timing and physical suggestion.

The kunai hadn't found Fugaku's throat—it scraped his arm.

Fugaku's blade, however, had struck true—through Akagi's chest, piercing his heart.

The Iwa ninja staggered backward, disbelief etched on his face. As he opened his mouth, blood welled up and streamed from both lips and chest.

Another slash from Fugaku finished it—clean across the throat. Double fatal damage. A precision kill.

Akagi crumpled.

Fugaku looked down, breathing calmly. "The most effective illusions are grounded in reality."

A pulse registered in his mind.

"Enemy Jōnin slain. Gained a medium amount of pupil power."

He didn't smile. Another opponent would arrive soon.

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Notes on Manga Accuracy:

Uchiha Fugaku was said in databooks and implied in the manga to possess a Mangekyō Sharingan (though never shown directly), and was recognized as powerful enough to be a candidate for Fourth Hokage.

His genjutsu-based and weapon-focused fighting style aligns with other Uchiha like Itachi and Shisui.

Earth Release jutsu like Earth-Style Wall and Swamp of the Underworld (黄泉沼) are canon Iwa techniques used by ninja like Jiraiya and Kakuzu, appropriate for an elite Iwa Jōnin.

The Sharingan's real power often lies not in direct illusion, but manipulating perception gradually—something Itachi and Shisui were known for. Fugaku, as clan head, would have refined this technique.

Hyūga Ning using Kaiten aligns with higher-ranking Hyūga, even in the Branch family.

The teamwork and tactical roles (Aburame for chakra disruption, Inuzuka for tracking, etc.) reflect correct clan-based abilities.