The receptionist did not dare to continue his inquiry due to Uchiha Teru's demeanor. From his behavior and the overwhelming presence of gold dust, the receptionist realized this was no ordinary transaction. Intimidated and understanding the weight of the situation, he simply called for his superiors. With such a massive amount of gold dust displayed, no ordinary staff would dare risk a closer inspection without higher authority.
Shortly after, a portly, well-dressed middle-aged man descended from the second floor, his face adorned with a commercial smile. Clearly a high-ranking figure, he approached Teru with practiced hospitality, engaging in polite conversation. Unfortunately for him, Uchiha Teru was not interested in pleasantries. He dismissed the formalities and urged the man to proceed swiftly—confirm the gold and publish the bounty.
Recognizing the urgency in Teru's tone and status, the middle-aged man turned to the original receptionist and ordered a thorough verification, assuring Teru that it would be done under his supervision. With him overseeing the process, there would be no room for deceit or tampering with the gold dust.
An hour later, the receptionist returned, his expression shaken with disbelief. He nodded solemnly to the middle-aged man, confirming the authenticity of the gold. Ten cubic meters—every last grain—was real.
Even the seasoned black market deacon couldn't hide his surprise.
Rich—truly rich.
His gaze toward Uchiha Teru changed instantly, eyes brimming with awe and greed.
Uchiha Hui frowned. "Now that it's verified, will you issue the bounty?"
The middle-aged man remained composed despite the Uchiha's cold demeanor. He had dealt with powerful and arrogant clients before—wealth made people difficult, and Uchiha Teru had both power and wealth in abundance.
"Well... the Sarutobi clan… you know their name still carries weight. Issuing a bounty on the entire clan might provoke retaliation. What if they cause problems for us?"
Uchiha Hui scoffed inwardly. The black market—afraid of retaliation?
"The Sarutobi clan is finished. They lack numbers, strength, and leadership. They won't be able to retaliate. What you're looking at," Teru's voice lowered dangerously, "isn't just gold. It's the cost of taking a risk. And I'm paying it upfront."
Though he remained outwardly impatient, Uchiha Hui was secretly thrilled. This was the first time he could throw around such wealth with abandon. In his original timeline, he'd lived a frugal life, unable to afford such grand displays. Even after learning Sand Release, he never had the chance to truly enjoy its luxuries.
The black market deacon, despite his initial hesitation, was no fool. As the steward of the largest underground market, he stayed well-informed about world events. Danzo's death had already reached his ears, and Uchiha Teru's identity had been circulated through underground channels. When he heard Teru mention the downfall of the Sarutobi clan, he believed it. Not only had the Sarutobi lost their shadow-level leaders, but with the likes of Uchiha Yun and Teru moving against them, their fate seemed sealed.
More frightening than outright destruction was the strategy behind it—it wasn't just extermination, it was annihilation by suffering. The plan seemed to be to leave survivors, but only enough to live in despair.
The deacon trembled. Killing was one thing, but to orchestrate a slow demise of an entire clan... that was chilling.
With the confirmation settled, the bounty was officially posted, and Uchiha Hui left the black market. He didn't want to linger—his presence for over an hour was already risky. Although confident in his abilities, he preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble. Now wasn't the time to start a fight.
The very next day, after the explosive news of Danzo's death and the supposed "criminal" incident, the Immortal Organization once again sent shockwaves through the ninja world.
Uchiha Yun had launched a direct assault on the Sarutobi clan. A single magma fireball—massive and terrifying—reduced large parts of the Sarutobi estate to molten ruin. The losses were devastating.
Simultaneously, Uchiha Teru appeared in the black market, issuing a bounty on every surviving Sarutobi ninja.
Even the weakest genin received a bounty of 500,000 ryo. Chunin and jōnin received increasingly higher prices. Asuma Sarutobi himself, once valued at 30 million ryo due to being the son of the Hokage, found his bounty matched across the board. Now, every Sarutobi ninja was priced like a Hokage's heir.
Elite bounty hunters and rogue ninjas across the continent went mad with excitement.
The gold dust paid upfront was unheard of—ten full cubic meters. Even the veteran black market deacons were left speechless.
Rumors began to swirl. Some speculated that Uchiha Teru had looted the treasury of Sunagakure.
The higher-ups of Sunagakure thought the same—at first.
After a hasty investigation, they discovered that their gold reserves were untouched, though that didn't ease their concerns.
Sunagakure relied heavily on gold dust, both as a weapon and as currency. Releasing such a massive amount of unregulated gold into the market could cause prices to collapse. Their entire economy, already fragile, was now at risk.
The possibility that someone within the Immortal Organization had mastered the Sand Release horrified them.
Bloodline limit users were dangerous by nature. Lone bloodline users—those without clans—were even more terrifying, as they were unpredictable and ruthless. With Sand Release, even a single user could pose a shadow-level threat.
Sunagakure feared the worst.
If the Immortal Organization could replicate the Mokuton-based magma giants, could they also produce sand giants?
The implications were terrifying, and no one in the village could refute them.
The question now lingered across every intelligence network:
What was the Immortal Organization?
Unlike the Akatsuki, which had been active since the Third Great Ninja War, the Immortal Organization had no history, no roots—only sudden, overwhelming presence. And their strength rivaled, perhaps even exceeded, the Five Great Nations.
In a dark underground chamber, a lone lamp cast flickering light across the stone walls. Around it, ten ghostly projections hovered—Akatsuki's holographic meeting.
At the center, Konan initiated the meeting.
"You've all heard the news," she said calmly. "The Immortal Organization is no longer a rumor. From what we've seen, their strength is undeniable. The individuals revealed so far are on par with any of us. In fact, some may even surpass us. We need to assess them and determine our response."
Silence.
Then, Tobi—A Fei—spoke up first.
"What's to assess? They're enemies. One of them attacked us the moment we met—no hesitation. Their strikes are meant to kill."
A heavy silence returned. No one disagreed, but no one volunteered to add more.
"Hey, Itachi," Tobi broke the silence again. "You've seen what they're doing. This is about the Uchiha clan. Don't you have anything to say?"
"Yeah, Itachi," another voice joined. "You were there when the clan was wiped out. This is revenge—your revenge."
Itachi's cold voice finally cut through the silence.
"The ones that slipped through the net… I will kill them."
Itachi had his reasons. The vengeance enacted by Uchiha Yun and Teru was too extreme. He feared they might eventually turn on Sasuke. They were unstable factors—and unstable factors had to be eliminated before they lost control.
Then Kakuzu spoke, uninterested in the politics.
"Did you see the bounty? Ten cubic meters of gold dust—for one clan. That kind of wealth... why don't we recruit them?"
Tobi immediately disagreed.
"No. They should be destroyed."
His voice was tense. He knew too much—and the enemy knew just as much about him.
Uchiha Yun had identified Danzo's secrets instantly. He'd revealed Obito's true abilities, and even seemed to know about the other Sharingan and arm Danzo had hidden under his robes.
Obito had seen it himself in Konoha. Danzo's final trump card—The Four-Seal Formation—was referenced directly by Yun.
He knew everything.
That wasn't intuition. That was data. Specific. Detailed. Accurate.
"I've told you before," Tobi said urgently, "the Mangekyō Sharingan has two unique abilities. One of Uchiha Yun's is likely omniscience—or something very close. He knew everything about Danzo."
The rest of Akatsuki fell silent again, expressions hardening.
Yes—Tobi had warned them. But they hadn't listened. Now, his fears were manifesting.
Yun didn't just know—he understood. Every weakness, every hidden card.
This wasn't just another powerful enemy.
This was a threat to their very existence.