A moonless, windy night!
There was no moonlight tonight. Though it was not yet so dark that one could not see their hand in front of their face, visibility was still poor.
Fortunately, Konoha had plenty of streetlights, so most areas remained clearly visible.
But in places without streetlights, it was still extremely difficult to see one's surroundings.
The Nara Clan!
It, too, was shrouded in silence.
It could be said that today was a rare day of peaceful rest for them after all this time.
People had constantly surrounded the clan grounds before, so they had not dared rest peacefully at night, fearing another Uchiha Night of the Clan Massacre.
But things were different now!
After Asuma took office, their circumstances had improved considerably no matter what.
Especially with Nara Shikamaru's return, their connection to the Hokage had become far closer. They no longer feared that he would burn the bridge after crossing it and sacrifice the Nara Clan.
In the Shinobi World, a master-disciple relationship was even closer than that of father and son, because the disciple would inherit their master's Ninja Way and ideals.
Thus, the Nara Clan could finally rest without worry, enjoying a rare peaceful night.
There had once been patrols at night.
But there were none now.
Normally, no one in Konoha would patrol within clan grounds. That was the Military Police Force's job.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures dressed in black night clothes and wearing masks appeared outside the Nara Clan, then entered without hesitation.
Mind you, the Nara Clan having no patrols did not mean it lacked defensive measures.
All sorts of traps and barriers lay in wait. One careless step would trigger them, and any intruder would meet a disastrous end.
Yet these black-clad figures moved as though they had expected it,