What Battle Hero, Just a Piece of Trash

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, no more bizarre deaths occurred in the village. The Masked Man had vanished as if he'd evaporated into thin air.

Under Hiruzen's orders, every available ninja worked in three rotating shifts, patrolling ceaselessly inside and outside the village.

They hoped to find some trace of the spy or the murderer.

Even so, they couldn't uncover a single clue.

This made Hiruzen fly into a rage during meetings, declaring that no matter the cost, they had to catch this audacious intruder.

Once Hiruzen lost his temper, the men under him worked even harder.

Exhausted to the point of collapse every day, even Kakashi had no time left to read his little books.

At night, Eiji munched on a flatbread, carrying Xiao Er as he walked out to a path beyond the village.

This place usually saw few visitors, but now it had become part of the patrol zone.

Eiji casually finished checking his assigned area, then found a hidden corner to rest.

The temperature had already dropped, and the wind was blowing at night.

Eiji tightened his clothes, thinking he'd need to request some winter gear.

He found a spot sheltered from the wind, looked up at the moon, and muttered to himself.

"Who's trying to frame the Uchiha?"

"Even though the method isn't clever—any kid with an IQ over two could see through it—this guy is way too arrogant."

"But now that Senior Kakashi's Anbu squad has joined in, they'll probably find the culprit soon."

"After all, Senior Kakashi is a hero who survived the Third Shinobi World War, and he got the best gift our Uchiha clan has to offer."

"Dealing with a stupid intruder like that should be a piece of cake, right?"

Zetsu had been quietly observing Eiji and naturally relayed these words to the Masked Man.

When the Masked Man heard Zetsu's report, he flew into a rage on the spot.

"He says my methods aren't clever? Damn Uchiha brat—no one in the entire ninja world dares speak to me like that!"

"What battle hero Kakashi? He's just a worthless failure who couldn't even protect Rin!"

"Fine. If that's the case, I'll go after the Jinchuriki. Let's see if Kakashi is fast enough to protect him!"

Zetsu felt like crying. That idiot seemed to be acting up again.

"It's not time to approach the Jinchuriki yet. Our plan—"

"Shut up! There's a new plan now!"

The Masked Man ignored Zetsu entirely. His figure slowly faded, then reappeared at the doorstep of Naruto's house.

Normally, a few Anbu would be watching Naruto's place.

But today, they'd been temporarily reassigned to other missions, leaving a gap in Naruto's security.

"Jinchuriki, we meet again."

The last time they'd met, the Masked Man had killed his teacher Minato and nearly killed Naruto.

That had set him irreversibly on the path to overthrowing the ninja world.

He hadn't expected to meet Naruto again so soon.

"Even if I can't kill the Jinchuriki today, I'll make sure the whole village knows how worthless Kakashi is—he can't even protect his teacher's son!"

The moment the Masked Man pushed open the door, his pupils sharply contracted.

Uchiha Eiji was sitting at the dining table, slowly chewing on a flatbread.

"Murderer, I've finally found you."

Moonlight spilled in, bringing a sliver of light to the dim room.

The Masked Man looked at Eiji's clean-cut face, then swept his gaze over the cold gleam of the ninja sword on the table.

He couldn't understand how Eiji had kept up with his movements.

The Masked Man completely failed to notice that a familiar mark was carved into a corner of the room.

"How are you here?"

The answer to the Masked Man's question was a sharp kunai.

It stabbed fiercely toward the Masked Man's chest.

With a swirl of distortion, Eiji watched helplessly as the kunai passed through the Masked Man's body, sparks flying as it struck the wall.

Eiji put on a timely expression of surprise. "You've mastered some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

The Masked Man looked back at Eiji with equal surprise. This brat was sharper than he'd imagined.

With just one glance, he'd seen through his dojutsu.

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The last opponent this sharp was his teacher, Minato.

Just then, Eiji swung his blade. The instant the edge touched his throat, his body was swallowed by a spatial vortex.

When the Masked Man reappeared, he was already deep in the secluded Back Mountain.

Plan failed. Withdraw.

But at that moment, a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Where are you going?"

The moment Eiji's cold voice rang out from behind, the muscles beneath the Masked Man's black robe tensed instantly.

Damn it, how did this brat find me?

Before he could speak, Eiji had already thrown a strangely shaped Kunai.

"Tch, this boring trick again."

The Masked Man watched as Eiji closed in at terrifying speed.

When the Kunai pierced his intangible body once more, the Masked Man's right hand reached for Eiji's chest.

If he touched him, then victory...

"No, where is he!"

His hand passed through only Eiji's afterimage.

[Passive Activated: When fighting against an Uchiha, all your abilities are enhanced.]

Eiji's body suddenly erupted with immense Chakra!

He appeared out of thin air at the Kunai's location. "This is the Flying Thunder God Technique - Second Step."

His right hand gathered wild, surging Chakra.

"Water Style: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"

Eiji condensed a water vortex, then violently compressed it into a water javelin, hurling it viciously toward the Masked Man's back.

The moment the water javelin touched the Masked Man's body, it transformed into a massive Water Dragon Tornado.

Countless high-pressure water blades mixed within, madly slicing at the Masked Man's flesh.

The Masked Man felt his black robe tearing, a dense sting spreading across his skin.

"Cough, cough."

After the Water Dragon dissipated, the Masked Man crawled out from the rubble.

"How do you know the Fourth Hokage's techniques? Who are you!"

Eiji didn't answer the Masked Man's question. He pointed the tip of his blade at the Masked Man's right eye.

"A Sharingan. You are a member of the Uchiha clan."

"It's said that during the Nine-Tails Incident back then, it was an Uchiha who caused the Nine-Tails to go berserk."

"But that night, all the clan members were under Fugaku's control. So it's obvious—you are the one who caused the Nine-Tails Incident."

The Masked Man drew a sharp breath. Setting aside how Eiji had seen through his space-time jutsu in a single exchange—

How had he deduced the events of that year so easily?

Such terrifying intellect was on par with his own!

"You really are clever," the Masked Man said, putting away his iron chain. He thought he'd have a proper chat with this sharp little brat.

"Uchiha Eiji, you're smart, but you're also foolish. You have no idea that the world you love is nothing but a lie. All of this is meaningless."

Eiji thought for a moment. Such a chuunibyou speech—he wasn't sure how to reply.

So he turned the question back on the Masked Man.

"You don't just hate Konoha. You hold no hope for this world either."

The Masked Man slowly nodded. "Correct."

"So you killed Ryoma and tried to frame the Uchiha?"

The Masked Man shook his head this time.

"I have no interest in those foolish Uchiha. Aside from one interesting little one, the other is you."

He was about to say more when he heard footsteps drawing closer.

"Lightning Cutter!"

Lightning pierced through the vortex. Kakashi's signature technique was useless against the Masked Man.

The Masked Man's unique Mangekyo Sharingan technique granted him intangibility, allowing him to evade any attack and remain undefeated in battle.

The Masked Man lowered his voice. "Worthless Kakashi. Just like your teacher, you're always one step too late."