A week passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, no more strange deaths occurred in the village. The Masked Man seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
Under Hiruzen's orders, all available shinobi worked in three shifts, patrolling inside and outside the village without pause.
They hoped to find some trace of a spy or murderer.
Even so, they still failed to find the slightest clue.
This caused Hiruzen to fly into a rage during the meeting. He declared that no matter the cost, they had to capture this brazen invader.
Once Hiruzen lost his temper, everyone below worked even harder.
They were exhausted every day, and Kakashi did not even have time to read his little books anymore.
At night, Eiji ate a flatbread and brought Xiao Er to a path outside the village.
Few people usually came here, but now it had also become part of the patrol route.
After casually inspecting the area assigned to him, Eiji found a concealed corner and rested.
The temperature had already dropped somewhat, and the wind was blowing at night.
Eiji tightened his clothes and thought that he had to apply for some winter wear.
He found a wind-sheltered corner and looked at the moon, muttering to himself.
"Who exactly is trying to frame the Uchiha?"
"Although the method isn't clever, and even a child with an IQ above two can see through it, this guy is being far too arrogant."
"But now that the Anbu squad led by Senior Kakashi has joined in, they should find the murderer soon, right?"
"After all, Senior Kakashi is a hero who fought his way through the Third Shinobi World War, and he even received the finest gift from our Uchiha clan."
"Dealing with an idiot invader like this should be a piece of cake."
Zetsu had been secretly observing Eiji all along, so he naturally relayed these words to the Masked Man.
When the Masked Man heard the news from Zetsu, he flew into a rage on the spot.
"He said my methods weren't clever? Damn Uchiha brat! No one in the entire Shinobi World has ever dared speak to me like that!"
"What kind of war hero is Kakashi? He's nothing but a worthless fool who couldn't even protect Rin!"
"Fine. Since that's the case, I'll go find the Jinchuriki. Let's see whether Kakashi can protect him in time!"
Zetsu felt like crying. The idiot seemed to have acted stupidly again.
"It's still too soon to make contact with the Jinchuriki. Our plan..."
"Shut up! We have a new plan now!"
The Masked Man ignored Zetsu completely. His figure slowly faded away, then appeared at Naruto's front door.
Usually, several Anbu watched the area around Naruto's home.
But today, they had been temporarily dispatched to carry out another mission, leaving Naruto exposed.
"Jinchuriki, we meet again."
The last time they had met, the Masked Man had killed his teacher, Minato, and nearly killed Naruto.
From that moment on, he had set foot on the irreversible path of overturning the Shinobi World.
He had not expected to meet Naruto again so soon.
"Even if I can't kill the Jinchuriki today, I'll make the entire village see just how worthless Kakashi is. He can't even protect his teacher's son!"
The moment the Masked Man pushed open the door, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Uchiha Eiji was sitting at the dining table, slowly chewing a flatbread.
"Murderer, I've finally found you."
Moonlight spilled inside, bringing a trace of brightness to the dim room.
The Masked Man looked at Eiji's handsome face, then glanced at the ninja sword gleaming coldly on the table.
He could not understand how Eiji had kept up with his movements.
The Masked Man had completely failed to notice the familiar mark carved into one corner of the room.
"How are you here?"
The answer to the Masked Man's question was a sharp Kunai.
It stabbed viciously toward the Masked Man's chest.
As a vortex flashed past, Eiji watched helplessly as the Kunai pierced through the Masked Man's body and struck the wall, sending sparks flying.
Eiji put on an appropriately startled expression. "You've mastered some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
The Masked Man also looked at Eiji in surprise. This brat was even cleverer than he had imagined.
With just one glance, he had seen through his ocular technique.
The last opponent who had been this clever was his teacher, Minato.
At that moment, Eiji swung his blade. The instant its edge touched the Masked Man's throat, his body was swallowed by a spatial vortex.
When the Masked Man appeared again, he was already in the secluded Back Mountain.
The plan had failed. Retreat.
But then a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Where are you going?"
When Eiji's cold voice sounded behind him, the muscles beneath the Masked Man's black robe instantly tensed.
Damn it, how did this brat find me?
Before he could speak, Eiji had already thrown a strangely shaped Kunai.
"Tch. That boring trick again."
The Masked Man watched Eiji approach at incredible speed.
When the Kunai once again passed through his intangible body, the Masked Man's right hand had already reached toward Eiji's chest.
As long as I touch him, I win...
"No, wait! Where is he?"
His palm had pierced only Eiji's afterimage.
Passive activated: When fighting the Uchiha, all your abilities will be enhanced.
Powerful Chakra suddenly erupted from Eiji's body!
He appeared out of thin air beside the Kunai. "This is Flying Thunder God Technique - Second Step."
Violent Chakra gathered in his right hand.
"Water Style: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"
Eiji condensed a whirlpool of water, then compressed it frantically into a water javelin that stabbed viciously toward the Masked Man's back.
The instant the water javelin touched the Masked Man's body, it transformed into a massive Water Dragon Tornado.
Countless high-pressure water blades mixed within it, wildly slicing into the Masked Man's flesh.
The Masked Man felt his black robe being torn apart, while dense, stinging pain spread across the surface of his skin.
"Cough, cough."
After the Water Dragon dissipated, the Masked Man crawled out of the ruins.
"How do you know the Fourth Hokage's technique? Who exactly are you?"
Eiji did not answer the Masked Man's question. He pointed the tip of his blade at the Masked Man's right eye.
"The Sharingan. You're a member of the Uchiha clan."
"They say that during the Nine-Tails Incident, it was a member of the Uchiha clan who caused the Nine-Tails to run wild."
"But every clan member was under Clan Head Fugaku's control that night. So obviously, you're the murderer who caused the Nine-Tails Incident."
The Masked Man sucked in a breath of cold air. Setting aside the fact that Eiji had deciphered his Space-Time Ninjutsu in a single exchange—
How had he so easily deduced what happened back then?
His intelligence was terrifying. It was actually no lower than his own!
"You really are clever." The Masked Man withdrew his iron chain. He wanted to have a proper conversation with this clever brat.
"Uchiha Eiji, you're clever, but you're also foolish. You have no idea that the world you love is fundamentally false. None of this has any meaning."
Eiji thought for a moment. He did not seem to know how to respond to such a ridiculously melodramatic speech.
So he questioned the Masked Man in return.
"You don't merely hate Konoha. You've even lost all hope in this world."
The Masked Man slowly nodded. "That's right."
"So you killed Ryoma and tried to frame the Uchiha?"
Only then did the Masked Man shake his head.
"I have no interest in those foolish Uchiha. Apart from one interesting little fellow, the other one is you."
He was about to say more when he heard approaching footsteps growing louder.
"Lightning Cutter!"
Lightning passed through the vortex. Kakashi's signature technique was completely useless against the Masked Man.
The Masked Man's unique Mangekyō Sharingan technique granted him the ability to become intangible, allowing him to evade any attack and remain invincible in battle.
The Masked Man lowered his voice. "Worthless Kakashi, just like your teacher, you're always one step too late."
Before you continue