Late at night.
The flames flickered faintly along the outer wall of Konoha.
A patrol team from the Konoha Military Police Force walked slowly into the howling night wind.
The wind blew against him, carrying a chill. Uchiha Tekka instinctively pulled his robe tighter around himself.
"That's enough for today. Dismissed."
"Yes."
The patrol team dispersed, each member heading home.
Uchiha Tekka, their squad leader, lay half-reclined on the ground, gazing up at the moon through the dense, overlapping branches.
The surroundings grew quieter and quieter. A kind, elderly face appeared on the bright moon, like a photograph set inside a round frame.
Uchiha Tekka touched the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eye socket and murmured, "Grandma, I'm a Jonin now..."
"A Jonin, huh? Congratulations."
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, shattering the stillness of the night.
The thoughts in Uchiha Tekka's eyes vanished, replaced by wariness and vigilance.
He sprang to his feet in one fluid motion. Before him stood a strange man with messy hair, wearing a tiger-striped mask with a single eyehole. A Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared coldly at him.
A Sharingan?
Was he a Uchiha, too?
When had he gotten so close?
After a brief moment of shock, Uchiha Tekka reached into his Ninja Tool Pouch.
He held a Kunai in each hand, spinning them rapidly as he thrust them toward the masked man's chest.
What happened next left Uchiha Tekka unable to make sense of it.
His Kunai plunged right through the masked man's body, but the sensation in his hands told him he hadn't struck anything solid.
Horror crossed Uchiha Tekka's face. His attack had missed, and he sprang backward, his feet skimming the ground. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes shifted from side to side as he tried to find the masked man's true form.