There's One!

"One after another. Don't push!"

Outside the shelter, a Konoha Chunin was directing the evacuees.

Shinji, having changed his clothes, was among them. He followed the instructions and walked with the crowd toward the shelter.

Obviously,

after stopping the rampaging Nine-Tails and awakening Naruto, he had blended into the crowd of evacuees like an ordinary villager.

Konoha's shelter was inside the mountain behind Kage Rock.

Following the crowd to the entrance, he stopped just before entering the mountain and looked back at the village.

The commotion over there was gradually dying down. It seemed the situation was under control.

I hope Naruto's all right!

He muttered to himself, then turned his gaze away and followed the crowd into the shelter.

"Shinji, over here! Over here!"

Shinji had barely made it inside the shelter and had yet to take in his surroundings when a voice called out to him.

He looked toward the sound and saw Shion hopping up and down in the distance, waving at him.

What a lunatic!

Shinji turned his face away.

He was afraid of drawing attention to himself right now. How could he risk acting familiar with Shion, the Land of Demons Miko? There were so many people watching in the shelter. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

So he ignored Shion and glanced around the shelter before heading straight over to his classmates on the other side.

Haku came over to him. "Shinji, I'm so glad you're all right."

Rock Lee also stepped forward. "We didn't see you earlier, and everyone was worried!"

Shinji nodded, neither distant nor overly friendly.

Then he noticed that most of his classmates, including Haku and Karin, were there, so he sat down with relief.

But as soon as he relaxed, a sharp pain shot through his eyes!

The pain was much worse than before, as if something were actually stabbing his eyeballs.

At the same time, his vision suddenly blurred.

Having grown accustomed to the Mangekyō Sharingan's keen perception, he found the sudden blurriness deeply unsettling. He even felt dizzy on instinct.

Haku noticed something was wrong and hurriedly steadied him. "Shinji, are you feeling unwell? Are you hurt?"

His classmates all turned to look at him, their eyes filled with concern.

Karin was still keeping to herself, curled up alone in a corner. But when she heard that Shinji might be hurt, she quickly looked over, hesitating over whether to roll up her sleeves.

"I'm fine."

Shinji waved a hand, then rested it against his forehead and pretended to nap.

He wasn't too surprised by the Mangekyō Sharingan acting up.

Over the past few short weeks, he had used his Mangekyō Sharingan far too much!

During the first invasion, he had relied on a burst of Dojutsu to kill the Hand Demon with Susanoo. Then, to save Shion, he had activated Susanoo again.

Just now, to subdue the Nine-Tails, he had simply forced his way through with the Mangekyō Sharingan's power.

No technique. Just brute force!

Although he had dealt with the terrifying Nine-Tails in an instant, the strain on his Dojutsu had far exceeded his expectations.

Looks like I'm really going to earn the title of "Fastest Legend."

Shinji mocked himself silently.

At this rate, he felt he would soon have to learn to live as a blind man.

Did he regret it? He looked around.

Not far away, Teacher Iruka was holding a list and counting the students in the shelter, his face full of worry and anxiety.

Crying could be heard throughout the shelter.

Fear and helplessness showed on everyone's faces.

During the last Nine-Tails Attack, the Fourth Hokage had still been there to protect the village. But this time, who could subdue the Nine-Tails and save Konoha?

Even the Ninja Academy students were frightened and uneasy, let alone the civilians.

Tenten was tugging at Iruka, her voice choked with tears. "Teacher Iruka, is everything really all right outside? When can we go home?"

Iruka reassured her. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. You have to trust everyone!"

Shinji watched it all, then looked away. "I'll let it go this time. Next time, I definitely won't push myself. Definitely!"

Suddenly,

all the red warning lights in the shelter went out.

An old man walked in and announced, "The situation has been brought under control. Everyone may leave the shelter in an orderly manner!"

Shinji glanced at him and recognized him as Mitokado Homura, one of Konoha's advisory elders.

"Is it over?"

"Thank goodness!"

"We can finally go home!"

The shelter erupted in cheers.

Many villagers who had lived through the Nine-Tails Attack even embraced each other and wept, relieved to have survived another disaster.

Shinji got up with the others and slowly headed for the shelter exit. He was truly exhausted from the day's events.

Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage looked at the ANBU before him and scolded them. "Why did this happen? Who's going to explain it to me?"

An ANBU stepped forward, bracing himself. "Lord Hokage, we've investigated what happened. We can confirm this was a premeditated attack."

The ANBU then reported in detail how the attacker had lured away the ANBU guarding Naruto by attacking Karin, and then ambushed Naruto.

Utatane Koharu, one of the advisory elders standing nearby, frowned. "I don't want to hear that. I only want to know whether the culprit was caught."

The ANBU lowered his head. "I'm sorry. Due to a lack of manpower, we failed to catch the person who attacked Naruto Uzumaki."

"Useless!"

Just then, Danzo stormed into the Hokage Office with two subordinates.

The ANBU, scolded by Danzo, stiffened and gave him an apologetic bow. "I'm sorry!"

Danzo ignored the ANBU and asked the Third Hokage, "Has it been confirmed? Did Sasuke Uchiha use a Dojutsu to control the Nine-Tails?"

The Third Hokage clasped his hands behind his back and turned to look out the window without answering.

All the signs pointed to that conclusion, but he found it hard to believe that a seven-year-old boy could have such talent.

Utatane Koharu picked up where he left off. "Although the scene was chaotic, more than ten witnesses claim they saw the Nine-Tails' eyes change into the pattern of the Sharingan from a distance!"

Only then did the Third Hokage speak slowly. "Kakashi has confirmed that Sasuke awakened the Sharingan—and it's the Two-Tomoe Sharingan."

Danzo's expression instantly twisted with anger. "I heard he was nearby when Naruto Uzumaki was attacked! It seems we've all been fooled by that brat!"

Utatane Koharu looked puzzled. "You suspect Sasuke Uchiha planned this attack? Danzo, have you lost your mind?"

Danzo said irritably, "Just after Naruto Uzumaki was attacked, someone infiltrated my base while I went to stop the Nine-Tails."

Utatane Koharu was even more confused. "What does that have to do with Sasuke Uchiha?"

At that moment, a Root shinobi stepped forward from behind Danzo. He first bowed respectfully to the Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu, then explained, "His Dojutsu was extremely powerful. I only caught a glimpse of him, but his genjutsu already had me under control."

Without a doubt,

the Root shinobi who had followed Danzo into the Hokage Office was the same one Shinji had controlled with genjutsu earlier, forcing him to take Shinji to Danzo's vault.

The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes, his expression growing even more serious.

Utatane Koharu also realized the key issue and pressed him. "Are you certain the other person controlled you with a Dojutsu?"

The Root shinobi nodded. "The other person was wearing a mask, so I couldn't see what his eyes looked like. But I'm certain he was an Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan."

Danzo's direct subordinates had all undergone extremely rigorous training to resist interrogation and genjutsu.

So although the Root shinobi had been caught in a genjutsu the moment they met, he had still managed to identify the other person through certain details.

But the problem was that, after the Uchiha clan was wiped out, there were no Uchihas in the village who fit that description.

No, there was one!

The Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu both thought of Sasuke Uchiha, who had just revealed his Sharingan.