The Arena's Gaze

In the apartment.

Shinji, having returned, stood still for a while before removing his disguise mask and cloak.

The counter-attack this time hadn't taken much time. The wall clock showed it was only about forty minutes from start to finish, yet he felt exhausted.

He could barely bear this burden!

Looking out the window, he gazed at Konohagakure, quiet in the dead of night. A nameless sense of loneliness grew in his heart. Right now, no one but him knew that a crisis was descending, and he couldn't shout it out loud.

It seemed everything could only be silently endured by him, an Uchiha survivor.

"Why me?"

He began to feel insecure, doubting whether he truly had the ability to prevent the destruction of the Ninja World.

However, he didn't let this pessimistic emotion spread further. Instead, he quickly collected his thoughts and began to consider countermeasures.

The burden was already on his shoulders; he had to do his best!

As a Junior Lantern Bearer, he currently had the authority to recruit two attendants.

This meant he could choose two helpers from the Ninja World, two who could be told the truth without fear of being corrupted by other worlds.

"Who should I find?"

The first person he thought of wasn't anyone else but Itachi Uchiha, who had once killed him.

This was because Itachi was the only ninja in the Ninja World, besides himself, who possessed the 'Amaterasu' Dojutsu.

He had a natural counter to demons, coupled with his Shadow-level strength, he could almost deal with any invading demon.

But his recruitment of attendants could only block corruption, not guarantee loyalty.

Not to mention he couldn't even reach Itachi Uchiha right now. Even if they could meet, given his status as a survivor of the clan massacre, it would be difficult to build mutual trust with Itachi, the perpetrator of the massacre.

If Itachi saw him as a madman or a conspirator plotting to overthrow Konoha and immediately hit him with the 'Totsuka Blade', the loss would outweigh the gain.

"With my current strength, I shouldn't provoke such a dangerous individual."

He shook his head.

He felt that only after possessing the strength to converse with Itachi as an equal could he consider recruiting a ninja of Itachi's caliber as his attendant.

Afterward, he thought of Sasuke, but quickly dismissed the idea.

It would take at least six to seven years for Sasuke to awaken his Mangekyo and obtain 'Amaterasu'. He could wait, but the Ninja World might not be able to.

Then, he considered others.

This helper couldn't be too weak, as they would be useless. Nor could they be too strong, because strong individuals usually belonged to ninja villages or organizations and were unlikely to obey him, an Uchiha survivor. It would also be difficult to guarantee they wouldn't leak information about other worlds, causing secondary corruption.

Furthermore, it would be best if the helper had a means to deal with demons.

Even if they couldn't quickly eliminate the demons, they should at least be able to trap them, allowing him to deal with them or wait for the sun to appear to resolve the situation.

Unfortunately.

After searching for a long time, there wasn't a single trustworthy person with such abilities around him.

With a sigh, he remembered 'Lower Rank Six' in Rui's eyes.

He clearly remembered Rui being 'Lower Rank Five' among the Twelve Kizuki, but now he had become 'Lower Rank Six'. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but now, thinking about it, he realized something was wrong.

The one manipulating the invasion from behind the scenes this time was a 'Lantern Bearer' just like him.

The world of Demon Slayer had likely undergone significant changes. If he still judged based on his old impressions, he would falter.

There was also Shion.

During the first invasion by the Hand Demon, she had seen it. Although her memory was now sealed by Shinji's Genjutsu and the corruption temporarily contained, it wasn't foolproof.

"Give Shion a slot, help her block corruption? A shrine maiden's sealing technique might have a miraculous effect on demons!" After thinking for a while, he hesitated, "But she's still a child..."

Demons truly hunted humans for food. Shion was only seven years old and only knew how to shop.

At this moment, his eyes felt uncomfortable, reminding him that he had overused his Dojutsu for the day.

Along with it came a strong sense of fatigue, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning.

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking woke Shinji from his sleep. He blinked groggily for a moment before reacting.

Opening the door, he found Haku standing outside, holding a bento box. "Haku? Weren't you..."

Haku smiled. "The misunderstanding between the village and Kirigakure has been resolved."

Shinji's gaze fell on the bento box in Haku's hand.

Haku immediately handed the bento box to Shinji. "I saw you still hadn't gotten up so late, so I went downstairs to buy you some breakfast."

Shinji glanced back at the wall clock in the room and found it was already ten in the morning.

After inviting Haku into the apartment, Shinji ate his breakfast while listening to Haku recount the negotiation process between the village and Kirigakure.

It turned out that due to the Nine-Tails' rampage that night, Kirigakure, feeling most suspected, had immediately approached the Third, stating that Kirigakure had nothing to do with the incident. To show their sincerity, they had voluntarily abandoned their demand for Konohagakure to hand over Haku.

So Haku regained his freedom today.

"I see."

Shinji mused, a thought secretly forming in his mind.

Haku then asked, "I heard the village has reduced the number of stages for this Chunin Exams. After the written exam in the morning, the final matches will take place in the arena this afternoon. Shinji, would you like to go watch?"

Shinji also wanted to take a breather, so he nodded.

Before long, the two arrived at the arena together.

Perhaps because the incident with the Nine-Tails' rampage was resolved too quickly, the villagers were not only unaffected but also greatly encouraged.

After all, in the eyes of ordinary villagers, being able to quickly subdue the rampaging Nine-Tails indicated that the village's strength was greater than before.

Therefore, when Shinji bought his ticket and entered, he found the place already packed with people.

Finding their seats, Shinji and Haku chatted while waiting for the matches to begin.

Just then, the people around them suddenly looked in one direction, whispering amongst themselves.

Shinji followed their gaze and saw Sasuke walk into the arena through the opposite entrance, hands casually in his pockets, looking cool.

Haku, standing beside him, took a deep look at Sasuke. "Shinji, is that your fellow clansman, Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yeah."

Haku couldn't help but exclaim, "I heard it was him who single-handedly subdued the rampaging Nine-Tails that night and saved the village! He's even younger than us, it's unbelievable!"

Shinji noticed that others around them were also expressing similar admiration.

He subconsciously scanned the resting areas of the other villages and saw that the ninja from other villages participating in the Chunin Exams were also subtly observing Sasuke at that moment.

Feeling the attention from all directions, Sasuke's expression turned cold, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly passes! Thank you all!