Night had fallen, yet Konoha remained as bustling as ever. The clamor showed no signs of stopping, and the villagers seemed unaware that darkness had arrived, still strolling leisurely through the streets and alleys as bright laughter rang out from time to time.
As time passed, the night deepened. Shops began closing one after another, and shortly before midnight, all of Konoha was plunged into darkness.
After all, it was not truly a city that never slept. Villagers and ninjas alike needed rest before beginning a new day's work.
At that moment, a dark figure abruptly appeared and swiftly made its way out of the village along a small path. He seemed highly familiar with Konoha's hidden sentries, cleverly avoiding the sightlines of those Anbu ninjas.
In truth, once peacetime set in, the usual hidden sentries inevitably grew lax. Even Otsutsuki Kinshiki's attack had been several years ago, and Konoha's covert watch posts had decreased year by year. After all, maintaining such things appeared to cost a great deal while serving little practical purpose.
Moreover, as Konoha's villagers stayed up later and later, they had invisibly added to the pressure on those sentries.
The dark figure moved swiftly and soon approached the village gate. The gates were tightly shut at night, while patrol ninjas passed by from time to time.
The dark figure stopped in a concealed spot and adjusted his glasses. Silently counting the time since the patrol squad had passed, he burst out in an instant. The high wall seemed nonexistent in his eyes; within two seconds, he was already standing atop it.
At that moment, faint ripples of chakra spread through the air. This was Konoha's detection barrier. Any ninja attempting to enter or leave would trigger it, immediately alerting the Anbu reconnaissance unit. The only way