Leaving Konoha

The new Shadow Space was very close to the Hokage Building, less than two hundred meters away in a straight line.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary street-front shop. It had been bought just a few days ago, with Uchiha Izumi handling the transaction.

Uchiha Arashi had never intended to actually leave Konoha. He needed to stay there, keep an eye on the Konoha Ninja's every move, and intervene at the most opportune moment to dismantle the village's current power structure from within. Of course, if he had a sufficiently compelling reason, flattening Konoha outright was also an option.

But that would require a large number of readers to provide him with Power of Recognition, allowing him to recreate powerful abilities from other worlds.

With only the native powers of the Ninja World, overwhelming Konoha would be too difficult. He would need to reach the level of Madara Uchiha at his peak.

Konoha's advantage was that it was prosperous and populous, which meant it could gather plenty of Power of Recognition.

Other places had plenty of people too, but if they weren't prosperous enough, people wouldn't have the time or energy to read. They could only rely on stories passed down by word of mouth. But that didn't conflict with settling in Konoha. The best choice was to do both.

"When should we start the next step?"

Uchiha Izumi brought him a new set of clothes, then asked with her back turned.

"Right now. The Daimyo is still in Konoha, and he's drawing a lot of the village's attention. I can use this chance to leave and go to the Capital of Fire to make the final preparations... By the way, do we still have enough money?"

"We do. We could feed everyone here for another year without any trouble."

Izumi was now the chief steward of the New Uchiha, in charge of its finances. That was why she had handled the purchase of the property.

"While I'm gone, you can try going out and acting as the bookstore owner's wife. Let the neighbors get used to seeing you first."

"Mm."

Izumi nodded. Out of Uchiha Arashi's sight, her face turned as red as an apple.

The owner's wife... It was, it was so embarrassing!

"You're already familiar with how to enter and leave Shadow Space. You have to keep it active the whole time. If someone sees through your identity, get back into Shadow Space immediately and hide. The new space is better concealed, so it'll be harder for Konoha to figure out how to break in. That should give me enough time to get back... Don't use your dōjutsu unless you have to. Save it for a more critical moment. You've felt it too, haven't you? Your eyesight getting worse."

Uchiha Arashi spoke as he changed.

"I have. My eyesight isn't as good as it used to be."

Izumi raised a hand to cover her left eye.

Yomotsu Hirasaka, one of her Mangekyo dōjutsu.

She had only used it twice before, and those two uses had already caused her eyesight to deteriorate slightly.

"As far as I know, there are only two ways to avoid going blind. Either evolve into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or obtain Hashirama Cells. The first requires a blood relative's Mangekyo, and neither of us can manage that. So the only thing we can pursue is Hashirama Cells."

That was what Uchiha Arashi had been thinking about lately: how to reduce or even eliminate the risk of going blind.

After weighing his options, Hashirama Cells seemed easier to obtain.

Both Orochimaru and Danzo had plenty of material. Orochimaru had even used Shin Uchiha's unique constitution to create a special arm.

That was one possible route.

The other was to find White Zetsu. Obito could use Kamui as much as he pleased thanks to White Zetsu, and Uchiha Arashi had long been green with envy.

"Anyway, that's the situation. Be extra careful over the next few days and try not to attract Konoha's attention. Wait until I get back."

Uchiha Arashi finished changing and spoke.

Izumi turned around and looked at Uchiha Arashi, who now looked just like his usual self.

"Are you leaving now? Why not rest for the night first?"

"It'll be easier to leave before Konoha has fully reacted. Of course, I have Kamui, so I can leave whenever I want, but it's better to take care of the important things first before something unexpected happens."

Using his Mangekyo so intensely had put a tremendous strain on his body.

Fortunately, he could draw on Natural Energy. He had strengthened himself with it while using his dōjutsu. It was nowhere near as powerful as Sage Mode, but it had still reduced the strain on him overall.

"You... Be careful on the way."

Izumi opened her mouth.

She had so much more she wanted to say, but in the end, all she managed was that one sentence.

"Don't worry, Izumi. I'll come back safely. I couldn't bear to leave you here alone for long."

Uchiha Arashi grinned.

Izumi's face turned red again, even though she had only just managed to calm herself down.

"Don't say silly things. You have other younger siblings too. They're waiting for you as well."

"Maybe."

Uchiha Arashi smiled without committing, then activated his ability. Shadow covered his body, and he vanished.

Outside.

The Konoha Ninja had already taken action.

After the capture operation failed, the Third immediately ordered tighter surveillance of the village's major streets. They added even more patrols near the gates and along the walls.

When Uchiha Arashi reached the wall and saw a guard posted every few steps, he couldn't help letting out a quiet breath.

"I really did stir up a hornet's nest this time. Good thing I have Kamui."

He activated his dōjutsu. A doorway appeared in the air, and Uchiha Arashi stepped through it, officially leaving Konoha.

This time, he was heading to the Capital of Fire. With the documents the Daimyo had given him, he would secure a legitimate identity for himself.

But before that, he had an old friend to visit.

The Empty District was a long-abandoned residential area. A long, long time ago, it had been one of the main places where the Uchiha lived. Now it belonged to the Ninja Cat Clan.

"Long time no see, Granny Cat."

"Oh, it's little Arashi. Long time no see. I didn't expect you to survive."

"Surprised?"

"A little. When Konoha strikes, it does so like a bolt of lightning. Everyone else died, but you survived. Looks like you really do have some special skills."

Granny Cat smoked her pipe and watched Uchiha Arashi through the haze.

She was the leader of the Ninja Cat Clan. The clan had long worked with the Uchiha Clan, making them something like half-allies.

Unfortunately, when faced with an event as momentous as the Uchiha Clan's extermination, the Ninja Cat Clan simply hadn't been able to help.

Ninja cats weren't suited to combat, and Konoha would have kept the news under wraps. Even if the Ninja Cat Clan had somehow gotten hold of the information, it would have been difficult to get it to the Uchiha.

Uchiha Arashi understood all that, so he hadn't come to accuse her. He had something else in mind.

"Granny Cat, is the Ninja Cat Clan still willing to work with the Uchiha?"

"Of course. I've never refused."

"Good. Then please give me some information about Orochimaru."

Uchiha Arashi stared at Granny Cat and spoke slowly.