"Infiltrating" Root Headquarters

"Arashi!"

Ayatsuki immediately stopped and greeted Uchiha Arashi.

"How have you been feeling these past few days? Anything bothering you?"

Uchiha Arashi asked.

It had been several days since he had given her the Eye of God. He'd been busy with all sorts of things and hadn't had much time to check on Ayatsuki.

"I'm fine. Nothing's bothering me."

Ayatsuki shook her head and answered softly.

The Eye of God had given her a way to fight that was completely different from ninjutsu. She was still figuring out how to better incorporate it into battle.

The Pyro element was different from the Electro element. Izumi's Electro Vision could stimulate her body with lightning, greatly increasing its vitality and improving her reaction and movement speed. Flames didn't offer that kind of convenience. She couldn't use them to strengthen herself directly, only affect things outside her body.

"If you have any questions, you can always come ask me. Don't be shy—just think of me as your real big brother."

Uchiha Arashi smiled and reached out to pat Ayatsuki on the head. In reality, she had no such thing as a big brother; she had always been the only child in her family.

Ayatsuki narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Okay, I understand."

After chatting for a couple more minutes, Uchiha Arashi told Ayatsuki to get back to work. He then turned and went into the study to continue writing.

That had been his main occupation lately.

Teyvat Travelogue had entered a new arc. He was slowing down his writing pace to give readers enough time, while extracting as much Power of Recognition from them as possible. Publishing too quickly would only waste that power, which would defeat the purpose.

So Uchiha Arashi was now working on his second novel: the story of Bleach, which he had once told the clan children.

He hadn't forgotten about Illusion. He knew all too well how useful a Zanpakuto could be, so he had no intention of giving it up. And besides Zanpakuto, the abilities in the Bleach world were all incredibly useful too: Kido, Hado, Fullbring, and the Quincy's unique Reishi Technology.

He had already confirmed that Shadow Space and Illusion could be used in the Ninja World, which proved that other abilities would work as well. The thought of all those varied powers filled Uchiha Arashi with inspiration to write.

However, he would need to make some changes to the story. In particular, he couldn't write Shadow Space into it as is, or Konoha would immediately be able to identify him.

When someone focused on a task, time often flew by.

Before he knew it, dusk had fallen. The bookstore closed for the day, and Izumi locked the door and started doing the accounts. Ayatsuki and Shizuka went to make dinner for everyone.

They had been doing that for some time now. Izumi used to have some free time, but these days she was completely tied up with the bookstore.

Ayatsuki was old enough, and often cooked at home, so she naturally took over the task.

After dinner, Izumi entered Shadow Space to help her younger siblings with their ninjutsu studies. Uchiha Arashi left the bookstore on his own to take a walk.

That was what he called it, anyway. In truth, he wanted to get a closer look at the various parts of Konoha.

Though he was an Uchiha and had lived in Konoha for many years, he had rarely left the Uchiha Compound. His thoughts had once been consumed by how to save the Uchiha. When he realized that plan couldn't succeed, he had immediately focused on how to preserve the Uchiha bloodline.

His understanding of Konoha was still based mostly on the anime he'd watched, along with a few things he'd heard secondhand. In other words, it was rather superficial.

Now that he had a legitimate identity, he naturally intended to make use of it and thoroughly study every aspect of Konoha.

As he walked and looked around, he gradually found himself near the Uchiha Compound.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Arashi's gaze suddenly sharpened. He spotted a familiar figure from behind.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke was standing at a food stall, buying ingredients. He held a bag containing milk and bread.

It was hard not to feel a little wistful seeing the clan leader's son reduced to this.

Uchiha Arashi held no ill will toward Sasuke. After all, Sasuke hadn't been the one who wiped out the clan. He had lost his parents and fellow clan members that night too, and he had been entirely unaware of what was going on.

But no one should expect him to feel sorry for Sasuke, either.

All the other clan members had died, and Sasuke's older brother was the culprit. Yet Sasuke had survived. Anyone else might have hated him for that, and rightly so.

Uchiha Arashi glanced at him a few times, then treated him like a stranger and walked past.

He could hear Sasuke haggling with the stall owner. Clicking his tongue, he continued straight on.

Uchiha Arashi had another reason for going out that night: he wanted to see Danzo.

Danzo was the most important force driving Konoha to keep hunting Obito. Only a mad dog like Danzo would keep after Obito, driven by hatred and self-interest.

Uchiha Arashi had discovered the location of Root Headquarters long ago. With a little effort and the power of Kotoamatsukami, finding it hadn't been difficult.

Root Headquarters was located at the edge of Konoha. It was a vast underground space built right beside Konoha's barrier, making it easy for Root's members to leave the village and carry out missions at any time.

Above ground, Root Headquarters had an ordinary courtyard for an entrance. There was nothing unusual about it from the outside.

Uchiha Arashi stepped out of the shadows. A Root shinobi concealed in another patch of darkness spotted him immediately.

But the instant the shinobi looked his way, the power of Kotoamatsukami had already seeped into his mind.

"Forget me. Pretend I was never here."

Uchiha Arashi walked past the sentry without looking back.

The Root shinobi didn't move, completely unaware of Uchiha Arashi's presence.

Inside the building, two more Root shinobi noticed him. But the next moment, their expressions returned to normal.

Illusion!

His sword had been shattered, but Complete Hypnosis was so powerful that once someone had been hypnotized, as long as the ability hadn't been broken, Uchiha Arashi could hypnotize them whenever he wanted—no matter how many times he did it, and whether or not he had his sword.

Of course, he had to be nearby. If he got too far away and exceeded the ability's range, he could no longer affect them.

Uchiha Arashi made his way deeper into Root Headquarters. Anyone who had been affected by Illusion wouldn't notice him at all, even if he walked right past them.

Those who had never encountered Illusion had to be affected by Kotoamatsukami instead.

Fortunately, Arashi had Uchiha blood and had obtained the Right Eye of Kotoamatsukami. If someone else had been using it, or if he had received the left eye, using it this frequently would have killed them outright.

After passing countless sentries, Uchiha Arashi finally reached the heart of Root: a huge courtyard open to the sky.