"Infiltrating" Root Headquarters

"Arashi!"

Ayatsuki immediately stopped in her tracks, calling out to greet Uchiha Arashi.

"How have you been feeling these past few days? Any discomfort?"

Uchiha Arashi asked.

Several days had passed since he gave her the Eye of God. He had been busy with various matters and hadn't checked in on her situation much.

"I'm doing well. No discomfort at all."

Ayatsuki shook her head and said softly.

The Eye of God provided her with a combat style completely different from ninjutsu, and she was still exploring how to better integrate it into her fighting.

Fire and Lightning were different; Izumi possessed a Lightning Eye of God, which she could use to stimulate her body, significantly boosting her physical vitality, reaction speed, and movement speed. Fire didn't offer such convenience; it couldn't be used to directly enhance one's own body and could only be utilized externally.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Don't be shy—just treat me like your real older brother."

Uchiha Arashi smiled and reached out to pat the top of Ayatsuki's head, even though she didn't actually have a brother and had always been an only child.

Ayatsuki narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Mm, I understand."

After chatting for a moment, Uchiha Arashi told Ayatsuki to return to her work, then turned and headed into his study to continue writing.

This had been his primary task for some time now.

Teyvat Travelogue had entered a new chapter, and he was currently slowing down his creative pace. He needed to leave enough time for his readers while extracting as much Power of Recognition from them as possible. Releasing chapters too quickly would only lead to a waste of that power, which would be counterproductive.

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

He hadn't forgotten about Kyōka Suigetsu. Knowing how useful a Zanpakuto could be, he would never give it up. Moreover, besides the Zanpakuto, the various abilities from the Bleach world were also highly practical—Kido, Hado, Fullbring, and the unique Reishi Technology of the Quincy.

Since he had already confirmed that Shadow Space and Kyōka Suigetsu could be used in the Ninja World, it proved that other abilities would also be effective. Thinking of those diverse powers filled Uchiha Arashi with creative motivation.

However, the content of this book required some modifications. Specifically, things like Shadow Space could not be written in directly, or Konoha would immediately pinpoint his identity.

When a person focuses on one thing, time often flies by.

Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. The bookstore finished its day of business; Izumi closed the shop doors and began tallying the accounts, while Ayatsuki and Shizuka prepared dinner for everyone.

This task had been handled by the two of them for a while now. Izumi used to have free time, but she was now completely tied up with the bookstore.

Ayatsuki was no longer a child and often cooked at home, so she naturally took over this responsibility.

After dinner, Izumi entered the Shadow Space to tutor the younger ones in ninjutsu, while Uchiha Arashi left the bookstore to go for a walk.

It was a walk in name only; in reality, he was further observing the various conditions within Konoha.

Although he was a member of the Uchiha clan and had lived in Konoha for many years, he had rarely left the Uchiha Compound before. He had spent his days thinking about how to save the Uchiha, and once he realized his plans wouldn't succeed, he immediately focused on how to preserve the Uchiha bloodline.

His understanding of Konoha was primarily based on the anime he had watched, supplemented by hearsay, making it quite shallow.

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

Walking and observing, he found himself near the Uchiha Compound before he realized it.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Arashi's gaze suddenly sharpened. He saw a familiar back.

It was Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke was standing in front of a small stall, purchasing groceries. He held a bag containing milk and bread.

It was somewhat lamentable to see the son of the clan leader reduced to this.

Uchiha Arashi held no malice toward Sasuke; after all, he wasn't the one who wiped out the clan. He, too, had lost his parents and kin that night, and Sasuke was completely oblivious to the truth.

But one shouldn't expect him to sympathize with Sasuke, either.

The other clansmen were dead, his brother was the murderer, and yet he was the one who survived. If it were anyone else, they would be lucky not to hate Sasuke.

Uchiha Arashi watched for a few moments, then treated himself as a stranger and walked past Sasuke.

He could hear Sasuke haggling with the stall owner. He curled his lip and walked straight ahead.

Uchiha Arashi had another goal for his outing tonight: to check on Danzo.

The most important driving force behind Konoha's continuous pursuit of Obito was Danzo. Only a mad dog like Danzo, driven by hatred and self-interest, would refuse to let go of Obito.

Uchiha Arashi had long since scouted the headquarters of Root. As long as one was determined to investigate, and with the power of Kotoamatsukami, such a task was not difficult.

Root's headquarters was located on the outskirts of Konoha, a massive underground space adjacent to the village's barrier, allowing Root operatives to leave the village for missions at any time.

On the surface, the entrance to Root's headquarters was an ordinary courtyard, showing no signs of abnormality from the outside.

Uchiha Arashi stepped out of the shadows, and a Root ninja hiding in another shadow immediately spotted him.

However, the moment the other party looked over, the ocular power of Kotoamatsukami surged into his brain.

"Forget me. Act as if I was never here."

Uchiha Arashi walked past the sentry without looking back.

The Root ninja stood motionless, having completely ignored Uchiha Arashi's presence.

As he entered the room, two more Root ninja noticed him, but their expressions returned to normal the very next second.

Kyōka Suigetsu!

Although the blade was already shattered, the true power of complete hypnosis lay in the fact that once someone had been hypnotized and failed to break the ability, Uchiha Arashi could hypnotize them at will thereafter, regardless of whether he held a blade or not.

Of course, this required close proximity; once the distance increased beyond the range of the ability, he could no longer influence them.

Uchiha Arashi ventured deeper into the Root headquarters, and anyone who had been affected by Kyōka Suigetsu would never detect his presence, even if he walked right past them.

For those who had never encountered Kyōka Suigetsu, he relied on the Right Eye of Kotoamatsukami to influence them.

It was fortunate that Arashi possessed Uchiha blood and had obtained the Right Eye of Kotoamatsukami; had it been anyone else or the left eye, such frequent usage would have killed the user long ago.

After passing countless hidden sentries, Uchiha Arashi finally arrived at the core of Root, a massive atrium.