An Attack from the Void

Several figures appeared in the Uchiha Compound. They wore tactical vests, carried short swords on their backs, and wore patterned masks.

Root!

"Search the area. Report any intel you find immediately."

"Yes!"

The group scattered.

But two people remained where they were.

"Stick with me. This is your first mission, so watch how I do things."

The ninja who seemed to be their leader spoke to them.

"Yes."

The two nodded and dutifully followed behind him.

"Our mission is to look for signs of survivors."

The three entered a small courtyard, and the leader explained.

"Captain, didn't the Uchiha all die? Why do you think there are any survivors?"

The ninja behind him, whose mask had a red circle on it, asked.

"It's not what I think. Lord Danzo thinks so... The Uchiha Clan may have been wiped out, but our post-incident investigation found that the number of bodies didn't add up. After some preliminary checks, we found several anomalies. Look here."

He pointed to the bloodstains in the courtyard.

"What can you see?"

"Someone died here."

The other ninja said, crouching to examine the scene. "This is where the body fell. Judging by the direction the blood sprayed, he was facing the courtyard gate when he was fatally attacked, then fell face-down."

"Right. What about over here?"

The captain pointed to the other side.

"This person was also attacked from the front, but fell on his back."

"Put the footprints at the scene together."

"The attacker came in through the main gate, then walked all the way here... Huh?"

"Did you find something?"

"He stopped for a moment at the entrance to this room. The footprints overlap a little. He pushed the door open, probably to check inside, but didn't enter. That means..."

"He thought someone was in the room, but opened the door and found nobody!"

"There are other footprints inside!"

"They belong to a child."

"But then they suddenly disappear!"

The two rookies exchanged observations and quickly reached a conclusion.

"Someone survived!"

"Exactly. That's the anomaly, which is why Lord Danzo sent us to investigate... Who's there?!"

The captain nodded. He was just about to praise his subordinates when a faint sound, almost too soft to hear, suddenly reached his ears. He drew his sword and spun around on instinct, only to see a red pupil rapidly growing larger.

"You really shouldn't use your Mangekyo so carelessly. Your body won't be able to take it."

Uchiha Arashi and Uchiha Izumi emerged from the shadows together.

Uchiha Arashi clutched his eye, his expression twisted with pain.

Uchiha Izumi looked at him with a mixture of concern and reproach.

"I had to use Kotoamatsukami to alter their perception. We can't let them keep investigating. It could cause problems."

This was his fault. He'd actually forgotten to erase his own traces. Of course, Konoha would verify the identities of the bodies; these ninjas didn't need anyone to teach them the importance of eliminating every last trace. But figuring out that the body count was wrong was one thing. Pinpointing the area based on the traces was another entirely.

Shadow Space wasn't absolutely safe. Now that it had been adapted to the environment of the Ninja World, that meant someone with the same kind of power might be able to find it.

Obito, for example. Or someone from the Yamanaka Clan or the Nara Clan.

He didn't know why the Third hadn't sent anyone yet. So far, only Danzo had sent people, but Danzo had capable subordinates too.

Even if ordinary ninjas couldn't find Shadow Space, they could still put Arashi and the others at risk if they narrowed down its general location.

This was Arashi's oversight. Now he had to pay a price to plug the hole.

The three ninjas across from them stood frozen, staring straight ahead. Arashi had invaded their minds and silently altered their will, making them completely overlook the problem here.

"Go back and keep an eye on the others. Don't let everyone panic. Leave the rest to me... Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"No! They can look after themselves. I have to go with you!"

Izumi flatly refused.

"You're the one we're all counting on. You can't afford to get hurt."

She added that after a moment's thought.

Uchiha Arashi studied Izumi for a few moments, then nodded.

"Fine, come with me. We can leave them for now and check the other areas."

Uchiha Arashi stepped forward and erased all the traces left by himself and Shizuka. Then he released the three Root ninjas from his control and left silently with Izumi.

Once they were gone, the three quickly came to their senses.

Just as expected, all their earlier analysis and suspicions had vanished, and they'd forgotten every clue they'd noticed. They looked around, confirmed everything seemed fine, then turned and headed elsewhere.

This was the only spot with a serious problem, one that could easily point to Shadow Space. The other areas weren't much of a concern; Uchiha Arashi only needed to make minor adjustments there.

Even if Root really wanted to find Shadow Space, it wouldn't be easy. Most of the so-called clues were vague and inconclusive.

If they pursued them, they could certainly uncover something wrong. But following the trail any further would be extraordinarily difficult.

Arashi's task now was to sever the connection between these traces and Shadow Space, so the people of Konoha wouldn't think of that possibility.

Even if they found out, actually locating Shadow Space would take a great deal of effort. But Uchiha Arashi didn't want to leave any hidden risks behind.

He might have overlooked this before, but now that Konoha had already given him a warning, doing nothing would be tantamount to disregarding his own life.

After about half an hour, he finally stamped out every possible source of danger.

Arashi didn't use Kotoamatsukami again afterward. The abilities of Shadow Space were all he needed, and the rest was relatively easy.

"Done. We can go back."

"Let's go."

Izumi nodded and reached out to take Arashi's hand.

Arashi raised his hand to meet hers, while using his other hand to summon the power of Shadow Space.

Just then, the air directly in front of him suddenly twisted.

The next second, a spiral mask emerged from the void, and a hand shot toward Arashi's right eye like lightning.

"!"

Uchiha Arashi's eyes widened.

It was Obito!

Why was he here?

And why now?!

This was bad. He was too late—

"Kotoamatsukami!"

Arashi desperately unleashed his ocular power, trying to drive Kotoamatsukami to its absolute limit.

But Obito had appeared too suddenly, and he was moving too fast. His hand was already almost upon Arashi, yet Kotoamatsukami's power still hadn't taken effect. For the first time since crossing over, Arashi felt himself in grave danger.

Just then—

"Yomotsu Hirasaka!"

Izumi's voice rang out. The world around them changed at once.