Flying Thunder God's First Battle and Obito's Gaze

His spiritual energy recovered rapidly under the nourishment of his Sage Body. The following midnight, as Konoha fell into a deep slumber, Ling entrusted the sleeping Naruto to Kimimaro, instructing him solemnly, "Guard this place well. If there is any abnormality, prioritize Naruto's safety above all else. If necessary, use your own judgment."

Kimimaro knelt on one knee, his green eyes flashing with absolute loyalty and murderous intent. "Your command is my will. Unless they step over my corpse, no one shall harm a hair on his head."

Ling nodded, saying no more. He walked to the corner of the room, formed hand seals, and sensed the coordinates stored in his system for the secret vault of a noble's mansion in the eastern Land of Fire. Chakra surged, and the laws of space were invoked.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

The familiar sensation of being peeled away washed over him, and the next moment, he stood within a space that was both pitch-black and opulent. The air was thick with the scent of sandalwood, aged parchment, and the cold tang of metal. Moonlight filtered through a narrow high window, barely outlining the stacks of wooden crates, display racks for scrolls, and scattered gold and silver utensils.

This was the target vault.

Ling did not act immediately, instead spreading his chakra perception out like a spiderweb. The keen senses granted by his Sage Body allowed him to instantly detect hidden tripwires, faint fluctuations of a barrier, and the steady breathing of two people outside the door—the guards were two Chunin-level samurai.

He moved like a ghost, his Sharingan silently activating in the darkness. As the single tomoe slowly rotated, the chakra flow of every trap and the nodes of the barrier became clear to him. He bypassed every snare with ease, triggering no alarms.

First, he walked toward the scroll rack that emitted a unique chakra fluctuation. In an inconspicuous corner, he found his target—a scroll wrapped in black silk, its surface inscribed with complex genjutsu runes.

[Genjutsu: Haze Mirage Scroll]: Upon activation, creates a large-scale, sustained area of dense fog and visual distortion, interfering with perception and masking movements.

This was exactly what he needed! Ling carefully tucked it into his robes.

Next, he approached the heavy wooden crates. Opening the lids, gold coins and jewelry reflected the dim light with an alluring luster. Ling had no time to count; he channeled his chakra, utilizing the basic spatial storage technique granted by the system (an extended application of an anonymous mission reward), and quickly stowed away the most valuable and portable gold bars and gems, filling three full sealing scrolls. This amounted to nearly a third of the vault's liquid assets.

The entire process was fluid and seamless, taking less than five minutes.

Just as he prepared to trigger the Flying Thunder God to leave, an extremely faint, yet intensely malicious spatial fluctuation—like a ripple on water—was caught by the extraordinary perception of his Sage Body!

It was not aimed at him, but rather... it was as if another pair of eyes, from a higher dimensional plane of space, had briefly "glanced" at this vault, or perhaps, glanced at the spatial anomaly in this area!

The hair on Ling's arms stood on end! Was it Obito Uchiha? Or Black Zetsu? How could they possibly detect such a subtle spatial fluctuation?

He dared not hesitate for a second and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God.

"Whoosh—"

Space twisted, and his figure vanished from the vault.

Almost the moment he disappeared, the space in the shadows of the vault corner swirled like a vortex, and a figure wearing a spiral mask, revealing only one scarlet Sharingan, emerged silently. He wore the red-cloud black robe of the Akatsuki organization; it was Obito Uchiha.

Obito looked at the corner of the treasure chest that had been emptied, as well as the clearly disturbed scroll rack, and let out a low, inscrutable chuckle from beneath his mask.

"Flying Thunder God Technique... Hmph, to think someone still uses this jutsu after Minato Namikaze's death. And this feeling..." His Mangekyo Sharingan narrowed slightly, sensing the extremely faint, lingering traces of chakra in the air. "Mixed with the nauseating stench of a Tailed Beast, and a hint of... Uchiha flavor? Interesting."

He had originally been patrolling the Land of Fire at random, following scattered intelligence provided by Black Zetsu regarding a "mysterious person suspected of possessing space-time abilities," never expecting to actually catch a trail. Although the target had slipped away quickly, at least one thing was confirmed: besides himself and the late Fourth Hokage, there was a third ninja in the shinobi world capable of using space-time ninjutsu, and they seemed to have some agenda regarding Konoha (otherwise, they wouldn't be stealing from the relatives of the Land of Fire's Daimyo).

"It seems the plan needs a slight adjustment." Obito's figure slowly sank into the Kamui dimension, his voice tinged with amusement. "The waters of Konoha are murkier than I imagined. Perhaps... while cleaning up the Uchiha, I can catch this little fish as well."

Back in the small courtyard in Konoha, inside the room.

The spatial fluctuations subsided, and Ling appeared, a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead. It was not from the exertion of the mission, but from the gaze he had felt from a higher plane in those final moments.

"Lord Ling?" Kimimaro immediately sensed his abnormality.

"It's nothing." Ling waved his hand, taking a deep breath to suppress the agitation in his heart. "I have the item. However, we may have caught the attention of certain entities."

He briefly described the malicious spatial fluctuation.

Kimimaro's eyes sharpened, bone spurs uncontrollably protruding an inch from his shoulder blades before quickly retracting. "Do you need me to eliminate the threat?"

"No, not for now, and we couldn't if we tried." Ling calmed down, analyzing the situation. "The other party only sensed us; they haven't necessarily locked onto us. The priority is to complete the Uchiha operation as soon as possible. Once the plan succeeds, we will gain the strength needed to deal with any variables."

He tucked away the acquired genjutsu scroll and the wealth. With these, the success rate of the night of the massacre would increase significantly.

However, he knew in his heart that the real challenge had only just begun. The enemy hiding in the shadows had already cast a scrutinizing gaze his way. As a butterfly that had accidentally flown onto the chessboard, the flapping of his wings had already drawn the attention of the storm itself.

The first spread of "Dawn Wind's" wings had, in silence and secrecy, brushed past the deepest darkness of the shinobi world.