[Outside Konoha, in a forest, Izumi Uchiha landed lightly on a thick tree branch, the Dead Soul Worms surrounding her emitting a ghostly blue glow.]
[She gripped the Demon-Repelling Bow tightly in her hands. Her pure perception spread outward like ripples on water as she carefully searched for the nauseating demonic aura Naraka had left behind while fleeing.]
[However, after tracking it here, the already faint demonic aura suddenly vanished completely, as if it had been erased from existence.]
[Only the forest's nighttime insect calls and the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind remained.]
[Izumi Uchiha knitted her brows, a trace of confusion flashing through her eyes.]
[Naraka was a cunning and treacherous demon with bizarre methods. Now that he had vanished without a trace, she was at a loss for what to do.]
[Just then, her keen perception caught an extremely subtle fluctuation in space not far behind her!]
["Who?!" She spun around, nocked an arrow, and instantly condensed a Demon-Breaking Arrow from pure light. Its tip pointed straight at the darkness where the fluctuation had come from, her voice filled with vigilance. "Come out!"]
[As if responding to her demand, the space where she was pointing rippled in circles like a calm surface disturbed by a tossed stone, though these ripples were anything but natural.]
[A cold blue light suddenly blazed to life, rapidly outlining the figure of a tall, bald man wearing sunglasses and a black coat.]
[It was Morpheus, who had once come into contact with the Uchiha elders.]
[His body, condensed from light and shadows resembling streams of data, stood silently beneath the shadow of an ancient tree, completely out of place amid his surroundings.]
[Facing Izumi Uchiha's ready-to-fire Demon-Breaking Arrow, Morpheus seemed utterly unconcerned.]
[He slowly raised both hands in a gesture of