The night over Manhattan deepened from dark blue to pitch black, then faded to the palest gray before dawn.
The lights in Yongye's top-floor office at Eye Society headquarters were off. He rested in his swivel chair with his eyes closed for about twenty minutes, then opened them and snapped his fingers.
A Wood Clone stepped silently out beside him. Its outline twisted, reshaped, and changed color in the faint light beyond the floor-to-ceiling window. In the blink of an eye, Minato Namikaze stood in the middle of the office, blond and blue-eyed, wearing his trademark sunny smile.
"Go find Batman. Play along and see what madness he's planning!"
The Wood Clone nodded, flickered, and vanished from the office.
Gotham, top floor of Wayne Tower.
Batman stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his dark-gray armor matte in the night, his cape hanging behind his shoulders. A line glowed on the Encrypted Communications Interface of the tactical terminal before him: Minato Namikaze is here.
"Send him up."
Three minutes later, the office's side door opened.
Minato Namikaze walked in.
His golden hair gleamed softly beneath the warm lights of Wayne Tower's top floor. His blue eyes were clear and bright, and his sunny face bore just the right touch of a friendly smile.
He wore a simple dark-blue T-shirt and black pants, walking with the easy confidence of a college student visiting a friend.
"Batman, you've been looking for me like a madman. What do you want?"
Batman turned. His gaze lingered on Minato's face for two seconds beneath the cowl, then he walked to the desk and pressed a button on the Holographic Projector.
"Watch this first."
The projector lit up.
The footage began with Talia entering the office.
Yongye took on the role of a villain from a classic