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But there was no one.
The silence was overwhelming—so absolute that even the chirping of insects and the call of birds had vanished.
Could it be…
Genjutsu?!
Patriarch Shimura's heart skipped a beat as the realization hit him, and his expression twisted into a mix of shock and dread.
"When…" he tried to speak.
"When you saw me."
Hiko's voice was calm and low.
He shook his head with a hint of regret.
"I'm sorry, but this is your clan's territory. Did you really think I'd attack you head-on and risk your clansmen surrounding me?"
Hiko's expression turned cold.
"A failure is always a failure. Your vigilance is laughably poor. You didn't even realize you were caught in a Genjutsu. And you still expected your clansmen to rescue you?"
Pfft—
Agonizing pain exploded from Shimura's chest, spreading like wildfire.
He looked down in disbelief at the blood soaking through his robes, staining them crimson.
"In honor of your service to Konoha, I'll help two of your elders accompany you on your journey. No need for gratitude—this is just Uchiha returning a long-standing debt."
A kunai spun in Hiko's hand and then sank into Shimura's heart with deadly precision.
So this was how he'd fall… at the hands of a boy?
His fading vision desperately tried to capture the face of his killer, but his body had already failed him.
Hiko dropped the body unceremoniously into Kamui's dimensional space.
A twisted smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Obito… I hope you like the gift."
Using Kamui repeatedly—to enter the alternate dimension and now to store corpses—was bound to raise alarms.
And that was exactly what Hiko wanted.
Obito's attention needed to be focused on Konoha.
Returning home, Hiko shed his combat attire, scrubbed away the grime and blood, and stood in front of the mirror, staring into his own reflection.
"It's a shame," he muttered.
"No matter how powerful… if it's not truly mine, it'll never be compatible."
Kamui was a top-tier Mangekyō Sharingan technique—among the strongest, but it wasn't his.
Hiko had borrowed Obito's Sharingan for far too long, but the feeling of using someone else's eye always gnawed at him.
It was time.
His gaze shifted to the bottle sitting nearby, a Sharingan eye suspended within it.
He smirked.
Digging out your own eyes to replace them might sound insane—but among the Uchiha, it wasn't unheard of.
Only someone like Uchiha Madara could've laughed while gouging out eyes—but Hiko still found a twisted sense of amusement in it.
After removing Shimura and his two elders—as well as dealing with Asuma as "interest"—Hiko couldn't risk using Kamui again so soon.
He needed his own eyes back.
It would hurt—but it was necessary.
Better short-term agony than prolonged dull pain.
Without hesitation, Hiko raised a trembling hand and began another self-administered ocular surgery.
In the mountain cemetery
Obito paused.
A flicker of disturbance.
An illusion?
Or had Kakashi already awakened his own MangekyĹŤ Sharingan?
Uneasy, Obito entered the Kamui dimension—
and froze.
Three unfamiliar corpses lay within.
A chill ran down his spine.
Was it Kakashi?
Had he begun treating Kamui like a personal graveyard?!
A pulse of fury surged from Obito's chest.
Elsewhere
Kakashi—unaware he'd become a scapegoat—was knocking on Asuma's room door in the Daimyō Prefecture.
It was time for the shift change.
But Asuma wasn't responding.
Despite their cold relationship, Kakashi had been Asuma's classmate.
He knew his temperament.
If Asuma had walked off the job, Kakashi would be stuck dealing with the consequences.
He knocked again.
No answer.
He forced the door open.
Empty.
The room was spotless—no trace of Asuma.
Run off? Or out sulking somewhere?
Kakashi hesitated, then left to question the guards at the DaimyĹŤ's estate.
"Have any of you seen my comrade, Asuma Sarutobi?"
"Sorry, Lord Ninja. We haven't seen him."
The city was Fire Country's capital, yet security was a joke.
Only the palace had any semblance of order.
The rest of the city was a free-for-all—perfect for shinobi to come and go unnoticed.
If Asuma wanted to disappear, slipping away would've been simple.
"Pakkun," Kakashi muttered, summoning the pug.
"Can you track Asuma's scent? We need to find him."
Pakkun sniffed, grumbling, then circled the room.
He looked up gravely.
"Kakashi, bad news."
A sinking feeling gripped Kakashi.
"Don't tell me…"
"There's a faint unfamiliar scent in the room.
Asuma's scent doesn't go beyond the door."
Kakashi's jaw tightened.
"You're saying a stranger entered… and Asuma never left?"
"Right. The strange scent is odd—like it blinked in and out of existence. I think he was taken. Probably space-time ninjutsu."
Kakashi's heart dropped.
The implications were serious.
Someone had attacked a Konoha jonin inside the Daimyō's palace—
using space-time jutsu.
This was no minor incident.
Kakashi quickly made his way to Shisui.
Shisui, recently relieved from his own shift, narrowed his eyes.
"You're saying Asuma was taken using space-time ninjutsu?"
"That's the conclusion based on Pakkun's tracking. I need to return to Konoha and report to Lady Tsunade immediately. Can you handle things here?"
"Of course," Shisui nodded.
"Go."
This wasn't a time to delay.
Asuma wasn't just a shinobi—he was the Third Hokage's son.
Even though he was a special jonin, his bounty rivaled that of elite ninjas—thanks to his lineage.
The situation required immediate escalation.
Without wasting time, Kakashi left for Konoha at top speed.
Meanwhile, within the Shimura compound
Panic was spreading.
At first, no one noticed the clan head's absence.
It wasn't unusual for him to be out early training.
But then the First Elder and Second Elder also failed to appear.
Concern turned into dread.
None of the night watchmen nor their families had seen them either.
Something was very wrong.
Elsewhere
A new day dawned miserably—
for Tsunade.
Dragged out of bed before sunrise, she sat, grumbling, in the Hokage's office.
Even worse—her captor was her own mentor, the Third Hokage.
She clenched her fists but said nothing, focusing on the endless stack of paperwork.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had begun gradually transferring duties to her, letting her take the reins.
Suddenly—
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Urgent knocking shattered the quiet.
Tsunade sat up straight, adjusting her robe and posture.
Hiruzen gave her a nod of approval.
At least when it mattered, Tsunade didn't falter.
"Come in," she called.
The door burst open.
A figure rushed in, breathless and anxious.
Seeing the Shimura elder, Hiruzen sighed.
Not again.
The Shimura clan was always complaining about Uchiha targeting them, dragging Hiruzen into their petty feuds.
This time, however, the elder didn't look indignant—
he looked scared.
Tsunade frowned.
"Let me guess. Another Uchiha attack?"
"No, Lady Tsunade… It's different."
The elder bowed.
"Our Patriarch… he's missing. Didn't return home last night. We didn't think much of it… until we found out both the First and Second Elders are also gone. None of the guards or their families saw anything."
Tsunade blinked.
"You mean… they vanished? All three?"
"Yes."
Tsunade stared at him, then at Hiruzen.
This wasn't a joke.
"…Really?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama…"
She turned pale.
If three top members of the Shimura clan had vanished—inside their own territory—this was no longer a clan matter.
It was a threat to Konoha's security.
And the enemy could use space-time ninjutsu.
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