"Intruder alert!"
A sudden shout echoed through the Hokage Tower, shattering the quiet stillness within.
Immediately, the building erupted into a flurry of movement as the sound of rapid footsteps filled the corridors.
"We've found someone unconscious!"
Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted. He instantly realized that the unconscious ANBU he had taken out had been discovered.
Within the Hokage Tower, ANBU were stationed at regular intervals, and patrols were also conducted by mobile units. It was likely that a patrolling ANBU had stumbled upon the incapacitated one and raised the alarm.
Whoosh!
Without wasting a moment, Fugaku darted toward the platform where the Scroll of Seals was kept.
He swiftly removed the Scroll of Seals and sealed it into a storage scroll.
Boom—!
The wall of the scroll chamber exploded as Fugaku smashed his way through. He landed steadily outside and instantly disappeared into the distance.
"Don't let him escape—after him!"
The commotion and the fleeing figure caught the attention of more than ten ANBU, who shouted and launched into pursuit.
Even more ANBU soon joined in. The chaos spread like a kicked beehive.
"Split up and flank him!"
One figure ran ahead while dozens of ANBU gave chase. A squad captain barked out orders, and the group quickly divided into three teams—one continuing pursuit from the rear, while the others looped around from the sides to cut off their target.
Additional shinobi began converging from the front—those stationed nearby who had been alerted by the noise.
The fugitive was on the verge of being completely surrounded.
Suddenly, the figure darted into what appeared to be an abandoned, locked-up house and kicked the door open, vanishing inside.
"Surround the building! Deploy a barrier to block Earth-Style escape techniques!"
Within moments, the building was completely encircled.
Several shinobi skilled in barrier techniques cast a formation around the structure, cutting off any chance of escape via subterranean Earth Release.
"The rest of you, with me!"
The ANBU captain led the remaining team members into the building and began a room-by-room search.
But even after thoroughly combing every room, they found no trace of the intruder.
The enemy had vanished.
No one had noticed that during the confusion, one figure had silently broken off from the fleeing group and slipped away unnoticed.
That figure—disguised as an ANBU—was none other than Uchiha Fugaku himself.
The first figure to burst through the wall had merely been a Shadow Clone, transformed to resemble Uchiha Obito.
Once the clone was inside the house and out of sight, it was dispelled—disappearing without a trace.
---
Late that night, the elderly Third Hokage—whose sleep had grown lighter with age—was startled awake.
"Something's wrong!"
Hearing the disturbance outside, his expression darkened, and he rushed toward the commotion.
Halfway there, he encountered Kakashi Hatake—silver-haired and masked, wearing the standard ANBU animal mask—approaching rapidly.
Upon seeing him, Kakashi quickly reported:
"Lord Hokage, someone infiltrated the Hokage Tower just now. The Scroll of Seals has been stolen!"
"What?!"
The Third Hokage's face paled.
The Scroll of Seals contained forbidden jutsu of immense danger and value. If it truly had been stolen and could not be recovered, the consequences of these techniques falling into the wrong hands would be catastrophic.
He urgently asked:
"Did anyone identify the thief?"
"Many ANBU are in pursuit. I came to report directly to you," Kakashi replied. "We suspect it's the same person who infiltrated the Uchiha compound earlier today."
"The same person who broke into the Uchiha compound?"
The Third Hokage's face turned strange. A troubled feeling settled in his chest.
Earlier that day, the one who had infiltrated the Uchiha compound had been Shisui. But there was no way Shisui would steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Tower.
Clearly, these were two separate incidents, simply occurring close together in time—a coincidence that was hard to explain.
After all, one couldn't just tell others, "The thief earlier today was Shisui, and he would never steal the Scroll of Seals."
"We'll deal with that later. Come, let's go there now!"
He and Kakashi rushed toward the source of the disturbance. Soon, they arrived at the now heavily surrounded house.
"Lord Hokage."
"Lord Hokage."
Shinobi on the scene bowed respectfully as he approached.
"Have you caught the intruder?" the Third Hokage asked anxiously.
"Lord Hokage… the suspect entered this house, but… they vanished without a trace," the ANBU captain reported nervously.
He had been leading the guard detail tonight. If accountability was demanded, he knew the blame would fall heavily on him.
"Vanished…?"
The Third Hokage's face darkened further, his expression stormy.
Suppressing his fury, he pressed on.
"Could they have used Earth-Style to escape underground?"
"I immediately had a barrier deployed to block Earth Release techniques. They shouldn't have been able to escape that way."
"From our search of the house, it appears to have been used recently. We believe the intruder had been hiding here."
The ANBU captain was clearly feeling the pressure. Though the Third Hokage was no longer at his peak, his presence alone was enough to make even elite jonin like him feel suffocated.
"Have you identified who it was?"
The Third Hokage scolded him inwardly but kept his expression composed, trying to maintain his usual image of patience and tolerance.
"The suspect wore a black cloak with red clouds and a spiral-patterned mask. Based on appearance, he may be the Wood Release user with a kekkei genkai."
"That Wood Release user?"
The Third Hokage suddenly understood.
Based on the intelligence Shisui had provided, that masked man had claimed to be Uchiha Madara and possessed an extremely powerful space-time ninjutsu.
That would explain how he had managed to escape despite being surrounded.
He now suspected that after his clash with Shisui the previous night, the masked man had never actually left the village—but had instead hidden in this abandoned house.
And the reason he hadn't left was likely because he was targeting the Scroll of Seals all along.
'With his space-time jutsu, escaping should've been easy. Why come back here?'
The Hokage's eyes narrowed. Then, realization dawned.
He must have hidden something important here. That's why he returned to retrieve it.