At that moment.
Directly above Konoha.
Beneath the moonlight,
A man stood high in the sky.
He wore a long, moon-white garment, a short sword at his waist, and his silver hair gently stirred in the air.
The mysterious fox-like ogre mask on his face displayed a silent smile.
At this moment,
The entire layout of Konoha was completely within his view.
He gazed down below and murmured to himself:
"If I remember correctly,"
"The Naka Shrine should be in that direction by the river..."
The Naka River was a river that ran through the entire Konoha Village.
And according to the intelligence Kyo had gathered earlier, the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine was located at the most downstream position.
Having confirmed the location, Kyo hesitated no longer and instantly used Shunpo towards the area below.
His primary objective now was of course to complete the system's branch mission, to read the Uchiha Clan's stele at the Naka Shrine.
As for Itachi and the masked man,
Kyo already had a complete plan in mind.
…
In front of the Naka Shrine.
Two Uchiha Clan's guards were leisurely sitting on the steps, chatting.
One of them took a puff of his cigarette, squinted his eyes, and said with emotion:
"Come to think of it, I suddenly feel that Young Master Itachi, the Clan Head's son, is truly an undisputed genius!"
"Oh? How so?"
"This afternoon, I saw him leaping across the entire Uchiha Clan's compound. That speed was simply indescribable! He even came by here!"
"Huh? No way! Young Master Itachi came to the shrine?!"
"That's right."
The smoking guard said with a light smile:
"I think he was probably trying to get a good look at our Uchiha Clan's compound, so it would be easier to protect us in the future!"
Hearing this, the young man beside him widened his eyes in admiration and said:
"As expected of Young Master Itachi!"
"Even though he's only thirteen years old, he's already this concerned about the entire clan!"
However,
As soon as he said this,
Suddenly, a light laughing voice sounded behind the two of them.
"Heh, that's a really interesting thing to say."
"Haven't you two ever considered that the guy might actually be scouting the place in advance, to make it easier to kill people later?"
"?!"
As the words fell, both guards were completely startled.
'Whoa!'
'Who's speaking?!'
Both were instantly alarmed and quickly turned around to look behind them.
When they looked,
Their blood ran cold.
For there, unnoticed, atop the shrine roof behind them, stood a figure clad in moon-white.
He wore a smiling fox-like ogre mask, appearing exceptionally eerie in the moonlight.
"You... who are you?!"
"How dare you speak ill of our Young Master Itachi! There's no way he would kill anyone, hey!"
Although frightened,
They mustered their courage and spoke loudly, their voices trembling.
In reality,
Both of them were scared to death.
How this figure had appeared, they hadn't noticed at all; it was as if he were a ghost...
Coupled with the shrine beside them, it naturally added to the horrifying atmosphere.
At this moment,
Hearing their words,
Kyo on the shrine roof just chuckled lightly as he jumped down from the shrine, not intending to waste many words.
Anyway, when Itachi arrived later, they'd probably find out.
Seeing Kyo approach, the two guards shuddered violently and hastily raised their weapons, seemingly trying to defend themselves.
But the next moment,
They suddenly discovered that an invisible pressure was descending from the sky!
Thud!!!
Almost at the same instant, both of them violently knelt to the ground!
That invisible, terrifying pressure was like a giant hand pressing directly down on their bodies, to the point where they could no longer maintain a normal standing posture!
'?!'
'Wh-What's going on?!'
'Th-This... what kind of power is this!?'
The two guards knelt prostrate on the ground, their faces instantly turning pale, their eyes wide with shock, completely terrified, sweat pouring down their faces like rain.
At this moment, Kyo continued to speak with a smile, saying:
"Listen well, I'll only ask this once."
"Your Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine, does it have a basement? Where is the entrance?"
"...?!"
As soon as the words fell, both guards stiffened simultaneously.
'What's going on...'
'This mysterious person's goal is actually to enter the shrine's basement?!'
'But, Clan Head Fugaku had already instructed that without his permission, no one was allowed to enter...'
Just as they hesitated,
Suddenly,
The terrifying pressure on their bodies became even greater!
"!?"
"It seems you two still don't quite understand."
Kyo lightly raised his right hand, condensing a moon-white Hollow Spiritual Power, looking at the two guards, and said with a gentle smile:
"It's very hard to control the force needed to step on ants without crushing them, you know."