As twilight deepened, Aoki Yoru stood before the memorial stone, holding a bouquet of flowers.
He looked quietly at his parents' names, memories of the three of them playing together flooding his mind, and he was suddenly filled with deep emotion.
"Father, Mother, I've come to visit you. How are you doing down there? I might have to head to the battlefield soon, but don't worry, I value my life more than anything—if I can't win, I'll run..."
His fingertips gently brushed over the cold, rough stone, he wiped the dust off the monument, bowed to his parents, and turned to walk away.
On the way out, he saw Kakashi standing quietly alone before the memorial stone.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're paying respects to your comrades."
He walked up and saw the names on the memorial stone: Uchiha Obito was carved on the left, and Rin Nohara on the right.
"Yes, they were my comrades—precious comrades."
At that moment, Kakashi's eyes seemed filled with guilt, regret, and self-reproach, and he had returned to that listless state he was in when they first met.
"Huh!!"
Aoki Yoru's pupils constricted, but he immediately composed himself and straightened his expression.
He sensed someone in the distance standing on a tree, wearing a swirl-patterned mask with only one eye visible, staring intently at them.
"Why is Uchiha Obito appearing in Konoha at this time?"
To avoid revealing any flaws, Aoki Yoru made small talk with Kakashi.
In the distance, Uchiha Obito stared straight at Rin Nohara's grave, his eyes filled with longing.
"Rin, don't worry, I will soon create a beautiful new world."
He then looked at Kakashi, his heart filled with hatred: "If it weren't for you, you piece of trash, Rin wouldn't have died."
At this moment, a black and white humanoid creature emerged from the tree: "Obito, there's nothing found on Konoha's side either."
They had appeared in Konoha to investigate the traces of the White Zetsu; only the Five Great Ninja Villages or someone like Orochimaru could have done so without leaving a trace.
Uchiha Obito narrowed his eyes, revealing his Sharingan: "I've already checked the Five Great Ninja Villages and found nothing, so it must be Orochimaru. That loach is really good at hiding; we still haven't found him yet."
"Order the White Zetsu to intensify the search; we must dig him out." Then, his eye formed a vortex, sucking him in and causing him to vanish from the spot.
Poor Orochimaru, unbeknownst to him, had taken the blame for Aoki Yoru.
Watching them leave, Aoki Yoru breathed a sigh of relief and signaled to Kakashi.
Kakashi, who had been lost in sorrow, glanced at him in surprise, then nodded.
The two of them walked silently in tacit agreement toward Kakashi's home.
His home wasn't very far from the memorial stone, located on the edge of the center of Konoha, as they were, after all, a clan that had joined during the founding of the village.
Entering the Hatake Clan grounds, one could still see a few children playing in an open space. The Hatake Clan was down to just a few members now; most had died during the three Great Ninja Wars.
This was the norm for small ninja clans in Konoha; their populations were too low. Once casualties became too high, they faced total annihilation—the margin for error was too small.
Since the founding of the village, countless small ninja clans had disappeared in this way; it could be considered Konoha's version of the "execution line."
Walking into the living room, Aoki Yoru saw a photograph displayed on the table: a group photo of Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and the other two.
"These are my teacher and my comrades. Unfortunately, they are all dead," Kakashi explained directly, his tone low.
He nodded, then formed hand seals to cast a barrier around them.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you know someone who wears a swirl-patterned mask, with only one eye visible, and that eye is a Sharingan?"
Upon hearing this, Kakashi's expression changed drastically. He had dreamed of finding the culprit who killed his teacher and the teacher's wife.
He grabbed Aoki Yoru's shoulders tightly: "How do you know about this person? Where did you see him?"
Aoki Yoru broke free from Kakashi's grip, calmed him down, and recounted exactly what had happened with Uchiha Obito's appearance.
After listening, Kakashi said solemnly, "Come with me to see the Sandaime. The masked man might be planning to cause trouble in Konoha."
It was no wonder he thought that; the last time he appeared, it triggered the Nine-Tailed incident.
Hokage Office
After hearing the situation described by Kakashi and Aoki Yoru, the Third Hokage's expression was uncertain.
He hadn't expected that even after the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, this masked man would appear again. Wasn't he a member of the Uchiha clan?
Now that the Hidden Cloud Village was constantly provoking them at the border, Konoha could not afford a second Nine-Tailed incident.
What sent chills down his spine was how the masked man had broken through the barrier. He knew it had been reinforced after the Nine-Tailed incident.
When had Konoha fallen to the point where enemies could come and go as they pleased?
"Thank you for your hard work. I will send people to investigate this matter. You two should prepare; the provocations from the Hidden Cloud at the border are intensifying, and you will soon have to depart for reinforcements."
The two nodded and took their leave of the Sandaime.
After they left, the Sandaime smoked his pipe quietly, his body gradually hunching over, and he seemed to age several years in an instant.
"Go bring Danzo here," he said hoarsely to the empty air.
In his view, being able to sneak into Konoha without a sound meant there was an internal traitor assisting. Only a few people in all of Konoha knew about the flaws in the barrier, and Danzo was undoubtedly the most suspicious.
"Danzo, I hope it's not you." He truly didn't want to kill this teammate he had grown up with and fought alongside.
In the past, although Danzo's actions were radical, he believed they were intended for the good of Konoha, so he had always turned a blind eye.
"I must call Jiraiya back. Even if he doesn't want to be Hokage, he has to." The Sandaime felt physically and mentally exhausted; he was barely holding on.
Now that the Ninja World was in turmoil, he could smell the scent of danger.
Leaving the Hokage Building, Aoki Yoru walked down the street in a pleasant mood, humming a tune.
Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu must have come to Konoha to investigate the traces of that White Zetsu, so he had immediately decided to expose the masked man. Next, he would face Konoha's endless investigation, so he should restrain himself for a while.
This served as a reminder to him: before his strength was sufficient to evade the endless pursuit of the Akatsuki Organization, he must absolutely not expose the White Zetsu.
Even transplanting White Zetsu cells was out of the question; after every experiment, the test subjects must be destroyed on the spot, leaving absolutely no clues that could expose him.
Three days later, Konoha was still bathed in warm, gentle breezes.
Aoki Yoru and his team were training with Might Guy's team. This was something Might Guy had personally requested, as he believed that battles between peers could accelerate the growth of his disciples.
Ever since Neji had been completely powerless last time, he had been training frantically after waking up. He was no longer obsessed with the Gentle Fist; he was learning both Strong Fist and Ninjutsu, rapidly incorporating them into his Taijutsu.
This change made Might Guy feel very gratified; he had finally seen the light. In his view, the Gentle Fist ultimately had its limitations, and when encountering large creatures like Tailed Beasts or summoning beasts, it was helpless.
At this moment, Neji and his team were being thoroughly beaten by Aoki Yoru and his team; they were covered in injuries and struggling to hold on.
"They are too strong, it's like they aren't even in the same dimension. Are they really only one year older than us?" This was what Neji and his team were thinking.
Only one year older, yet the gap was so large; it filled them with a sense of defeat.
At this time, a flock of ninja hawks flew over them, with one circling above their heads.
"This is an emergency summons for all Jonin and Special Jonin in Konoha. Is war coming?"
Thinking of recent events, Aoki Yoru watched Might Guy leave with a serious expression, his heart filled with trepidation about the war.