The morning sunlight spilled through the window, shining on Sasuke's frustrated face.
Since the night the Nine-Tails went berserk, he had been confined to this rest room in the ANBU building, not having stepped out even once.
At this moment, Kakashi entered with a tray of breakfast. "Sasuke, come eat breakfast."
Sasuke coldly looked at Kakashi. "How long do you plan to keep me locked up here?"
"We're protecting you," Kakashi patiently explained.
"Protecting?" Sasuke snorted. "I don't need your protection!"
Kakashi placed the breakfast in front of Sasuke and said earnestly, "Sasuke, your talent is great, but precisely because of that, it will bring you many unexpected troubles."
Sasuke closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his once-black pupils had turned crimson, with two tomoe spinning slowly. "Do you think I'm afraid of trouble?"
Kakashi felt a bit helpless.
But he understood because Sasuke certainly had the right to be arrogant.
After all, anyone who awakened the Sharingan with two tomoe at the age of seven and could easily subdue the rampaging Nine-Tails had reason to be confident.
Seeing that Kakashi wasn't the one calling the shots, Sasuke silently began eating his breakfast.
Halfway through, he asked casually, "By the way, how's that guy doing?"
"He's out of danger now," Kakashi replied with a smile.
He knew Sasuke was asking about Naruto, and he could sense Sasuke's concern for Naruto, despite Sasuke trying his best to hide it.
After a moment, Sasuke asked, confused, "What's that monster inside him? Is he really the child of the Nine-Tails?"
Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then revealed the truth: "Naruto is our village's Jinchūriki."
He then briefly explained to Sasuke what a Jinchūriki was.
If it were anyone else, Kakashi wouldn't have said so much. But because Sasuke's Sharingan had the power to suppress the Nine-Tails, he might one day become the village's best defense against the Nine-Tails. The Third Hokage had hinted to Kakashi that it was time to start revealing some information about Naruto to Sasuke.
"Hmph, a guy like that is supposed to be the village's secret weapon? You should probably find someone better!" Sasuke's face was full of disdain.
Kakashi shook his head. "If the Nine-Tails were extracted from Naruto now, Naruto would die. For a Jinchūriki, losing their Tailed Beast means death."
Sasuke was silent for a long time before muttering, "What a pitiful guy."
Kakashi smiled. "Sasuke, I believe you two are classmates. I hope you can look out for him in the future."
Sasuke instinctively wanted to nod, but suddenly remembered something and said, "I don't have time for that! Let me out already. I need to kill that man!"
"Itachi?"
At the mention of that name, Sasuke's expression twisted with rage, and he breathed heavily. "I will kill him with my own hands!"
Kakashi tried to reason with him. "You can't defeat him yet."
Sasuke glared at Kakashi. "I've already awakened my Sharingan!"
Kakashi remained unfazed, shaking his head. "It's still not enough. Itachi is the most powerful Uchiha I've ever seen. Your potential may surpass his, but right now, you're not his match."
Just as Sasuke was about to argue—
Swish.
An ANBU member suddenly appeared at the doorway. "The Hokage has summoned you!"
Kakashi's expression turned serious. "What happened?"
"The base at Kikyo Mountain was attacked last night. All five squads stationed there were wiped out!"
...
In the training ground, Uchiha Shinji, as usual, had arrived early to practice his Breathing Techniques.
He found that as his body gradually adapted to the Breathing Techniques, his strength, speed, reflexes, and even his chakra extraction efficiency had noticeably improved.
When he compared his progress with the swordsmen who trained in the Water Breathing Style from his fragmented memories, his advancement was even more pronounced.
For this reason, he had grown fond of training in the Breathing Techniques.
The visible and tangible improvements were truly addictive.
"A person like me, with this kind of background, interfering in the shinobi world—what could their goal be?"
While practicing the Breathing Techniques, he was still analyzing the events of the previous night.
His duty was to protect the shinobi world, and the mysterious voice had referred to him as a "Candidate Lamp Bearer." From this, he deduced that a Lamp Bearer was someone tasked with protecting a world like himself.
So, the unknown Lamp Bearer who interfered with the shinobi world was likely a protector from another world.
Given that, there shouldn't have been any conflict of interest. Everyone would protect their own world and fulfill their respective duties.
Yet, the actions of the other party last night, no matter how he interpreted them, were clearly hostile.
"Tonight, the target will be re-locked. Hopefully, we'll find the invader this time."
Shinji's expression became more serious.
Understanding that this invasion might involve a mysterious Lamp Bearer, similar to himself, who likely guarded another world, he realized the gravity of the situation.
The more the other party avoided him, the more determined he became not to let them succeed.
Because the other party's interference had already communicated one clear message: they needed time, either to prepare for something or to gather intelligence.
In short, the invader didn't want an immediate head-on clash with him.
"I was powerless to stop the interference last night, probably because my authority isn't high enough..."
Shinji had only recently realized that the mysterious voice could indeed be communicated with. The reason it had ignored him before was likely due to his "Candidate Lamp Bearer" status.
In other words, he wasn't yet the true Lamp Bearer of the shinobi world.
...
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage looked at the four ANBU members standing before him, with Kakashi at the lead. "The Kikyo Mountain outpost was attacked, and all stationed personnel were killed."
Kakashi asked, "Hokage-sama, who were the attackers?"
The Third Hokage shook his head.
Mito Homura, standing beside him, said, "The last carrier pigeon from the outpost only reported an attack by mysterious individuals, without specifying their identity."
Kakashi felt a sinking feeling. "Could this lead to war?"
Attacking a Hidden Leaf outpost was not something any ordinary power would dare to do. The first thought that came to mind in such situations was war.
The Third Hokage spoke gravely. "That's why the village needs to know exactly what happened there."
"Understood."
Kakashi and the three other ANBU responded in unison.
Mito Homura added, "A support team has already been dispatched. Remember, your mission is to identify the enemy and their motives, and assess the severity of the situation. This mission has the highest priority!"
Kakashi's expression became even more serious.
He understood the elder's underlying message.
In the event of an emergency, they could abandon the first support team or even their comrades, but ensuring the key intelligence reached the village was paramount.