The sensation of spatial distortion faded.
Sora steadied himself and found that he was now standing on the roof of a building on the outskirts of the Uchiha clan grounds.
Obito pointed to an ordinary-looking residence not far away.
"That house ahead is Uchiha Takumi's place."
"Your mission is to hold him here for at least an hour."
"After the Nine-Tails is released, if it can be controlled, that's for the best. If it can't be controlled... lead it outside the village."
Sora nodded.
"Understood."
Obito gave Sora a long, hard look.
"Don't disappoint me, White Tiger."
As his words faded, his body began to warp and quickly disappeared into the vortex.
Sora stood still, not acting immediately.
He extended his sensory perception to its fullest, confirming that Obito had indeed left the area. Only then did he leap down from the roof and walk toward Takumi's house.
The Uchiha clan grounds were very quiet.
Most clan members had already gone to sleep; only a few households still had their lights on. Sora arrived at the front of Takumi's house and, without hesitation, pushed the door open and walked inside.
The moment he stepped into the entryway—
Two figures rushed out from inside the house, one from the left and one from the right, their kunai aimed directly at Sora's vitals!
"Who goes there?!"
Uchiha Ryota's low voice rang out.
Sora sidestepped slightly, evading their attacks, and leaped backward, landing in the center of the yard.
Under the moonlight, Uchiha Takumi and Uchiha Ryota stood side-by-side, their three-tomoe Sharingan glowing crimson in the darkness.
Uchiha Takumi's gaze was icy, his tone flat.
"Have you come to assassinate an Uchiha?"
Sora didn't answer. Instead, he looked up, sensing the chakra fluctuations in the distance.
There it was.
A surge of immense chakra was erupting in the central area of Konoha Village. Even from this distance, it could be clearly felt.
The Nine-Tails had been released.
"Brother, his chakra... it's strong."
Uchiha Ryota said in a low voice, his Sharingan locked onto Sora.
Uchiha Takumi had naturally sensed it too, but what concerned him more was that sudden, terrifying chakra in the distance, along with a cold, sinister ocular power.
"That's... a Tailed Beast's chakra? And a Mangekyō!"
His expression changed: "He has accomplices. Tonight's target isn't the Uchiha, but..."
"The Nine-Tails." Sora finally spoke.
Uchiha Takumi's pupils contracted.
"What did you say?!"
"Just as you think, someone has released and is controlling the Nine-Tails. Konoha is under attack right now."
As Sora spoke, he slowly raised his hand and removed the white tiger mask from his face.
Moonlight illuminated his features, revealing a face that bore some resemblance to Sora's original self.
Both Uchiha Takumi and Ryota were momentarily stunned.
This face... looked somewhat familiar, but they didn't fully recognize it.
"You are..."
Uchiha Ryota frowned in thought, then suddenly his eyes widened in shock.
"Sora?! No... that's not quite right..."
"It is Sora, and it isn't."
Sora put away his mask and said calmly.
"This is a clone of mine, codenamed 'White Tiger'."
"A clone?!"
Shock flickered in Uchiha Takumi's eyes.
How could a clone possess such strong chakra?
But considering Sora's recent reputation as a 'god,' he thought it might not be impossible.
"So... is tonight's incident related to you?" Uchiha Takumi asked in a deep voice.
"No."
Sora shook his head. "I just followed along to get something. Holding you here, Takumi-san, to keep you from interfering with the Nine-Tails incident is just a side task. As for the reason, you should understand."
Takumi fell silent.
Of course, he understood.
Given his current status and strength within the clan, if he appeared on the Nine-Tails battlefield, the village leadership would inevitably see it as evidence of 'Uchiha involvement in the attack,' even if he went to help.
At that point, the Uchiha clan's situation would only worsen.
And this was also one reason Sora had chosen Uchiha Takumi as the target for tonight's containment.
After all, with that giant three-tomoe Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes, anyone with common sense knew it couldn't be separated from the Uchiha clan.
"I have no interest in saving Konoha."
Takumi's voice was cold. "As long as Ryota is safe, I don't care what happens to anyone else."
"Brother..."
Ryota wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.
He understood his brother's sense of alienation from the village and had personally witnessed the casualties caused by clansmen being deliberately targeted during missions.
Sora sighed inwardly.
This was the second reason he had chosen to contain Takumi. Moreover, Takumi had awakened his Mangekyō long ago, and his ocular power was also a concern.
"It's time for me to go." Sora suddenly said.
"Go?"
Takumi looked at him. "Wasn't your mission to hold me back?"
"You've already decided not to act, haven't you?"
Sora smiled faintly. "Besides, I need to handle some personal matters. Please look after this clone for a while. After my soul leaves, he will temporarily lose consciousness."
Takumi's gaze shifted slightly, and he nodded.
A few seconds later, Sora's body trembled slightly, then collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Ryota cautiously approached, carefully sensing with his Sharingan.
"His chakra fluctuations have become extremely faint... It really is just an empty shell now."
Takumi walked over to Sora's clone, reached out to feel the pulse on his neck, and then lifted his eyelids to look—the pupils were dilated and completely devoid of spirit.
"It really is him..."
Takumi said quietly.
Only Sora would, in such a near-act of entrustment, leave such an important clone here with them.
It was a silent gesture of trust.
Ryota also understood this, his expression complex.
"Brother, are we really... not going to do anything about the village?"
Takumi turned and walked to the door, pulling it open a crack.
In the distance, a giant orange fox demon raged through the village. Its nine tails thrashed wildly, flames rising everywhere in its wake, and faint wails could be heard.
The Fourth Hokage's golden figure flickered in the night sky, attempting to transport the Nine-Tails out of the village, but the fox's rampage was too violent, and the relocation was not going smoothly.
"We can't interfere."
Takumi's voice was low. "If we go out now, we'll only make the Uchiha a target for everyone's resentment. Besides..."
He touched his own eye.
"I have to preserve my ocular power for you."
Ryota stood beside him, gazing at the scene of disaster in the distance, and finally fell silent.
After tonight, the fate of the Uchiha clan would likely slide into even deeper darkness.