Shinji never expected to meet Shion again in this way; his heart raced.

Shion tilted her head, "Huh, I feel like I've seen you before, but I can't remember!"

Shinji shook his head, "We've never met!"

"Really...?"

Shion furrowed her brows and began to recall seriously.

On the surface, Shinji appeared calm, but inside he felt a bit anxious.

After all, he wasn’t entirely sure about the effects of his illusion.

Seeing Shion staring intently at him, Bai curiously observed the two.

"Your Highness, where are you?"

Just then, shouts from the guards echoed nearby.

"Little brat, get out of the way!"

As the guards closed in, Shion quickly pushed Shinji aside and took off in a flash.

Shinji twitched his lips and thought, "First calling me 'big brother,' now 'little brat,' what a character!"

Before long, several guards from the Land of Demons, sweating profusely, rushed over.

After asking Shinji and Bai for Shion's escape direction, they apologized and continued their pursuit.

Watching the guards disappear, Bai chuckled, "So that was the Lady Miko from the Land of Demons; she's quite the troublemaker."

Shinji secretly sighed in relief.

Although the little incident had caught him off guard, it proved that the psychological suggestion he had implanted in Shion using his kaleidoscope Sharingan was still effective!

So Shion likely came to Konoha just to seek refuge.

After all, in the original timeline, when the Miko was attacked, the Land of Demons had immediately requested support from Konoha.

This time, the demon invasion had slaughtered over a hundred guards from the Land of Demons overnight, so it made sense for them to send the young Miko to Konoha for safety.

【Dimension under invasion...】

【Countdown: 3】

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in Shinji's ears without warning.

He instinctively looked at Bai beside him, only to find that Bai couldn't hear the voice at all.

Seeing Shinji looking at him, Bai asked, "Shall we continue training?"

"No, let's go back."

Shinji shook his head.

After returning to the apartment and closing the door, his expression quickly darkened.

This time, the countdown for the invasion was only three days!

A sense of unease spread within him.

The next day, with other villages gathering in Konoha for the Chunin exams, the village became lively.

During the break, Shinji was not slacking off; he was still practicing taijutsu with Bai in the training ground.

While resting, Bai smiled and said, "The old lady at the dumpling shop downstairs told me that the Miko we saw yesterday slipped away from her guards early this morning and wandered around the village alone."

"Oh."

Shinji replied casually, but internally he resolved to avoid Shion for a while to prevent any more encounters.

Bai continued, "I heard there might be a firework festival tonight!"

"A firework festival?"

"It seems to be to welcome the other village ninjas participating in the Chunin exams." After a pause, Bai asked, "Some classmates are organizing a barbecue and watching the fireworks tonight. Shinji, do you want to go?"

Shinji casually replied, "I think I'll pass."

Bai said, "Then I won't go either."

...

That night.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Leaning by the window, Shinji watched the brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky, his face expressionless.

If one were to zoom in, they would notice his eyes were unfocused, clearly not really enjoying the fireworks but lost in thought.

Next door, Bai also stared at the night sky, but his expression was unusually serious, as if he wasn't appreciating the fireworks.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on an inconspicuous firework in the sky, and his expression turned grave.

He then sighed helplessly and went to change his clothes in front of the wardrobe.

In the village, Sasuke sat alone by a small lake not far from his apartment, hugging his legs. He didn't look up at the night sky but stared at the brilliant fireworks reflected on the lake's surface.

His mood, however, was the exact opposite of the dazzling fireworks reflected on the lake at that moment.

This lively scene made him feel sick!

At that moment, the fireworks reflected on the lake suddenly distorted, as if turning into the face he despised the most.

"I want to kill you!"

Without thinking, he pulled out a kunai and jumped into the lake with a splash, breaking the tranquility of the water...

...

In the apartment.

"Breaking in is still too risky!"

Shinji shook his head and pushed the recent thought out of his mind.

No matter how urgently he wanted to get his hands on Fugaku's kaleidoscope Sharingan, he couldn't risk breaking into the Anbu building.

That would be irrational!

However, figuring out how to respond to this invasion was indeed a big problem.

"I can't use 'Susanoo' every time, right? And... why is the countdown so short this time?"

Shinji secretly felt troubled.

Click...

Suddenly, he heard a very faint sound of a door closing from next door.

If it weren't for the timing of the fireworks, he might not have noticed at all.

"Why is Bai going out so late?"

Shinji felt puzzled but didn't dwell on it; after all, with the festivities outside, it was normal for Bai to want to take a stroll.

But soon he furrowed his brows.

After the faint sound of the door closing, there were no normal footsteps.

Shinji held his breath and slowly approached the door, listening for a moment, and barely heard Bai's soft footsteps going downstairs.

"What's he up to, sneaking around?"

After pondering for a moment, Shinji decided to follow and see.

However, he clearly overestimated his tracking skills; in no time at all, he lost sight of Bai, only catching a glimpse of him disappearing into the bustling street.

"He must be meeting someone, being so cautious; the other person's identity is probably sensitive..."

As Shinji wandered the streets, he thought about Bai.

Bai's appearance in Konoha and his subtle curiosity about him and the Uchiha clan had already made him feel suspicious.

Coupled with the earlier incident, he could almost confirm that something was off with Bai.

He just couldn't determine for whom Bai was working—whether it was a certain important figure in the village or a spy carefully placed in Konoha from another village.

Passing a stall, Shinji suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He saw a dazzling array of masks hanging at the stall and remembered how he had been unexpectedly seen by Shion during the first invasion. So he approached and bought a fox mask similar to what Anbu wear.

A lesson learned from a setback.

Next time there’s an invasion, he needed to disguise his identity well.

Tying the mask around his waist, he continued his stroll.

Before he knew it, he arrived at the secluded training ground in the small forest where he always practiced with Bai.

Boom...

The night sky above still occasionally burst into brilliant fireworks.

"Ah, the village is quite lively tonight!"

Since he was already there, Shinji decided to find a quiet spot and practice 'Water Breathing' for a while in this training ground.

Swish, swish...

Suddenly, two rushing sounds of wind came from not far away, one chasing the other.

Shinji was startled and quickly hid in the bushes.

Then, two figures, one escaping and the other pursuing, landed in the training ground.

Despite wearing a mask, Shinji still recognized that the one fleeing in front was Bai, who had just sneaked away into the night, while the one chasing him was actually an Anbu ninja from the village.

The Anbu ninja stared at the masked Bai and said, "Hmph! I was just monitoring the little brat next door, but I didn't expect to catch a big fish like you. Surrender; you can't escape!"