"It feels different from the other two scenes… Is this an actual cabin from the past?"
After gently laying the unconscious Kaguya on the bed and glancing at her beautiful face—still with a faint trace of residue at the corner of her mouth—Uchiha Kage finally had a moment to take in their surroundings.
According to what Kaguya had said earlier, this bamboo hut was once her home. Back then, when she stepped outside, the world beyond was still nothing but mountains, rivers, and lakes.
Sometimes, she even heard from nearby villagers that the Sage of Six Paths had recently founded the ninja clans.
Incredible.
"And in her eyes, I not only drained her strength, but also took her virginity… meaning I took everything from her."
Uchiha Kage wiped the remaining traces from Kaguya's body with a towel, then tucked the quilt around her.
"No wonder she's so attached to me now. But…"
This mysterious "dream space" seemed to be siphoning her strength. His own stamina appeared linked to the number of action points needed to enter each scene.
It had been two points, then three… now four. And each extra point seemed to boost his physical power and energy exponentially.
No wonder Kaguya had complained.
The rise in action points was probably due to his growing chakra reserves and the completion of "copy" missions.
"In other words… the more missions I complete and the more ninja fragments I gather, the more… vigorous I become?"
That really left him with no choice but to "revitalize" his clan.
"Itachi-san, looks like we've found a connection to Konoha's ninjas after all."
For ordinary folk, this was quite a prosperous village.
Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, passing through on their journey, had stopped to rest in a dumpling shop.
But just as their order was served, commotion erupted outside—
Three ninjas wearing Hidden Cloud forehead protectors were chasing a white-eyed kunoichi down the street.
They were quickly ambushed by Konoha ninja lying in wait, defeated with neat precision, and taken alive.
"…Is that her?"
In the chaos, Uchiha Itachi caught sight of a familiar female ninja.
Kurenai Yuhi—why was she here?
And that boy…
When Uchiha Itachi noticed Kurenai, he also spotted the young man beside her, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha clan crest.
The sight of that emblem tugged him back to the night of the clan's extermination.
"An acquaintance?" Kisame asked, suddenly intrigued.
"A former elder of the village," Itachi replied flatly.
Now that they'd crossed paths, he knew he couldn't ignore it. But if Kurenai was alone here, letting them go later would be difficult…
"Then this is quite the coincidence!"
Finishing the dumpling in his mouth, Kisame eagerly burst out of the shop, his massive blade Samehada in hand.
Boom!
The window shattered as Kisame's hulking frame crashed through, charging straight for the Konoha ninja.
Kurenai Yuhi, still recovering from the skirmish with the Hidden Cloud shinobi, hadn't seen him yet—but she could already sense the murderous intent closing in.
Her kunai was ready before the attack landed.
Clang!
The bandaged blade slammed into her weapon, forcing her arm to bend under the sheer power.
The pressure was immediate and crushing.
"There's something strange about that sword, Sensei! Keep your distance!"
Indeed—the Konoha ninja who'd set the ambush for the Hidden Cloud squad were none other than Uchiha Kage and his team.
On their way back to the village, they'd let their guard down just enough for Hinata—scouting ahead—to be targeted by a Cloud team with unknown orders.
Though not especially strong, the Cloud ninja refused to give up their pursuit of Hinata and her Byakugan, even chasing her deep into the Land of Fire.
With no choice, Uchiha Kage had laid a trap to deal with them.
What he hadn't expected… was to detect Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame entering the village just as the trap was sprung.
At that point, Hinata was already bait, and Kurenai was protecting her—so there was no time to warn them about the incoming Akatsuki pair.