Distortion.

Eerie, silent distortion.

The space at the edge of the Naka River cliff turned into a canvas twisted by an invisible giant hand. Centered three feet in front of Uchiha Shisui, a pitch-black vortex appeared out of thin air and rapidly expanded. It made no sound, yet it devoured all surrounding noise; whether it was the rushing river beneath their feet or the whistling wind through the dense forest, everything was completely erased the moment it appeared.

All attacks aimed at Uchiha Shisui vanished eerily the instant they touched this distorted space.

Yamanaka Fuyin's intangible, sure-fire mental assault was like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly swallowed by the vortex without a trace, not even stirring a ripple.

The mist of poisonous insects released by Aburame Torune—enough to instantly reduce an ancient summoning beast to dry bones—was pulled and torn by an irresistible force as it approached the edge of the vortex, ultimately being sucked in completely, leaving not even a trace of purple-black residue.

The Kunai and Shuriken flying across the sky, attached with explosive tags, were captured by the powerful spatial gravity when they were still a meter away from the vortex, clattering as they were swept into the deep darkness without even managing to produce a single explosion.

The entire battlefield fell into an extremely eerie stillness.

All the Root Ninja stopped their movements. They wore expressionless white masks, but the stiffness of their bodies betrayed the horror in their hearts. They had executed countless assassination missions and had seen all kinds of strange Kekkei Genkais and secret techniques, but what was happening before their eyes had completely exceeded their cognitive limits.

"What is this? A space-time Ninjutsu?"

"Impossible! Whether it was the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique or the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God, both required technique coordinates. But this technique before them appeared out of thin air! It was like a 'hole' that had appeared in the world from nothingness, a 'hole' leading to an unknown void."

The sneer on Danzo's face froze completely. In his single eye, for the first time, shock and disbelief appeared. He had calculated everything: he had prepared a barrier against the Body Flicker Technique, prepared mental attacks to counter illusions, and prepared poisonous insects to drain the Susanoo... The only thing he hadn't calculated was the appearance of this unheard-of, unseen, eerie Ninjutsu.

At this moment, the most shocked person was none other than Uchiha Shisui.

He was closest to that vortex and could best feel the terror of that power. It was a power of pure space that transcended Chakra nature transformation and was closer to the origin of the world. It wasn't "defending," but "devouring."

Uchiha Shisui watched helplessly as those fatal attacks were neutralized one by one in front of him, his mind going blank.

Just at the moment the whole scene fell into this stillness, a figure slowly, step by step, walked out from the center of that pitch-black vortex.

It was a young man.

He was wearing ordinary Uchiha casual clothes, with no protective gear. His black hair fluttered gently in the flowing night wind; his expression was cold and stern, with no emotion on his face.

He walked out calmly from that spatial vortex, which represented void and finality, as if he were pushing open the door to his own home.

He walked to the front of Uchiha Shisui, standing with his back to him, shielding him completely behind him, facing Danzo and the group of Root elites who were on high alert all by himself.

The whole scene remained silent.

The Root Ninja even forgot to breathe. They looked at this suddenly appearing young man, feeling their worldview receiving an unprecedented shock.

"Who... who is he?"

"Did he... just walk out of that space?"

"How is that possible?!"

Uchiha Shisui was also dumbfounded. He looked at this familiar yet extremely strange back in front of him, his throat dry, a name almost slipping out.

"Uchiha Kei!"

"It's him! How could he be here? How did he know about this meeting? What exactly was the technique he just used?" Countless questions, like raging waves, slammed into Uchiha Shisui's brain, making him even forget that he was still in danger.

Danzo's pupils contracted to the extreme. He stared fixedly at Uchiha Kei, his brain running rapidly. Uchiha Kei, that young man who had been stirring up storms in the Military Police Force recently, that junior who made him feel thorny even in the Hokage's Office. Shouldn't he only have a Three-Tomoe Sharingan? Why could he use such an eerie space-time Ninjutsu?

"Could it be..."

A terrifying thought rose in Danzo's heart.

"Mangekyō Sharingan! He had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! And it was a Mangekyō Sharingan related to space-time that had never been recorded in Uchiha history!"

The flames of jealousy and greed instantly overwhelmed the shock. Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan! If he could get his hands on these eyes as well...

Uchiha Kei ignored everyone's shock, and even more so, he didn't care about Danzo's gaze that was almost about to swallow him up.

He just stood there calmly, like an insurmountable mountain, blocking all danger and murderous intent behind him.

Then, he tilted his head slightly and said softly to Uchiha Shisui behind him in a tone so flat it was almost indifferent.

"Senior."

"Leave the rest to me."

The voice was not loud, but it exploded in Uchiha Shisui's heart like a thunderclap.

"Senior..."

This form of address carried a hint of detachment, yet it contained an unquestionable trust.

"Leave the rest to me."

This sentence contained no grandiloquent words, yet it was more reassuring than any oath. It represented an absolute self-confidence, an overwhelming power capable of taking over and controlling everything.

At this moment, Uchiha Shisui looked at Uchiha Kei's back—that junior who, in his impression, still needed his guidance—had unknowingly grown to a height he needed to look up to.

He was no longer the genius who needed protection, but... had become someone else's guardian.