On the day after the amusement park incident, Zhong Yan and Anby were officially designated as temporary Associate Security Officers by the New Eridu Public Security Bureau—but unlike Shi, who had been formally appointed through official channels, their status was purely symbolic, granted verbally by Zhu Yuan.
In other words, it carried little actual authority.
This also meant they weren't permitted to attend internal Bureau meetings.
Zhu Yuan had intentionally avoided submitting any paperwork to higher-ups. Given the two's rather unique backgrounds, drawing too much attention could spell trouble—for her most of all.
Fortunately, they had exchanged contact info, so arranging meetups wasn't a big issue.
That afternoon, just after Zhong Yan finished a hearty lunch Pei had prepared, a message arrived from Zhu Yuan:
[Zhu Yuan: 1 PM sharp. Meet at a Companion Hollow near the Original Hollow [Cretan]. I'll send the coordinates shortly. Please don't be late!]
She made a point of stressing the time—punctuality was a must in Bureau operations.
Zhong Yan kept his reply short.
[Zhong Yan: We're heading out now.]
Setting down his phone, he glanced across the table at Anby, who had come over at sunrise and was just finishing her meal.
Pei had gone all-out today. Knowing the nature of Zhong Yan and Anby's relationship, she'd prepared a feast fit for a celebration.
"Time to go, Anby." Zhong Yan cleared his dishes and placed them in the sink, then headed to the wall's hidden compartment and pulled out his gear.
Not everything he owned was stored in Kamui's space. As a Hollow Raider, his tools were stashed in exceptionally well-hidden spots.
The fact that Zhu Yuan and Qing Yi hadn't found anything during their previous visit? That was proof of how well-hidden it all was.
Had they brought specialized search equipment, he might've had to consider using his Sharingan to tweak their memories.
"I'm done," Anby said, quickly finishing her food and placing her dishes in the sink. On her way past, she patted Pei's head affectionately.
She didn't know why Zhong Yan kept a Bangboo, but this little one clearly did a fantastic job caring for him—especially when it came to his daily life.
When the day came that they moved in together, she hoped Pei would continue taking good care of both of them.
With their gear secured and Pei seeing them off, the two departed.
…
Long before they left, in a Companion Hollow beside the Original Hollow [Cretan]...
A spatial distortion shattered the silence, and Zhong Yan's shadow clone—Uchiha—emerged.
Rather than wait for Bureau deployment, Zhong Yan trusted his own capabilities more. So, the moment Zhu Yuan contacted him, he'd sent the clone ahead.
While she hadn't provided the exact coordinates of the Mountain Lion Gang's base, the clone had begun a manual search through the Hollow.
Luckily, with the observation powers of the Sharingan, it only took standing atop a high point and analyzing the terrain for patterns, inconsistencies—any clues to hidden activity.
It wasn't long before he spotted something suspicious. Without hesitation, Uchiha activated Kamui and vanished.
…
Elsewhere in the Hollow, inside a Mountain Lion Gang outpost…
A handful of low-level members sat around a crate-filled storage room, playing cards. Piles of supplies surrounded them—food, water, protective suits, and meds to stave off Ether corruption.
With these, they could survive in the Hollow for a month. As long as they periodically exited to purge the Ether from their bodies, they wouldn't become Hollows themselves.
This base wasn't large. It was only activated for small-scale operations. The bigger sites—and the gang's HQ—were entirely unknown to these grunts.
"Hey, did you guys hear about that hot new chick in the organization? Think I got a shot?"
"Yeah, I heard. But I also heard she's got some serious skills. You better worry more about her breaking your stick than about scoring."
"What're you sayin'? I'm a man, dammit. I'll have her wrapped around my—"
The chatter stopped mid-brag.
One of the men had gone silent, his eyes fixed on a white-masked stranger who had just appeared inside their base.
Uchiha.
The others quickly noticed, grabbing weapons and springing to their feet.
"Who the hell are you?! This is Mountain Lion Gang territory!"
The leader barked the words, emboldened by his numbers.
"I don't care if you wandered in by accident or came here to die on purpose—no one leaves here alive!"
This place being exposed was a major breach. Intruders? Always treated as enemies.
Uchiha didn't respond.
After a moment's stillness, he calmly raised a single finger… and tapped the air.
BANG!
Before the leader could even process what happened, Uchiha vanished.
The man whipped his head around—only to find every single one of his comrades lying lifeless on the ground.
And Uchiha?
He stood not far away, one hand pressed against the head of the last still-living thug.
"A bunch of know-nothing nobodies. What a waste of my time."
He'd placed every single one of them under genjutsu the moment he arrived—subduing them before they even realized what was happening.
This one—the supposed "leader"—was the last.
Only now did the man grasp the nightmare standing before him.
"Y-You… you're the Uchiha?!"
Terror twisted his face. He turned to flee—
CRACK!
Another sonic boom rang out. Before he even knew it, a hand was pressing down on his skull.
"Is this genjutsu… or reality? Can you even tell the difference?"
With those final words, the camera pulled back.
A single, soul-rending scream echoed through the Hollow.
Then—
Silence.