One early morning, Zhu Yuan walked into her office as usual. She opened her wardrobe, found her work uniform, and removed her casual clothes, leaving only the innermost white shirt.
The summer heat was intense, even in the morning. On her way in, she had already broken into a sweat.
The sweat soaked through the shirt—its already thin fabric now clinging to her skin, revealing wide swaths of exposed flesh.
Accentuated like this, her nearly flawless figure was laid bare. Still, she found it frustrating, debating whether she should just take the shirt off as well.
Changing into a clean set of clothes would definitely help boost her work morale.
After some careful thought, Zhu Yuan ultimately decided...
To strip!
However, just as she began unbuttoning the shirt—about to undo her last line of defense—her peripheral vision caught sight of a sealed envelope lying on her desk.
"Zhu Yuan, you got a letter. I left it on your desk..."
As if on cue, Qing Yi pushed the door open and stepped in. True to habit, she didn't bother knocking first this time either.
But the moment her eyes caught the breathtaking scene before her, her brain's internal computing system kicked in—and she stopped herself from fully opening the door.
"Sorry, I should've knocked first." As she spoke, Qing Yi pulled the door shut behind her, leaving Zhu Yuan standing frozen in place, still processing what had just happened.
Moments later, her face turned red, the color spreading visibly fast across her cheeks.
Outside the door, a conversation began between Qing Yi and Seth.
"Senior Qing Yi, what's Captain Zhu Yuan doing in there, why—"
"Seth, I'd advise you not to ask too many questions. If you push that door open right now, I have twenty-seven legally valid reasons to arrest you on the spot."
"S-S-Seriously? Captain Zhu Yuan must be handling something really important in there..."
Hearing their exchange, Zhu Yuan felt even more embarrassed. She quickly took off the now-soaked shirt.
Sunlight streamed in through the window at just the right moment, casting its warm rays over her and blocking most of her exposed figure from view.
She swiftly changed into a clean shirt and uniform, walked up to the door, and opened it.
"You two... come in."
...
Once she brought them into the office, Zhu Yuan finally had a chance to look at the unopened letter on her desk.
According to Qing Yi, the letter had been found in the mailbox at the Public Security Bureau's entrance that very morning. Since it was addressed specifically to Zhu Yuan, the officer who found it didn't open it.
Qing Yi passed it along, and that's how it ended up on Zhu Yuan's desk.
Zhu Yuan had no clue who the sender was, nor what the letter contained. Upon opening the envelope, she found a written letter—and a small device meant for storing radish data.
Her curiosity deepened. Only after reading the contents of the letter did everything click into place.
"The Mountain Lion Gang's infiltration mission was a success—we now know the exact location of their headquarters!" she exclaimed, slamming the letter excitedly onto the desk.
Qing Yi and Seth looked on in confusion at her excitement, until she explained: "There's a criminal behavior analyst named Jane Doe, a Rat-type Thiren. She was planted into the Mountain Lion Gang recently by the Bureau. Not many people knew about the mission due to its long-term nature, but things changed unexpectedly."
"Due to internal instability, several elite guards planned to join forces with Jane to take down Razor. Thanks to that, we got the intel we needed."
Both of them suddenly understood. Seth, full of youthful fire, couldn't hold back: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's gather a team now! I can't wait to bring those bastards to justice!"
Hot-blooded youth—there was no better phrase for Seth. But Zhu Yuan didn't reject the idea.
Right now, the Mountain Lion Gang were in disarray—it was the perfect time to strike. If they missed this window, dismantling the entire group would become impossible.
With that in mind, Zhu Yuan immediately told Qing Yi to notify the squad—and to inform their superior, Zhao Anmen. An operation this significant couldn't be carried out without his approval.
...
At the same time, in a high school somewhere in New Eridu.
The bell for first period had just rung, and Zhong Yan was already lying on his desk, fast asleep at the back of the classroom.
In the seat ahead of him, Ellen, sucking on a lollipop, looked equally distracted. Her constantly swaying tail poking out through the chair gap was proof enough.
Suddenly, a buzz came from the phone in his drawer, jolting Zhong Yan awake.
Luckily, his reaction was subtle—if it had been any more obvious, the teacher might've called on him to answer a question.
Still groggy, Zhong Yan pulled out his phone and blinked blearily at the screen. A message from Zhu Yuan had arrived.
[Zhu Yuan: Mr. Zhong Yan, we have located the Mountain Lion Gang's headquarters. Do you have time to join the operation?]
The message instantly cleared away all his sleepiness.
Just when I was bored out of my mind in class, something exciting comes up...
With a spark of energy, he raised his hand and asked to go to the restroom.
After receiving the teacher's classic scolding—"What were you doing during the break?"—his request was approved.
High school bathrooms didn't have surveillance cameras. Once inside and sure no one was around, Zhong Yan formed a one-handed seal and summoned a shadow clone.
"You take my place in class, and while you're at it, handle today's homework." He patted the clone's shoulder solemnly, then immediately activated Kamui to disappear.
But he wasn't going to meet up with Zhu Yuan. After all, having both his real body and clone show up in front of people—even if unlikely—could risk exposure.
Instead, once he reached a rooftop elsewhere in the city, he pulled out his phone and texted her.
[Zhong Yan: Sorry, I've got class today, so I really can't join you. But I do want to know—where exactly is the Mountain Lion Gang's HQ? They were so good at hiding before, why'd they suddenly get exposed?]
Not long after, he got a reply from Zhu Yuan.
[Zhu Yuan: ...]
[Zhu Yuan: Apologies, Mr. Zhong Yan. If you're not part of the operation, I'm afraid I can't disclose that information. However, I can tell you this—the Mountain Lion Gang's headquarters is located in Hollow Zero.]
Her reply made Zhong Yan raise an eyebrow, but he understood. Of course a security officer wouldn't leak classified info to an outsider.
Hollow Zero, huh... Bold of them to make the most dangerous zone in New Eridu their home base.
But for Zhong Yan, tracking them down wouldn't be hard. The challenge was reaching them before Zhu Yuan and her squad did.
And this time, he planned to appear before the world in an entirely new identity.
With that, Zhong Yan activated Kamui again and entered the Kamui dimension.
Inside a special wardrobe reserved for his Uchiha gear, multiple identical robes and white masks were stored.
The most eye-catching among them was a massive war fan.
But tucked beside them was another outfit.
A deep gray robe, nearly identical in cut to the first, save for a slightly lower neckline.
The mask was completely different.
Its base color was now orange instead of white. The viewing holes had been reduced to a single eye slot. Across its surface ran several irregular black patterns, and the back featured a meticulously crafted mane of spiky black hair.
This new identity's weapon was no longer a war fan—it was a katana.
Zhong Yan called this form...
Tobi.