The deep sea has always been one of the great sources of human fear. But precisely because of the unknown mysteries it holds, that very aura of secrecy continues to pull people toward it, compelling them to explore.
At that moment, on a beach less than a hundred meters from the shoreline, a figure appeared—cloaked in black, barefoot.
Beneath his hood, a pair of pupils glowed like black holes, slowly revealing themselves. Eyes that seemed to pierce straight into the soul locked intensely onto a man and woman strolling by the sea in the distance.
"So, I've finally found you, Uchiha. Hiding in the shadows, huh? What a pain to track down. Is this frail, unassuming appearance the disguise you use to throw people off?"
"Ellen's not with you… Looks like there's no trust between you two. What a shame. If she were here, I could've taken you both out in one move… but I suppose it doesn't matter."
The mysterious figure from the Exaltists—one of the leader's fragments, possessing unknown abilities—was also the only one who had definitively seen through Zhong Yan's identity and confirmed that he was the Uchiha.
Once the two had walked a fair distance away, the figure raised his arm. A glowing screen materialized in the air before him, playing a video feed.
It showed Zhong Yan vacationing with Nicole and the others.
"A vacation… with more companions? Fine. I'll take them all out. Better safe than sorry."
...
"It's getting late. Maybe we should head back," Zhong Yan said, glancing at his phone after a walk along the beach. To his surprise, it was already past midnight.
Though summer temperatures ran high, the ocean breeze—especially at night—still brought a subtle chill with it.
"After everything that happened tonight, you think you can sleep?" Belle teased.
Zhong Yan didn't have a good reply, but the truth was, when people are really tired, they can sleep through just about anything.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing. Let's get some rest. I'm getting sleepy too." Belle's bright, smiling face made Zhong Yan pause and take a second look at her.
After that, the two of them returned to the hotel to end the day.
When Zhong Yan stepped back into the room, he found Wise already asleep. Billy was nearly out of battery, currently plugged into a portable charging station.
In shutdown mode, he was no different from someone sleeping.
The room was completely dark. Zhong Yan didn't bother turning on the lights—he just fumbled his way into bed.
Soon after, he drifted off to sleep.
But not long after, in Belle and Anby's room—
A shadowy figure appeared without warning. He approached the two sleeping girls slowly. As his eyes were exposed to the dim light, his identity was unmistakable.
Zhong Yan and his companions were scattered across various rooms in the hotel. To avoid making too much noise, his best strategy was to take them out one by one.
His first targets? Anby and Belle—easily the weakest links in their group.
However, just as he was about to strike and eliminate the two—
Bang!
The door was kicked open.
Nicole burst in, wielding her ether-powered suitcase. Beside her was Nekomata, holding two short blades. Nicole shouted, "I knew something was off with you creeps! Finally caught you red-handed!"
The noise immediately jolted Anby and Belle awake. Anby grabbed her weapon and adopted a defensive stance. Belle rolled off the bed and took cover in the corner.
Ironically, Nicole's original suspicion hadn't even been directed at him—but at Victoria Housekeeping Co. Her interference was pure coincidence.
Still, it was a lucky break. Otherwise, who knew how many of them would've survived the night?
"So, I've been discovered... interesting." As the Cunning Hares surrounded him, the figure finally revealed his face beneath the hood—a young man with glowing eyes like black holes.
Everyone froze the moment they saw his eyes.
"He's from the Exaltists!" Belle shouted, her voice loud enough to wake both Wise and Zhong Yan in the neighboring room.
Realizing the situation's gravity, Wise instantly sat up. "Zhong Yan, we're under attack—wake Billy!"
He leapt from bed and ran to the next room to check on his sister's safety.
Zhong Yan, now wide awake, activated his Sharingan. When he looked into the neighboring room and saw a figure brimming with ether energy, he didn't hesitate. He hit Billy's power switch and followed Wise to the next room.
"This guy's ether... it's off the charts..." Zhong Yan thought as he ran. The man in the other room had ether energy so dense, it rivaled even the colossal Ethereals like Nineveh.
Had they been in the Hollow, the oppressive ether pressure alone would've suffocated ordinary people.
"Another Twelve Shields member? That's trouble..." Zhong Yan murmured. With power like that, the attacker had to be one of the Exaltists' elites.
It was clear now—the one who had launched the attack was on the same level as the Twelve Shield. If they fought him head-on in normal conditions, they had no chance.
And there was no time to summon a shadow clone. Doing so would instantly blow his cover.
At the moment, Zhong Yan assumed the enemy was targeting Nicole and the others. He had no idea it was his identity that had been exposed.
Meanwhile, over in the Victoria Housekeeping Co. rooms—
"E-Ellen... did you hear that noise outside?" Corin asked nervously, propping herself up and glancing toward Ellen.
Still upset over earlier events, Ellen was in no mood to respond. She had been debating whether or not to forgive Zhong Yan and wasn't paying Corin any attention.
"Don't worry, little Corin. I'll go check it out," Rina said. Noticing Ellen's foul mood, she reassured Corin while getting ready to investigate the noise herself.
But just then—
Knock knock knock!
Urgent knocking rang out from the door, followed by Lycaon's voice from outside.
"Rina! Get Ellen and Corin out here—something's going down!"
Rina froze for a split second, then sprang into action. She called out to Ellen and Corin to grab their weapons and join her outside to meet up with Lycaon.
A full-on battle, fueled by deep-rooted enmity, was about to erupt.