The day after the bomb crisis was resolved.
Outside New Eridu, at the Exaltists' headquarters.
"Damn it! That guy went to all that trouble, and he only managed to kill seventeen people?! And on top of that, the New Eridu higher-ups now know we exist! Our people can't even operate inside the city anymore!"
A clone of the Exaltist leader—the same boyish one who had previously appeared—erupted in fury upon learning how laughably ineffective the massive bombing effort had been.
Among Exaltist clones, power was shared. If one clone overused their abilities, the strength of the others would weaken in kind—possibly even impacting the original body.
Usually, for a clone to mobilize a large amount of power, they had to get clearance from the original. Only with that permission could such force be deployed.
This incident had been no different.
What no one expected, however, was that the clone—after painstakingly planting three thousand bombs, exhausting vast amounts of power, and ultimately dying—would take out only seventeen lives.
Seventeen. That was the official death toll from the bombing crisis.
It was practically a joke.
"You old fossil! Still fiddling with your experiments at a time like this? They know about us now! Aren't you worried they'll send people here?" the boy snapped, glaring at the white-haired old man still buried in his research.
He knew even if he flipped the lab bench, the old man probably wouldn't bat an eye.
That old man was the Exaltist leader's original body—his mind long detached from what anyone would consider human, approaching something more akin to divinity.
To others, though, his mindset just seemed like outright madness.
"Calm yourself... I think I understand why he did it," the old man said without turning around. "Heh. His temperament reminds me of my younger self—maybe even more extreme. His actions are baffling, sure, but don't worry. The ones in New Eridu don't have the guts to come after me."
As he casually tweaked one of his experimental samples, the boyish clone clenched his fists in frustration.
But in the end, he said nothing more—only left behind a parting remark.
"Then you'd better start figuring out how to explain this to the other clones."
...
Because the bomb crisis didn't cause massive casualties in New Eridu, its media heat faded within half a month.
Zhong Yan and his team's vacation plans were forcibly scrapped. With the entire hotel blown sky-high, they couldn't even get compensation for the lost Dennies.
Returning home didn't bring peace either.
After revealing his identity as Uchiha to Ellen and the others, Zhong Yan found himself bombarded with questions—every single day.
What made it worse? Each faction sent only one representative to interrogate him—coordinated, no less.
Anby from the Cunning Hares. Ellen from Victoria Housekeeping. Belle from the Phaeton siblings.
The three of them took turns harassing Zhong Yan with questions, giving him a constant headache.
He even considered gathering them all in one place and explaining everything at once.
But then he imagined Anby, Ellen, and Belle in the same room—and immediately gave up on that idea.
Who knew what kind of chaos might erupt? Ellen still hadn't forgiven him for last time, after all.
So, after much thought, Zhong Yan decided to explain things to each of them individually.
Ideally, without ever letting them meet.
The first person he chose to speak with—unsurprisingly—was Ellen.
Their bond ran deepest. Not only had they known each other the longest, but they'd been through the most together.
So, Zhong Yan pulled out his phone and messaged her.
[Zhong Yan: You home? I want to come over and tell you everything.]
[Ellen: No, I'm at work... Boss said you can meet me at the estate. I'll send the location.]
[Ellen: Wait, you've been here before. Just come over. Hurry, though. I want to nap after.]
[Zhong Yan: I'm on my way.]
After sending the last message, Zhong Yan put down his phone, waited until Pei wasn't watching, and quietly activated Kamui to leave the house.
Moments later, a spatial vortex opened—and he arrived at the Victoria Housekeeping estate.
He was no stranger to this place. The last time the Nin-Village raided Victoria Housekeeping, he'd come here too.
Back then, Ellen nearly lost her life. Enraged, Zhong Yan had slain two Shadows from the Nin-Village and inadvertently harmed over a thousand civilians.
To this day, the district destroyed by his arrow was still under reconstruction. At the current pace, it would take another two and a half years to fully rebuild.
As for the Victoria Housekeeping estate itself, the damage caused by the previous battle with the Nin-Village and Zhong Yan had been completely repaired. The power of money was undeniable.
By the way, when Zhong Yan used Kamui to arrive, he deliberately avoided the view of the house staff. Not many people knew about his true identity, and it was best to keep it that way.
Inside the estate, Zhong Yan walked forward a few steps and saw someone hurrying toward him—Corin.
She froze when she saw him, then bowed nervously. "Uch... no, I mean, Mr. Zhong Yan. I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Master Lycaon and the others have been waiting for you. Please, follow me."
Maybe it was the Uchiha identity, but Corin now seemed afraid of him.
That hadn't been the case the first time they met.
Zhong Yan sighed inwardly. He had designed Uchiha and his normal persona to be completely different in personality—just to avoid this exact confusion.
But it was too late now. Things had already reached this point. What mattered was Ellen's reaction. As long as she wasn't afraid, it was fine.
Following Corin, Zhong Yan soon arrived at one of the grand mansions within the estate.
It was, without question, the most luxurious building on the grounds. Zhong Yan recalled that it hadn't been touched during the Nin-Village raid—proof of how formidable its security truly was.
The one residing here was none other than the master of Victoria Housekeeping.