The real Tier was originally under the remnants of the Mizu dojo. He had used a "shadow" jutsu to allow his body to hide between the spaces. Tier always assumed it was shadows that he was using, not the darkness. When the birds started to leave in a strange distraught fashion, he made plans to travel to the Kaze dojo; where he saw the flare earlier. Tier's black, one-dimensional figure, was flat across the ground as he shot off towards the Kaze dojo. As if it was a shadow from an airplane that had passed overhead.