Surveillance from the Village? Wood Style Ninja

"Jin! What the hell are you and Sasuke screaming about?"

Splash!

With an exasperated shout, Fugaku slid the door open and strode out quickly.

Boom!

At the same time, the thunder above grew even more intense.

The signs of an impending storm were thickening by the moment.

"Is it going to rain? You, boy, grab your raincoat and get ready for school."

Fugaku glanced at the sky, then asked with confusion, "Where's Sasuke? He was just howling a moment ago—where'd he run off to?"

Hearing this, Jin pointed upward.

His voice was a little low, skipping a few words: "He said he wants to be the king of the Uchiha Clan!"

If Sasuke had heard that, he'd have asked: Where's the first three words of 'Lightning King'?

Too bad Sasuke didn't hear it.

Only Fugaku did.

After hearing those words, his pupils suddenly dilated.

Then, a cruel smile crept onto the corner of his mouth.

He grabbed the "Seven Wolves" not far away and ground out each word through clenched teeth:

"Fine, fine, fine. King of the Uchiha?"

"Your father hasn't abdicated yet, and he already wants to take the throne, huh?"

"What a fine son I've raised!!"

Crack!

Just then, lightning struck!

Without any surprise, it hit directly at the top of the tree canopy—

Right where the little boy stood, one finger pointing at the sky.

"Tch! This lightning... kinda zesty... but I'm gonna be the... Lightning... King..."

Sasuke only managed to say that much.

The next second, he spat out black smoke and tumbled down.

His legs twitched every now and then.

Electric currents still crackled across his skin.

Zzzzzzt.

Fugaku's face darkened. He silently chanted "he's my own flesh and blood" as he reached out to catch him.

Only after confirming he was just knocked out did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Just then, the word "king" drifted to his ears.

That made his face even darker.

"Fine, fine, fine. When you wake up, your father will make sure you get to be king properly!"

Jin, standing nearby, pressed himself silently against the courtyard wall, not daring to speak.

He could only glance at the unconscious Sasuke and sigh inwardly, The Heir Dispute has always been like this.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was morning.

With Second Pillar's awakening, the Uchiha District once again became "lively."

"Aaah! Mother, why didn't you wake me up!"

"I'm gonna be late, I'm gonna be late!"

"Damn legs! Run faster!"

After a flurry of chaos, Sasuke dashed off toward the school.

There weren't many people on the road—in fact, it was almost empty.

Soon, he reached the Ninja Academy without any obstacles.

Just as he was about to step inside, he abruptly stopped his frantic pace.

He straightened his sleeves, shoved his hands in his pockets, put on a slightly sour face, tilted his head, and walked in slowly.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun? Why are you so late today? Did you oversleep?"

"Hmph. If it weren't for my father's orders, I wouldn't have come at all."

Sasuke glanced at the person and said with some disdain, "The clan has way better stuff than the Ninja Academy."

This scene made the female classmate passing by swoon again:

"Wow, as expected of the great Uchiha clan!"

"So handsome! Handsome and rich..."

"But... why was he still wetting the bed this morning? Would a boyfriend like that wet the bed every day? I'm so torn about whether to agree to be his girlfriend..."

"If it's Sasuke-kun, even wetting the bed is cute."

Wet, wet, wetting the bed?!

Crack.

Sasuke's steps faltered slightly.

His mind felt like it had been struck by lightning, his eyes snapping wide as he stared at the female classmate in disbelief.

His lips trembling, he asked, "Who, who, who's talking nonsense?"

"Ah, it was your brother, Itachi."

Boom!

His head, already feeling struck by lightning, really started to ache now.

A splitting headache.

"Damn Jin, I'm going to—kill you..."

Slap!

Before he could finish, a Yellow-Haired Kid slapped him right out of it.

"Yo, Sasuke, you're late today, yo."

Naruto, wearing his orange outfit, gave him a pat and then bounced back into the classroom.

Leaving Sasuke frozen in place, his eyes dazed.

"This kid... did he really get his brain fried by lightning?"

From a distance, Jin watched the scene and sighed.

Looked like getting struck by lightning really wasn't a good thing.

"But... today's conversations are pretty much done. Time to leave."

With that thought, he took a step.

Leaving a Clone behind, his main body headed straight out of the school.

The success rate for copying through conversation was still low.

He could feel the immature Wood Release Power inside his body tirelessly corroding him.

Like a slow-acting poison.

Devouring the active cells within.

Or rather, pushing the cells to keep dividing.

There was only one outcome to this: premature cell division, leading to a shortened lifespan.

It was hard to say whether the First Generation's death was due to overusing Wood Release passively, or from injuries in the battle with Madara.

Or maybe it was just a flaw in Kishimoto's original setting, patched up later with retcons.

But without a doubt, Wood Release wasn't a simple power.

Especially his current, incomplete version.

"I wonder how many Wood Release Cells Danzo actually got when Orochimaru defected five years ago..."

"If there are still First Generation Cells left... could I just take them?"

With that thought, he lifted his foot and vaulted over the Ninja Academy wall.

As for—the front gate?

What good kid skipping class uses the front gate?

But the moment he got out, he suddenly sensed something wrong.

Somehow, it felt like a pair of eyes was fixed on him!

Like a viper lurking in the dark, ready to strike at any moment.

"At this hour, staring at me without any pretense..."

Jin cracked a grin, stretched his arms, and his whole body popped and crackled, "Finally noticed, huh, Danzo!"

Unlike the Anbu, who only did symbolic surveillance and recording, the Root Ninja were purely projections of Danzo's will.

It would be no exaggeration to say that even if Danzo harbored murderous intent toward the Hokage, the Root members would also feel that killing intent—

and boldly act on it!

As it happened, Danzo held a deep malice toward the Uchiha.

He both envied and craved the Uchiha's Dojutsu, while also fearing and dreading their power.

And as a transparent man within the Uchiha, he had almost no contact with anyone in the village.

So the only ones capable of producing such an aggressive gaze were Danzo's Root members.

"Still, it took this long to notice something was off—this Pot Kage is way too slow..."

He lifted his foot and walked straight toward the tree he sensed.

The outer wall of the Ninja Academy was deserted.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

His wooden clogs struck the stone path, producing a crisp sound.

It also made the masked Root member in the tree furrow his brow instinctively.

In his hand, seals were quietly formed.

The next second, he burst into action: "Wood Release: Silent Killing Bind."

From the ground, a row of trees suddenly shot out, coiling around Jin's body.

Like a cage, making it hard to move.

"Hmph, what a careless kid."

"Once I catch you, Lord Danzo will let me leave..."

This Root member slowly stepped out, the character "Kinoe" on his sleeve gleaming brightly.

And because of his last mission's failure, as well as his contact with Kakashi, he now only wanted to leave Root as soon as possible.

To return to a normal life.

That was why he took the risk of accepting this mission to capture an Uchiha clan member in the village!

Unlike his sigh of relief, Jin's eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of Wood Release!

Blazing bright!

The Wood Release he had been longing for—wasn't this it?!

The next second, he spoke directly: "Hey, old-timer, how about a ten-minute chat?"