Shadow? Earth and Wood Brother Yamato

"Hm? Didn't seal his mouth properly..."

Yamato narrowed his eyes slightly and formed hand seals again.

He prepared to use wood to block Jin's mouth.

Whoosh!

A piece of wood suddenly shot up, stretched, and thrust downward from above.

Jin: "That's too much, Yamato... Kinoe!"

How had he never noticed before? The seemingly reliable Captain Yamato was this crude back in Root?

No wonder Danzo's brainwashing was on par with the Third Hokage's.

He shook his head, reached out directly, and crushed the wood in front of him, snapping it apart.

Thud.

He tossed it aside like trash.

Completely oblivious to the sudden, sharp pain flickering in the face of the Yamato across from him—or rather, the Root member still known as Kinoe.

"Huh? How does this kid know my identity?"

The future Yamato was baffled. He thought back carefully; while he had heard of this Second Young Master of the Uchiha clan, it was only by name.

He didn't know him, had never seen him.

So how did the other party recognize him on sight?

In his confusion, the future Yamato was about to leave when he saw something even more shocking.

This boy, no older than ten, had just torn apart his Wood Release with his bare hands!

That's right, bare hands!

At this sight, Yamato's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

From the day he was cultivated until now, he had never seen anyone tear Wood Release apart with their bare hands!

You could dodge it, evade it, even burn it with fire!

All of that seemed normal to him.

But bare-handed tearing? Never!

This wasn't some Paper Shards!

So without hesitation, he spread his hands again and began forming hand seals.

But halfway through, he suddenly froze.

At his neck, a sharp blade gleamed with cold light.

Drip.

A trace of blood seeped out silently.

Gulp.

When? When had he circled behind him?

Was it space-time ninjutsu?

No! Impossible!

He swallowed hard, his pupils contracting further.

This boy behind him, less than ten years old and silent, seemed to carry immense terror!

The next second, the cold light vanished.

Uchiha Jin waved his hand and said, "Let's go. Outside the village."

After all, they were still inside the village; a fight would stir up no small commotion.

Especially if buildings got destroyed—it would mean a hefty compensation bill.

It was better to fight outside the village, where it was more open.

As for letting Yamato go and whether he'd cause trouble?

He didn't care.

The early shinobi world was still relatively logical—it was simply a contest of intelligence.

With enough intel, even a genin could kill a jonin.

Like Shikamaru taking down Hidan.

Or Jiraiya dying at Pain's hands, while Kakashi could take out one of Pain's bodies.

In all these cases, the role of intelligence was especially highlighted.

As for the later stages?

Giant mechs everywhere, immortal techniques flying all over the place.

Pure power creep.

"But..."

Jin lowered his head slightly. Now that he had offense, defense, and mobility all in one, he too was edging toward that power creep.

Once the two issues—Wood Release draining life and the Sharingan draining the body—were resolved, he would truly stand at the peak of Leaf!

The Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, a year from now?

Jin almost felt it could happen right now.

Behind him, the future Yamato didn't hesitate and followed directly.

As the final mission for Root, he had to complete it.

Soon, at the village outskirts.

By the Naka River.

Yamato looked at the boy standing across from him and silently apologized.

The next second, he burst into action again!

"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

His right hand extended, and countless vines as thick as thighs shot straight toward his opponent.

Stronger and tougher than before!

"Hey, don't rush, old man. Let's chat first!"

Jin said as he sidestepped to dodge.

Killing wasn't the goal; Wood Release was his target.

"Words are useless. Fight, boy!"

Jin: ...

That chuunibyou line—Yamato-taichou's character was really falling apart.

But thinking of the chance to copy a trait with a Ten-Minute Talk, he silently dodged again.

Copying Wood Release? No shame in that.

"Not slow, but—can you run?!"

"Come back with me quietly!"

His powerful and unique Wood Release gave Yamato confidence again.

He just thought that getting torn apart barehanded earlier was a fluke.

Now, he went all out!

"Wood Release: Four Pillars Prison!"

Bam!

Bam, bam, bam!

One wooden pillar after another shot up from the ground!

They trapped Jin within a dozen-meter radius, closing in steadily.

At first glance, it looked like a wooden cage surrounding Uchiha Jin.

On the wood were faint, mysterious Runes.

Impossible to enter.

Impossible to escape.

"Hah, what a troublesome Uchiha brat."

After doing all this, the future Yamato wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a sigh.

He wasn't weak.

Thanks to Wood Release, he could easily subdue even a regular jonin.

So in his view, capturing a young master of the Uchiha clan was a piece of cake.

But before he could relax, a sound came from the wooden cage.

"Old man, can we talk now?"

"Huh? You..." The corner of Yamato's mouth twitched. "Your mental fortitude is way too strong, isn't it?"

A kid who hadn't even left the academy, not even a genin.

Seeing that he wasn't afraid at all?!

That was seriously off.

Somehow, Yamato's mind flashed back to the brutal scene of Jin tearing through Wood Release with his bare hands.

A phrase suddenly surfaced in his heart: Confidence born from power.

To be safe, he clasped his hands together again.

Wood Release: Silent Killing Bind!

Wood Release: Four Pillars House!

Wood Release: Consecutive Pillars House!

One Wood Release secret technique after another manifested in Leaf.

Inside the cage, trees coiled tight!

Outside the cage, a complex wooden residence rose from the ground.

Suppressing the Chakra power within the cage.

Then, more houses emerged around the residence!

Like a small clan, they sealed the central cage completely.

"Whew—even Kakashi-senpai couldn't escape this, right?"

Only then did Future Yamato fully relax.

He leaned back on a wooden sofa, breathing a little heavily.

No sooner had he sat down than he heard the boy across from him exclaim in an exaggerated voice:

"Old man, it's a real shame you're not in real estate..."

"With that Wood Release: Consecutive Pillars, how many people would be green with envy?!"

It was true—setting aside the Uchiha clan, Leaf had quite a few orphans due to the war.

Though there were special allowances, most kids didn't live in great conditions.

Take Naruto, for example.

Even as the Fourth Hokage's orphan, he only lived in a small two-story wooden house.

The rooms weren't all that big.

But if Yamato put in the effort, cutting down the trees around the village to build houses...

Then!

There wouldn't be any housing shortage at all.

They chatted for a while.

Soon, prompts appeared before Jin's eyes.

[Conversation Target: Root: Kinoe.]

[Copyable Traits being analyzed.]

[Wood Release Kekkei Genkai: Copy (Purple), First Generation Cells: Remnant (Purple), Water Style Mastery (Blue), Earth and Wood Brother (Black)...]