Abducting Yamato

"The Wood Release ninja and the Jinchuriki are together... Looks like I'll have to find the right opportunity."

The lesson of Nine-Tails Night was not far in the past. What Konoha feared most now was the Uchiha coming into contact with the Jinchuriki.

The Uchiha Clan could not even approach Uzumaki Naruto, much less contact the Wood Release ninja specifically assigned to protect and restrain him.

However, Uchiha Shūichi did not care. Yamato could not monitor Uzumaki Naruto around the clock. Even ninjas were still human; they simply did not have that kind of stamina and would definitely need to rotate shifts with other ninjas.

Moreover, Yamato was only sixteen or seventeen years old. He was at the golden stage for improving his strength, and as a highly valued Wood Release ninja, he also needed sufficient time to train.

Sure enough, according to Kakashi's description, Yamato only needed to protect Naruto Uzumaki for eight hours a day. He could arrange the rest of his time as he pleased. Generally, Yamato trained at the Anbu training grounds, while his residence was very well concealed.

Fortunately, Kakashi also knew where Yamato lived. Since the place was hidden, there would not be many people around. All he had to do was lie in wait at Yamato's residence.

Kakashi's Kotoamatsukami definitely had to be undone. As the leading figure among Konoha's younger generation of ninjas and a genius qualified to inherit the position of Hokage, Kakashi drew a great deal of attention in Konoha.

Now that one of Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyo had gone missing, Konoha's higher-ups were surely relaxed on the surface but tense underneath. Important ninjas like Kakashi would absolutely be inspected regularly.

Kotoamatsukami was indeed immensely powerful, but it was not without counters. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could easily detect whether someone was under control. Uchiha Shūichi did not want to leave behind any loose ends here and give others something to trace.

Uchiha Shūichi first controlled Kakashi, completely healing the minor injuries left in his eye and wiping away the blood around it before having him return to bed.

Finally, as he undid Kotoamatsukami, he erased Kakashi's memories of this period and silently left for good.

"Mm..."

At dawn, Hatake Kakashi opened his eyes. The intermittent soreness in his left eye and the sense of lightness in his body left him somewhat puzzled.

"What's going on...?"

Startled, Hatake Kakashi hurriedly stood up and walked to the mirror. Only after looking at the Three Tomoe Sharingan in his eye did he let out a slight sigh of relief.

"The Sharingan hasn't changed... It seems no one tampered with my eye. But why has the amount of Chakra the Sharingan draws from me decreased so much?"

"Could it be that after drawing on my Chakra for so long, Obito's Sharingan has finally fully adjusted to me? Has our bloodline fused, reducing my burden?"

"If so, then the soreness in my eye just now makes sense. It was probably caused by the bloodline fusion in my eye."

Touching his eye, Hatake Kakashi secretly made his guess. Of course, he did not dare say for certain that he was right.

However, after checking himself over and finding no problems other than the lighter burden of the Sharingan, Kakashi could only let the matter go.

All of this had been within Uchiha Shūichi's expectations. After all, aside from leaking intelligence, Kakashi had truly suffered no losses.

He did not know about Kotoamatsukami, nor did he even know that the Mangekyo existed. There was no way he could imagine that he had been attacked by genjutsu.

Yamato's residence was quite secluded, located near an Anbu exit at the edge of the forest.

As a Wood Release ninja, a forest environment could both enhance his strength and benefit his training.

The Wood Release ninja was regarded by Konoha's higher-ups as a secret trump card. To prevent intelligence from leaking, training in the forest was the best choice.

As night fell, Uchiha Shūichi looked at the house built from wood before him and finally understood why Yamato's Wood Release Four Pillar House Technique had been used so skillfully in the later manga.

"There are traps set up nearby too? He's quite cautious."

After approaching the house, Uchiha Shūichi frowned. Around the wooden house were several wires and pit traps. They were not especially dangerous, but they had been arranged very discreetly.

This was already outside Konoha's residential district, so there was no need to worry about accidentally hurting civilians. To prevent Konoha's own ninjas from wandering in by mistake, these traps were nonlethal as well.

Fortunately, Uchiha Shūichi had been mentally prepared, and with his Sharingan's exceptional powers of observation, these traps naturally could not trouble him.

A moment later, Uchiha Shūichi arrived at the wooden house's door. After changing back into the attire of a Root Ninja, he casually knocked.

His Sensory Ability had already detected the powerful Chakra within the room. Yamato was a few years younger than Kakashi, yet his Chakra reserves were already more than three or four times Kakashi's.

Though he was nowhere near Senju Hashirama, Yamato had fused with Hashirama Cells. Even this level of Chakra reserves was somewhat underwhelming.

Still, it was fortunate that Yamato had inherited only twenty percent of Senju Hashirama's Wood Release ability. If he had inherited twenty percent of Senju Hashirama's Chakra reserves instead, that would have been truly terrifying. Aside from the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, even the other Tailed Beasts likely could not have matched him in Chakra reserves.

With the knock, the seamless wooden door before him suddenly trembled and opened. A very young-looking ninja with a somewhat blank expression stepped out.

"You're... a Root Ninja? No!"

The familiar mask confused Yamato for a moment, but he immediately realized something was wrong.

This Wood Release ninja, who had once emerged from Root, could not sense the cold, numb, blade-like aura of a Root Ninja from the visitor. Almost instinctively, he concluded that the other man was an impostor.

Yet that moment of hesitation was already enough. Red light flashed through the eyes behind the mask, and a chill ran through Yamato's heart as he formed hand seals.

"Wood Release—Thorn Kill!"

Thick vines covered in spikes instantly pierced the ninja impersonating a Root Ninja before him until he was riddled with holes. Only then did Yamato relax slightly.

The next second, everything before him suddenly shattered. Yamato finally came to his senses, only to discover that he had not moved at all. Everything just now had been nothing more than a genjutsu.

But it was already too late. A sharp pain came from the back of his head, and Yamato's vision went black. His entire body went numb as he collapsed straight to the ground.

With a bang, a massive python appeared inside the tree house. It slowly slithered over to Yamato, opened its huge jaws, and swallowed him whole.