Intercepting the Uchiha

Inside the training ground, the three lay on the ground, having been implanted with Binding Talismans!

This was Su Zheng's latest training achievement. Not only had he created the Binding Talisman, but he had also expanded the training ground to a radius of 1000 meters. This was unlocked through his own strength, not by upgrading with rescue points.

Now, the training ground felt like an extension of his own body, allowing him to move with ease. He could even divide the training ground into different zones, creating spaces that felt like separate dimensions. In essence, he was the "god" of this place.

Uchiha En was the first to wake up. He first checked his entire body and found only a sore ache in his neck, as if it were about to break. Everything else seemed fine. Seeing Feng and Ye still unconscious on the ground, he began to figure things out.

He stood up and looked at the young man before him, asking, "Who exactly are you? What do you want?"

Before Su Zheng could react, En charged forward. Shaking his head, En's thoughts shifted, and he collapsed onto the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.

Su Zheng walked over and smiled, "You really don't learn your lesson, do you!"

Uchiha En clutched his chest, got up, and asked tremblingly, "What exactly did you do to me?"

Su Zheng smiled and said, "You're still not being honest. I've placed restrictions within your bodies. All you need to do is train with me."

Uchiha En found it strange. Why would someone do this? He couldn't tell which country's ninja the other was based on his attire. Su Zheng hadn't carried any items indicating his ninja identity when he did this. He didn't consider himself a "ninja"; "ninja" was merely a disguise to achieve his dreams.

"Hey, you two over there, stop pretending. I knew you were awake long ago!" Su Zheng called out.

The two who had been trying to secretly figure out the situation could no longer maintain their act. They obediently sat up and looked at the other two with some embarrassment.

Su Zheng nodded and said, "You two are much more sensible than him. Why aren't you resisting?"

Uchiha Ye answered honestly, "Because resisting is useless. En's reaction just now explained everything."

Uchiha Feng chimed in, "Besides, you telling us these things shows you aren't afraid of being counteracted, or you have other means to control us!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Su Zheng applauded, saying, "Very good. Since you're mentally prepared, I won't waste any more words."

"I just need you to train with me. I will provide you with basic living necessities. If you want to resist, then try it!"

As his words ended, Su Zheng vanished from the training ground.

Uchiha En was a bit bewildered. Why did his two guards seem like different people? Was he the only one who was abnormal?

Looking at the vanished Su Zheng, Uchiha Feng was the first to confess, "En-bro, actually, I'm a spy sent by the Yomi Faction, just to monitor you."

Crack!

It sounded like something breaking. Uchiha Ye delivered the final blow, "En-bro, actually, I'm a spy sent by the Raijin Faction. I hope you don't blame us."

Boom!

Raijin and Yomi were two of the candidates. He never expected that his closest guards were all spies for others. Uchiha En's beliefs instantly shattered.

He put on a bitter smile and said, "It's alright, it's all for the position of clan head. I understand."

Yoru ran around the training ground and quickly hit a wall. He could see the environment on the other side, but it was as if an "invisible" wall had sealed off the entire space.

Uchiha Yoru returned to them and analyzed, "This space is vast, but we are confined to a circular area with a diameter of about 60 meters."

"He said he placed restrictions on us. Can you feel what they are?"

Uchiha Feng shook his head, while En was still lost in his own shattered world, unable to extricate himself!

Within their team, Yoru focused on intelligence analysis, Feng on Ninjutsu combat, and En was the most well-rounded and strongest.

Yoru naturally couldn't watch Uchiha En fall into despair. He put his hands on En's shoulders, looked him directly in the eyes, and shouted, "En, don't be like this. We still need to escape together. We can talk about these things after we get out alive, okay?"

Uchiha En's dazed eyes finally began to change. Within his blood-red pupils, three tomoe swayed.

"Okay!" Uchiha En finally regained his spirit.

He paused for a moment, recalling, "I think he must have placed a restriction in our hearts. When I attacked him, I felt an abnormal twitching sensation in my chest."

Uchiha Yoru asked hurriedly, "Do you know this kind of restriction?"

"I think I've seen it before. It's a very powerful restriction, placed within the target's heart to control their actions and prevent them from destroying the restriction."

Uchiha Feng suddenly thought of something and exclaimed, "Then, we can just destroy each other's restrictions!"

Uchiha Yoru countered, "Can you guarantee that we can survive after destroying the restriction?"

Uchiha Feng froze on the spot, "Yeah, how can we survive after destroying the restriction? That's what matters. Otherwise, what's the point?"

Uchiha En lay on the ground and said, "Don't think about it. The physical structure of an ordinary person cannot survive the destruction of their heart, not even a ninja."

"Unless you know Medical Ninjutsu and can do it with extreme precision without damaging the heart."

The three fell into silence. They were all combat-type ninjas and had never learned any medical knowledge. Injuries and illnesses were always handled by medical ninjas. Moreover, the concept of medical ninjas hadn't even emerged yet.

Kiyokawa Village.

Orochimaru had already received the intelligence about the disappearance of Uchiha En's team. He, Tsunade, and Jiraiya arrived at the scene to investigate.

After examining the scene, Jiraiya said sternly, "There are only very small traces of a fight here, and only one jutsu was used."

On the roof of a building, there were scorch marks from Fire Style, and in the room opposite, the ingredients in the pot were completely burnt.

Tsunade added, "Besides this spot, there are no other traces. The opponent likely left using Earth Style, and it was only one person."

"One person?" Orochimaru mused.

The three had grim expressions. If that was the case, there could only be one possibility: Hanzo had come.

However, what Orochimaru couldn't understand was why Hanzo would do this. Was it to obtain intelligence on Leaf Village ninjas?

Stopping his thoughts, Orochimaru commanded, "Halt reconnaissance missions for all squads, reassign them, and strengthen our defenses!"

"Yes!" The missing squads would go no further.

In the Leaf Village camp, inside the Uchiha clan's tent.

Dozens of Uchiha clan members sat around. The front row had four tables lined up side-by-side. Originally, there should have been five, but Uchiha En had been "presumed dead," leaving only four tables.

Uchiha Kage spoke first, "Does anyone know what happened to En's squad?"

He and En were good brothers. Although they had become rivals due to their status as clan leader candidates, Kage believed in fair competition.

Uchiha Yomi said playfully, "Who knows? Perhaps the Demigod of the Ninja World wanted to study our Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai."

With a rival suddenly gone, he couldn't be happier.

Uchiha Kage said angrily, "What do you mean by that?"

"Now, now, don't be angry," Uchiha Raijin interjected to smooth things over. He slowly said, "I seem to recall that Yomi had people with En!"

Uchiha Yomi raised an eyebrow and stated calmly, "So what? En trusted me, so he let my people be his guards."

Uchiha Raijin rolled his eyes. Everyone knew that was surveillance, not trust.

Uchiha Hikari spoke up, "I don't think Hanzo was the one who acted. A ninja of his caliber wouldn't need to make a move against us."

He paused, then continued, "I think this might be a trap, something someone planned."

Uchiha Yomi retorted, "Who do you think planned it? Don't be so vague."

Raijin curled his lips and shot back, "Yomi, just admit it. You can explain yourself once we get back to the village."

Swish, swish, swish!

All the Uchiha members present turned to look at Uchiha Yomi. Such things were better left unsaid; otherwise, who would dare associate with him?

Uchiha Yomi's face flushed red as he cursed, "How could it be me? I would never do such a thing."

Seeing Uchiha Kage staring at him with a grim expression, Yomi, annoyed, decided to lay his cards on the table. "En's other guard was one of Raijin's people."

Boom!

It was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a hot oil pan, exploding with crackling sounds.

At this point, the four candidates lost interest in discussing further matters. They all wanted to know if they had the other's people among them. The meeting ended in a farce.

Outside the Uchiha's large tent, several dark figures were intently watching the area.