A Wood Release Ninja?

"Grandma! I'm home!"

Obito returned home and pushed open the door.

"Oh, Obito, how did graduation and team assignments go today?"

His grandmother was busy making dinner in the kitchen. When she saw Obito come home, a smile spread across her wrinkled face.

"Pretty well. My team leader is Minato Namikaze. You've heard of him, right?"

Obito picked up the cool tea on the table and took a huge gulp.

His grandmother's eyes filled with surprise. "You mean the Yellow Flash? I may be old, but of course I've heard of someone that outstanding."

Yellow Flash was a title Minato had earned in the Shinobi World in recent years.

Minato was known as the fastest man in the Shinobi World, winning his battles through speed.

After chatting with his grandmother for a while, Obito went into the bathroom to take a bath.

After a refreshing wash, Obito did not come out right away.

Instead, he hid in the bathroom and sneaked a look at the copy of Make-Out Paradise the system had given him.

There really wasn't much worth reading.

Only two hours later, after his grandmother had called five or six times for him to hurry out and eat, did Obito reluctantly close the book, still wanting more.

In the hills behind the Shimura Clan compound.

Inside an enclosed underground chamber stood two rows of enormous transparent tanks.

The transparent tanks were filled with green medicinal solution.

Children aged four or five were submerged inside, with tubes connected to various parts of their bodies.

Every child wore an expression of agony, their eyes squeezed tightly shut. Their skin had become wrinkled from soaking, making them look as though they had been dead for a long time.

Creeeak...

The chamber's heavy iron door was pushed open from outside.

Two figures entered, turning their heads to inspect the transparent tanks on either side.

One leaned on a cane, his right arm wrapped in bandages. He was Shimura Danzō, the leader of Root.

The other had long black hair and deathly pale skin. Every so often, a long red tongue slipped from his smiling mouth to lick his lips.

He was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin and a disciple of the Third Hokage.

"It seems this still won't work. The First Hokage's cells are too aggressive. A full-body transplant is still impossible. These children are all dead."

Disappointment filled Orochimaru's eyes as he shook his head and sighed.

Danzo tapped his cane against the floor and said in a low voice, "Orochimaru, you must speed up your research. I don't care what methods you use, but you must find a solution as soon as possible. That fellow Sarutobi has already sent people to investigate this."

Orochimaru's expression turned cold, and he shot Danzo a murderous look.

"There's no point rushing me. The First Hokage's cells aren't that easy to handle. If you want a more perfected transplant, you'll just have to wait."

Without waiting for Danzo's reply, Orochimaru turned and headed toward the door.

A trace of helplessness appeared in Danzo's eyes. "That fellow's temperament hasn't changed. I was too impatient just now."

Muttering to himself, Danzo turned to scan the transparent tanks once more.

He had expected nothing, but his eyes suddenly lit up.

Inside one of the tanks at the very back, the green medicinal solution was bubbling continuously.

Fine cracks had already appeared in the tank's glass.

Suddenly, several sharp branches pierced through the glass.

Crash!

The transparent tank shattered, scattering glass across the floor.

The child inside fell to the floor with a thud amid the rushing liquid.

"I... I'm still alive... help me..."

The child reached toward Danzo as though pleading for help, then closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

"So it worked? The experiment succeeded in the end. That was definitely Wood Release."

Delight filled Danzo's face. He hurried forward, picked up the child, and examined him closely.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, two masked figures darted in from outside the underground chamber and dropped to one knee before Danzo.

One ninja, wearing a tiger mask, said:

"Lord Danzo! Obito Uchiha ultimately chose not to join Root!"

"He graduated successfully and was assigned to Minato Namikaze's team!"

Danzo frowned slightly, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes.

"So that's how it is? That brat Obito has been stringing me along all this time."

For three whole months, Danzo had sent people to Obito's house every few days to deliver gifts.

Obito had accepted every last one, yet kept putting off joining Root.

Danzo had sensed something was wrong long ago and knew that Obito might not join Root.

Still, he had clung to a sliver of hope.

Only when he heard today that Obito had been assigned to Minato's team did Danzo truly become furious.

Danzo knew perfectly well that Minato was a ninja aligned with the Third Hokage.

Once Obito joined Minato's team, he would never have anything to do with Root again.

If Obito had refused to join Root from the start,

Danzo might not have been so angry.

But the feeling of having been played left Danzo deeply resentful.

Danzo ordered, "A, B, arrange the manpower and find a way to make this Obito Uchiha disappear."

"Yes, Lord Danzo!" the two Root ninja answered in unison, rising to leave.

They had barely gone any distance when Danzo spoke again:

"Wait! Bring me Obito's Sharingan! And make sure this is done discreetly enough that no one finds out."

The two Root ninja turned back and bowed again. "Yes, Lord Danzo!"

Early the next morning, just after eight.

A few kilometers from the Ninja Academy.

On an arched wooden bridge, Kakashi and Rin stood beside the railing, waiting for Obito and Minato to arrive.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm late!"

Obito jogged up from the end of the bridge, waving to Kakashi and Rin.

"You're late, you know."

Kakashi seized the chance to take a jab at him. When it came to Obito, a powerful rival who could match him, Kakashi always seemed eager to find an opportunity to needle him.

Obito patted his chest to catch his breath and said, "So what if I'm late? I was helping an old lady cross the road. That was a good deed, plain and simple."

Kakashi said flatly, "You've been using that excuse for four or five years, and you're still using it."

Obito immediately felt deflated. He pointed irritably at Kakashi and said, "Kakashi, you're awfully talkative today. That's not like you."

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Rin hurried over and stepped between them.

"Obito, Kakashi, both of you, give it a rest. Minato-sensei isn't here yet anyway, so being a little late doesn't matter."

"Hmph!" Kakashi haughtily turned his head away, unwilling to say anything more.

Only then did Rin notice something unusual about Obito. She leaned closer and asked, "Obito, didn't you sleep well last night? Why do you have dark circles under your eyes?"