When Uchiha En and his teammates returned to the camp, they happened to run into Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu.
"Yo, En! Long time no see! You look much stronger!" Guy gave a thumbs-up and flashed his signature smile, his bright white teeth making Uchiha En feel slightly dazzled.
"It hasn't been that long, has it? Didn't we have a running competition the day before graduation?" Uchiha En replied with a smile.
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu were both surprised to see how friendly Uchiha En was toward Guy.
They hadn't felt that Uchiha En and Guy were particularly close when they were at the Ninja Academy!
However, the two didn't rashly ask, as they genuinely weren't familiar with Uchiha En.
After Uchiha En and Guy exchanged a few pleasantries, they turned and left to report their missions.
Shibi went to Orochimaru's tent to report the results of their reconnaissance.
"Well done. You won't need to participate in the upcoming battles for now. After the fighting is over, you will be responsible for cleaning up the battlefield along with the other reconnaissance squads," Orochimaru said.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
"Mm, you may leave."
Shibi nodded and turned to leave.
After leaving the tent, Shibi relayed Orochimaru's orders to the three of them and then announced their dismissal.
Kagetsu quickly pulled Uchiha En toward the training ground, wanting to continue improving his sensory range.
Uchiha En also wanted to master the Wood Binding Kill as quickly as possible, so he did not refuse.
Asana naturally followed them as well.
The three of them stayed at the training ground all afternoon, and it wasn't until dusk approached that Kagetsu took his leave.
That afternoon, Uchiha En used the Wood Binding Kill on Kagetsu 10 times.
The Wood Binding Kill is a B-rank Genjutsu, and although a technique's rank only represents its difficulty to learn, generally speaking, the harder a technique is to master, the more powerful it is likely to be.
Therefore, Kagetsu failed to break free from the Genjutsu of the Wood Binding Kill even once that afternoon. Uchiha En only dispelled the Genjutsu himself when he saw that Kagetsu's condition was deteriorating.
Of course, this was also related to Uchiha En becoming increasingly proficient in using the Wood Binding Kill; with Kagetsu as a sparring partner, Uchiha En's Wood Binding Kill improved significantly.
Genjutsu is different from Ninjutsu; practicing solo isn't very effective—you need someone to spar with.
After Kagetsu left, Asana said to Uchiha En, "En, I feel like you've changed a little."
"I've changed? Have I?"
"The old you wouldn't have greeted Might Guy."
"Oh, you mean that! That's because I've set a new goal."
"What goal?" Asana asked.
"I want to change the Uchiha Clan in every aspect."
"How does that relate to you greeting Guy?" Asana asked, looking puzzled.
"Of course it's related. Due to certain reasons, the Uchiha Clan currently has a very poor reputation in the Village. The comprehensive change I mentioned naturally includes changing the Uchiha Clan's image within the Village."
"How can something like that be so easily changed?"
"That's why we have to start with small things, bit by bit."
Hearing this, Asana pursed her lips and offered no comment on Uchiha En's actions.
She didn't really understand Uchiha En's behavior. In her view, taking care of oneself and the people one valued was enough; there was no need to worry about trivial matters.
Uchiha En smiled and didn't offer any further explanation. Asana would understand eventually.
After finishing the day's training, Uchiha En returned to his tent.
Uchiha Mei wasn't there at the moment; he was probably preparing for battle!
Uchiha En lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
Yesterday, because he was on a mission and needed to remain highly vigilant on the battlefield, he didn't have a chance to play the Text Game. Uchiha En had initially worried that the unused attempt from yesterday might disappear, but when he checked in the early morning, he saw that the attempts had accumulated.
This was good news for Uchiha En; now he wouldn't have to worry about missing his Text Game attempts while on the battlefield.
Having two opportunities for the Text Game this time, Uchiha En spun the roulette wheel in his mind.
The first time, he arrived at the Green Green Grassland after a long absence.
Unfortunately, Uchiha En arrived at the wrong time. It was before the establishment of Sheep Village, and Uchiha En was unluckily caught and eaten by a wolf, only gaining 1 Attribute Point.
Uchiha En internally cursed his bad luck and then spun the roulette wheel a second time.
"You have logged into Marvel Universe 616."
"On the surface, you are a Level 5 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but in reality, you are one of Hydra's undercover operatives."
"Originally, you thought the undercover work would be difficult, but you quickly discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was filled with your own people."
"A single 'hail hydra' can solve 99% of your problems."
"On this day, Earth had just survived a life-or-death crisis: an alien invasion. Fortunately, Nick Fury assembled the Avengers, and they defeated the invaders."
"You were ordered by your superior to accompany him to Stark Tower to retrieve the scepter containing the Mind Stone."
"You recognized everyone around you; they were all your people."
"You retrieved the Tesseract and took the elevator to leave. Halfway down, Captain America entered."
"The Captain demanded you hand the scepter over to him, claiming it was an order from above."
"Hearing this, your superior hesitated and said he needed to consult with his higher-ups."
"Just then, Captain America whispered 'hail hydra' into your superior's ear."
"You and everyone else in the elevator heard it. Everyone was surprised at first, then immediately exchanged knowing looks."
"So Captain America was one of them!"
"Your superior handed the Captain the scepter containing the Mind Stone."
"The Captain took the scepter and left the elevator."
"Shortly after you returned to base, you received a call from a higher-up and rushed over."
"When the higher-up saw you, he immediately asked if you had heard Captain America say 'hail hydra.'"
"You said yes, you had heard it."
"The higher-up flew into a rage and shot you directly in the heart."
"In your dying moments, you heard your superior tell the higher-up, 'He was the one who told me the Captain was one of us in Hydra and that he said hail hydra. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given the Captain the scepter.'"
"You understood: the Captain wasn't part of Hydra after all. You had taken the blame for your superior."
"In hindsight, it made sense. You had the lowest rank in the elevator. If you weren't the scapegoat, who would be?"
"You died."
"Game over."
"Acquired Attribute Point x2, Scapegoat Pot x1."
"Friendly reminder: Collect 10 Scapegoat Pots for a surprise reward.
Alternatively, you can use a Scapegoat Pot to spin the wheel again. There is a 100% chance of taking the blame for someone else in the Text Game world, but taking the blame yields a special reward."
After the Text Game ended, Uchiha En opened his eyes, completely speechless.
"Damn it, how is it that even in a Text Game, subordinates still have to take the fall for their leaders!" Uchiha En complained, looking annoyed.
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