"Jin! What the hell are you and Sasuke screaming about?!"
Whoosh!
Along with an exasperated shout, Fugaku yanked the door open and strode out.
Boom—!
At the same moment, thunderclouds above thickened rapidly.
The signs of thunder and rain grew stronger by the second.
"Is it about to rain?" Fugaku glanced at the sky, then said impatiently,
"Hurry up and grab a raincoat. You're going to school."
Then he frowned, puzzled.
"Where's Sasuke? He was just howling like a banshee—where'd he run off to now?"
Jin raised a finger and pointed upward.
His voice was small, and he conveniently left out a few words.
"He said… he wants to be the king of the Uchiha clan."
If Sasuke heard that, he'd definitely argue: What about the three words in front of Lightning Dharma King?!
Unfortunately for him, Sasuke didn't hear it.
Only Fugaku did.
The moment those words landed, Fugaku's pupils dilated.
Then, slowly, a cruel smile crept onto his face.
He gripped the nearby "Seven Wolves" bamboo rod, grinding out each word through clenched teeth:
"Good. Very good. Wants to be the Uchiha's king?"
"I'm not even retired yet, and he already wants the throne, huh?"
"What a wonderful son I have!"
BOOOOM—!
Right on cue, lightning struck.
With perfect accuracy, it slammed straight into the very top of the tree—
Exactly where a small boy stood, one hand pointing at the sky.
"Shh—! This lightning… kinda tingly… but I'm going to be… the Lightning… Dharma… Ki—"
That was all Sasuke managed to say.
The next second, black smoke poured from his mouth as he fell straight down.
His legs twitched spasmodically.
Arcs of electricity still crackled across his body.
Zzzzt—crackle—
Fugaku's face darkened even further. Muttering he's my own flesh and blood, he reached out and caught him.
After confirming that Sasuke had only been electrocuted unconscious, Fugaku finally let out a breath.
Then the word king echoed again in his ears.
His expression instantly turned pitch-black.
"Good. Very good. When you wake up, Father will make sure you truly get to 'be king.'"
Beside him, Jin silently plastered himself against the courtyard wall, not daring to speak.
He only glanced at the unconscious Sasuke and sighed inwardly:
Ah… the struggle of succession. Ever thus.
Time flew.
By mid-morning, as soon as Second Pillar woke up, the Uchiha compound became "lively" once again.
"Ahhh! Mother, why didn't you wake me up?!"
"I'm going to be late—I'm going to be late!"
"Damn legs, move faster!"
After a bout of utter chaos, Sasuke shot off toward the academy like a rocket.
The streets were quiet—almost empty.
He reached the Ninja Academy without obstruction.
Just before stepping inside, he abruptly stopped.
He adjusted his sleeves, shoved his hands into his pockets, tilted his head with a faintly arrogant look, and walked in at an unhurried pace.
"Oh? Sasuke-kun? You're late today. Overslept?"
"Hmph. If Father hadn't demanded it, I wouldn't even come."
Sasuke glanced at the speaker with faint disdain.
"The clan has far better things than the academy."
That single scene made the girls passing by swoon again:
"Wow—so worthy of the Uchiha clan!"
"So handsome! Rich and cool…"
"But… why did I hear he wet the bed this morning? If he becomes my boyfriend, would he wet the bed every day? I'm conflicted…"
"For Sasuke-kun, even bedwetting is cute."
Wet—wet—wet the bed?!
Crack.
Sasuke's steps froze.
It felt like lightning struck his brain again.
His eyes flew open as he stared at the girl, lips trembling.
"W-w-w-who's spreading that nonsense?!"
"Oh, that was your brother, Itachi."
BOOOOM—!
The headache came crashing down for real this time.
His head felt like it was splitting apart.
"Damn you, Jin… I'm going to—kill you…"
Smack!
Before he could finish, a blond brat slapped him on the shoulder.
"Yo, Sasuke! You're late today, y'know!"
Naruto, in his bright orange outfit, grinned, slapped him once more, and hopped back into the classroom.
Sasuke stood there alone, eyes unfocused.
"This kid… he didn't actually get struck stupid by lightning, did he?"
From a distance, Jin watched the scene and sighed.
Lightning strikes really weren't a good thing.
"But… today's conversations are basically done. Time to leave."
With that thought, he lightly stamped his foot.
Leaving a shadow clone behind, his real body headed straight out of the academy.
The success rate for conversational copying was still low.
He could clearly feel it—the immature Wood Release power inside him was tirelessly corroding his body.
Like a slow-acting poison.
It devoured living cells.
Or rather—it forced his cells to divide endlessly.
If this continued, there was only one outcome:
Premature completion of cell division → shortened lifespan.
It was hard to say whether the First Hokage's death had more to do with excessive passive Wood Release usage, his battles with Madara, or simply Kishimoto's late-patch inconsistencies.
But one thing was certain—
Wood Release was not a simple power.
Especially not his current, incomplete version.
"I wonder how many Wood Release cells Danzō managed to acquire when Orochimaru defected five years ago…"
"If there are still First Hokage cells…"
"…could I just take them by force?"
With that thought, he vaulted straight over the academy wall.
As for using the front gate?
What kind of good student skips class through the front door?
But the moment he landed, something felt wrong.
Somewhere, a gaze was fixed on him.
Like a venomous snake lurking in the dark—ready to strike at any moment.
"At a time like this, staring at me so blatantly…"
Jin grinned, stretched lazily, and his body crackled with pops and snaps.
"So you finally noticed me, Danzō."
Unlike ANBU's symbolic monitoring and reports, Root shinobi were essentially Danzō's living will.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say—
If Danzō felt murderous intent toward the Hokage, Root would feel it too.
And they would act on it.
Coincidentally, Danzō harbored deep malice toward the Uchiha.
He coveted their dōjutsu, yet feared their power.
And Jin—an Uchiha with almost no ties to the village, a near-invisible presence—
Was the perfect target.
"So it took this long to realize something was wrong? The pot-shadow's reactions are really slow…"
He lifted his foot and walked straight toward the tree where the gaze originated.
The area outside the academy wall was deserted.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Wooden clogs struck the stone pavement with crisp echoes.
Up in the tree, the masked Root operative frowned instinctively.
His hands quietly formed seals.
The next second, he burst out—
"Wood Release: Silent Kill Binding Technique!"
From the ground, rows of wooden growths erupted, surging up to bind Jin's body.
Like a cage—tight, inescapable.
"Hmph. Such a careless kid."
"Once I catch you, Lord Danzō will finally let me leave…"
The Root operative stepped out slowly.
On the corner of his uniform gleamed the character '甲'.
After his last mission's failure—and his encounter with Kakashi—
He desperately wanted to leave Root.
To return to a normal life.
Which was why he'd risked everything to accept this mission:
Capturing an Uchiha inside the village.
Unlike the obvious relief on his face, Jin's eyes lit up the instant he saw the Wood Release.
Bright—blindingly bright.
The Wood Release he'd been longing for—
Was delivered right to his doorstep!
He immediately spoke up:
"Hey, uncle—how about we chat for ten minutes?"
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