"Hm? His mouth isn't sealed…?"
Yamato narrowed his eyes slightly and formed seals again, clearly intending to use Wood Release to block Jin's mouth.
Whoosh!
A wooden spike suddenly shot upward, elongating and stabbing straight down from above.
Jin: "That's crossing the line, Yamato… I mean, 'Kinoe'."
How did he not notice before—Captain Yamato, who later looked so reliable, was this rough back when he was in Root?
No wonder people said Danzō's brainwashing was on par with the Third Hokage's.
Jin shook his head, casually reaching out and crushing the incoming wood—twisting, snapping it apart.
Clack.
He tossed it aside like trash.
He didn't even notice the sudden tightening of Kinoe's pupils on the other side.
"Wait—how does this kid know my identity?!"
The future Yamato was completely baffled.
Thinking carefully, he had heard of the Uchiha clan's second young master before—but only by reputation.
He'd never met him. Never even seen him.
So how did this boy recognize him on sight?
Before he could sort out his confusion, something even more shocking happened.
This boy—who couldn't be more than ten years old—had torn apart Wood Release with his bare hands.
Bare hands.
That sight nearly made Yamato's eyes split open.
Since the day he was cultivated, he had never seen anyone tear Wood Release apart barehanded.
Dodging it? Normal.
Evading it? Fine.
Burning it with Fire Release? Also normal.
But ripping it apart with brute force?
That was insane.
This wasn't paper—it was Wood Release!
Without hesitation, Yamato spread his hands and started forming seals again—
—but froze halfway through.
At his neck, a blade-like glint shimmered with cold light.
Drip.
A thin line of blood seeped out.
Gulp.
When did it happen?
When did he get behind me?
Space–time ninjutsu?
No—impossible!
He swallowed hard, pupils shrinking even further.
The silent boy behind him—barely ten years old—radiated an overwhelming sense of danger.
The next second, the cold glint vanished.
Uchiha Arata waved his hand.
"Let's go. Outside the village."
After all, this was still inside Konoha.
A fight here would cause a lot of commotion.
Property damage alone would lead to massive compensation.
It was far more comfortable to settle things outside the village.
As for whether letting Yamato go would cause trouble?
Jin didn't care.
In the early ninja world, things were still relatively logical—mostly an exchange of information.
With enough intel, even genin could kill jōnin.
Shikamaru killing Hidan.
Jiraiya dying to Pain.
Even Kakashi managing to take down one of the Six Paths of Pain.
All of those emphasized one thing: information mattered.
As for the later stages?
Gundams everywhere.
Sage Mode flying around.
Pure power creep.
"But…"
Jin lowered his gaze slightly.
With offense, defense, and mobility all online, even he was starting to approach that power-creep territory.
Once he solved the life-drain problem of Wood Release and the bodily damage from the Sharingan—
He'd truly be standing at the peak of Konoha.
The Uchiha Kaien a year from now?
Jin almost felt like it could happen right now.
Behind him, the future Yamato didn't hesitate at all and followed.
As Root's final mission, he had to complete it.
Soon after, outside the village.
On the banks of the Naka River.
Yamato stood opposite the boy and murmured a quiet apology.
Then—he exploded into action!
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Crash—crash—crash!
With a sweep of his right hand, countless vine-like branches as thick as thighs surged forward, grabbing at Jin.
Far stronger and harder than before!
"Hey, hey—no need to rush, Uncle. Let's chat first!"
Jin dodged to the side as he spoke.
After all, fighting wasn't the goal.
Wood Release was.
"Words are useless. Fight me, boy!"
Jin: "..."
That cringe line completely shattered Captain Yamato's future image.
But thinking about the ten-minute conversation copy chance, Jin silently kept dodging.
Copying Wood Release—no need to rush.
"You're fast—but can you really escape?!"
"Behave and come back with me!"
Wood Release—powerful and unique—gave Yamato renewed confidence.
He assumed the earlier barehanded tear was just a fluke.
This time, he went all out.
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison!"
Bang!
Bang bang bang!
One wooden pillar after another burst from the ground!
They instantly surrounded Jin in a radius of over ten meters—
And began shrinking inward.
At a glance, it looked like a wooden prison, trapping Uchiha Arata inside.
Faint, mysterious runes glowed along the wood.
Impossible to enter.
Impossible to escape.
"Hah… you really are a troublesome little Uchiha."
Only after finishing did Yamato wipe the sweat from his forehead and exhale.
His strength wasn't weak.
Thanks to Wood Release, he could easily suppress ordinary jōnin.
So in his eyes, capturing a small Uchiha young master should've been effortless.
But before he could finish relaxing—
A voice came from inside the wooden cage.
"Uncle, can we chat now?"
"…What?"
Yamato's mouth twitched.
"Your mental fortitude is ridiculous."
A kid who hadn't even graduated, not even a genin—
And he wasn't afraid at all?!
Something was very wrong.
Unbidden, Yamato recalled that earlier scene—Jin tearing Wood Release apart with his hands.
A word surfaced in his mind:
Confidence.
To be safe, he formed seals again.
"Wood Release: Silent Kill Binding!"
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar House!"
"Wood Release: Linked Pillar Houses!"
One Wood Release secret technique after another manifested.
Inside the prison—intertwining trees.
Outside—an entire wooden house rose from the ground!
It suppressed the chakra inside the cage.
Then more houses emerged around it—
Like a small residential district—
Sealing the central prison completely.
"Hah—now even Kakashi-senpai wouldn't escape this, right?"
Only then did Yamato fully relax.
He leaned against a wooden sofa, breathing heavily.
Just as he sat down, he heard the boy inside speak loudly, exaggeratedly:
"Uncle, it's such a waste you're not in real estate…"
"With Wood Release like this, your Linked Pillar Houses would make so many people jealous!"
And honestly?
If you ignored the Uchiha clan's wealth, Konoha—due to constant wars—had plenty of orphans.
There were subsidies, sure, but most kids lived in poor conditions.
Take Naruto, for example.
Even as the Fourth Hokage's orphan, he only lived in a small two-story wooden apartment.
Not big at all.
But if Yamato really put in the effort—
Cut down some trees around the village and built houses—
Housing shortages would be nonexistent.
As they talked, Jin's vision slowly filled with prompts.
[Conversation Target: Root · Kinoe]
[Analyzing copyable traits…]
[Copyable Traits: Wood Release Kekkei Genkai · Replica (Purple), First Hokage Cells · Fragment (Purple), Water Release Mastery (Blue), Civil-Engineering Bro (Black)…]
Jin's eyes lit up.
Found it.
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