Uchiha Tamao's face was full of fear, his brows furrowed tightly. His babyish face turned serious as he panted and desperately dodged the attacking vines.
That night when they assassinated Danzō, the old man had turned into a giant tree—a sight that left a lasting trauma in Tamao's mind.
The other Uchiha were about to step in.
But seeing that Yu wasn't moving, and finding the vine-controlling technique strangely familiar, they decided to just watch from the sidelines.
The Uchiha stared at Yu's handsome profile, recalling the moment he used Wood Release the previous night. Their pupils reflected awe and disbelief.
It wasn't just Obito who was shocked by how many trump cards Yu had hidden.
Even the Uchiha who followed him closely had no idea just how many aces their former police captain now had up his sleeve.
The vine split into five. Its size shrank, becoming thinner and more flexible.
One vine quietly crept beneath Tamao's landing spot and tripped him with ease.
The other four vines swarmed in instantly, wrapping Tamao up and suspending him from a tree.
Tamao clenched his teeth, fear of the plant evident on his face. He twisted and struggled, but it was useless.
The Uchiha around them gasped in astonishment.
Tamao's two subordinates rushed forward to try and rescue their captain.
Yu clearly felt the toll: converting chakra into both earth and water nature, injecting it into the ground, and manipulating plants consumed chakra at an alarming rate.
Even more so than maintaining Dark Moon Enchantment.
Yu promptly dispelled the vines.
The vines slackened and drooped, their vitality fading away.
"That scared the hell out of me… scared me to death!"
Tamao fell to the ground, sweating as he looked up at the green vines hanging from the tree, still shaken.
Yu's expression remained calm. He shook his head and silently judged: this version of Wood Release is still too weak.
Hopefully, it would grow stronger in the future.
Otherwise, it would be limited to basic control techniques—and easily evaded by high-speed or agile shinobi.
Tamao had been injured already and hadn't activated his three-tomoe Sharingan. That's why he got caught off guard.
If it happened again…
Tamao definitely wouldn't fall for it.
"Let's move. Keep going," Yu said calmly as he carried Kurenai on his back and turned to the halted group.
The team resumed marching.
"Big bro, did you see that just now? The vines came to life! I swear, this has Danzō's fingerprints all over it!"
Tamao appeared next to Yu in a flash, chattering nonstop.
Kurenai barely managed to stifle a laugh.
There's no way Danzō could carry that blame.
"It was me," Yu said simply and directly.
Tamayo's pupils widened in shock. "Big bro, you can use Wood Release now?!"
Last night, he had passed out from his severe injuries and the torment of those monks chant, so he wasn't aware of how Yu had used vines to deal with White Zetsu.
As Tamao kept exclaiming in shock, the group moved deeper into the forest, startling flocks of birds and wild beasts.
In Kikyo City, the streets bustled with people, wooden houses lined up in neat rows, and the atmosphere was calm.
"Big news from the Land of Fire! A new rogue ninja has appeared in Konoha!"
"Rogue ninja from the Hidden Villages? That's nothing new. Every year, the Five Great Ninja Villages have defectors. What's the big deal?"
"This time it's different. This one's a new S-Class rogue. The details aren't out yet, but it's serious."
"Totally. My cousin sells straw sandals in Konoha—he just got back and said the village's been chaotic lately!"
The idle chatter of the tea house patrons quickly drew a crowd. One by one, people gathered, their expressions full of fear and curiosity.
At the mention of S-Class rogue ninja, everyone's thoughts immediately turned to one of the Legendary Sannin: Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, who had conducted human experiments in secret while still in Konoha, had been exposed. Due to his overwhelming strength and ruthless methods, he had been classified as one of the village's few S-Class rogue ninja.
But what kind of heinous crimes could this new S-Class have committed?
That was what the onlookers were dying to know.
"Konoha Express! Extra! Extra! A criminal strikes again! High-ranking Konoha officials assassinated! Civilians slaughtered! Brutal methods! Another S-Class rogue emerges from Konoha!"
"Konoha Express! Extra! Extra…"
A newspaper ninja in a gray uniform, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and wind goggles—looking very much like a shinobi postman—stood at the street corner shouting, a thick stack of newspapers in his hand.
"So it really is an S-Class! I'll take one!"
"Over here, please—one copy!"
"Please make sure I get a copy!"
In less than three minutes, the newspaper ninja's stack was completely sold out.
This was the earliest he'd finished a shift since Orochimaru defected from the village!
Now dressed and wearing pants, the exhausted Dr. Nak held a copy of the Konoha Express in his hands, scanning the front page with weary eyes.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and his breath quickened.
In a swift motion, Nak covered the photo in the wanted section with his hand.
Even the brief front-page article exploded in his mind like a thousand paper bombs going off at once.
The report was concise.
The article briefly described how the S-Class rogue ninja Uchiha Yu led a squad of nine Uchiha in the assassination of Konoha high-ranking officials and the massacre of Konoha civilians—but it left out many key details.
For instance: Who were the assassinated officials? Were they dead or alive? How many civilians were slaughtered? From which clans? What were the casualties?
Being a savvy man, Nak understood—the fewer the words in a report, the bigger the event!
That name really did sound familiar!
Nak swallowed hard, his palm slowly moving away from the paper, eyes narrowing as he nervously glanced at the first photo on the wanted list.
It was none other than Uchiha Yu—short black hair, refined facial features, strikingly handsome, and pale-skinned.
Below the wanted poster:
Bounty: 50,000,000 ryo!
Nak's heart pounded rapidly as his thoughts spiraled, recalling his time with that group of rogue ninja the previous night.
This newly classified S-Class rogue, Uchiha Yu, aside from being cold and proud, didn't seem like the kind of monstrous villain the paper described.
Otherwise, he—Nak—would've been dead last night.
Truth be told, that group was pretty easygoing.
They didn't look down on him, a commoner and poacher.
Sure, the one who captured him roughed him up a bit, but didn't go too far—and that was only because he'd acted disrespectfully.
And that sickly one—yeah, his mouth was sharp, but what he said was true.
He had even taught an adorably stubborn little girl how to properly wrap a bandage.
In the end, if it hadn't been for those so-called rogue ninja, he probably would've been killed by a Konoha jōnin last night.
Could people like that really slaughter innocent civilians?
He found it hard to believe.
Nak frowned deeply, feeling as if he'd aged ten years on the spot. He knew—there must be a massive secret hidden behind all of this.
But it had nothing to do with someone like him—a civilian.
With a sigh, Nak crumpled up the Konoha Express and tossed it in the trash bin.
This kind of thing… better not to read at all!
As he walked down the street, he heard a woman sigh from afar:
"No way… someone that good-looking could commit such a horrible crime against civilians… it just doesn't make sense."
On the busy street, pedestrians hurried by, all hoping to avoid running into the dangerous rogue ninja from the paper.
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