When Uchiha Yuan and his team returned to camp, they happened to run into Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu.
"Yo! Yuan! Long time no see! You look even stronger now!" Guy gave his iconic thumbs-up with a dazzling grin, his pearly-white teeth making Yuan squint slightly.
"It hasn't been that long—we were racing the day before graduation, remember?" Yuan replied with a smile.
Genma and Ebisu were a little surprised by how friendly Yuan was being with Guy.
Back at the academy, it never seemed like Yuan and Guy were particularly close.
Still, they didn't ask anything—after all, they weren't really familiar with Yuan.
After exchanging a few words with Guy, Yuan turned and left to report the mission.
Shibi Aburame went to Orochimaru's tent to report on the reconnaissance.
"Well done. You won't be participating in the next battle. After it ends, you'll join the other recon squads in cleaning up the battlefield," Orochimaru said.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
"Alright, you're dismissed."
Shibi nodded and turned to leave.
Outside the tent, he relayed Orochimaru's orders to the team and then disbanded them.
Kagetsu quickly dragged Yuan to the training field, eager to continue expanding his sensory range.
Yuan also wanted to master Tree Binding Death as soon as possible, so he didn't object.
Hyuga Asana followed along as well.
The three of them trained together all afternoon. By evening, Kagetsu finally said his goodbyes.
Over the course of the afternoon, Yuan cast Tree Binding Death on Kagetsu ten times.
Though it was "just" a genjutsu, it was a B-rank genjutsu. While a technique's rank only indicates difficulty to learn, higher-ranked jutsu typically pack more power too.
As a result, Kagetsu wasn't able to break free from Tree Binding Death even once. Each time, Yuan released the illusion himself when Kagetsu's condition worsened.
Still, this was partly because Yuan's mastery of the jutsu improved with practice—thanks to Kagetsu's help as a training partner.
Genjutsu isn't like ninjutsu. Practicing it solo doesn't help much—you need someone to spar with.
After Kagetsu left, Asana turned to Yuan and said, "Yuan, I feel like you've changed a bit."
"Changed? Me?"
"You wouldn't have greeted Might Guy like that before."
"Oh, that? That's because I've set a new goal."
"What goal?" Asana asked.
"I want to completely change the Uchiha clan."
"What's that got to do with saying hi to Guy?" Asana asked, confused.
"It's related, of course. Right now, the Uchiha's reputation in the village is terrible. When I say I want to change the clan, I also mean I want to change how the village sees us."
"That kind of thing isn't easy."
"Exactly why it needs to start small. One bit at a time."
Asana just curled her lip at that, not offering a comment.
She didn't really understand Yuan's thinking. To her, it was enough to take care of herself and the people she cared about. Worrying about things beyond that seemed unnecessary.
Yuan just smiled and didn't try to explain further. One day, Asana would understand.
Training done for the day, Yuan returned to his tent.
Uchiha Mei wasn't around—he was probably preparing for the upcoming battle.
Yuan lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.
Yesterday, because he'd been on a mission and had to stay constantly alert, he hadn't had the chance to play the Text Game.
He had worried that missing a day would waste the spin. But around midnight, he saw that the chances had actually rolled over.
That was good news. Now he wouldn't need to worry about missing chances during wartime.
With two spins saved up, Yuan activated the mental roulette.
First Spin:
He landed in the Endless Green Meadows again for the first time in a while.
Unfortunately, the timing was wrong—it was before the Sheep Village had been built.
Yuan was unlucky and got eaten by a wolf. He only earned 1 attribute point.
"Damn it," he cursed inwardly and went for his second spin.
Second Spin:
"You have logged into the Marvel Universe—Earth 616."
"Outwardly, you are a level-5 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. In reality, you are a Hydra mole."
"At first, you thought being a double agent would be hard. But you quickly discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was full of your own people."
"Saying 'Hail Hydra' solves 99% of your problems."
"This Earth had just survived a major crisis—an alien invasion. Fortunately, Nick Fury had formed the Avengers, and they defeated the invaders."
"Your superior ordered you to accompany him to Stark Tower to retrieve the scepter containing the Mind Stone."
"Everyone with you was someone you knew—a fellow agent, another mole."
"You took the elevator down with the scepter in hand, but midway through, Captain America entered."
"He demanded you hand over the scepter, claiming it was by higher orders."
"Your superior hesitated and said he needed to check with headquarters."
"That's when Captain America leaned in and whispered, 'Hail Hydra.'"
"Everyone in the elevator heard it. First stunned, then they all gave knowing smiles."
"So Captain America was one of you!"
"Your superior handed him the scepter."
"Cap took the scepter and left the elevator."
"Not long after returning to base, you got summoned by HQ."
"When you arrived, your superior immediately asked if you had heard Cap say 'Hail Hydra.'"
"You said yes."
"Your superior flew into a rage and shot you in the heart."
"In your final moments, you heard him say, 'He's the one who told me Cap was one of us! He said Cap whispered 'Hail Hydra,' so I handed it over!'"
"You realized the truth: Captain America wasn't Hydra. You took the fall."
"Thinking back, you were the lowest-ranked person in the elevator. Who else but you would be the scapegoat?"
"You died."
"Game Over."
"You gained: +2 attribute points, +1 Black Pot (blame token)."
"Friendly reminder: Collect 10 Black Pots for a surprise reward.
Or use a Black Pot to spin the roulette again—with 100% chance of becoming the fall guy in another text game—but it comes with a special bonus."
As the Text Game ended, Yuan opened his eyes, totally speechless.
"Damn it, even in these games, the underlings have to take the fall for the boss," Yuan grumbled.
(To Be Continued...)