Rin Nohara shook her head slightly, indicating that Obito could never understand what she and Qingyuan had been discussing.
“I—what is it that I don’t understand?”
Obito immediately took offense.
What could there possibly be that he, Uchiha Obito, couldn’t understand, but Qingyuan could?
Was the gap really that big?
Once he had the Sharingan, wouldn’t learning anything come effortlessly to him?
“Hm?”
Only then did Obito notice that Rin Nohara, whose back was to him, still had her hand held by Qingyuan.
“Rin, how did your hand end up in Qingyuan’s?”
Obito’s eyes went wide.
“Obito, don’t misunderstand what’s going on between Rin and me. We’re just studying medical ninjutsu.”
Qingyuan said he was just learning a foreign language, and Obito shouldn’t read too much into it.
Hearing that, Obito found it somewhat unbelievable.
No, what kind of medical ninjutsu required them to hold hands?
His theoretical knowledge might be poor, but it wasn’t so poor that he lacked basic common sense!
“Idiot, Qingyuan is examining Rin’s chakra points.”
Kakashi shook his head.
Obito really was foolish.
How had the Uchiha clan, which produced elites generation after generation, managed to produce an oddity like him?
“Yeah, Obito, what are you thinking?”
Kurenai Yuhi also looked puzzled.
Qingyuan looked so utterly upstanding—how could he possibly be holding Rin Nohara’s hand?
He was examining her chakra points.
“Minato-sensei, I…”
Obito was unsure what to believe, and he cast a pleading look at Minato Namikaze.
“Obito, they’re telling the truth.”
Minato Namikaze nodded.
Obito suddenly began to doubt himself.
Could it be that I really got it wrong?
That was what Obito thought to himself.
“All right, we should get moving again.”
Every minute and every second was precious now; there was no time to waste.
“Yes.”
Everyone answered in unison and began packing up and getting to their feet.
Only Obito’s response was a little absentminded.
Rin Nohara’s soft, fragrant little hand—even he had never touched it.
Yet that bastard Qingyuan had beaten him to it.
The more Obito thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, like someone else had stood up and pedaled the bicycle he had been reluctant to ride himself.
“I’ll accompany you a little farther along the border, and then I’ll split off to carry out my mission. I’ll go support the front lines. Qingyuan and Kakashi will each be squad captains. Qingyuan, your squad will be responsible for drawing Iwagakure’s attention. Kakashi, you’ll be responsible for continuing the advance.”
Minato Namikaze finished making the arrangements and repeated the assignment once more.
It just so happened that Qingyuan’s sensory ability was even better than Kakashi’s, allowing him to discover the enemy’s traces first and seize the initiative.
Once they had disrupted the enemy, they could withdraw.
“Understood.”
Kakashi responded.
Then everyone continued walking forward.
After walking for about half an hour, Kakashi suddenly stopped in his tracks and made a hand signal to those behind him, indicating that they should not come closer.
Qingyuan watched this scene unfold just as it had in the original story, and he understood that they had encountered the Iwagakure jonin Mageba, stationed here by Iwagakure to conduct reconnaissance.
Mageba was skilled in kenjutsu, extremely fast, and also capable of using the Shadow Clone Technique.
Qingyuan went over what he knew about Mageba.
“Mageba, huh…”
Renegade Qingyuan looked at Mageba up ahead, as if something had come to mind.
“What is it?”
Qingyuan looked toward Renegade Qingyuan, silently asking what was wrong.
“I crossed blades with Mageba. In my future, he didn’t die here—he survived by sheer luck, and in the end I killed him. It’s just a shame I couldn’t torture his swordsmanship secrets out of him.”
Renegade Qingyuan said.
“I see.”
Qingyuan nodded.
The kenjutsu of the Iwagakure jonin Mageba, huh?
Qingyuan currently had little interest in training in kenjutsu.
For Qingyuan as he was now, the payoff was far lower than training in ninjutsu or practicing throwing shuriken.
“So two of them noticed, huh. Not bad.”
Mageba, hidden behind a tree, sensed that two ninja had been the first to steady their breathing.
That was a signal that they were preparing for battle.
So Mageba secretly glanced back.
One was a handsome black-haired boy, and the other was a white-haired boy carrying a short blade.
“That person is… impossible…”
Mageba suddenly looked toward the jōnin leading their team, cold sweat running down his cheeks.
Chapter 14: Bringing Everyone Safely in Front of Him
“Gotta be careful.”
Qingyuan thought to himself.
Mageba was very strong—a genuine jonin.
Kakashi was actually no match for him at all.
In the original story, it was only thanks to Minato Namikaze coming to the rescue that Kakashi survived.
Thinking of this, Qingyuan decided to keep a low profile.
He furrowed his brow and, without making a show of it, positioned everyone safely in front of himself.
“Everyone be careful. There are twenty enemies, but most of them are probably shadow clones.”
Minato Namikaze spoke up.
Suddenly, twenty additional presences had appeared.
Most likely, the enemy had used the Shadow Clone Technique to create physical clones.
“Teacher… let us charge in. Please cover me.”
Kakashi spoke up.
He wanted to test out the new technique he had developed.
“Don’t be rash, Kakashi. You’d better stay in the rear.”
Minato Namikaze said.
He then glanced at Qingyuan, who had retreated to the back.
He couldn’t help but nod.
Qingyuan’s alertness was excellent; Kakashi was too reckless.
With the situation still unclear, they needed to be fully prepared.
In Minato Namikaze’s view, no matter how strong a ninja was, a single kunai to a vital point would kill them.