Obito gave a firm nod and loudly declared, “Don’t worry, Rin. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would still continue doing good deeds.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Obito felt Rin’s small hand take hold of his.
Rin said, “Then let’s hurry and run! If we don’t, we’ll be late for school!”
Obito finally came back to his senses, and his face flushed slightly.
Thus, bathed in the morning light, the two ran toward the Ninja Academy…
Obito remained listless throughout the morning lessons and even slept soundly, except during the lesson about the Will of Fire.
That afternoon, the students had another ninja tool throwing assessment and a combat assessment.
Rin easily received full marks in shurikenjutsu, while Obito also demonstrated considerable improvement and earned a passing score.
However, because Obito never listened during the theoretical lessons, Rin was extremely worried that his midterm assessment results would be a complete disaster.
During the combat lesson, Guy, still unwilling to accept his previous defeat, challenged Rin to another spar.
Unfortunately for him, Rin once again knocked him unconscious with a knife-hand strike.
As the sun set, another day at the Ninja Academy came to an end.
Rin approached Obito and said, “Obito, you’ll have to go home by yourself today. I need to visit Uncle Sakumo and ask him a few questions.”
Obito sounded slightly jealous.
“You’re already calling him Uncle Sakumo?”
Rin looked at him seriously.
“Obito, Kakashi is also our friend. You can’t keep treating him like an enemy.”
Obito didn’t know how to respond.
He could only reluctantly say, “All right. Then I’ll go practice by myself in the small forest after dinner.”
Rin nodded.
“Obito, if I still have enough time, I’ll come and practice with you. But if it gets too late, I’ll have to go home.”
Obito immediately brightened.
“That’s great, Rin! I’ll go back to the clan compound and eat first. Be careful on your way.”
With that, Obito turned around and hurried away.
Receiving a passing score in the shurikenjutsu assessment—and no longer hearing the chūnin instructor threaten to expel him—had greatly encouraged Obito.
His enthusiasm for training had soared.
Rin watched Obito disappear into the distance with a slight smile before immediately hurrying after Kakashi, who had already left.
She didn’t catch sight of Kakashi until she was halfway down the road.
Kakashi seemed to sense her approach.
An apologetic look appeared on Rin’s face.
“Well, Kakashi, I wanted to ask Uncle Sakumo a few more questions.”
Kakashi, however, said, “Father has already left on another mission. I heard it’s a long-term assignment, so he won’t return for several days.”
Rin sounded slightly disappointed.
“Is that so? Then, Kakashi, have you ever heard Uncle Sakumo mention space-time ninjutsu?”
Kakashi froze, and a hint of confusion appeared between his brows.
“Space-time ninjutsu? I’ve never heard Father mention it.”
“Either… that kind of ninjutsu doesn’t exist at all.”
“Or it’s an extremely advanced power that we haven’t learned about yet. There would be no reason for Father to mention something so far beyond our current level.”
Rin became even more disappointed.
It seemed that understanding this kind of ninjutsu wouldn’t be easy.
Seeing Rin’s disappointed expression, Kakashi said, “Don’t worry. When Father returns, I’ll ask him about it.”
Rin replied, “Then I’ll leave it to you, Kakashi.”
Kakashi nodded.
“Rin, would you like to come home with me and have dinner before you leave?”
Rin thought about Obito and shook her head.
“No, I’m going to practice with Obito tonight. His grandmother recently passed away, and he’s very lonely by himself.”
Kakashi sighed helplessly.
“You’re far too indulgent with him. One day, you’ll spoil him so much that he develops all kinds of bad habits.”
Rin said somewhat awkwardly, “But I can’t simply ignore Obito. Besides, he’s actually very kindhearted. He even helped an elderly woman today.”
Kakashi wasn’t interested in discussing Obito any further.
He raised a hand and waved.
“In that case, I’m going home. See you tomorrow, Rin.”
With that, Kakashi coolly continued walking away with his hands in his pockets.
Watching Kakashi disappear into the distance, Rin couldn’t help complaining, “Why can’t Obito and Kakashi simply get along?”
“They clearly care about and value each other, yet they insist on pretending that they don’t. Is this what friendship between boys is like?”
After complaining, Rin hurried home, ate dinner, and then went out again to find Obito and practice with him.
However, she had traveled only halfway there.
Suddenly, she sensed a disturbance nearby, like a pebble falling into a still pond and creating ripples across its surface.
Rin couldn’t help stopping.
She had never experienced such a sensation before.
Driven by curiosity, she began moving toward its source.
As she drew closer, she discovered that it was coming from a training ground.
Standing in its center was a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old.
He had blond hair and wore a Konoha forehead protector.
The boy held an unusually shaped kunai.
With a slight movement of his hand, he tossed it into the air nearby.
He then formed a one-handed seal and called out:
“Flying Thunder God Technique!”
Suddenly, Rin clearly felt that sensation of a pebble creating ripples in a pond emanating from both the boy and the kunai, as though an invisible connection had formed between them.
In the next instant, accompanied by a soft whoosh, the boy vanished from his original position.
He abruptly reappeared beside the kunai, which was still spinning through the air.
The boy caught the kunai and slashed downward, completing an impressive attack.
However, because he was still in midair and had nothing to push against, the slash caused him to lose his balance.
His body rapidly descended, followed by a heavy thud.
The blond boy crashed to the ground.
Rin couldn’t help giggling when she saw this.
She had thought he looked incredibly impressive, but it turned out that he had merely been showing off.
At the same time, she became very curious.
What kind of ninjutsu had the boy been practicing?
He had moved instantaneously.
Could this have been the Body Flicker Technique that her chūnin instructor had mentioned?
However, hadn’t the instructor explained that the Body Flicker Technique worked by gathering refined chakra in the feet and releasing it explosively to achieve extremely rapid movement?
Rin had clearly sensed the boy establish an indescribable connection with the kunai.
Then his entire body had been pulled to its location.
Rather than the Body Flicker Technique, it had seemed more like the Summoning Technique that Instructor Inochu had briefly mentioned…
By then, the boy had already stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.
He said with frustration, “It still isn’t working properly. This ninjutsu is far too difficult. I only teleported a short distance, yet I still couldn’t perfectly control my body.”
After complaining, the boy finally noticed Rin and turned toward her.
When he saw that his only observer was a little girl, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Are you here by yourself? How did you end up all the way out here?”