Chapter 58: People Are Terrifying Enough to Scare You to Death
A Barbecue Restaurant
The atmosphere was tense.
Gōenji found it rather interesting.
So this is the bond between Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito?
At first glance, it didn't seem like anything special.
But if he put himself in Obito's shoes, the situation looked much worse.
Having a teammate who was obsessed with missions and considered completing them more important than anything else—even more important than his own life—what kind of teammate was that?
A nightmare.
The fact that Obito and Rin could put up with Kakashi was practically a miracle.
Perhaps their teacher, Minato, had something to do with it.
Even Gōenji himself had felt suffocated back when he worked under Shimura Danzō.
Teammates who put missions above everything else...
It was simply ridiculous.
The lengths they were willing to go to in order to complete a mission could leave anyone exhausted.
Fūjin had once been like that too. It was only after the two of them spent a long time together that she became easier to get along with, while Gōenji gradually adapted to her personality.
Fortunately, things were much better now.
After all, everyone was human.
Given enough warm interactions, people would eventually be moved.
It was just that such feelings were often suppressed by reason.
"The meat's ready. Dig in. This meal is on me. You two are both Uchiha, so cheer up and stop arguing."
Gōenji smiled.
He had money.
After completing so many missions, if he were still poor, that would be a disaster.
"How could I let you do that...?"
Obito chuckled, rubbing his hands together as the anger from earlier faded away.
Kakashi was momentarily speechless.
How can someone be this optimistic?
Gōenji waved his hand.
"There's no need to be embarrassed. You're an Uchiha, but with abilities as mediocre as yours, naturally you can't earn much money. Of course I should pay. When you make money in the future, you can pay me back..."
He paused.
"Actually, forget it. With your abilities, you probably—"
"Ahem. That's not what I meant. You know how Uchiha are. We're just a little sharp-tongued."
Obito's face had already darkened.
His date with Rin had been interrupted by two unwanted tagalongs, which was annoying enough.
But now this guy was actually mocking him?
This was ridiculous.
He hadn't taken Obito seriously at all.
One day, when I awaken my Sharingan, I'll become just as strong as him. When that happens, I'll absolutely—
No.
His mouth is too vicious. I won't invite him next time.
Obito thought viciously.
"Hahahaha..."
Rin covered her mouth and giggled.
Even the corners of Kakashi's mouth inexplicably curled upward.
He quickly suppressed it, though.
Only Gōenji's sharp eyes caught the fleeting expression.
The four of them then started chatting about ordinary things, discussing whatever came to mind.
They talked about new movies that had recently been released and where they could find good books.
For a while, the atmosphere was filled with the feeling of ordinary daily life.
Piece after piece of meat disappeared into their mouths.
It really was no wonder Konoha's barbecue restaurants were so popular.
"By the way, hasn't Minato-senpai returned?" Gōenji asked.
Obito proudly raised his head.
"Sensei is one of the elite shinobi on the battlefield now. He's one of Konoha's most important combat forces, and he's incredibly valuable on the battlefield. He's still out there. Unlike us, our mental strength isn't strong enough yet. It's easy for people to break under that kind of pressure..."
He glanced at Kakashi.
"I mean people like Hatake Kakashi."
Gōenji nodded in agreement.
For people their age, surviving on the battlefield was an enormous burden.
Even he, a transmigrator with a mind far beyond that of an ordinary person, had felt tremendous pressure.
Especially the pain of getting hit.
Just remembering it made his hair stand on end.
Every battle demanded absolute caution if he wanted to avoid getting hurt.
It hurt like hell.
Unfortunately, he'd still ended up getting injured.
Worse, he had even lost some of his body's potential and now needed to find other ways to compensate for it.
"Then you'll have to train harder and strengthen your mental resilience."
Gōenji smiled.
As long as his strength was sufficient to crush his opponents, he wouldn't feel much psychological pressure.
Therefore, he had to become stronger.
Although he didn't need to undertake missions for the moment, he still had to improve his ninjutsu as quickly as possible and make sufficient preparations.
That way, even if he returned to the battlefield, he wouldn't be caught unprepared again.
Crunch.
Eventually, the four of them became somewhat more familiar with one another.
When the barbecue was finished, Gōenji paid the bill.
After saying their goodbyes, they went their separate ways.
However, Gōenji and Obito happened to be heading in the same direction.
The sun had already set, leaving only a faint afterglow that stretched their shadows across the Hokage Rock.
"Hey, Gōenji. How did you awaken your Sharingan?"
Obito had originally planned to walk Rin home, but that wasn't the only reason he had followed Gōenji afterward.
He had asked several elders in the clan about it, but none of them knew.
All they knew was that the Sharingan simply awakened one day.
Yet Obito still wanted to know how Gōenji had awakened his.
He wanted the power of the Sharingan so he could protect his teammates.
The conversation earlier had genuinely affected him.
Gōenji glanced at him.
"You didn't deliberately go looking for that girl just so you could follow me back and ask me this, did you? Well, you came to the right person. I really do know how the Sharingan awakens."
"Really? Then how do you awaken it? Tell me!"
A spark of anticipation appeared in Obito's eyes.
He had finally found someone who knew how to awaken the Sharingan.
Under the setting sun, their shadows stretched and shifted before eventually disappearing into the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings.
Gōenji spoke.
"Do you understand how much your two teammates mean to you?"
He decided to test something.
Perhaps he could slightly alter Obito.
The Obito standing before him was an extremely cheerful child, completely different from the gloomy Obito who would eventually wield Kamui.
If he could interfere with Madara's plans and reduce the number of casualties this war would cause, Gōenji would be more than happy to do so.
"Of course."
This time, with Kakashi nowhere nearby, Obito didn't hesitate for even a second.
"Of course I have."
Even though he disliked Kakashi, he would still defend his teammate in front of other people.
Gōenji continued.
"What would you do if they died in front of you?"
"...You're joking, right? How could they possibly die in front of me? They're much stronger than I am. If anything, I'm more likely to die in front of them."
Obito's expression immediately darkened.
Who would want to hear someone talk about their teammates dying?
Especially when Rin was involved.
"Then what would you do?"
Gōenji continued pressing him.
Obito gritted his teeth.
"Of course I'd kill every last enemy."
He had no idea why Gōenji was asking such a strange question, but he still gave his honest answer.
"Too naive."
Gōenji shook his head.
"With your current strength, you can't even deal with Hatake Kakashi. You definitely wouldn't be able to do that. More importantly, I want to tell you something."
"If you want to awaken the Sharingan, you have to personally witness the death of someone precious to you. It's the same for every member of the Uchiha clan."
Gōenji was, of course, lying.
Many Uchiha had awakened their Sharingan through completely different forms of emotional stimulation.
But he wanted Obito to take the possibility of losing his comrades more seriously.
Perhaps when Hatake Kakashi was in danger, Obito would awaken the Sharingan.
Maybe even the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
Would that interfere with Madara's plans?
Heh.
In any case, being prepared for every possibility couldn't hurt.
"You... you're joking, right? How could something like that happen?"
Obito's pupils contracted sharply.
The anticipation that had filled his eyes vanished instantly.
Gōenji smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"Of course I'm joking. If that were really the case, wouldn't every Uchiha become some kind of monster?"
"How could I possibly know something that even so many elders in the clan don't know? I just saw that you'd forgotten me and wanted to mess with you a little. Hahaha!"
Obito patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Don't scare people like that! You could scare someone to death!"