Although assigned as a Jonin instructor, Saitama refused to take any real responsibility for his team.
Unlike Orochimaru from his past life—who delighted in causing chaos and reveled in being the villain—Saitama had no interest in getting involved with such nonsense.
So, as soon as the official exam began, Saitama slipped out of the waiting hall and walked into the streets of Konoha.
Ever since that night, although Saitama could clearly feel that [White Zetsu's Transformation Jutsu] prevented others from seeing through his true identity,
he also knew there were many people who couldn't be reasoned with normally. Even if they merely suspected something, they'd cling to it relentlessly.
In fact, even with just ten percent certainty, it was already treated as confirmation.
So Saitama understood—he needed to leave quickly once the exam ended; otherwise, delay would bring trouble.
...
Walking along Konoha's streets, Saitama made no effort to hide his identity, strolling casually in plain sight.
Soon, he found one of his intended targets.
Obito Uchiha was slowly walking along the edge of the street, head lowered, looking somewhat dejected.
Now a Jonin, his Sharingan had evolved into the Three-Tomoe form after being tempered on the battlefield—within the Uchiha Clan, he had become quite a notable figure.
He had gradually shaken off the "dead last" label that had always clung to him, finally managing to turn his luck around.
Even so, he still wasn't entirely happy.
Because with his promotion to Jonin and Rin's promotion to Chunin, the three-man squad they'd maintained since the battlefield had officially disbanded.
From then on, he wouldn't be able to stay by Rin's side every single day anymore.
Though after the disbandment, Rin joined Konoha Hospital while he entered the Uchiha Clan Guards,
technically, he still had the time to see her every day if he wanted to.
But the problem remained—he became overly timid whenever he was with Rin, often stuttering when speaking, unless Kakashi or someone else he knew well was present.
Just earlier, due to the Chunin Exams, Obito's shift at the Guard unit had been canceled for the day, so he decided to invite Rin for lunch.
However, standing before her at the hospital, under the gaze of her eyes fixed upon him, he couldn't utter more than a word.
Finally, he muttered out an awkward, "Just passing by. Just taking a random look," then hurried away.
"Obito, Obito, you get one shot and you don't even aim!"
Staring down at his shadow, Obito gave himself another mental scolding.
Thump! A figure suddenly blocked his path, standing directly in front of him and cutting off his movement.
Lifting his head, his mood already sour, Obito wondered which idiot hadn't recognized his temper.
The first thing he saw was an unremarkable face—one so plain it resembled a background actor in a play, easy to forget instantly.
"Tch!"
Thinking nothing of it, Obito wasn't a particularly aggressive person. Upon realizing this was a ninja from another village, he simply stepped aside slightly to move past him.
These foreign ninja often brought rough behavior to Konoha, thinking they could act however they pleased, even here.
Luckily for them, it was him they bumped into today—otherwise, they might not walk away so easily.
His thoughts wandered as he ignored the curious expression briefly appearing on that foreign ninja's face.
Thump.
"Hmm?"
Obito's expression darkened slightly. Was this ninja from another village doing this on purpose?
He watched as he himself took a sidestep, and the foreign ninja did exactly the same thing, their movements perfectly synchronized.
Trying not to start anything, Obito took another step aside, letting his hands hang loosely at his sides, gently curling his fingers.
Click!
Shadows blocked his path once more. Obito felt like it was an outright provocation from the outsider ninja.
Clasping his hands tightly together, he slowly raised his head to face the other ninja who stood slightly taller than him.
Amegakure? Just another minor shinobi village—who do they think they are, provoking me like this?
His facial expression turned sour as he stared at the ninja in front of him.
"What are you doing, outsider!" he called out.
Rather than attacking immediately, Obito chose to first attempt diplomacy. Besides, judging from this ninja blocking his path, he seemed to be a Jonin too, and potentially quite formidable.
"Uchiha… that's you? Obito?"
Saitama looked at Obito's complete face, barely recognizing him.
After seeing nothing but half of a scarred face for so long, suddenly seeing Obito's whole features threw him off just a bit.
"You're…"
Obito wore an expression of surprise. He hadn't expected that his name would already be circulating among other ninja villages.
"My name is Yufei, I'm the lead Jonin sent by Amegakure this time."
"Oh, nice to meet you!"
Obito's eyes were still full of questions, but he managed a warm smile anyway, since this Yufei didn't seem to be challenging him after all, and had a similarly friendly demeanor.
"Is there anything I can help with, Yufei-san?"
Though unfamiliar with this Yufei, Obito couldn't shake his curiosity about why this man came looking for him directly.
"Just passing by. I've heard your name before, and today since we met, I thought I'd come take a look."
Saitama locked eyes with Obito while speaking. The truth was, he approached out of idle curiosity—just wanted to check in on the so-called 'villain' from his past life.
While things weren't developing exactly as anticipated, Saitama noticed that Obito had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, making him a powerful asset for the Uchiha clan.
Thanks to his mastery over [Sharingan], Saitama could instantly perceive Obito's current state.
As Saitama proactively approached Obito and started talking, he sensed at least two pairs of watching eyes hiding in the shadows nearby.
Actually, his original target today wasn't even Obito. His real plan had been to use this opportunity to visit Ka Uchiha or others whom he hadn't seen for quite some time.
Ever since his last rushed visit to Konoha, he still missed Obā-san Ka quite a bit.
And during their previous encounter, Ka Uchiha remained unaware that he hadn't actually died.
Wanting to avoid drawing more attention from those covert watchers, Saitama shifted aside, leaving the path clear.
It wasn't that he couldn't shake off Anbu surveillance, but this was Konoha. Evading them here would directly confirm any suspicions others might hold about him.
Unless...
Seeing that this ninja only exchanged brief words with him before moving aside, Obito pouted slightly and walked away without another word.
Small villages are just small villages—everyone there acts weird anyway!
Muttering a curse under his breath, Obito didn't even glance back as he headed toward the Uchiha compound.
Saitama didn't spare a look for Obito's retreating figure either, quickening his pace as he made his way to his own residence.
As long as he stayed within Anbu's line of sight without letting them realize he had already broken free, they wouldn't grow suspicious.
Then again, couldn't he just use a Clone Jutsu to fool them?
After all, these Anbu lacked the ability to see through his Ninjutsu.
Realizing this, Saitama slapped his forehead. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?
Back at his place, Saitama stormed into his bedroom and flopped face-first onto the bed.
As he hit the mattress, wood burst from his temple, rapidly shaping itself until it formed an exact replica of him.
This was the [Wood Release Clone Jutsu] inherited from Hashirama Senju. Although Saitama's Wood Release wasn't nearly as powerful as Hashirama's, pulling off something like this remained effortless.
The [Wood Release Clone] was also the hardest type of clone to detect. Even if the Anbu watching him possessed Byakugan, they'd just be rolling their eyes helplessly.
At the moment the clone was created, Saitama immediately sank into the ground below, clearly using the [Kagero no Jutsu], which he strongly disliked employing.
The cloned Saitama first scanned the surroundings before placing both hands behind his head and lying flat on the bed, motionless.
On the other side, the Anbu responsible for monitoring Saitama followed him back to his residence and had been guarding nearby ever since.
"Check whether the target is still there. I've got a bad feeling about him!"
One Anbu whispered to his companion beside him, who happened to be a branch member of the Hyuga clan, possessing the Byakugan.
"Yeah!"
The companion nodded, forming [Ninja Seals] with both hands across his chest.
"Byakugan!"
Horrifying veins bulged around his eyes as he focused his Byakugan on the room where the target was lying.
Inside, he saw the target tossing and turning in bed.
Once he confirmed the chakra levels again, he deactivated his Byakugan.
"The target is resting."
Turning his head, he reported to his comrade, who then relayed the information via the radio earpiece to other Anbu stationed nearby.
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