Chapter 66: Obito's Request
Although Kyosuke's team had been slowed down by Torune's injuries, they still managed to reach the finish line in third place.
They would now have a week to rest and recuperate before the final test.
At the entrance to the Forest of Death, their team leader, Minato, was waiting for them with Kakashi and the others.
Seeing the three of them, before Minato could even speak, Obito started shouting, "Kyosuke, you guys look a little rough! I told you, if you had brought the great me along... Ouch!"
Before he could finish, Rin's light chop to his head sent the rest of his words back down his throat.
Minato and the others ignored the aggrieved-looking Obito. After a brief exchange, they headed toward the medical office.
It wasn't until the injured Torune Aburame was properly settled that Kyosuke finally recounted everything that had happened in the Forest of Death.
After he finished, the room was silent for a moment before Minato finally spoke. "It seems the intelligence was correct. The Cloud did indeed send a jinchuriki to compete."
"The jinchuriki of the Two-Tails..." Minato muttered, his expression grave.
At this point, even Obito was in no mood to joke around. Even a "dead-last" like him understood what the word "jinchuriki" meant.
So, for a moment, the room fell silent again.
After a long while, Minato, lost in thought, finally noticed the awkward atmosphere. He mentally scolded himself and quickly tried to remedy the situation. "To celebrate Kyosuke and the others passing the exam, how about I treat you all to some barbecue?"
"Haha, it's rare for Minato-sensei to treat! You have to come, Kyosuke," Obito said with a loud laugh, watching Kyosuke's reaction.
Seeing the latter nod without hesitation, Obito couldn't help but clench his fist in secret.
Success!
This scene was, coincidentally, witnessed by Kyosuke and the others.
They couldn't help but exchange a strange look. Although Obito and Kyosuke got along well, they weren't so close that going out for a meal together would make him this excited.
There's definitely something fishy going on, they all thought to themselves.
Just then, Hyuga Yōmyō, who had been standing to the side, suddenly spoke. "I have something to do, so I won't be going."
Then, after a slight nod to Minato and Kyosuke, he took his leave.
"What an unsociable guy," Obito grumbled.
Kyosuke ignored Obito's grumbling and shook his head slightly at Hyuga Yōmyō's retreating back.
So, he's going to keep his distance from me outside of the exam hall?
"Heh," Kyosuke let out a laugh filled with a hint of mockery.
As for whether he was laughing at Hyuga Yōmyō or something else, only he himself knew.
"Kyosuke, please teach me how to awaken the Sharingan."
At the dinner table, Obito suddenly said to Kyosuke with a solemn expression.
If it weren't for their young age, Obito would have probably chugged a bottle of sake before speaking.
Seeing his serious demeanor, Minato and the others also stopped their conversation and turned their gazes to the somewhat silent Kyosuke.
"Alright. I can tell you some of the tricks to the Sharingan, but I can't guarantee that you'll be able to awaken it," Kyosuke said, looking into his eyes.
"Yay! I did it! Thank you, Kyosuke," Obito was almost ecstatic. He didn't forget to thank Kyosuke.
"Idiot," Kakashi muttered, then went back to eating his barbecue.
"You bastard, Kakashi! I dare you to say that again!"
"Idiot."
"Aargh! You're making me so mad!"
"Alright, you two."
The meal was spent in a lively and cheerful atmosphere of bickering.
After dinner, as promised, Kyosuke took Obito to a secluded place to see if he could help him awaken his Sharingan.
Minato and the others had found an excuse to leave. After all, what was about to happen was, on a larger scale, an internal secret of the Uchiha clan. No matter how good their relationship was, it would be inappropriate for them to be present.
"Relax," Kyosuke said with a smile, looking at the nervous Obito.
"Oh, okay," Obito said, flustered.
But from the way he looked, he was not only not as relaxed as he had claimed, but was actually even more nervous.
Kyosuke shook his head with a laugh, then explained the clan's method for awakening the Sharingan in detail. At the same time, he also shared some of his own understanding with Obito without reservation.
Then, amidst Obito's sincere thanks, Kyosuke slowly walked away.
Do your best. Show them more of your amazing talent, Kyosuke thought, a strange smile on his face, which was turned away from Obito.
In the quarters of the Mist ninja squad.
"What?! Is that Uchiha boy really that strong?" The speaker was the Jounin leader of the Mist's team, a ninja from the Hōzuki clan.
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at the room next door, where Kisame was being treated by the medical staff.
Mei Terumī thought for a moment, then said in a somewhat uncertain tone, "His strength... it's hard to say for sure. But as you saw, no matter what happened, Kisame ultimately lost to him."
Hearing this, the others in the room, including the team leader, fell silent.
After a long while, the Hōzuki Jounin finally spoke. "Then if you were to face him, what are your chances?"
"About forty percent," Mei said with a blank expression.
"Only forty percent..."
Thump.
In a certain room where the Stone ninja squad was staying, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground could be heard, along with someone's extremely resentful curses.
"Damn you, Cloud ninja! Damn you, Konoha..."
"One day, I'll make you pay."
As for the Cloud ninja, who had just been cursed by the Stone, they were all gathered at a special medical station set up by Konoha.
After all, both Yugito and Darui's injuries were not light. If they had to rely on themselves to recover, they probably wouldn't make it to the third exam.
So, with no other choice, the Cloud had to seek help from Konoha's medical personnel.
And Konoha, in its usual "benevolent" style, was doing its utmost to help the Cloud.
For this, the Cloud ninja had praised Konoha's actions lavishly.
As for how much sincerity was in their praise, only heaven knew.
"So the Cloud really did send a jinchuriki?" In the Sand's room, a man with dark red hair was speaking quietly to the three before him.
This man was, of course, the Sand's team leader, Rasa.
"That's right," Maki said, glancing at the dejected-looking Kuro. He then said with a smile, "The jinchuriki is indeed strong, but not to an absurd degree."
"That's right! If I hadn't been careless, I definitely could have..." Just as Kuro was about to make an excuse for his failure, he caught Rasa's disapproving look.
So, his expression stiffened slightly, and he swallowed the rest of his words.
"Get some rest," Rasa said, giving the three of them another look. He then pushed open the door and left.
In a corner of the room, Sasori suddenly looked up at Rasa's retreating back.
However, the look in his eyes was a bit strange.
It was as if he wasn't looking at a person, but at a puppet.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 100 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!