The Stalking Pervert

Yemo and Obito had run into each other on the street.

"Enough about that. By the way, Obito, why are you out here on your own?" Yemo asked.

"Well, I was bored at home, so I came out for a walk and thought I'd do a few good deeds along the way." Obito did his utmost to keep his voice calm, as though he were speaking normally.

But the slight tremor in his voice and his constantly wandering gaze didn't escape Yemo's notice. Yemo immediately realized that Obito was lying.

Still, Yemo didn't call him out right away. He looked in the direction Obito kept glancing, having noticed that his gaze returned to the same spot every so often.

Yemo quickly picked out a graceful figure in the crowd. At once, he understood and put everything together. A suggestive smile appeared on his face as he said, "Well, well, well. So that's what's going on. Someone's up to no good, following her around. Are you trying to be a stalking pervert?"

Obito was mortified when Yemo said it, especially since he said it so loudly that quite a few passersby turned to look at them. That made Obito even more embarrassed.

He grabbed Yemo by the arm and said, "Yemo, if you keep talking, we're not friends anymore." His words were more of a plea than a threat.

"All right, all right, I'll stop." Seeing Obito like this, and knowing how easily embarrassed he got whenever Rin came up, Yemo no longer felt like teasing him. He raised both hands in surrender.

Only then did Obito let go of Yemo. Much of the embarrassment faded from his face, and his gaze drifted toward Eilin, who was shopping at a nearby stall.

When he turned back, he found that Yemo had leaned in at some point. Smiling, Yemo said, "Seriously, Obito? You're such a coward. It's one thing to have a crush on her and not dare tell her, but I never thought you'd secretly follow Rin around. You don't really want to be a stalking pervert, do you?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not a stalking pervert! I just happened to run into Rin on the street." Obito rolled his eyes at Yemo. The guy knew exactly how he felt, yet he was deliberately making fun of him.

Knowing how easily embarrassed Obito was, Yemo couldn't be bothered to call him out. "Fine, let's say you ran into her on the street."

"What do you mean, 'let's say'? That's exactly what happened!" Obito still refused to admit to his stalking-pervert behavior.

"Forget it." Yemo didn't want to keep arguing about it. "Obito, seriously, you're not going to keep pining after Rin like this forever, are you? Whatever the case, you could at least tell her how you feel, say, at an appropriate moment." Yemo gestured as he spoke.

Obito shook his head and said dejectedly, "I'd better not. I know Rin doesn't feel that way about me. She pays more attention to Kakashi. If I tell her, what if she rejects me? We'd both feel awkward, and we might even grow apart."

Clearly, Yemo could sense the fear deep in Obito's heart from his tone. Obito wanted to confess to Rin and let her know how he felt, but he knew that she cared more about Kakashi and paid more attention to him.

He wasn't very confident, so he was afraid-afraid that if he failed, he and Rin would grow apart. In Yemo's view, this was cowardice. Based on his experience in his previous life, just about everyone with an unrequited crush thought this way.

Yemo patted Obito on the shoulder and urged him, "You're a grown man. What are you so afraid of? How do you know Rin doesn't have feelings for you? What if she likes you? How will you know if you don't try?"

Obito was tempted by Yemo's words, but a moment later he shook his head vigorously. "No, no, I can't do that. What if Rin says no? It would be so awkward I wouldn't be able to face her."

Yemo put an arm around Obito and shared his experience with picking up girls. "I'm telling you, if you want to pursue a girl, you need a thicker skin. A man doesn't have to be handsome, but he has to be thick-skinned. Only then can you win the girl you love. Don't worry. Just find the right opportunity, make it romantic-girls all like that sort of thing—and confess to Rin. You might succeed. Even if you fail, it doesn't matter. If the first time doesn't work, can't you try a second time? If the second time doesn't work, can't you try a third? With enough persistence, you can grind an iron rod into a needle. Then you'll have the beauty in your arms."

"I'm not doing that." Obito looked at Yemo skeptically. "I don't believe you. If I did it your way, Rin would hate me."

Yemo had nothing left to say to Obito. Rotten wood couldn't be carved. He waved a hand. "Fine, fine, fine. I won't talk to you about it today. You wouldn't listen anyway. I have to go back and get things ready today. I'm leaving Konoha tomorrow, so there's no time. Otherwise, I'd show you today. Just wait. When I get back from the border, I'll help you pursue Rin myself. Then you'll know whether I was right."

Obito didn't believe Yemo at all. Yemo was younger than him and probably didn't even know what love was, yet he wanted to teach him how to pick up girls. If Obito really listened to him, he'd probably be done for.

But something Yemo had said suddenly caught Obito's attention. Puzzled, he asked, "Wait, Yemo, what did you just say? You're leaving Konoha for the border? What are you going there for?"

Yemo had no intention of hiding it from Obito. He beckoned him closer and told him quietly, "You don't know this, but Konoha and Kumogakure are fighting a major war at the Land of Fire's border. The fighting between the two sides is fierce. I'm going to the border to take part in the war."

"What? A war!"

Unable to contain his shock, Obito cried out.

Obito's sudden shout startled Yemo. Once he recovered, he quickly clapped a hand over Obito's mouth.

The shout reached quite a few people nearby. They turned to look, and dozens of pairs of eyes settled on Yemo and Obito.

Seeing that they were only two kids, the crowd paid them no further attention. Assuming they were talking about something else, they all went back to what they were doing.

Once everything had calmed down, Yemo breathed a huge sigh of relief. He released the struggling Obito's mouth and whispered sharply, "Keep your voice down, you idiot! You nearly let the secret out. I'm telling you, this war is only a local conflict, so the higher-ups are keeping it quiet. They don't want ordinary people to know."

"Luckily, they thought we were just kids and didn't pay much attention. If this secret got out, we'd both be severely punished."

Obito shuddered at the thought that he had nearly let the secret slip. If the news of the war really got out through him, he would certainly be punished.

Obito muttered to himself, "So that's why so many of the Uchiha Clan's strong fighters have disappeared, and some of them come back injured. It's because of the war."

Suddenly thinking of something, Obito looked at Yemo and asked curiously, "Wait, that's not right. Yemo, you only just became a Genin. How could you possibly get a chance to take part in a war like this?"

Heh heh...

Yemo chuckled and said proudly, "I have a good teacher. I'm going with Teacher Orochimaru this time. I probably won't have to fight; I'll just get a taste of how brutal war is."

But once Yemo reached the battlefield, he would discover just how wrong he was. At the border, he would experience the cruelest side of war.

Seeing Yemo's smug expression, Obito pursed his lips and said with feigned disdain, "So you have a good teacher. What's so great about that? My Minato-sensei is just as good."

Yemo smiled. He could tell Obito was calling the grapes sour because he couldn't reach them. But Obito wasn't wrong; Minato really was stronger than Orochimaru. In the future, Minato would be the Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage.

"All right, I'm going. I still have to go home and get ready to leave tomorrow. Just wait. When I get back, I'll help you pursue Rin."

Without waiting for Obito to answer, Yemo turned and left, vanishing into the crowd in the blink of an eye. Obito reached out, still wanting to call him back, then shook his head and smiled.

"That guy! He ran off so fast. I still had something to tell him... Oh well, I'll tell him when he gets back."