Forgotten Squad

Connected sunshade goggles, a dark blue tracksuit, and in addition to the standard ninja tool pouch, a backpack slung over his shoulders.

The one who had crashed into Uchiha Yu was his clansman—the Uchiha clan's most terrifying future enemy. Because his brain did not work properly, he caused all sorts of trouble in peacetime; in war, he could get every one of his teammates killed. Yet after falling into darkness, he would plunge the Ninja World into chaos. Uchiha Obito, an enemy Uchiha Yu needed to eliminate as a priority.

So it was understandable that his hand had automatically beaten him up.

After all, Uchiha Yu had spent eighteen years thinking day and night about one of his two greatest enemies. And now that enemy was still so weak. He really wanted to kill him.

But he could not.

The moment Uchiha Yu felt the urge to kill, the blood and energy within him churned without warning, forcibly interrupting his thoughts. Since the night he had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, this was the second time Uchiha Yu had experienced [Precognition]. Having been through it once before, he did not show any change in expression despite the blood and energy surging ten times more violently this time.

Uchiha Yu was finally certain that his previous guess had been correct. Uchiha Obito had indeed drawn Madara Uchiha's attention long ago.

Perhaps in some corner nearby, one or several White Zetsu were watching everyone with their inhuman eyes.

*I need to test Precognition's accuracy and see whether I can find a White Zetsu with maxed-out stealth skills.*

*Omniscient Mind's Eye, activate!*

"Obito, you crashed into someone again!"

A brown-haired girl with short hair hurried over, her face full of apology. She complained to Obito first, then turned and repeatedly bowed to Uchiha Yu. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

As she bent down and straightened up, Uchiha Yu took in the girl's appearance, especially the markings on her face. He could confirm that she was Rin, the fuse that had nearly brought about the destruction of the Ninja World.

"Ah! Rin, I was the one who got hit! And he hit me in the head!"

"Idiot, you were the one who ran into him first. Hurry up and apologize!"

"But I hit him by accident, while he hit me on purpose..."

"Uh, apologize first. Then we can ask him to apologize..."

Uchiha Yu glanced at the other boy trailing behind them. He was a somewhat gloomy-looking genin with such an ordinary, featureless face that Yu did not recognize him at all.

Considering that within a year or two, Namikaze Minato would lead a three-person team of Obito, Rin, and Kakashi, this boy had most likely died in the war. Uchiha Yu stopped paying attention to him.

Uchiha Obito protested indignantly, loudly insisting that Yu apologize first. The anger in Uchiha Yu's heart rose again. He flashed behind Obito and drove a vicious punch into the back of his head.

"Too noisy."

This was not the right time to kill Obito, but giving him a beating was absolutely fine.

*Tch. Although I've suppressed the Heart Monkey, I've become more lively myself. My emotions are fluctuating a little too much.*

*Forget it. It isn't a bad thing.*

After taking the heavy blow, Obito's eyes rolled upward, and he collapsed to the ground without a sound.

Rin and the other genin were both startled by the sudden attack. Rin cried out and rushed over to check Obito's condition, while the boy took a step back and drew the short blade from his back in vigilance.

Uchiha Yu looked at him and thought how unfair the world was. This genin was clearly of far better ninja caliber, yet he had died without a trace. Meanwhile, two utterly unqualified ninjas had survived and become the Fourth Hokage's students.

He did not want to explain too much, so he put on the chunin vest he had been carrying on his back and revealed the forehead protector beneath his coat.

The boy immediately dropped his guarded stance and respectfully bowed.

Uchiha Yu returned the salute according to protocol. Before he had even raised his head, Rin had revived Obito, and he immediately started shouting again. "Bastard, who are you? Why did you hit me again?"

"I already said it was an accident! How could you hit me twice?"

"Uchiha! Obito!!" Uchiha Yu shouted expressionlessly. "Stop bringing shame upon the Uchiha clan!"

The entire three-person team was stunned. This chunin was also from the Uchiha clan? Then why was there no Uchiha crest on him?

Obito was even more bewildered. "Y-you are... who?"

Thud—!

"Ah!"

"That punch... You're Uchiha Yu! Bastard, I've wanted to hit you for ages! You dare—"

Thud—!

"Y-you hit me again!"

Thud—!

"You're still hitting me!"

Thud—!

"Ah!"

Thud—!

"Stop hitting me..."

Including the first slap, after seven consecutive heavy blows, the stubborn Obito finally gave in and pleaded softly for mercy.

Uchiha Yu knew that this fool had only submitted for the moment. He would probably forget the pain as soon as he turned around. But Yu had no intention of continuing. He had vented enough for today. He now needed to carefully maintain his state of mind; no matter what he did, he could not go too far, lest he charge up the Heart Monkey and create trouble for himself.

Uchiha Obito did not dare make a sound. Without him causing trouble, it became easy to understand the situation.

It turned out they had accepted a cat-finding mission. They had already caught the target cat and were returning to the Hokage Building to turn in the mission. But Obito could not keep his hands to himself and repeatedly teased the cat. He accidentally loosened the bandages tying it up, got scratched by the cat, and let it escape.

Knowing he had made a terrible mistake, Obito desperately chased after the cat. He ran wildly down one of the village's main roads and crashed into the absentminded Uchiha Yu.

"Article Six of the Konoha Ninja Code: ninjas are forbidden from running at full speed on the village's main roads. Did you not know that at all?"

"A ninja should put the mission first. Besides, who would follow such a ridiculous restriction?"

"Idiot. No one but you would dare disobey it. Every rule in the Ninja Code was written with the blood of those who came before us."

"...I-I'm already a genin. I won't make mistakes."

Ignoring Obito's forced excuse, Uchiha Yu continued, "Heh. As expected of Kenji. Stupid enough to drive people mad, yet still rather lucky."

"Luckily, you crashed into me. If you had chased any farther, you would have reached the busy shopping street. At the speed you were going, if you hit an ordinary villager, someone could have died."

"You still want to be a ninja then? Go sit in prison instead!"

Obito was rendered speechless. Rin had no choice but to step forward and defend him. "We were trying to complete the mission..."

Uchiha Yu softened his tone toward the girl. "Cats have explosive speed but poor endurance. When they flee, they use the terrain, climbing walls and trees. Why didn't you chase it from the walls instead of pursuing it through crowded streets?"

All three genin lowered their heads.

"You couldn't keep up with it on the walls?"

Rin answered timidly, "Y-yes."

"How is that possible? Haven't you trained in tree climbing and water walking?"

Obito jumped in again. "Don't underestimate us! Who doesn't know how to climb trees?"

The ordinary-looking boy, however, realized that Yu was referring to a particular training method. He pulled Obito behind him and said to Yu, "Chunin-sama, we haven't practiced that."

This truly shocked Uchiha Yu. "That is basic genin training. What is wrong with your team leader?"

Rin answered, "Captain Shiomi led us for a few days before he was transferred away. After that, we never had another team leader."

"What?"

Uchiha Yu had never expected Obito and Rin's team to be the "Forgotten Squad."