Obito's Fiery Life

Obito looked up at the sky. Black smoke continuously drifting from the volcanic crater had covered the heavens, and together with the black-gray ground, it felt as though he stood in a monotonous world containing only black and gray.

"So hot, so spicy!" Obito breathed heavily, trying to soothe his tongue.

Rumble!!

Suddenly, a tremendous boom rang out. An indescribably terrifying torrent of molten flame erupted from the crater like a fountain, shooting into the sky.

Scorching black smoke, flames soaring into the heavens, dark-red magma—the once black-and-gray world gained a dangerous shade of red at that moment.

Then the terrifying lava fell from the sky and swallowed Obito whole, and clarity returned to his eyes.

"Spicy! Spicy! Spicy!" As his awareness returned, the sensation of intense heat gradually weakened, but the burning spice clinging to his tongue remained.

Even so, Obito did not stop eating.

It was spicy, but it was just too delicious. He simply could not control himself.

"High temperature, burning." Obito could not help recalling the inexplicable illusion—the flames erupting from the earth, the scorching magma that had melted him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The next moment, Obito, who was sticking out his tongue and panting, directly spat a crimson flame from his mouth.

Obito shouted about how spicy it was while breathing fire, fanning his tongue with one hand. He looked exactly like an acrobat performing a fire-breathing act.

"Uh..." Obito was a little bewildered.

"Stop outputting Chakra," Mu Yue said calmly.

Only then did Obito realize that he had somehow started using Chakra. He cut off the supply, and the flames vanished.

"Train quickly while the state has not faded." Mu Yue took out a palm-sized block of ice and placed it in Obito's hand.

"Remember that feeling just now—the high temperature and the burning," Mu Yue reminded him.

Recalling how dazed Obito had looked, Mu Yue roughly guessed what had happened.

"I never expected Skill Cuisine's illusion to have this kind of effect," Mu Yue thought, somewhat surprised.

"Looks like I need to make Obito some more fiery dishes lately," Mu Yue thought to himself.

An ordinary homemade stir-fry with chili had already produced such an effect. If he fed Obito Mapo Tofu every day, would his progress not skyrocket?

"Mu Yue-sensei, look!" Obito excitedly called to Mu Yue as he watched the ice in his hand melt rapidly.

Mu Yue looked and nodded slightly. The palm-sized ice block had shrunk noticeably in just one minute.

"Very good. Keep it up, and do not forget that feeling." Mu Yue nodded in approval, while also reminding Obito not to get carried away.

"Mm-hmm!" Obito nodded rapidly, staring intently at the ice as he continuously released Chakra.

Having made considerable progress, he was extremely excited.

Sometimes, the reason he found dull, monotonous training unbearable was that he never received any feedback.

If he could improve this much every time he trained, Obito felt that he might become a training fanatic too.

"Obito, you do not dislike spicy food, do you?" Mu Yue suddenly asked with a smile.

"Spicy? If it can be as delicious as that just now, then a little spice is no big deal." As Obito spoke, he could not help licking his lips, reminiscing about the delicious meal from earlier.

It was the first time he had ever eaten such delicious stir-fried food. The chili in it had been a little spicy, but it had truly been incredibly tasty.

"Do not worry. I guarantee it will be delicious." Mu Yue patted Obito on the shoulder. You said it yourself.

Obito, who was diligently melting the ice, suddenly had a bad feeling.

Could it be... could it be that...

Even though he was holding ice in his hand, Obito could not stop a chill from running down his back.

"Mu Yue-sensei, actually, I quite like fried rice too," Obito tried to salvage the situation.

"Mm, Chili Fried Rice, right? I will make it for you." Mu Yue wore a gentle smile.

"Can Chili Fried Rice be made without chili?" Obito asked pleadingly.

He had one very terrible memory. Once, he had eaten something extremely spicy, and afterward he learned what it meant for spice to burn at both ends.

If he had to eat the dishes Mu Yue called "a little spicy" every day, Obito feared that once he entered the restroom, he would never come back out.

"Chili Fried Rice without fried rice? I did not know your tastes were so heavy. It is not impossible." Mu Yue selectively misheard him.

Hearing Mu Yue's words, Obito's vision went black and his legs gave out. He nearly fainted on the spot.

He looked toward Shisui for help. Shisui, who had just finished eating and was still savoring the meal, noticed Obito's gaze and immediately looked up at the sky, pretending not to see it.

It was not that Shisui Uchiha did not care about his clanmate, but this was not something he could easily get involved in.

After all, Obito's training efficiency had indeed improved after eating. Perhaps spicy food truly had miraculous effects on training Fire Nature Transformation.

Besides, Obito himself had said it was delicious. Just moments ago, he had been stuffing his face while shouting about how spicy it was.

Of course, the main reason was that Shisui knew that if he spoke up, the result would be that he and Obito would have to eat it together.

Shisui did not mind spicy food, but he did not want to eat it every day. He had no urgent need to rapidly improve his Nature Transformation.

Obito looked toward Might Guy.

Noticing Obito's gaze, Might Guy smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Fiery youth should eat more spicy food!"

Obito: ...

His hands were cold, and his heart was even colder. What happened to brotherhood between clanmates? What happened to the bonds of master and disciple? At a critical moment, none of them could be relied on!

Obito erupted with Chakra and melted all the ice in his hand in one fierce burst, then used his hand to straighten his goggles.

"Sensei, I think it is too troublesome for you to make three separate dishes. It would be much easier to make more of one dish and divide it among the three of us." Obito spoke as though he were thinking entirely for Mu Yue's sake.

If that was how it was, then nobody would have it easy. If they were going down, they were going down together.

"That sounds good." Mu Yue put on a thoughtful expression.

Of course, he knew exactly what Obito was thinking, but Mu Yue still chose the answer that would be more entertaining.

Shisui could no longer maintain his calm expression. He had not expected this somewhat dim-witted clanmate of his to possess such quick wits when it came to dragging others into the water.

"Fiery youth means everyone should eat spicy food together." Might Guy laughed heartily.

"So that really was what he was thinking." Obito and Shisui both thought speechlessly.

Mu Yue considered it and felt that it was not a bad idea. The taste was guaranteed anyway, both Obito and Shisui needed to train Fire Release, and Might Guy was willing to eat it too.

From that day onward, Obito, Shisui, and Might Guy lived a fiery life in the literal sense.

"So spicy, so delicious!" Tears streamed down Obito's face from the heat, yet he still could not stop wolfing down the Mapo Tofu in his lunchbox.

"So spicy! Delicious!" Might Guy also ate Mapo Tofu with tears streaming down his face. The difference was that Might Guy cried from being moved rather than from the spice.

Shisui, continuously exhaling from the heat, silently moved a short distance away from the two of them.

The three went to the restroom together. They entered standing upright and came out together bent over, supporting themselves against the wall.

At school, Rin noticed that Obito would inexplicably stick his butt out all the time, so she asked worriedly:

"Obito, are you feeling unwell?"

Obito wore a melancholy expression. "No. It is just a tiny side effect brought on by hard training."

"Rin, you definitely cannot imagine how much my Fire Release has improved this time. I will definitely defeat Kakashi in this Youth Ninjutsu Tournament." Obito spoke with complete confidence.

One reason he had persisted through such grueling training was to wash away his previous humiliation—to defeat Kakashi in front of Rin and take first place.

"But Kakashi probably will not sign up for the tournament, right? He is already a Chunin. Usually, only Ninja Academy students like us participate in this kind of local competition," Nohara Rin said.

She believed that Obito had truly trained hard and improved greatly, but Kakashi had already become a ninja. Why would he participate in such a civilian tournament?

"Huh?" Obito froze. He had simply assumed that Kakashi would participate.