Each Had Their Own Difficulties

After that, Obito and Rin frequently ate lunch together and went to and from school together.

But it was precisely these unintentional actions that spurred Genma's deliberate efforts.

Although Obito happily had no idea what was going on with Genma, Genma had always kept Obito's influence in mind.

As the days passed, the class gradually began to change.

In Genma's class, people soon started gathering together for long periods, and the entire class split into one circle after another.

Genma had originally been unwilling to chat with ordinary brats about things they were mutually interested in.

Brats at this age were still drawn to material things.

Like delicious food, nice clothes, interesting books...

To Genma, none of those things in the Naruto World were particularly novel. Even if they had a bit of an ancient style to them, they simply did not suit his tastes.

But while he did not want to form a group and meet more people, Kurenai was full of enthusiasm.

Even though Kurenai was far more mature than the others mentally, that did not change the fact that she was still a child.

Under Genma's guidance, he, Kurenai, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi eventually formed a circle.

Of course, Kakashi always looked like he had Dead Fish Eyes and had not woken up yet. He was even more indifferent toward this sort of grouping than Genma.

The reason Kakashi was considered part of their circle was mostly because Rin and Obito often thought of him.

So Kakashi naturally became a member of their group.

Forming a circle did not really make anything special happen.

They just gathered to chat during breaks and teamed up during activities.

Actually, as long as they ignored Obito's occasional clumsy attempts to show off, the atmosphere in the group was quite good.

At the very least, Obito could liven things up and keep the group from becoming too quiet.

"Hey, Kakashi, how about we race to see who gets to the Training Ground first?"

Obito beamed at Genma, Kakashi, and the others as he walked backward.

They had long since grown used to Obito's occasional smug behavior.

But as soon as Kakashi heard Obito's suggestion, his mood immediately soured.

Kakashi tugged his mask higher, covering more of his face, and said flatly, "Boring~"

"Hey, Kakashi, how can you say that? We young people should always stay fired up and passionate, right?"

Imitating the tone of Might Guy, the challenge-crazed maniac who had recently been challenging Kakashi, Obito even gave Kakashi a thumbs-up.

Seeing Obito like this, Kakashi's Dead Fish Eyes twitched slightly before instantly turning sharp.

"Watch out!" Kakashi swiftly reached for Obito's hand, but he was still a step too late.

Obito was utterly confused, but something caught up to his back, making him realize what had happened.

Only, the situation was more serious than he had imagined.

Because in the blink of an eye, someone had grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up.

Yes, grabbed him and lifted him up.

Although Obito was small, the other person's hand—and even his body—was abnormally huge.

Genma and Kakashi also saw the person holding Obito. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, nothing like a student.

But Genma knew that they really were students, just far more terrifying than ordinary students...

"Hey, Fūta, this kid knocked two pieces of my Chestnut Yōkan onto the ground. What should we do?"

The burly man holding Obito asked the equally burly man beside him, his expression shifting unpredictably.

"Hm? Isn't that obvious, Raiji? Of course we should ask the kid for compensation.

Without those two pieces of Chestnut Yōkan, we might not get full and will get hungry soon, so we'll have to buy more. Going back and forth will make us hungry even faster.

Why not make him compensate us with two bags of Chestnut Yōkan instead?"

Obito heard their conversation as well. Turning around and seeing just how huge and imposing they were, he had already prepared himself to pay compensation.

But when he heard the burly man beside them demand two bags, he immediately began to panic.

Though he could not be certain, he clearly saw the enormous paper bags each of them was carrying.

It was not like he had never eaten Chestnut Yōkan before, but bags that large contained roughly five times the normal amount.

So those two huge bags amounted to ten regular bags. One bag cost over fifty ryō, so ten bags would be over five hundred ryō.

More than five hundred ryō was a huge sum for a student.

It was a busy time with many people coming and going. Since this happened at a corner, quite a few people stopped and surrounded Genma's group, their discussions unending.

"Whoa, seriously? That kid actually messed with Fūta and Raiji? He's got some nerve!"

"Who are Fūta and Raiji? Are they famous?"

"You don't know Fūta and Raiji? They're the strongest sixth-year students~"

"Huh? Strongest? How strong are they?"

"Even though they're still students, their strength already rivals that of jonin. I heard someone saw the two brothers dragging a cow backward and competing with it in strength~"

"Gasp~"

The passersby all showed Obito a trace of pity.

But they quickly slipped away. Only a few bold people stayed behind to watch.

"Hey, aren't you two extorting him? Let him go right now!"

The moment Fūta and Raiji reached an agreement, no one expected a girl to suddenly berate them.

Genma was standing closest to that girl, and his heart could not help racing.

This was the wife he had his eye on. If anything happened to her, he would be heartbroken.

But before Genma could calm himself, Rin also glared angrily at the Wind God and Thunder God brothers. "That's right, let Obito go now, or we'll call the teachers!"

"Oh? Fūta, they say we're extorting him. They even want to call the teachers~"

Raiji looked at Fūta with a silly grin, showing no fear at all.

Fūta also wore a strange smile as he pursed his thick lips. "Even if the teachers come, as long as we eat fast enough, there's nothing they can do to us."

Raiji immediately looked excited too. "Mm, Fūta's right. As long as we make this kid hand over the Chestnut Yōkan quickly!"

In an instant, Raiji revealed a cruel expression, and the muscles in the huge hand gripping Obito's waist suddenly bulged.

"Ah!!" Obito, who had been frozen for a long while, immediately let out a scream.

But mixed into Obito's scream was another, somewhat foolish cry of pain.

A white figure flashed past. Obito slipped free from Raiji's hand, while Raiji clutched the hand that had gripped Obito in agony.

"Waaah! Fūta, that white-haired kid pinched my pinky! It hurts like crazy!!"

With tears in his huge eyes, Raiji pointed in Kakashi's direction.

By then, Kakashi had brought Obito back to Rin, Genma, and the others, but he quickly stepped in front of them again.

"Ahhh! You actually dared to pinch my little brother's finger! I'll beat you to death!"

Fūta instantly flew into a rage. Waves of Chakra surged around his body as he threw a fist straight at Kakashi.

Kakashi swiftly ducked low and avoided Fūta's attack.

But Fūta's attack did not stop. It smashed directly into the wall, leaving a huge crater.

"Hah~ Kid, you've made me angry!"

Fūta snorted out two streams of foul breath, drew back his fist, and locked onto Kakashi's position.

Seeing Kakashi fighting the Wind God and Thunder God brothers, Genma hurriedly stepped in front of Rin and Kurenai.

"Rin, Kurenai, get out of here and call the teachers! This isn't something we can handle right now!"

Kurenai was immediately puzzled. "Why can Kakashi do it, but we can't?"

Genma suddenly had a headache. "You don't know this, but those two have problems with their intelligence. They won't refrain from hitting you just because you're girls. And they're incredibly strong. Even the school's teachers would have trouble subduing them quickly!"

Rin and Kurenai had both seen everything that had just happened. Though Kurenai was somewhat unconvinced, she knew Genma would not lie to her about this.

A trace of hesitation flashed through Rin's eyes, but she immediately grabbed Kurenai's hand. "Let's go, Kurenai. We need to call the teachers quickly!"

Kurenai froze for a moment before nodding. The two of them quickly ran toward the Academic Affairs Office.

At that moment, Fūta swung his massive fist again, smashing it toward Kakashi with an unstoppable gale behind it.

Raiji had stopped crying and was glaring furiously at Obito.

Obito was currently behind Genma, and the onlookers had tacitly made room, leaving Genma directly facing Raiji's angry glare.

Although he still felt lingering fear, Genma was not overly afraid.

Fūta and Raiji's strength was indeed difficult to gauge, but speed was one of their greatest weaknesses, along with their intelligence.

"Brat, you're a companion of the kid behind you too, aren't you?"

Raiji kept moving his swollen pinky as he slowly approached Genma.

"So what if I am? Looks like your brother got beaten down~"

"Hm? How is that possible?" Raiji's face flushed red with anxiety as he hurriedly turned around.

As a result, Fūta was still fighting Kakashi, only he kept missing and had not hit any buildings, so there was not much sound.

"Bastard, you lied to me! I hate liars the most! I'll beat you to death!"

Raiji's eyes nearly split with rage. Tangible Chakra surged around his body as he raised his fist and smashed it viciously toward Genma.

"Third Hokage, you're here."

Genma hurriedly crouched down. As he dodged the punch, he put on a respectful expression.

Although Genma was not particularly fast, he had already predicted Raiji's attack trajectory. He only needed to crouch in advance to evade it.

But when Raiji saw Genma's respectful look, he became confused. After staring blankly for a moment, he turned around to look.

He looked for quite a while, but there was still nothing there. A "#" instantly bulged on his forehead.

"Brat, you tricked me again!"

Raiji spun around with his fist raised, preparing to smash it toward Genma once more.

But when he turned his gaze back, he saw a middle-aged man standing before him, radiating the aura of someone in authority. He wore the Hokage's robes and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Th... Third Hokage..."

Raiji's eyes instantly widened, and he hurriedly withdrew his fist.

"Go make your brother stop at once! Fighting at school—what kind of behavior is that!?"

"U-understood, Third Hokage~" Raiji lowered his head timidly and hurriedly ran toward Fūta.

"Whoa, Genma, you're a genius! You could even pull that off?"

Obito, who had been hiding behind Genma, poked his head out.

"Shut up. Unless you want to get smashed into paste, stay hidden behind me!"

Of course he was nervous. After all, those were two monster-level people.

But he had seen how foolish the two brothers acted in front of the Hokage before, which was why he had come up with this move.

I can't keep editing... My head starts hurting after working on this chapter for a while...

Fūta and Raiji are the Wind God and Thunder God from the anime. I don't know their exact names, so I just called them Fūta and Raiji.