Newcomer Afie's First Workplace Experience (Please Keep Reading)

"What exactly did you promise, Uchiha Obito?"

"I..."

Faced with Uchiha Chi's barrage of accusations.

Uchiha Obito opened his mouth blankly, but no words came out.

All he felt was a buzzing in his head, blood rushing upward through his body, his once-clear mind churned into an indescribable mess.

How was he supposed to answer?

Those lines weren't part of his plan!

This...

This...

Forget it!

At this critical moment, Uchiha Obito decisively played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses, abandoning the part he was worst at—thinking.

Why should I care about all that? The first step is already over, now it's time for step two!

No longer thinking about it, Uchiha Obito's aura surged as he stepped forward, locking eyes sharply with Uchiha Chi.

"Uchiha Chi! I challenge you to..."

Just as he was about to say the word "duel."

Uchiha Chi suddenly frowned and raised a finger to his lips.

"Shh..."

Let's turn back time a little.

Three minutes earlier.

Deep inside the alley behind Uchiha Obito.

A thin, elongated figure crouched there.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary drunkard who had failed to return home for the night. But if someone happened to pass by now, they would probably be scared out of their wits.

Because the owner of that shadow was not human at all, but a strange creature with a milky-white body.

And this strange creature was talking to the wall.

Even more terrifyingly, a closer look would reveal that a face was embedded in the wall—a face identical to that of the thin, elongated monster...

"Agan..." The newly arrived White Zetsu looked up at the wall, his face full of confusion.

The next second, a stern voice came from inside the wall, interrupting the new White Zetsu's question.

"Afie, when you're working, address people by their title."

White Zetsu, called Afie, thought for a moment and said,

"Brother Agan..."

"Captain Agan."

Agan patiently corrected him, then strictly followed the hierarchy he had established. "Little Afie, what's your question?"

"Captain, why are you hiding inside there?"

Looking at Captain Agan, whose face alone was exposed outside the wall, newcomer Afie voiced his doubts. "Aren't we supposed to be monitoring Obito?"

Agan fell silent.

Several seconds later, Agan looked at Afie meaningfully.

"Little Afie, you've only been here for a few days. There are many things you don't understand.

"But don't worry. As your captain, I'll teach you slowly.

"Now, let me give you your first lesson. Do you know what intuition is?"

"Intuition..." Afie lowered his head to think. Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly raised one finger.

"Eh? Is it like the urge to poop? That feeling that you need to take a dump?"

"?" Agan froze for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. "That's right. Exactly."

"Then I understand." Afie nodded excitedly, but the next second, confusion appeared on his face again.

"But Captain, what does that have to do with our mission to monitor Obito?"

In response.

Agan did not answer directly. Instead, he pointed in Obito's direction. "What are they doing now?"

"Chatting."

Afie narrowed his eyes at the targets and added, "And they're having a great time. Uchiha Obito's face is all red."

You call that having a great time?

Agan suddenly felt that this newcomer might not be very reliable.

Still, he suppressed the urge to complain and nodded. "Very good. From now on, report everything happening over there."

Newcomer Afie nodded and began reporting obediently.

"They're still talking, but they're too far away, so I can't hear what they're saying...

"I think they're probably discussing the shape of the poop they took yesterday.

"Mm, they stopped and started looking around. Did the swallow that just flew past drop some poop... eh?"

Afie looked at the wall in surprise and saw that Agan's face was beginning to retreat into it as well.

"Captain Agan, why are you hiding your whole body inside?"

"Little Afie..." Agan's wistful voice came from within the wall. "The first lesson is over. Now I'm going to teach you the second."

"Do you know what experience is?"

Afie shook his head in confusion.

Compared to Agan, a senior who seemed to know everything, this White Zetsu, who had been born less than three days ago, was still far too immature.

"It's actually very simple. In your terms... when shit is about to hit you, remember to find somewhere to hide from it." Agan spoke in an inscrutable tone. "Do you understand?"

Afie continued shaking his head.

"Fine, it may sound a little profound, but that's okay. You'll understand soon enough.

"Little Afie, I have something to do, so I'll be leaving for a while. Keep monitoring Obito. If anyone passes by, remember to disguise yourself as a human. Whatever you do, don't expose your identity..."

As he spoke, Agan's voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared completely. It seemed he had already left.

"Oh." Afie nodded as if he understood, though he actually understood nothing at all.

Since he could not figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. Afie returned to the side and continued hiding in what he believed was an incredibly safe corner.

He curiously watched the two people standing outside the alley, eagerly waiting to see what shape of poop they would find.

However—

"...Eh?"

Afie's eyes widened strangely.

Why was that instant-noodle-haired guy walking this way?

Outside the alley.

Watching Uchiha Chi's strange behavior as he looked left and right.

Obito forcibly suppressed his displeasure and asked, "What's wrong with you again?"

Why did this guy keep interrupting him? His emotions couldn't even flow properly anymore!

But Uchiha Chi acted as though he had heard nothing. He merely furrowed his brow and looked here and there, as if searching for something.

After a while, he stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "There should be an Old Lady around here who needs help getting up..."

As the saying went, there was always an antidote within seven steps of a venomous snake. In Uchiha Chi's eyes, Obito was much the same:

Within seven steps of wherever he appeared, there would definitely be an Old Lady transformed by a White Zetsu Avatar.

No matter where it hid, Uchiha Chi had to fleece it immediately.

He could not live without wool, just as Ninja could not live without ninjutsu, and Kakashi could not live without Icha Icha Paradise.

"Old Lady?" Obito froze at first, then scoffed disdainfully. "Tch, how could there possibly be one!"

It was true that he often helped Old Ladies cross the street, but it was the middle of the night. There was not even a chicken on the streets, so how could there be an Old Lady who needed support?

Faced with Uchiha Obito's doubts, Uchiha Chi did not argue. He merely continued scanning the surroundings, refusing to overlook a single corner.

Then, when he turned his gaze toward the depths of the alley, he suddenly spotted half a white head protruding from around the corner.

If an ordinary person saw that, they might be scared half to death.

But Uchiha Chi was different.

At that moment, he looked exactly like an old farmer who had waited through late autumn, his face overflowing with the joy of harvest.

"Found you..."

"What did you find?" Obito asked reflexively.

But the instant he spoke.

Uchiha Chi had already taken a deep breath, done two simple warm-up exercises, and then vanished in a flicker into the depths of the dark alley.