"Rin."
Inside the Uchiha Clan, Obito sat in his room, grinning at a photograph.
It was a picture of Team Minato, but he'd covered Kakashi's face with tape.
His eyes stayed fixed on Nohara Rin. Just looking at her seemed to brighten his mood.
"Obito, you're home. Uh..."
At that moment, a voice shattered his daydreams and abruptly pulled him back to reality.
Obito snapped out of his reverie and looked up to see a boy staring at him in confusion—and at the photograph in his hands.
He remembered the boy was also a member of the Uchiha Clan, though he wasn't a ninja.
"Hi. Can I help you with something?"
Obito quickly turned the photo facedown and asked in a slightly stiff voice.
Maybe he was annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted, or maybe he was embarrassed to have his secret discovered. Either way, he felt a little uncomfortable.
"Someone asked me to tell you that we're assembling for a mission in two days. You should get ready."
The boy quickly looked away. He knew he'd been a bit rude, so he hurried to explain why he'd come.
"A mission?"
Obito blinked, then immediately came to his senses and shouted excitedly.
"I can finally go on a mission with... again! I'm sick of sitting around at home!"
The front-line units rotated out, as was standard practice. Even ninja needed time to rest.
You could shear a sheep and leave it with some wool, but if you didn't even let it rest, you might as well keep the whole sheep.
Obito just wasn't fond of these rotations. The war was painful, but at least he got to be with Rin.
Now they were heading out again. How could he not be happy?
"Since you know now, I'll be going."
The Uchiha boy didn't understand why Obito was so excited. Wasn't everyone supposed to dread war?
Was this guy... seriously ill or something?
But he said nothing more, merely nodding as he prepared to keep his distance.
"By the way, who asked you to tell me?"
Just as the boy was about to leave, Obito suddenly asked, curious.
"Haori," the boy replied after a moment's thought.
"That guy, Haori?"
Obito frowned, and suddenly realized there was a serious problem.
"Wait, how does he know I have a mission?"
"Haori went out with your teammates, so he asked me to pass the message along."
The boy shrugged as he answered, not giving it much thought.
"Oh, and I mean the girl in the photo whose face you didn't cover with tape."
As soon as he finished speaking, the boy saw Obito turn bright red. It startled him.
Now he was certain there really was something wrong with Obito!
With that thought, he quietly hurried away. He didn't want Obito clinging to him.
Obito paid no attention to the boy leaving. He clenched both fists, his breathing growing ragged.
"Uchiha Haori!"
"Why are my ears so hot? Is someone cursing me?"
After seeing Nohara Rin off—and treating it as a send-off for himself, too—Haori escorted her home, then returned to the Uchiha Clan.
He couldn't help wondering why his ears had felt hot all evening.
But he couldn't be bothered to worry about it. He'd had a good night, and that was what mattered.
"A good image really is a useful thing."
As he headed for the Uchiha library, Haori mused to himself.
Ever since he entered the Ninja Academy, he'd understood one thing.
To deal with this new setting in the Shinobi World, he needed to develop a new strategy, find the people's pain points, and stake out a new niche.
After careful consideration, he'd figured out what to do: build a good reputation!
Take Namikaze Minato, for example. The moment people heard his name, they thought of words like "powerful" and "sunny."
When they heard "Uchiha," they thought "beautiful," "strong," "tragic"—as well as "crazy" and "cackling."
Haori already had the Uchiha "beauty" part down, but the rest had little to do with him, and he didn't dare be as conspicuous as Namikaze Minato.
The image he was building was simple: dependable.
It had to be said, it was a smart choice.
Even though he'd been set up by the hawks, and the war had long since made him ruthless, none of that affected how the rank-and-file ninja saw him.
That had earned him plenty of friends. Even if some were only fair-weather friends, they could still sit down together and go from stealing erasers in elementary school to picking out burial plots in old age.
Except for that guy, Obito.
"Wait. Could Obito be cursing me?"
He wondered about it, but didn't dwell on it. He'd already reached the Uchiha library.
After a quick inspection, he made it inside without trouble and began searching through the materials.
He'd asked to come here before he acquired "Unparalleled," but even after getting it, he still wanted to visit.
The materials on how to use the Sharingan were incredibly important to him!
He'd awakened his Sharingan early and used it often, giving him a solid foundation.
The problem was that no one had valued him before he awakened it, and afterward, he'd been out on the battlefield. He'd had little opportunity to properly study the subject.
Now he had the chance, so of course he wanted to fill in the gaps.
Studying these materials would help him develop his eyes more completely and use them more effectively.
It would also help him reach his limit sooner, so he could advance right away!
"But there's so little here, and most of it is far too basic."
After finishing another set of notes, Haori was pleased, but still frowned.
There really wasn't much material here. A lot of it stopped at the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
There was pitifully little on the Three Tomoe, let alone the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Did Uchiha Madara take it all with him when he left?"
At the thought, Haori felt like he was about to lose it.
Fine, leave—but couldn't he at least have burned everything while he was at it?
Why be so selective and take all the good stuff?
"Forget it. This will do for now. It's enough for me at my current level."
Haori sighed helplessly. He'd still gained something tonight. For someone with the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, this was definitely enough.
As for what came next, he'd just have to figure it out on his own.
With that, Haori returned all the materials.
But as he passed an unremarkable bookcase at the very back of the library, he thought he caught sight of a scroll tucked deep inside it.
"What's this?"
Haori frowned. He put the materials away, then came back and pulled out the scroll.
It was covered in dust, as if no one had touched it in a very long time.
There were no markings on it at all, so no one could tell what it was.
Most people probably wouldn't have bothered looking at something like this. Anyone who came here had a specific purpose.
But it piqued Haori's interest. He sat down right there and carefully unrolled it.
The moment he saw what was written inside, he froze.
"Uchiha Ultimate Weapon?"
"Uchiha Mumei?"
"What is this?"