Obito's Sarcastic Barbs

The morning sun spilled across the grass.

Dewdrops slowly evaporated in the sunlight. A gentle breeze blew, carrying the fresh scent of cow dung.

"Damn it, why do I have to do this?" Asuma Sarutobi tossed aside the cleaning tool in his hand and complained indignantly.

Nebula Kotetsu straightened up and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"What else? Did you think they'd give a freshly graduated Genin some high-level mission?"

Asuma Sarutobi grumbled angrily, "I've had enough! Every day, it's either cleaning up cow dung or clearing out sewers. I didn't become a ninja for this!"

Kurenai Yuhi looked a little troubled, but she still urged him, "Asuma, stop complaining. If you use that time to work instead, we can finish sooner."

"And Nebula's already cleaned up more than you have."

"Whose side are you on, Kurenai?" Asuma Sarutobi asked, his gaze full of wounded reproach.

"I'm not taking sides," Kurenai Yuhi replied. "If we don't finish this morning, we won't have time this afternoon to look for the Akita that went missing from Uncle Ito's house."

"Maybe that stupid dog will find its way home by itself this afternoon." Despite saying that, Asuma Sarutobi reluctantly picked up his tool and went back to cleaning up the cow dung.

Kurenai Yuhi watched him and shook her head without saying anything.

After several days of missions, her opinion of Asuma had steadily declined.

He was impatient whenever anything came up, and he had a poor attitude toward work.

By contrast, her impression of Nebula Kotetsu had improved once again.

Over this time, whether they were spending time together or working as a team on missions, he had been pleasant and easy to communicate with. His ideas and suggestions were also sensible.

Even when Asuma provoked him, he only occasionally responded with a slightly sharp tongue. When it came to missions, he remained calm and took on a lot of the work himself.

He seemed much more mature than Asuma.

Well... Though she didn't care much about looks, he was a lot easier on the eyes than Asuma, too.

They were doing the same dirty, exhausting work. Asuma had completely let himself go, and even she couldn't help looking a little disheveled. But Nebula Kotetsu was different.

His rolled-up sleeves were neat and tidy, and his collar and face were clean. Whenever he had time at noon, he would make a point of going back to wash up. He didn't have even a hint of that sweaty, manly smell.

No wonder so many girls in their class liked him.

By the end of the morning, they had finally finished cleaning the pasture. Nebula Kotetsu had done nearly half the work all by himself.

Kurenai Yuhi had noticed it all.

After a brief break at noon, the three of them started looking for the dog.

Konoha wasn't enormous, but it wasn't tiny either. Searching without a plan was pointless, so Asuma Sarutobi suggested, "Konoha's too big. We won't be able to search the whole place anytime soon. Why don't we split up?"

"Nebula, you search inside the village, and Kurenai and I will look outside. How about it?"

Seeing through Asuma Sarutobi's obvious little scheme, Nebula Kotetsu smiled faintly.

"I don't mind splitting up. But searching aimlessly like that would be really inefficient."

"Uncle Ito's Akita went missing on the southern side of the village. Given a dog's habits, it probably didn't go far."

"We can rule out the woods where large animals might roam and places where it couldn't find food. That leaves the snack stalls, trash bins, and areas where people gather as our main search spots."

His reasoning was sound, and Asuma Sarutobi couldn't find a reason to object. He only gave a quiet "Tch."

The southern side of the village was one of Konoha's busiest areas.

Nebula Kotetsu stepped into the crowd.

It was like a drop of hot oil falling into water.

Or like a magnet entering a field of scattered iron filings during an experiment.

The crowd parted on its own.

The chattering young women and young wives fell quiet, staring wide-eyed at Nebula Kotetsu.

Every one of them was unable to look away.

The men nearby noticed something was up. They turned, saw Nebula Kotetsu, and quickly moved away, their faces full of surprise.

He was so handsome!

The men of the village felt terribly uncomfortable standing next to someone like him.

Nebula Kotetsu was used to this kind of scene. He kept his expression unchanged and tried not to speak.

That way, fewer women would be likely to approach him.

Kurenai Yuhi was used to it, too. Like everyone else, she let her gaze linger on Nebula Kotetsu's face for a moment, then turned away.

Right, she wasn't the type to judge people by their looks.

Asuma Sarutobi looked as if he'd just eaten something foul.

"Let's hurry up. We still haven't finished the mission."

Nebula Kotetsu said nothing.

But wherever they went, the people there fell quiet, their eyes turning toward Nebula Kotetsu.

"What the hell?" Asuma Sarutobi cursed under his breath.

They searched for a while, but still couldn't find any sign of the Akita.

Instead, they ran into a few familiar faces.

"Obito, Rin!" Kurenai Yuhi greeted them cheerfully. Then she noticed the cool-looking boy beside them, whose face was half covered by a mask, and immediately became more respectful. "Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi Hatake was about their age, but he had graduated several years earlier. Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help feeling a little awkward around him, as she would around a talented senior.

Asuma Sarutobi also followed Kurenai Yuhi's gaze and noticed the others. He gave them a cool nod.

Kurenai Yuhi asked, "Are you on a mission here, too?"

Obito, holding a cat in his arms, was striding along proudly when he suddenly heard Kurenai Yuhi's voice.

Following Rin Nohara's suddenly brightened gaze, he turned around and saw the one person he absolutely didn't want to see.

Nebula Kotetsu!

He immediately went on alert and spoke before Rin Nohara could respond.

"Asuma, Kurenai, it's you." Deliberately leaving out a certain someone, Obito Uchiha said, "We're on a mission. Mrs. Kawashima's cat went missing, so we're looking for it. See?" He raised the squirming little calico cat in his arms.

"Really? How long did it take you?" Kurenai Yuhi asked. "We've got a similar mission, but we haven't found what we're looking for."

Obito Uchiha tried to suppress his smug grin. "Oh, this? It was easy."

"It only took us an hour to find it."

Rin Nohara added, "The grandmothers helped us. Obito's always helped them, even when he was in school, so they helped us find the cat for today's mission, too."

Obito Uchiha scratched his head. "It was nothing. I only did what anyone should."

As he spoke, he ignored a certain someone and puffed out his chest a little. "Compared to an unimpressive appearance, I think kindness and compassion are more important in a boy."

Nebula Kotetsu: "(￢_￢)"

It had only been a few days, but Obito Uchiha had gotten a lot better at making snide remarks.

Asuma Sarutobi noticed the barb in Obito Uchiha's words, too. But instead of arguing, he quickly joined forces with him and chimed in.

"Obito, you make a good point."

"Looks don't matter much for a mature man."

"Strength and a sense of responsibility are what matter most."

"Rather than carefully maintaining a polished appearance, it's better to put that effort into your missions. Being able to complete a mission quickly is what measures a ninja's ability."

"Nicely done, Obito!"