"When it's time to leave, I'll send someone to call for you."
"Until then, get ready."
Kakashi and the others looked at Uzumaki Kuming. They had so many questions and were burning with curiosity, but Kuming clearly didn't want to talk with them any longer. After saying that, he waved and left.
Once Kuming had gone, silence returned to the forest. Obito clenched his fists and took one last, deep look at Rin before turning away without a word. The battle had shaken him badly. He had never imagined that Rin, who had always stood behind him and been protected by him, had become so strong.
Kakashi had also performed brilliantly. Even in their earlier teamwork, Kakashi had taken the lead. With the Sharingan, Obito had contributed nothing to the battle.
Before he knew it, he, Obito Uchiha, had become the weakest member of the team!
"Damn it! I have to get stronger!"
"I'll never lose to Kakashi. I'll protect Rin with my own hands!"
Obito Uchiha made a silent vow to himself.
Kuming made his way back to Konoha, stopped at a quiet barbershop to get his hair trimmed, then went to a clothing store and bought a few outfits that fit him. Once he'd freshened up from head to toe, he headed for Minato's house.
A few years earlier, after Minato Namikaze had become Hokage, he and Kushina had bought a new home in the center of the village: a standard four-bedroom house.
It wasn't very large, but the new place was in a pretty good location—nothing like Kuming's detached house, which was who knew how many rings away from the village center...
Thanks to his sensory abilities, Kuming easily sensed where Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto were as soon as he entered the village.
"So this is