Obito Covered in Flags

Awkward.

Unparalleled awkwardness.

Since the two had known each other, Uchiha Obito had never felt as awkward as he did right now.

And following that awkwardness came a wave of panic.

Uchiha Obito knew very well that Uchiha Aoba had always been a bit of a prankster who loved to watch the world burn.

To prevent the other from spreading what he had just seen.

Especially to Kakashi and Nohara Rin, he stood up from his chair in a panic and explained, "Wait, Aoba, listen to me, it's not what you think."

"Obito, don't say it. Brother, I'm very disappointed in you."

Uchiha Aoba shook his head and sighed.

"Look at the things you do. How many times have I told you? If you like her, just say it out loud. As long as you successfully win the beauty over, holding her in your arms and kissing her would be much more satisfying than kissing a photo."

"And I'm very suspicious now."

"Besides kissing Nohara Rin's photo in private, have you been doing any 'handiwork'?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Obito's eyes widened, and he grew anxious.

"Nonsense!"

"How can you slander my innocence out of thin air!"

Uchiha Aoba sneered, "Innocence? You're talking to me about innocence right now?"

"After what I just saw, hearing you say those two words makes me feel like laughing."

"Forget it, why am I even talking about this with a coward like you."

"Now! Hurry up and pack your gear. We're heading to the Iwagakure battlefield with Minato, so I'm not in the mood to argue about this anymore. We have to gather at the Konoha gate at one o'clock this afternoon."

"Going to the battlefield!?"

Uchiha Obito was stunned.

Seeing this, Uchiha Aoba raised an eyebrow: "What's with that look? Scared?"

"Who's scared!"

Uchiha Obito said with dissatisfaction: "I was just caught off guard by the news, that's all."

After finishing his sentence, he muttered something under his breath and turned to pack his gear.

He didn't make Uchiha Aoba wait long.

With everything prepared, Uchiha Obito walked out of the house, locked the door, and went downstairs.

"By the way, isn't there still over an hour until we gather?"

"Aren't you hungry?"

As the two walked side by side out of the clan grounds, Uchiha Aoba said: "There's definitely not enough time to cook at this hour."

"So I was thinking we could go out to eat, and then head straight to the village gate to gather."

"What should we eat?" Uchiha Obito asked.

"How about Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Sure."

Communication between men regarding food is always this simple and straightforward.

One proposes, the other agrees.

Without any hesitation.

At the Ichiraku Ramen shop, a young Teuchi was busy at work.

Uchiha Aoba and Uchiha Obito each ordered a large bowl of ramen and sat in their seats waiting.

Soon, as the ramen was served, Uchiha Aoba started digging in without a word.

Uchiha Obito, however, looked worried and lacked appetite, occasionally taking a bite of ramen, giving the impression that he wasn't eating, but chewing wax.

"I'm telling you, it's just going to the battlefield, not like you're being sent on a suicide mission. Is it really that bad?"

After swallowing a mouthful of ramen, Uchiha Aoba complained helplessly.

"Ah, I'm not afraid of going to the battlefield."

Uchiha Obito defended himself, then asked with deep concern: "Aoba, promise me, never tell Kakashi and Nohara Rin about what happened earlier. This is the most sincere request of my life."

"..."

Uchiha Aoba was speechless, but he understood the other's feelings.

If it were him, he wouldn't want to suffer social death in front of his friends, let alone in front of the girl he liked; that would be even worse than killing him.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything."

"Really?"

Uchiha Obito perked up.

"Why would I lie to you?"

Uchiha Aoba shook his head with a chuckle. "You can set your heart at ease; this war is no small matter, after all."

"I don't want you getting distracted by such things and causing some accident."

"Good brother!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Obito was overjoyed, his appetite suddenly surging as he began to wolf down his food.

However, before he had taken two bites, he heard Uchiha Aoba ask again, "Speaking of which, when exactly do you plan to confess to Rin? Dragging it out like this isn't a good thing."

"Aoba, you..."

Uchiha Obito nearly choked, struggling to swallow the ramen in his mouth.

After a moment, sorrow reappeared on his face. He poked at the ramen in his bowl distractedly and said, "Maybe, just like you said, I'm a coward when it comes to this."

"I'm worried about being rejected, afraid that we won't even be able to remain friends afterward."

Uchiha Aoba was surprised.

He had expected that when he brought this up again, Uchiha Obito would try to brush it off with jokes as he had before.

He hadn't expected the other to speak his inner thoughts so directly this time.

Thus, Uchiha Aoba couldn't help but encourage him, "How will you know if you don't try? Maybe she's waiting for you to make the first move. After all, you can't expect a girl to confess to you."

"That makes sense!"

Uchiha Obito nodded in agreement, then took a deep breath. "So, I've decided!"

"Once this war is over, I'll confess!"

"..."

Uchiha Aoba was speechless once again.

Brother, you really shouldn't say things like that right before heading onto the battlefield.

Just as he was about to interrupt, he heard the other continue, full of fantasies, "Just like you said, Aoba, Rin must be waiting for me to take the initiative. She'll definitely say yes, and then I'll be able to be with her."

"And after Rin comes of age, I'll propose to her. Once we're married, we'll have a cute kid..."

"Alright, stop!"

Uchiha Aoba covered his forehead.

Looking at Uchiha Obito right now felt like watching an old general covered in death flags, and he felt a sudden sense of pressure.

After all, according to the plot.

It was precisely during this war against Iwagakure that Uchiha Obito would be manipulated by Madara into becoming a pawn, falling completely into darkness and triggering the subsequent series of tragedies.

Uchiha Aoba had the intention of saving those who suffered, and the first person he had to save was Uchiha Obito.

With him constantly planting flags on himself like this, he had no idea how much the difficulty of the task would inexplicably rise.

As for the fact that after saving Uchiha Obito, he would no longer be familiar with the plot and everything would change drastically, Uchiha Aoba could only say this:

Any conspiracy or scheme is a joke in the face of absolute power.

Once he pushed his integration with the Madara template to 100%, to say nothing of anything else, if other ninja villages wanted to stir up trouble, he would simply use Susanoo-clad Buddha and wipe out the four nations single-handedly.

Even if the Otsutsuki clan came to the ninja world to stir up trouble in the future, if he didn't beat the crap out of them, it would be a mercy.

This was the confidence that the Madara template brought to Uchiha Aoba.