Interrogation

The five Sand Ninja were buried.

They weren't family, but at least they were laid out neatly.

There were fewer "Seeds" this time, and their quality was poor, so Sen Chisato hadn't gained much.

Aside from two duplicate ninjutsu, all he'd gained was one card's worth of chakra.

What could one card's worth of chakra even do?

Sen Chisato was at a loss.

If he could transfer the reward to someone else, he'd even want to "return" that one card's worth of chakra to its rightful owner.

One card's worth of chakra was the average amount Hatake Kakashi had as an adult. If he could give it to Kakashi now, it would greatly make up for Kakashi's shortcomings!

Then he wouldn't need to spend so much effort on Kakashi anymore.

With a few random thoughts on his mind, Sen Chisato and Namikaze Minato walked over to Kakashi and the other two.

By then, the injuries on Kakashi's body had been treated, and Nohara Rin was bandaging him.

Just as Sen Chisato had expected, Kakashi was practically wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

"Hahaha, Kakashi, you look so stupid right now!" Uchiha Obito stood to the side, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Clearly, what had happened earlier hadn't left him with any trauma.

For Namikaze Minato, this was a good thing.

He didn't want any of his students to develop psychological problems, especially not one with the Uchiha name.

But Sen Chisato saw things very differently.

"Is it funny when your teammate gets hurt?" Sen Chisato asked, narrowing his eyes.

"He deserved it!"

Uchiha Obito crossed his arms, looking unconcerned, though a trace of resentment showed in his eyes. "Who told him to show off? It was a mission for three people, but he had to charge ahead. He made it impossible for us to keep up."

"Hmph. Still better than some cowards," Kakashi retorted sarcastically.

"What did you say?!" Obito bristled at once, his face flushing red. This was what he considered his most humiliating moment. He'd performed terribly earlier, of course he didn't want anyone bringing it up.

"Kakashi, that's not how you should treat a teammate," Sen Chisato reprimanded him with a stern expression.

Then he shifted his tone and said with a faintly mocking smile, "...Still, it's better than certain people who do nothing but brag, when they're actually completely useless. Well, someone without any real ability can only drag the others down."

Obito's face brightened when he heard the first half, but when he heard the rest, his expression fell.

He'd thought Sen Chisato was going to back him up, but instead he'd been mocked even more harshly.

"I-I just haven't shown my talent yet!"

Uchiha Obito stammered in his defense. When he mentioned talent, he seemed to think he'd found the best explanation, and confidence once again filled his face.

Pointing his thumb at himself, he said proudly, "I'm an Uchiha, after all. Once I awaken the Sharingan, I'll catch up with you in no time. No, I'll become stronger than you!"

"So without the Sharingan, an Uchiha is useless?" Sen Chisato asked softly.

"You!" Uchiha Obito's expression darkened.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha name and the Sharingan were his greatest sources of pride and honor.

Even though most of the Uchiha Clan saw him as an oddball, and his own clanmates ostracized and mocked him, that didn't stop him from defending the Uchiha reputation.

"If you say that again, I'll beat you until you're eating dirt!" Uchiha Obito rushed up to Sen Chisato, his forehead almost touching Sen Chisato's, and threatened him through gritted teeth.

"What? What did I say that was wrong?"

Sen Chisato shoved Obito to the ground, crossed his arms, and looked down at him. "Without the Sharingan, you're not a ninja? You didn't know how strong the enemy was, yet you recklessly chased after them, only to freeze when someone gave you a single look."

"Kakashi was right. You're a coward. Hmph, you're really making the Uchiha proud."

After being mocked like that, Uchiha Obito couldn't hold back any longer. He scrambled up, clenched his fist, and swung it at Sen Chisato.

"Obito!" Nohara Rin cried out, about to rush over and stop him.

But the moment she took a step, Namikaze Minato put a hand on her shoulder.

Namikaze Minato could tell that Sen Chisato was picking on Obito at every turn, but he meant no harm.

And Sen Chisato wasn't wrong. Obito had made mistakes throughout the battle. He'd been no help at all and had even put his teammates at risk.

The key point was that Obito hadn't admitted his mistakes or reflected on them.

If things went on like this, Obito would only hurt himself and others.

He had to be corrected!

"Is the guidance starting now?" Namikaze Minato glanced at Sen Chisato but didn't intervene... Though this harsh approach was very different from the principles he'd always upheld.

The punch carried all of Uchiha Obito's anger. He held nothing back.

But so what?

To Sen Chisato, the punch was weak, and its speed was laughably slow.

He casually leaned aside to dodge it, then tripped Uchiha Obito as he rushed past.

Thud!

Uchiha Obito sprawled face-down on the ground.

"Don't you... insult the Uchiha!" Obito slowly got to his feet and shouted stubbornly.

"You're wrong. I haven't insulted the Uchiha," Sen Chisato said calmly, shaking his head. "I'm only insulting you."

After a pause, he added, "Besides, you're the one who embarrassed yourself. You're the one who brought shame on the Uchiha, aren't you?"

Obito's angry expression froze, and he clenched both fists.

Sen Chisato hadn't smeared him. On the contrary, he'd hit the nail on the head!

The truth always hurt.

That was exactly why Obito felt so angry and humiliated.

With his anger stripped of its purpose, the fire that had driven him moments ago faded away. Obito slowly lowered his head.

After a long while, he said, "I'll get stronger!"

His voice was soft, but his tone was unusually firm.

Nohara Rin had also realized something. She'd been worried that Obito was too stubborn, but when she heard him say that, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Obito had lowered his head and admitted he was wrong. It was over... she thought.

Namikaze Minato sighed too, but his was a sigh of disappointment.

Obito hadn't realized what he'd done wrong at all.

He didn't understand the real reason Sen Chisato had singled him out and reprimanded him.

"You think this is about strength?" Sen Chisato furrowed his brows, feeling utterly speechless.

Even for Xian Er, that was a terrible failure of comprehension.

"Isn't it?!" Obito turned his face away and asked with an annoyed expression.

"So how strong do you think you need to be before you won't be scared out of your wits by the enemy?" Sen Chisato asked coldly.

Obito panicked. This was the question he least wanted to face.

"I-I just lack experience! I'm not a coward!" he said, sticking out his neck, though his voice was full of uncertainty.

Whenever someone hit a sore spot, he started stammering and stubbornly refused to back down.

"So you think Rin has plenty of experience? Or do you think she's stronger than you?" Sen Chisato raised an eyebrow, his voice suddenly growing louder.

That made Uchiha Obito jump.

He unconsciously took two steps back. His eyes darted about, his expression flustered, and sweat poured down his face as though he'd been cornered at the edge of a cliff.

At last, he realized what he'd done wrong.

Or rather, he'd known all along. He just hadn't wanted to face it.

Seeing that, Sen Chisato looked impatient. He strode forward, grabbed Obito by the collar, and nearly lifted him off the ground.

"Because you were reckless and arrogant, because you were a coward, you nearly got Rin killed!"

"If she had died, it would have been while saving you, taking a blade for you! Guess how long you'd have to numb yourself before you could heal that wound and forget the pain?"

"Or is that the sort of thing you don't care about? Are teammates just not important to you?"

The relentless questions drained the color from Uchiha Obito's face. He shook his head frantically, trying to deny it all.

Of course teammates mattered. And Rin was the person he treasured most. How could he not care?

At the thought of the scene Sen Chisato had described, he felt cold all over, as though he were suffocating.

He turned to look for the girl and met her worried brown eyes. He wanted to say something, to explain, to apologize, but no words would come.

If he hadn't arrogantly assumed he could handle the Sand Ninja... If he hadn't rushed in recklessly... If he hadn't frozen in fear... If he hadn't wanted to show off, Rin wouldn't have been in danger.

Rin hadn't died. She hadn't even been injured. But this shouldn't have happened in the first place.

In that moment, he was consumed by guilt, his face full of remorse and shame.

Seeing that, Sen Chisato threw him to the ground and snorted. "Recklessness isn't the same as courage. Someone like Rin, who was willing to put herself in an enemy's path to save her teammate—that's courage."

"And I haven't seen any of that in you, not yet. You don't even have the courage to admit you were wrong."

After scolding Uchiha Obito with a cold expression, Sen Chisato felt refreshed.

But it wasn't over yet.

He'd finished with Uchiha Obito. Now it was someone else's turn.

Sen Chisato turned around and fixed his gaze on Kakashi.

At that moment, even Kakashi, who looked calm and believed he'd done nothing wrong, felt a wave of panic.