Masaichi: "Teacher, You'll Definitely Regret This."

Obito lifted his shirt and pointed at a scar on his chest. "See this? I got it fighting enemies on the battlefield."

That was not enough for him—he even tried to lift Kakashi's shirt. This was why AI could never replace humans. Kakashi had guarded against Obito ripping off his mask, but never in his life had he guarded against Obito lifting his shirt.

Kakashi's body was spotless, without a single scar.

Like Obito, he had fairly defined muscles.

"Your turn." Obito shook his head with a laugh. In the end, it seemed he was the only one with battle honors on his body. He stepped forward and lifted Masaichi's shirt. The moment he did, holy crap.

He fell silent.

"Ah, Obito, what are you doing?" Rin also fell silent, then hurriedly covered her face. Beneath her hands, her little face was bright red.

Eight symmetrical abdominal muscles rose and fell faintly with Masaichi's breathing.

The lines of his lats were smooth, firm, and powerful.

He did not have an exaggeratedly bulky build, yet every inch of him radiated the strength of long-term training. Masaichi had not trained oversized muscles, since those would only reduce his agility. Instead, he had worked hard toward an efficient physique.

The two pale, skinny chickens exchanged a look and silently pulled their shirts back down.

Damn it, why was Obito the one singing and dancing while he was the one being humiliated? Kakashi curled his toes into the ground in embarrassment.

"Why bother? Why bother?" Masaichi taunted Obito smugly.

He was, after all, a small all-around warrior.

He could fight, handle diplomacy, and deal with government affairs...

As a child, he might not have been the strongest in any single area, but he was the balanced type with no weaknesses across the board.

Pre-darkness Obito was not comparable to him in the slightest.

Obito was practically going crazy. He had improved so much since graduating from the Ninja Academy, so why was he still inferior to Masaichi?

"Little Obito, you should eat more meat. You've gotten thinner."

At the dinner table, Masaichi placed some food into Obito's bowl. He wanted to repair their relationship as well.

Few people knew that Masaichi had once lived with Obito when they were children. He was an orphan, and sometimes he had no money for food. His house even leaked when it rained. Obito had taken him into his home for several months and helped him through his hardest days.

So no matter what Obito did, Masaichi could forgive him.

In any case, he would not allow anyone to mock Obito.

Why?! Why had the two brothers fallen for the same girl back in school?

"I don't want to talk to you."

Hatred lasted longer than love... Obito would never forget how Masaichi had stabbed him with those words.

After dinner, Masaichi went to help Orochimaru early.

"Little Rin, don't let Masaichi's serious appearance fool you. Let me tell you, he was so embarrassing when he was little..." Obito and Masaichi each knew plenty of the other's embarrassing history, and Obito had told Rin quite a bit about it.

But whenever Obito told Rin those stories, she found them funny and thought young Masaichi had been adorable.

Today, she did not laugh.

Her mind was filled with the sexual appeal Masaichi had exuded as a man.

Kakashi's half-hidden face beneath his mask and that air of mystery were masculine sex appeal.

And Masaichi's eight-pack was even more so.

Masaichi's body seemed impossible to erase from her mind. She could not even hear clearly what Obito was saying.

"Rin, do you have a fever? Why is your face so red?"

"Huh?" Rin shook her head. How could that be? She was not some shallow woman who only cared about appearances. Otherwise, she would have agreed when Masaichi confessed to her at the Ninja Academy.

Half a month passed.

Recently, Orochimaru had not conducted any experiments or research. Instead, Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken him along to process documents.

The two senior advisers, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, were also pleased with Orochimaru's efficiency. They often hinted in public that they favored Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage.

At first, Masaichi's words had had some effect, and Orochimaru had felt somewhat uneasy.

But after receiving signals from the two advisers, Orochimaru immediately put his worries to rest.

Within the Hokage Office Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi had specially approved an office for Orochimaru. Orochimaru had leaped from commander on the Hidden Cloud Village front line to a top-five-ranking official in the village.

"Well, Masaichi-kun? You could say I've risen high."

That day, Orochimaru called Masaichi into his office, with a hint of both showing off and reassurance in his tone.

He also hoped Masaichi would put his worries to rest.

What kind of student spent every day being so suspicious?

Look at Anko. How calm she remained in the face of favor and disgrace.

"Teacher..." Masaichi felt that Orochimaru at that moment was like a child placated by Hiruzen Sarutobi with two pieces of candy.

"Teacher, I want to tell you a story."

Orochimaru frowned. He had guessed roughly what Masaichi was about to say. He wanted Masaichi to shut up, but Masaichi had already begun.

"Once upon a time, in a distant land, there was an elderly daimyo. Early on, he named his eight-year-old eldest son as crown prince and forbade his other sons from coveting the position."

"The elderly daimyo valued this eldest son greatly. He found him the best teachers, gave him the best resources, and placed the highest expectations on him."

"..."

"Later, the daimyo's youngest son gradually grew into the image he loved most. The daimyo always felt that, having given the crown prince position to his eldest son, he owed something to his youngest. He let the youngest son live in the finest palace and granted him the most fertile lands..."

"He did not know that what he thought was compensation for his youngest son was actually favoritism. His so-called guilt was merely an excuse to indulge him."

At the end of the story, the eldest son went mad. He could not accept that his father had given the best things in the world to his "younger brother" in the name of guilt.

"You're saying that old daimyo is my teacher, and the eldest son is me?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

"Yes." Masaichi met Orochimaru's gaze with unwavering eyes.

After a moment.

"You're trying to drive a wedge between my teacher and me?" Orochimaru suppressed his anger, his expression uncertain. If anyone else had been chirping in his ear every day about how terrible his teacher was, he would have thrown them to the snakes long ago.

But the one saying this was his most gifted disciple.

"I'm not driving a wedge between you. I'm telling the truth."

If he had not viewed things from a god's-eye perspective, Masaichi might have believed Orochimaru was the ultimate winner as well.

Everything he said was to save his teacher and save himself.

Nothing his teacher did could withstand close scrutiny. Only if he became Hokage would people rationalize his actions.

Otherwise, his teacher's human experiments were evil.

Masaichi was that kind of person. When he was serious, he was extremely serious. When he was not, he was extremely unserious.

People only liked hearing what they wanted to hear. Orochimaru was the same.

"Enough. That is not the truth, Masaichi. You are the student I value most, and I don't want to say anything harsh to you. Go home and calm down."

"Teacher, you'll definitely regret this." Masaichi gave Orochimaru a deep look.

"I'm your teacher! I should be the one teaching you!" Orochimaru pointed toward the door.

Bang!