Damn It! This Is Ninjutsu!

After being led around by Hideki, Kakashi finally behaved himself.

When the two rushed out of the classroom after school, they passed Kakashi without even greeting him.

The two headed straight for Training Ground Three after leaving the academy.

Obito had spent the entire afternoon trying to persuade Hideki not to go. If it came down to it, they could ask Minato for help, but Hideki still refused.

His reason was simple: if you did something wrong, you had to pay the price.

Obito could not talk him out of it and could only follow along.

The two quickly arrived at the spot where they had blown up the tree that morning. The half-broken tree had not even been moved.

This only made Hideki more certain.

The old man had come for him.

"Damn it, Hideki... I think we got scammed!"

Even Obito had noticed something was off. If the old man really cared that much about the tree, would he just leave its remains lying there?

"You came pretty early. At least you little brats know what's good for you."

At that moment, the old man appeared in the distance, staggering along drunkenly.

They could smell the pungent stench of alcohol on him from far away. He had clearly drunk quite a lot.

Hideki narrowed his eyes. He noticed that the old man had changed clothes. The style was similar, and they still looked worn-out, giving him a slovenly appearance.

Yet they also had a distinctly old-fashioned feel, vastly different from the clothes people wore nowadays.

"What do you need us to do?"

Although the old man had shown a strong dislike for the Uchiha, Hideki had still brought Obito along.

For one thing, he wanted Obito to improve alongside him.

For another, if he had guessed wrong, Obito could at least help with the work.

This guy did not have much chakra, but his stamina was absurdly good. It felt as though he was pumped full of energy every day.

The old man gulped down his liquor, pointing at the half of the tree on the ground with one hand as he drank.

"Start with this tree. It doesn't look right lying here. Get it out of here before sunset—the farther away, the better."

"Hmm... If you don't know where to take it, send it to the Konoha Police Force. Whatever. Just don't let me see it. That's your task for today."

Hideki froze for a moment.

He wanted them to deal with the tree?

Good grief, this was a solid tree trunk more than half the thickness of an adult. Even combined, he and Obito did not weigh a tenth as much as it did!

"Damn it! You're obviously screwing with us!" Obito panicked. How could they possibly carry this tree to the Konoha Police Force before sunset?

Besides, why the Konoha Police Force?

Not only was it ridiculously far from here, but if the clan members asked...

"Say no more, Obito."

Hideki stopped Obito and squinted at the old man before him.

"Do you have any other requirements, Grandpa? We can move it anywhere?"

Now it was the old man's turn to freeze. He stopped drinking and stared straight at the little boy, trying to see what was hidden in those eyes.

But he soon waved his hand dismissively again. "Just get this eyesore of a tree out of here. No other requirements. Hurry up!"

"If I can still see this tree here before sunset, neither of you need to go home. Stay here and become trees!"

Heh!

Hideki sneered inwardly. That morning, the old man had cried his eyes out, acting as though they had shared some deep youthful love. Less than half a day later, it was suddenly an eyesore?

This old man was definitely up to something!

"If that's all, then this will be easy! Obito!" Hideki suddenly surged with fighting spirit.

"What is it?" Obito was swept up in the excitement too.

"Use your Great Fireball and help me blow this tree apart first!"

Didn't he just want it moved?

Didn't he just not want to see it?

Sending it to the Konoha Police Force counted as sending it away. Sending it to heaven counted too!

They immediately got to work. Hideki had Yang Release: Small Water Ball in his left hand and Lightning Release: Small Battery in his right, both already prepared!

Before the old man could react, the three types of chakra had begun to merge. Bubbles gurgled up from the small water ball as Hydrogen Release was about to take shape!

By now, the first stage of Hideki's Hydrogen Release had become quite refined.

Hydrogen was being produced rapidly, with high efficiency and a speed several times faster than before.

Hideki's next step was to streamline this process again, making the reaction start directly from chakra and truly evolving from a "combined ninjutsu" into an artificial Bloodline Elimination similar to Dust Release.

Only then could his Hydrogen Release truly count as a "Release." Lightning Release, Yang Release, and Water Release would react; Wind Release would control it; Fire Release would ignite it—all in one smooth sequence.

The most important part was the ignition step.

The incident of borrowing fire last time had left a deep impression on Hideki. He did not want to repeat that mistake!

"Ready, Obito?"

"Bring it on, Hideki!"

This time, Hideki completed the preparations in less than ten seconds, while Obito had already formed his hand seals steadily.

It was as if the two had returned to the riverside from a month ago.

But Hideki had grown to the point where he could mold Hydrogen Release with his bare hands, and Obito no longer needed to steal his grandmother's kerosene. He had finally mastered the Great Fireball too!

Hideki fiercely shoved the Hydrogen Release balloon in his hand toward the half-broken tree, then roared, "Now! Remember, run as soon as you fire!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

From a distance, Obito spat out a scorching fireball, and the temperature in the air suddenly soared.

The next moment.

BOOM!!!!!

Explosions and flames burst everywhere, and the entire training ground seemed to tremble.

Several ninja training nearby turned toward them in shock, thinking that dozens of Explosive Tags had gone off there.

The old man still had his flask pressed to his mouth, his eyes wide enough to bulge. He did not even notice that the liquor was nearly spilling out.

"That was..."

A trace of reminiscence appeared in the old man's eyes. As he watched that small figure, his gaze gradually softened.

He put away his flask, casually wiped the corner of his mouth, then smiled and shook his head.

"Who knows who he takes after."

Phew...

Hideki and Obito both let out a breath.

Looking at the Love Tree before them, now reduced to a pile of blackened scraps by their attack, they exchanged smiles.

"Hideki, I think we should give this technique a name," Obito suggested.

"It's still too early, Obito." Hideki waved his hand coolly. "I've actually already thought of a name, but with its current power, it doesn't deserve it..."

Only when he could one day use Sea Release, master the Yang Release to match it, and gain the Lightning Release needed for electrolysis would he have the nerve to shout that name aloud.

Hydrogen Release: World Nuclear Peace!

But that was a matter for later.

Right now, Hideki only wanted to see the strange old man's expression.

However, when he turned around, the strange old man had already vanished.

Hideki looked around in every direction, but he could not spot the old man anywhere.

Instead, several ninja who had been training nearby were glaring angrily in their direction.

"Whose children are you!?"

"Don't play around with Explosive Tags, you little brats! They're dangerous!"

Naturally, those were not Explosive Tags at all, but a powerful combined ninjutsu.

But when people saw that the "casters" were merely two snot-nosed little brats, they instinctively assumed they had used Explosive Tags.

"Damn it!" Obito argued indignantly. "That was ninjutsu! Ninjutsu, damn it!"

"You idiots, if you can't understand it, then shut up!"

Meanwhile, Hideki stared blankly in one direction. He had not found the old man, but he had found someone else.

Hmm, that guy had hidden himself well, but the explosion had obviously startled him and exposed his white hair.

Wasn't that Kakashi, whose head had been smashed in that morning?

Why had this guy followed them here?

Could it be that he was still upset and wanted to get even?

Looking at Kakashi crouching in the bushes and refusing to show his head again, an evil gleam suddenly flashed through Hideki's eyes.

"Obito, how has your shuriken practice been lately?"

"Huh?" Obito, who was still shouting at the others, froze. "I can hit three out of ten, sometimes four. Why?"

"Then get some good practice in."

Hideki pointed at the bushes where Kakashi was hiding and bent down to scoop up a pile of small stones.

"Throw them at him!"