Dare to Hit Obito? Don't You Know He's Under My Protection?

The next morning.

Hideki's biological clock woke him up. As usual, he got out of bed, made breakfast, and washed up before the food was ready.

After eating, there was still over an hour before class, so Hideki spent some time extracting chakra.

As a hardworking, studious young man, Hideki's mornings were busy and fulfilling.

Once he had everything ready, Hideki slung his little backpack over his shoulder and set off.

Today was Friday, and they only had classes in the morning, so there was no need to skip school.

Still, the three of them had agreed that whoever went down first would be responsible for the Clone Technique and Transformation Technique.

That made Obito go all out against Kakashi, and it made Kakashi feel even more targeted.

Hideki walked unhurriedly to school and entered the classroom, only to find that Kakashi and Obito had already arrived.

As always, Kakashi was reading extracurricular books—books that would become a certain sage's bestsellers once he grew up.

Obito, meanwhile, was sitting at his desk in a daze.

"Morning, Kakashi." Hideki greeted him.

"Morning." Kakashi responded. Since he was now part of the getting-stronger group, he did not need to keep acting so aloof.

"Morning, Obito."

The distracted Obito did not respond and continued staring out the window.

"Obito?"

Obito still did not answer. Hideki and Kakashi exchanged a glance, both sensing that something was off.

His expression was blank, but his eyes carried a trace of gravity, as if something major had happened.

Hideki recognized that look. The last time Obito had looked like this was the day before they had arranged a fight with the Uchiha Clan.

"Obito." Hideki walked over to his seat and poked him. Only then did Obito come back to himself. He glanced at Hideki. "Morning, Hideki."

"...Morning." Hideki hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to press him.

That was just Obito's personality. Normally, he could not keep a secret to save his life and wanted all of Konoha to know, but if he did not want to talk, not even Ichiraku Ramen could coax it out of him.

Ring, ring, ring—

The bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom carrying that somewhat aged textbook.

The students opened their brand-new textbooks. As they attended class, they also fought a hard battle against drowsiness.

At last, the dull lesson ended. But the moment the teacher announced school was over, the students who had just been half-asleep transformed into Shinobi World elites and swarmed out of the classroom.

It was livelier than practical combat class, even several times more lively than their usual dismissal.

But Obito remained in his seat. He was not excited by the dismissal bell, nor stirred by his classmates' cheers. It was as though he had seen through everything and become an Uchiha sage.

"Come on, Obito. Let's go eat. We've still got work this afternoon." Suppressing his doubts, Hideki asked.

"I won't be going, Hideki. Grandma told me to get home early for a big cleaning."

Obito seemed to have prepared that answer long ago. He scratched his head and gave Hideki an apologetic smile.

That made Hideki feel that something was even more wrong. If Obito were only spacing out, it would have been understandable—maybe yesterday's sparring had worn him out.

But now Obito was even bringing up his grandmother. That meant the situation was rather serious.

Still, Hideki suppressed his curiosity and concern, then smiled. "All right, then. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Only then did Obito put on his little backpack and leave the classroom alone.

"What happened to him?"

After Obito left, Kakashi came over to Hideki. The two watched Obito's running figure through the window, and Kakashi looked equally puzzled.

"This isn't like him..."

"Forget it. Once he figures things out, he'll tell us himself. It probably isn't anything major."

Hideki raised a brow.

It was not like they were fighting a decisive battle at Kannabi Bridge. It could not be that bad.

Obito jogged all the way.

When he reached a street corner, he cautiously looked around. Still not feeling reassured, he sneakily circled around a few more times.

"They shouldn't have followed me..." Obito let out a breath. His eyes were full of worry, but it quickly turned into determination.

At last, Obito returned to the Uchiha Compound. But instead of going home, he headed directly toward one of the Uchiha training grounds.

Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the Second Hokage and Shimura Danzo across two generations.

The Uchiha finally had a compound that absolutely belonged to them, where no one would disturb them.

The compound had everything: snack streets, taverns, gambling dens, training grounds, even a Song-and-Dance District. It was practically a miniature Konoha.

Its only drawback was that it was rather remote, a full half of Konoha away from the city's core. But at least it was quiet.

Obito arrived at the training ground. It was nowhere near as lively as Konoha's training grounds. There was only one person inside, waiting for him.

The man looked to be nearly an adult. He wore Uchiha clan attire, carried a sword at his waist, stood three heads taller than Obito, and had long black hair. He was rather handsome, except his eyes were somewhat cold.

"Senior Retsu..." Obito nervously approached the young man and lowered his head. "Sorry, I couldn't bring Hideki here."

The young man standing before Obito was Uchiha Retsu, the older brother of Uchiha Beiying's cousin.

Within the Uchiha, conflicts between clan members did not matter much, especially when children were involved.

But if an outsider interfered, even if they only mocked them, they would be regarded as an enemy by the Uchiha!

In that respect, they were quite similar to Konoha's other great clan—the Hyuga Clan. Both sought to establish their clan's prestige and protect their Bloodline Limit from being coveted by outsiders.

But the two clans differed fundamentally in their motivations.

The Hyuga Clan used the Caged Bird Seal to ensure the Byakugan would not be lost. Even if an accident occurred, the Caged Bird Seal would destroy the Byakugan.

The Uchiha's method was much more hardcore.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!

Any enemy who provoked the Uchiha's honor would face the Uchiha Clan's relentless pursuit, regardless of the cost!

That was how the Uchiha viewed Hideki and Obito's actions.

Of course, Obito was an Uchiha clansman, so he would not be made to suffer too much—at least, not openly.

But Hideki was an outsider who had beaten Uchiha clansmen so badly that they were hospitalized. The Uchiha could not possibly let that grievance go.

Otherwise, they would not be the Uchiha.

"I gave you a chance, Obito," Uchiha Retsu said coldly.

"Ruohuo and Beiying lost because they were inferior, but the Uchiha Clan's honor cannot be violated. I only intended to give that brat a small warning, yet what you did today has disappointed me greatly."

"Since that's the case, I'll find him myself."

Uchiha Retsu strode straight out of the training ground. Before leaving, he cast Obito a cold glance filled with disgust.

"At this hour, he should still be on his way home..."

"Did you really think I had to go through you to find him?"

"Regret it... What I hate most is deception. Originally, he merely needed to wait for Ruohuo to wake up and take his revenge personally. But now, what he will face is my anger."

Obito's expression changed at those words, and he hurriedly turned around. "Senior!"

But Obito received no response. Uchiha Retsu kept walking, completely ignoring him.

Obito gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his breathing gradually becoming heavy.

"If you've got the guts, come at me!"

"Why didn't any of you show up when they were beating me up? Bastard!"

Obito shouted hysterically, venting the grievances he had endured over the years. Waving his fists, he charged straight at Uchiha Retsu!

"Courting death!" Uchiha Retsu's gaze immediately turned cold. He spun around and faced the charging brat. Without even drawing his sword, he kicked out.

The kick was powerful and heavy, even infused with chakra. Combined with Obito's own momentum, if it connected, Obito would probably be half-dead on the spot.

Yet Uchiha Retsu had no intention of holding back.

Some people were born Uchiha, raised Uchiha, wore Uchiha clothes, and bore the Uchiha clan crest.

But in this clan where strength reigned supreme, to certain people, they were merely ordinary people with the Uchiha surname.

They were unworthy of the Uchiha's noble bloodline and honor!

And besides, Obito had taken the initiative to attack Uchiha Retsu. Even if Uchiha Retsu beat Obito into the same state as Uchiha Ruohuo, it would not matter!

Just as Obito was about to meet his end at the hands of the Uchiha.

A voice suddenly exploded through the air!

"Get him!"

Uchiha Retsu froze.

The next instant, a figure flashed between him and Obito, just before the two were about to collide.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Obito was crafty. He knew Uchiha Retsu was a Chunin and definitely not someone he and Hideki could handle.

Since he was an Uchiha clansman himself, they probably would not make things too difficult for him. So he chose to shoulder everything alone.

Obito was also fierce. Although he knew Uchiha Retsu was a Chunin, the moment he heard that Retsu was going to cause trouble for Hideki, his first thought was to risk everything!

But while Obito was crafty and fierce, he was not stupid. Challenging Uchiha Retsu was one thing; running into a wall was another—especially when that wall had Kakashi's stupid face on it.

Bang!

Obito hurriedly crossed his arms in front of himself, but he still slammed into it solidly. His head buzzed for a moment.

Meanwhile, Hideki, slowly forming two Rasengan with his left and right hands, had already charged toward Uchiha Retsu!

"You dare hit Obito!?"

"Don't you know he's under my protection, bastard!?"