Finally Becoming Like Obito

9 p.m.

Ying Shu, too afraid to go home, wandered the streets as the cold wind howled.

All right... that was an exaggeration. He had not exactly been reduced to wandering the streets, and besides, it was summer.

Ying Shu was mainly hungry. He had burned through too much chakra just now—great strength brought miracles. He had poured in quite a bit of chakra and actually managed to use Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.

Besides, it was not that Ying Shu was afraid to go home.

Root looked lawless and arrogant, but today, their intent to "capture" him had definitely been less than their intent to "demonstrate" something.

Root was different from ANBU, but both valued efficiency.

It would have been more efficient to capture him and take him directly back to Root before showing off Root's power.

So Ying Shu reached a conclusion: Danzo had taken a liking to him—the drooling kind—but did not dare snatch someone so openly.

Of course, if he had lost today or failed to escape, that might have been a different story.

Danzo: The old man reserves the final right of interpretation.

Ichiraku Ramen.

"Boss, one regular... make that one Supreme Set."

Used to being poor, Ying Shu suddenly remembered the massive fortune of 3,955 ryo in his pocket. So, imitating Kushina, he splurged for once.

How many days had it even been since the month began? His living expenses seemed capable of reproducing. If he did not indulge a little, he would be letting himself down.

"Coming right up, little customer. Please wait a moment." The young Ichiraku owner was incredibly enthusiastic.

Come to think of it, Ichiraku was in his early twenties this year. He ought to get married soon. Ying Shu was considering whether to give a wedding gift; maybe he could score a lifetime twenty-percent-off coupon and make a small profit.

While waiting for his noodles, Ying Shu, determined to make the most of every second, blanked out.

But before the noodles arrived, two new customers entered the shop.

"Yo! What would you two little customers like? Whoa! Young Master Asuma is here too! Sit down, sit down!... What would you like, Young Master Asuma?"

"Two bowls of Supreme Ramen!"

Ichiraku became even more enthusiastic, so much so that Ying Shu could clearly feel the difference in treatment between an ordinary member and a Supreme VIP.

It could only be said that the young Ichiraku had yet to find his footing. Life had bent his back in the end, huh?

Ying Shu stopped spacing out and turned around, only to see a little girl trying hard to hop onto a chair, along with a spirited young man with a toothpick in his mouth.

"One small bowl is enough, Boss... Asuma, stop doing this. I have money! And stop following me. If this gets seen by... Ying Shu?! Why are you here? What a coincidence."

The little girl was Kurenai Yuhi. Upon suddenly noticing Ying Shu, she looked somewhat surprised. Her bright red eyes blinked adorably.

"Hello, Kurenai, I—" Ying Shu was about to offer a polite greeting.

"What are you doing here?"

Ying Shu was interrupted, and the other party did not seem particularly friendly.

That left Ying Shu rather confused. From his god's-eye perspective, Asuma seemed to have only begun pursuing her after becoming an adult, though the ending had not been great.

But now, it seemed... Asuma had been planning far ahead?

Still, it had nothing to do with him. Even though he knew Kurenai would grow into a stunning beauty someday, he truly had no interest in little girls right now.

No other reason—his upbringing would not allow it.

But while he had no interest in the little girl, his interest in this spirited young man, Asuma, was enormous...

"I had a mission today. It just ended, and I haven't eaten yet." Ying Shu answered with a smile, then pretended to lower his head. "Careful, Kurenai, there's a mosquito."

Pretending to swat a mosquito was minor. Lowering his head to use the smooth forehead protector and light refraction to precisely blind the dog eyes of Asuma was the real goal.

Ying Shu had, in the end, become like Obito.

Asuma: (＞﹏＜)!! Such dazzling light!

Kurenai: (✪▽✪)! Ying Shu is so considerate!

"Three bowls of Supreme Ramen~ Little miss, eat without worry. There happen to be just enough ingredients for three bowls tonight, and it would be a shame to waste them. I'll only charge everyone the price of a small bowl!"

"Careful, it's hot... enjoy!"

Under Ying Shu's watchful gaze, Ichiraku displayed unparalleled emotional intelligence.

First, he preserved Asuma's dignity through the price. Then, even the way he served the ramen was deeply calculated.

Three bowls of noodles on one tray: the little girl's bowl first, then Ying Shu's and Asuma's on the left and right, with neither given precedence over the other.

Viewing things with an adult's eyes, Ying Shu secretly gave Ichiraku a thumbs-up in his heart. As expected of you, Comrade Otsutsuki Ichiraku.

They said it was impossible to distribute a bowl of water evenly, but Ichiraku had forcefully balanced three bowls of ramen. His ability was terrifying.

"I'm digging in!" Ying Shu decided to finish quickly and go home to sleep. He would not hold anything against Asuma tonight.

But the spirited young man Asuma clearly did not appreciate it. He glanced at Ying Shu, then at Kurenai, and immediately put on the bearing of Konoha's greatest second-generation official.

"Eating without washing your hands after swatting a mosquito, hmph. How unhygienic! Kurenai, you should stay far away from him!"

Ying Shu, currently slurping noodles: ??????

I just unleashed a mighty Water Dragon Bullet, took on nine enemies alone, and went godlike. Are you sure you want to provoke me?

Believe it or not, I'll round it off!

Ying Shu was about to lower his head again to swat another mosquito when the little girl became unhappy instead.

"How can you say that? Ying Shu was helping me chase away a mosquito. You... you've gone too far!"

Ying Shu: Slurp~

Today's ramen was truly delicious~~~

Asuma, stunned for a long time: ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3

Ying Shu was still happily slurping noodles.

Meanwhile, at the Root base.

Only flickering candlelight illuminated the gloomy room. Danzo's shadow swayed constantly, making the place somewhat eerie.

"My lord... we failed." The disheveled Root ninja knelt on one knee, with only two young Root members behind him.

"The reason." Danzo, accustomed to reading scrolls in the shadows, narrowed his eyes slightly, but never once looked directly at his subordinate.

"He mastered a B-rank ninjutsu, Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet... I underestimated him."

Much of the process had been omitted, but considering the target's age and past records, that single phrase, "underestimated him," explained quite a lot.

"A B-rank ninjutsu... How long did it take him?" Danzo asked without looking up.

"Thirty hours, and his actual training time did not exceed five hours." The Root ninja answered swiftly and precisely. He had clearly done his homework.

"Five hours?" Danzo finally set down the scroll and looked directly at his subordinate, taking in his disheveled state at last.

It was obvious that Danzo was somewhat surprised.

As the disciple of the First Sea Release ninja, he knew better than anyone how difficult that technique was.

Although his teacher had streamlined it down to activation with four hand seals, aside from his teacher, most people took a long time even to master those complex seals when first learning it.

Yet Danzo was not shocked for long. Only the weak were ruled by emotion; the strong used their time to devise countermeasures.

"Prepare three Water Release ninjutsu scrolls commonly used by the Second Hokage. At the same time, activate the shrine maiden and approach the target."

"Tell her... as long as she can make the target willingly join Root, then this old man... will grant her request to retire."