The Path to Salvation Lies Within

Spring gave way to autumn, and under Minato's guidance, Obito completed several B-rank missions in succession.

At the end of the year, Minato submitted Obito's request to take the Chunin Ninja Exams to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Obito readily agreed as well.

Soon afterward, Obito entered the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Obito was also the only special case among the examinees. He had no team and was alone.

In the end, he passed smoothly. Everyone else was just background fodder, and Obito bulldozed his way through them all.

That year, Obito was not yet six years old!

He had graduated from the Ninja Academy at five, less than three months earlier!

And became a Chunin!

He once again shocked Konoha's upper ranks!

He set a new record for the youngest graduation age and the youngest age to become a Chunin!

Obito's success also drew the attention of the entire Uchiha Clan!

The clan was divided over him. Some believed he should be nurtured intensively, while others believed there was no need to invest in him.

There were two reasons for this disagreement.

The first was that Obito Uchiha had not awakened the Sharingan.

That was a major drawback!

An Uchiha without the Sharingan would be regarded as the shame of the Uchiha Clan.

Obito was universally acknowledged as a genius, yet he had not awakened the Sharingan.

That left the clan undecided about Obito Uchiha.

What was more, Obito's teacher was Minato, and Minato's teacher was Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's teacher was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Following that line of succession, Obito could more or less be considered part of the Hokage's faction.

That made some of the clan's hawkish elders view Obito unfavorably.

Compared to Obito Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha was currently the Uchiha Clan's preferred choice!

Obito had no interest in the Uchiha Clan's attitude. They could do whatever they wanted.

He had no intention of getting involved in the mess between the village and the Uchiha Clan.

Those who got involved in that mess never came to a good end, like Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha.

Besides, Minato Namikaze was his teacher. With that connection, he was not afraid of being targeted.

Moreover, Konoha's upper ranks clearly intended to groom him into the next Kagami Uchiha.

That much was obvious from their arrangement for Minato Namikaze to be his teacher.

If they had not wanted to cultivate him, they could have simply assigned any Jonin to guide him.

Why would they bring in Minato Namikaze, the previous generation's genius, to teach him?

Was that not proof that the Hokage's faction wanted to nurture him?

Obito rubbed his eyes. It was a rare day off, and he happened to want to buy something tasty.

Recently, Jiraiya's new work, Make-Out Paradise, had been selling like crazy throughout the Land of Fire!

Jiraiya had made a fortune from it!

The book's content had originally been rather explicit and faced resistance from many people, but many ninja loved reading it. Combined with Jiraiya's status as the Hokage's disciple and one of the Legendary Three Ninja—

Make-Out Paradise was successfully published and became a tremendous hit!

One should never forget the person who dug the well. Jiraiya was also quite generous and gave Obito an amount equal to half an Asuma.

It was repayment for Obito pointing him in the right direction that day.

Obito gladly accepted it!

Obito changed into casual clothes and walked down the street.

If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is about to happen.

Just as Obito was considering what to buy, Rin happened to approach from the opposite direction!

Rin had not yet graduated from the Ninja Academy.

According to the plot, Rin should graduate at eight or nine years old, so there were still three or four years left.

"Hi, Rin."

Obito Uchiha casually raised a hand in greeting.

Rin looked at Obito, who had already become a Chunin, and whose temperament was now completely different from before.

The complicated emotions in Rin's eyes were impossible to hide.

"Hello, Obito. You've already become a Chunin. The school is full of stories about you. Congratulations!"

Rin smiled as she spoke to Obito.

Obito nodded. "Thanks. I hope you graduate soon."

"Obito..."

Rin hesitated. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

Obito looked at Rin.

The two stood speechless, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. In the end, Obito broke the silence first.

"Then I'll go buy some things first. See you."

With that, Obito walked straight past her.

Watching Obito gradually walk away, Rin could not shake the feeling that an invisible barrier had appeared between them.

Rin sighed. "Forget it. Just as Teacher Umino said, everyone has their own path. I only hope Obito can find the path that belongs to him!"

They had only been classmates and friends for a few years. Their relationship was not as deep as it had been in the original story.

After parting with Rin, Obito thought he probably would not run into anyone else he knew.

But the very next second, he spotted Kakashi buying a scarf at a corner.

And by sheer coincidence, their gazes met.

"Obito Uchiha?"

Kakashi frowned slightly.

Obito Uchiha glanced at Kakashi.

"Yo, the number one genius of our Ninja Academy, Kakashi!"

Obito greeted him with a smile.

Kakashi lowered his gaze. "No. You are the number one genius of the Ninja Academy, not me."

Given Obito's recent performance and how quickly he had become a Chunin, Kakashi was completely convinced.

He had already admitted that Obito had surpassed him.

Obito raised an eyebrow slightly. Although Kakashi had often mocked him when they were children in the original story, his character was actually quite good.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm not the number one genius of the Ninja Academy!"

"I've already graduated. You're the number one genius of the Ninja Academy!"

Obito looked at Kakashi with an inexplicable smile.

Kakashi's expression stiffened. Fine, fine, fine!

Obito Uchiha was taking shots at him again!

He was mocking him for not having graduated yet, was he?

Just as Obito was about to leave, Kakashi suddenly grabbed Obito Uchiha.

Obito Uchiha looked mildly puzzled. "Kakashi, what is it?"

Kakashi's expression struggled for a moment before he finally spoke. "Tell me..."

"Tell me, why did you suddenly become so strong!"

Kakashi stared steadfastly at Obito Uchiha.

Obito Uchiha was slightly surprised. He had not expected Kakashi to ask him that.

Obito merely shook his head. "Kakashi, you should know there are no shortcuts when it comes to talent."

Kakashi felt a sharp pain in his heart upon hearing that!

In other words, their talents were different, and nothing he did would change that.

As a genius himself, Kakashi naturally knew how important talent was.

Many ordinary children had asked him before how they could become as strong as he was.

Kakashi did not know how to answer them.

Although he trained diligently, his cultivation had only been normal.

If you had talent, even casual training could send you soaring.

If your talent was lacking, no amount of effort would help.

If hard work alone worked, what would geniuses be for?

"All right. Thank you."

Kakashi Hatake could only slowly walk away.

Watching the solitary Kakashi, Obito felt that he should add a little fun to Kakashi's life.

"Kakashi!"

Obito Uchiha suddenly called out to him.

Kakashi turned around.

"Although I do not have any way to help you become stronger quickly, I can recommend a way to ease your mood~"

Obito casually bought a copy of Jiraiya's newly released Make-Out Paradise from a nearby shelf and handed it to Kakashi.

"The path to salvation lies within~"

Obito said with a smile.

Kakashi gave Make-Out Paradise a strange look, unable to make sense of it, but he did not reject Obito's kindness.

He looked at Obito and gave him a grateful gaze.

"Thank you, Obito."

Kakashi casually tucked Make-Out Paradise into his chest.