Today, the Ninja Academy Was Destined to Erupt Over Obito's Name!

Early the next morning, dawn had only just begun to break.

A thin mist still drifted through the streets of the Uchiha compound, and the air carried a faint chill.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pounding on the door was comparable to a demolition crew at work, making even the old wooden walls shake.

The commotion forcibly yanked Ye out of a deep sleep.

"Ye! Open up! Something huge happened!"

Obito howled outside in his broken-gong voice.

Visible irritation filled Ye's face, and his temples throbbed.

He flung off the thin blanket, stalked to the courtyard gate with a dark expression, and yanked open the wooden door.

Outside, Obito stood there with two dark circles beneath his eyes and his clothes crookedly thrown on.

Yet his entire body radiated an uncontrollable, wildly excited grin.

He bared his teeth, pushed his goggles onto his forehead, and tried to make his eyes look profound, though he could not hide a thing.

The moment he saw Ye, Obito immediately leaned closer and lowered his voice, acting all mysterious.

"I've got earth-shattering news for you! You'll never guess what happened to me!"

Ye leaned against the doorframe with both hands in his pockets, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

The words "I'm the greatest in the world" might as well have been written across this guy's face. He practically wanted to carve "Beg me to show off" onto his forehead.

Anyone could guess that after Ye had knocked him out with one chop last night, he had woken up and discovered he had awakened the Sharingan.

He had been so excited that he had not slept all night, staring into a mirror at his red eyes until dawn, bottling it up all night just so he could come show off.

Ye yawned expressionlessly, too lazy to even fully open his eyes.

He had plenty of experience dealing with show-offs like this.

So Ye casually tossed out a sentence.

"What? Don't tell me you got lucky and awakened the Sharingan?"

Seven words, and the air fell into deathly silence.

Obito had just opened his mouth.

The smug line he had rehearsed over and over in his stomach countless times.

Along with the reaction he had planned for when Ye asked follow-up questions, including how he would pretend to be modest, all became lodged in his throat.

His whole body froze in place, his pupils dilating.

How was that possible?!

How did Ye know?!

He had to be guessing!

The joy and urge to show off filling his mind were thoroughly doused with cold water by Ye.

Obito finally realized that he could not admit it!

If he admitted it now, there would be no shock value at all. The effect of showing off would be greatly reduced!

"Ha... hahaha!"

Obito stiffly tugged at the corners of his mouth, letting out a series of dry, duck-like fake laughs as his hands waved frantically before his chest to cover it up.

"How could that be? How could I have awakened the Sharingan!"

"I just... I just wanted to say the weather's pretty nice today, and I happened to find some money last night! Haha!"

Ding!

[Guard-Break Points from Obito Uchiha, +666!]

Listening to the delightful sound of points arriving in his head, Ye turned around with satisfaction and went inside to grab his coat.

"Come on. If we keep dragging this out, we'll really be late."

Obito stood at the courtyard gate, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.

Since boasting verbally had failed, he would broaden his horizons and show off in actual combat!

No rush. There was still that show-off Kakashi at school, along with the entire class and Rin.

When practical combat class came around today, he would dodge every attack with supreme nonchalance.

Then he would naturally reveal his Sharingan and stun everyone!

He would make them all kneel and sing songs of surrender!

Anticipation rekindled in Obito's eyes.

Today, the Ninja Academy was destined to erupt over the name Obito Uchiha.

Morning light brightened, and Konoha's streets gradually grew livelier.

With both hands in his pockets, Ye strolled along at an unhurried pace.

He had a steaming meat bun in his mouth and carried a cup of soy milk in his left hand.

Obito walked beside him, and the curve of his smile was harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

That smile had far too much going on.

There was the ecstasy of awakening his eyes, anticipation for the class's shock, and rosy fantasies of Rin throwing herself into his arms.

The guy practically walked on air, his steps light and floating.

Ye glanced at him from the corner of his eye. That expression was exactly like a gambling addict who had just won five million but had not yet collected it.

"Ye! Wait!"

Obito suddenly slammed on the brakes, pointing toward the intersection ahead.

An elderly man leaning on a cane stood trembling at the roadside, looking around in all directions.

Ye's temples throbbed.

They had not even gone two hundred meters from the compound!

Before he had finished speaking, Obito had already bolted off like a husky breaking free of its leash.

Five minutes later, he returned with three steaming red bean cakes in his arms.

They continued for another block.

"Ye! That auntie's vegetable basket looks really heavy!"

This time, Obito returned with a large bamboo basket in his hands.

It was stuffed with grilled rice cakes, candied plums, two skewers of freshly grilled saury, and even a crisp, fresh green onion stuck inside.

Ye casually pulled out a skewer of fish and began munching on it without the slightest moral burden.

At the third intersection, then the fourth...

Obito's absurd passive Grandma-Attraction Technique was operating at full capacity.

He helped an auntie find her wallet and climbed a tree for an old lady to retrieve her cat.

A distance of merely three streets was turned into the grand journey to fetch scriptures from the west.

The bamboo basket in his hands was nearly overflowing.

Red bean buns, fried shrimp tempura, freshly fried dough sticks, and even half a box of handmade mochi.

Looking at the basket as if they had gone grocery shopping, Ye casually took a tempura and bit into it.

Crispy and savory. This was an absolute steal.

"Obito, if that errand-running passive of yours could awaken into a Kekkei Genkai, it'd be far more useful than any Sharingan."

Obito was stuffing his third red bean bun into his mouth and nearly choked to death in the middle of the street.

"Cough, cough, cough! What nonsense are you talking about? How could the Sharingan possibly be worse than—"

He abruptly covered his mouth and warily glanced at Ye.

He had almost let it slip.

If he exposed it in advance, how could he leisurely dodge his opponent's fierce attacks during practical combat class?

How could he suddenly reveal his One-Tomoe Sharingan amid the entire class's disbelieving stares?

How could Kakashi's mask drop in shock?

The perfect show-off script absolutely could not be ruined here.

Obito wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth and grinned foolishly.

Ye continued chewing on fish expressionlessly.

[Ding! Excitement Points from Obito Uchiha, +122!]

9:20 in the morning.

Ninja Academy Training Ground, practical sparring class.

Gang Ziyun stood at the edge of the field, clutching the attendance roster. The veins on his forehead pulsed more regularly than an electrocardiogram.

"Obito Uchiha! Where is he?!"

The entire class was silent, with only the wind blowing across the Training Ground.

At the edge of the field, Might Guy had already completed his five hundredth one-finger push-up as a warm-up.

Sweat had soaked a large patch of his green bodysuit, and scorching steam rose from his entire body as his fighting spirit soared.

"Teacher Gang Ziyun! I'm ready at any time!"

Guy shouted powerfully.

Gang Ziyun's mouth twitched.

His opponent had not even arrived. What the hell was he preparing for?

The surrounding freshmen began whispering among themselves.

"That guy didn't run away because he was scared, did he?"

"He's disgraced the entire Uchiha Clan."

Gang Ziyun took a deep breath, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He gritted his teeth, raised the red pen in his hand, and heavily drew it toward Obito's name on the attendance roster.

"Teacher! I'm here!"

A shrill roar exploded from the direction of the Training Ground entrance.

Obito rushed into the center of the field, carrying the bamboo basket that was stuffed nearly to overflowing.

There were still uncleaned bun grease stains and red bean paste crumbs at the corners of his mouth as he panted heavily.

"Teacher, I was late because I helped an old lady cross the street!"