A New Semester

Obito rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

"Uncle, I want to learn another ninjutsu."

Uchiha Chuan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Obito, you need to understand that taking on too much at once won't do you any good."

"Why don't you master the Great Fireball Technique first, then come back and learn another ninjutsu from me?"

How could I do that? Obito thought.

If I come back next time... the system might not give me this task again!

"Uncle, I just want to see more ninjutsu. You understand how eager I am to learn, right?"

"Even if you just explain one to me so I can get an idea of how it works, that'd be fine."

Better yet, teach me a Forbidden Technique or something!

Uchiha Chuan looked at his nephew's expectant face.

After a moment's thought, he nodded.

"All right, then. I'll teach you one more ninjutsu—the Phoenix Flower Jutsu."

The moment Uchiha Chuan said it,

a notification sounded in Obito's head.

[Choice successful! Reward obtained: Fire Release—Phoenix Flower Jutsu!]

"The key to this technique is..."

Obito cut Chuan off with a grin.

"Thanks, Uncle! How about we call it a day?"

...???

Three question marks might as well have appeared on Uchiha Chuan's face.

Weren't you the one who wanted to learn it?

I've barely said its name, and you're done listening?

Obito had left him hanging, and it was driving him crazy.

"Fine. All right," Chuan said helplessly.

"Hehe. See you, Uncle!"

Obito tore off toward home.

Time to get out of here and play with my precious sword.

"Seventy miles an hour, feeling so~ free~"

Obito hummed happily to himself.

"Two ninjutsu mastered in half a day. That's me for you!"

"Hard work really is the only road to success. I'll have to work even harder from now on... at getting more multiple-choice questions!"

When he got home,

Obito searched his room.

Then he froze. His sword was gone.

He called out,

"Grandmother, where's my sword?"

Grandmother's voice came from outside the room.

"I tidied your room today and put your sword in the box under your bed."

"Oh!" Obito replied.

He pulled Shadow Elegance from under the bed and went right back to grinding away at his task.

"Someone's unzipping my pants!"

"Lion's Song! Thirty-Six Pound Phoenix!"

In the days that followed,

Obito threw himself into training.

He barely noticed the time passing.

He had never found training boring.

He could use spectacular ninjutsu and pull off dazzling sword techniques.

He could run along walls and leap across rooftops...

How many boys in his previous world had dreamed of doing all that?

Of course,

it would be even better if the system rewarded him with the Telescope Technique...

Then he could give himself a little treat. (Wink.)

With the system's help, he had improved enormously.

He now knew four ninjutsu: the Great Fireball Technique, the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, the Dragon Fire Technique, and the Earth-Style Wall.

(That wasn't counting the basic Three Body Technique.)

After learning Iaijutsu, he had also picked up basic swordsmanship from White Fang.

As for Taijutsu, he reckoned he was somewhere between a Genin and a Chunin.

Genjutsu was his weak spot.

But he was an Uchiha.

Once he awakened his eyes, that problem would disappear.

"Mm, this vacation's been really productive," Obito concluded.

"Not only have I gotten a lot stronger, I've grown closer to Rin, and there's Senior White Fang too..."

The rumors around the village were growing worse.

But as long as Sakumo still had something holding him together,

Obito believed he would make a different choice.

"I hope Kakashi gets to live a happy life this time. Sigh..."

Obito shook his head and lay down to rest.

A new semester would begin tomorrow.

On the first day of school,

Obito was, unsurprisingly, summoned to Kisuke Urahara's office.

Kisuke sat behind his desk, looked at the dejected Obito across from him, and gave a cold snort.

"Obito, why haven't you done your homework again?"

Obito thought for a moment before answering.

"Mr. Kisuke, I think the things you teach are useless. They don't help with actual—"

Before he could finish, Kisuke sighed.

"Obito, don't talk about yourself like that."

"The truth is, your teacher sees plenty of good qualities in you."

Obito: "...???"

"Sir, I meant that the homework you assign doesn't do much to improve our abilities."

Kisuke tapped on his desk and fell into thought.

He knew perfectly well how flimsy the Ninja Academy's coursework was.

With a lively child like Obito,

being too rigid would only hinder his growth.

Adapting his teaching to the student was an essential skill for any teacher.

After thinking it over, he decided to make an exception.

"Tell you what, Obito. If you can keep your grades steady, I'll let you skip the homework."

"But this stays between us. Don't tell anyone else."

Obito was overjoyed and agreed at once.

"No problem, Mr. Kisuke!"

Kisuke Urahara waved him off.

"All right, off you go. Get back to class before the next lesson starts."

Obito returned to the classroom in high spirits.

A freckled boy blocked his path and said fiercely,

"Obito, duel me after school today!"

Obito pushed the boy aside, at a loss for words.

Anyone who knows you knows you're Nagano Nami.

Anyone who doesn't might think you're Might Nami.

Duel you, my ass!

"You're no match for me," Obito said. "I'd give up now if I were you."

Nagano Nami gave a cold laugh.

"Give up? Those words aren't in my dictionary!"

"Uh..."

Obito scratched his head.

"Then you'd better go talk to the bookstore owner. Sounds like he sold you a pirated dictionary."

Nagano Nami: "..."

While he stood there speechless,

Obito walked past him and sat down beside the little girl.

He looked at her with a grin.

"Lin-chan, it's only been a few days. How have you gotten even prettier?"

Rin's cheeks turned pink.

"Obito-kun, you're teasing me again."

Obito put on a solemn face.

"Not at all. Everyone knows Obito never lies."

Beside them, Nagano Nami burst out angrily,

"Bullshit! Last time, you tricked me into waiting for you all night in the freezing wind."

"Never trust a word out of Obito's mouth!"

Obito shot Nagano Nami an unfriendly look.

You little pest. Are you trying to get beaten up?

"Don't run off after school. I'll teach you a lesson on the practice field."

Nagano Nami scoffed.

"Whoever runs is a coward. Today, I'm finally going to settle the score!"

Only when the teacher entered the classroom

did Nagano Nami return to his seat.

The teacher began the lesson at the front of the room.

But Nagano Nami didn't take in a word.

All he could think about was Obito.

At last, the bell rang.

Nagano Nami sprang to his feet and grinned menacingly at Obito.

"See you on the practice field. Don't back out, coward."

Obito curled his lip.

"Hah. Never seen anyone so eager to get beaten up."