Danzo's Proposal

In a small grove.

Obito was still grunting as he struggled to crawl forward.

But unlike before,

there was now a green "snake" beside him.

The two clumsy "snakes" wriggled along together, looking as if they had lost their minds. It was a ridiculous sight.

Obito had gone numb.

He felt as though he and Guy were acting out the Legend of the White Snake.

As Guy crawled earnestly, he exclaimed,

"Obito-kun, I never imagined Dragon Spine Opener really could work the muscles in your waist and abdomen."

"How did you come up with such a brilliant exercise?"

Obito replied calmly,

"Don't talk while doing Dragon Spine Opener. It'll interfere with your training."

"Oh," Guy said, and fell silent.

Obito let out a relieved breath.

For a while,

the only sounds in the grove were the moaning wind and the rustle of their crawling.

Before long, though, Guy spoke again.

"Obito-kun, do you come here every night to do Dragon Spine Opener?"

"Can I train with you from now on?"

The corner of Obito's eye twitched. He said each word distinctly,

"No! You! Can't!"

"There's no chance of that happening between us, so give it up!"

Guy looked a little crestfallen, his thick eyebrows drooping at once.

So Obito-kun doesn't see me as a friend.

But I've thought of him as a kindred spirit for ages...

Just as Obito finished firmly rejecting Guy,

a screen of light appeared before his eyes.

[Option one: The road of training is long, and everyone needs company. Since he wants to train as a pair with you, why not give in? Completion reward: Taijutsu improvement (Chunin level).]

[Option two: Even if I, Obito, starve to death, even if I get no reward, I will never do performance art with a green-skinned kappa! Completion reward: No reward.]

[Option three: Tell Guy that if he can bring Kakashi along, you'll agree to the three of you having fun together... training! Completion reward: Three's a Crowd Aura.]

[Three's a Crowd Aura: As long as two or more people accompany you, you won't feel embarrassed no matter what you do.]

Uh...

Obito genuinely wanted to refuse.

But the system was offering far too much!

He forced a smile and said to the silent "snake" beside him,

"Guy, I was just joking earlier."

"Let's train together from now on. We can encourage each other, keep each other on track, and improve together."

Guy's heart, which had gone cold, filled with warmth again.

"Really, Obito-kun? That's great!"

At the same time,

the system notification sounded.

[Choice successful! Reward obtained: Taijutsu improvement (Chunin level)!]

Obito sighed deeply.

Man, what have I done?

He felt a steady stream of strength welling up inside him.

He crawled noticeably faster than before.

What surprised him, though,

was that no matter how fast he went, Guy kept pace.

"That makes no sense..." Obito muttered.

After a moment's thought, it suddenly dawned on him.

Maybe that was the difference between an acorn and a soaring dragon.

A week later.

In a Ninja Academy classroom,

the teacher was delivering a lively lesson at the front.

Obito, however, was distracted. He kept glancing at an empty seat nearby.

Kakashi...

Why hasn't he come to class today?

After class,

Obito spotted a familiar figure while walking across the schoolyard.

Kakashi seemed to have been waiting for him and gave him a slight nod.

Obito walked over and asked, puzzled,

"What's wrong, Kakashi?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment before slowly saying,

"I applied to graduate early. I won't be coming to school anymore... I wanted to let you know."

Obito nodded, his feelings mixed.

"I see."

The Kakashi before him was still a child.

He was not yet the unflappable Kakashi Obito remembered, the one who could let anything roll off him.

However mature he was, rumors and gossip could still hurt him.

After a moment's thought, Obito reached out and patted Kakashi's shoulder twice.

This time, Kakashi did not push his hand away.

Obito looked him in the eye and said earnestly,

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you unconditionally."

"Because you're Kakashi. Because you're my friend."

The corners of Kakashi's mouth lifted slightly beneath his mask, though his voice remained flat.

"Yeah. I'm off."

Kakashi himself did not realize

that his steps were far lighter as he left than they had been when he arrived.

Obito curled his lip.

"That stubborn jerk. Would it kill him to say a little more?"

Just then,

Guy came running over.

"Obito-kun! Obito-kun!"

"I saw Kakashi come to find you from upstairs."

"What did you talk about? Did he say why he missed class today?"

The crush was practically radiating off him!

Obito quietly took two steps back.

Then he repeated what Kakashi had told him.

After hearing it, Guy murmured in dismay,

"How could this happen... How could this happen..."

He made up his mind and declared firmly,

"No. I'm going to graduate early too!"

Obito shook his head and mercilessly dashed Guy's hopes.

"Guy, with how terrible your Three Basic Techniques are, graduating might be a bit difficult."

Oh. He's right... Guy's expression froze.

The days passed.

The rumors about White Fang did not die down.

Instead, they grew more vicious with time, until they reached a fever pitch.

Some people tried to defend White Fang, but their voices were soon drowned out by a tide of malice.

"Why hasn't that useless failure who couldn't complete his mission gone and died?"

"He caused the village such a huge loss, and he still has the nerve to stay? I'm embarrassed for him!"

"I say we expel White Fang from the village. He's a disgrace to Konoha!"

"..."

The hero they had once looked up to had fallen, and everyone was eager to kick him while he was down.

As if doing so

made them important people too, with the right—and the pleasure—of passing judgment on others at will.

In the Naruto's office,

the Third looked at Hatake Sakumo standing before him. His heart ached, and he hesitated to speak.

"Sakumo, you..."

The endless insults and rumors had nearly crushed the young man.

His shoulders had slumped, and the light had gone from his deep-set eyes.

The once high-spirited White Fang was nowhere to be seen.

All that seemed to remain was a soulless shell.

A figure stepped out of the shadows.

He was plainly dissatisfied with the Third's hesitation.

"Hiruzen, let me say it."

Danzo walked slowly up to Sakumo and looked down at him.

"Hatake Sakumo, you have a chance to make up for your mistake and redeem yourself. A mission."

"If you complete it, those ugly voices in the village will disappear. You'll be a hero in everyone's eyes again."

"Will you accept it?"