Obito Keeps Getting Ganked

The sun hung low, not quite set, and streaks of sunset light draped the earth in a veil of gold.

Obito walked home with his hands behind his head, humming a tune and swaying as he went.

"Just like sunlight piercing the night, dawn quietly... something, something~"

He had been a little troublemaker in his previous life, and now he had merged with another one.

Even he had no idea how restless that made him.

Before long,

Obito stopped in front of a small house.

"Finally home."

He kicked off his shoes outside the door and bounced inside.

"Grandmother, I'm home~"

A rustle came from within.

An elderly woman with graying hair and a kindly face stepped out.

Smiling fondly, she ruffled Obito's hair.

"There's my little Obito."

"Are you hungry? Grandmother will make you something tasty."

Obito nodded with a grin.

"Okay!"

Grandmother was his only family in this world.

In the tragic world of Naruto, where even three people together could hardly scrape up a pair of parents,

having a complete family was practically a luxury.

Someone like Sakura really doesn't know how good she has it.

After dinner with Grandma,

Obito returned to his room and began thinking about his plans for the future.

As for Ninjutsu, he didn't know a single technique.

Taijutsu, on the other hand...

The original Obito hadn't known a thing about that either.

But while watching Naruto in his previous life,

he had used his remarkable talent to teach himself one move.

It was a Taijutsu technique that could inflict pain like a thousand years of death.

The Thousand Years of Death!

But he couldn't run fast enough yet,

so he didn't dare use it lightly.

If someone caught him afterward, they would probably beat him to death.

Obito found himself at a complete loss.

After a while, he decided to just lie down.

It's not that I don't want to work hard. I'm just not strong enough to.

Before long, he fell asleep.

The next day,

at the Ninja Academy,

a figure rushed into the classroom

and bowed repeatedly to the teacher at the lectern.

"Sorry, Sensei," Obito said, panting.

"On my way to school today, I ran into an old lady who needed help, so..."

The teacher was speechless at the all-too-familiar excuse.

"Obito, if I remember correctly, you've helped more than a dozen old ladies this month."

Laughter broke out across the classroom.

Every child wore a gloating smile.

Rin pressed a hand to her forehead.

Honestly, Obito can't even make up a new excuse...

Kakashi, meanwhile, was as cold as ever.

The kind of person he looked down on most was someone like Obito, who couldn't keep his word.

"I..."

Obito felt miserable. He didn't know how to explain.

Even he thought it was absurd that he ran into an old lady every day on his way to school.

He even suspected

the old ladies had made a plan to take turns lying in wait for him.

The teacher sighed and waved a hand.

"All right, all right. Go sit down."

He couldn't be bothered to waste more time on a poor student.

Obito hurried to his seat beside Rin, relieved to have been let off.

"Zzz... zzz... zzz..."

Losing yourself in your studies always made time fly.

With Obito so utterly absorbed, the day passed in no time.

"Obito, Obito, class is over!"

At the sound of Rin's soft voice,

Obito groggily lifted his head from the desk.

He stretched lazily and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

The little girl beside him had already packed her bag and was ready to leave.

"See you tomorrow, Obito," Rin said brightly.

Looking at her radiant smile,

Obito couldn't help smiling too.

"See you tomorrow, Rin."

Back home,

after dinner with Grandma,

Obito retreated to his room again to mull over training.

The moment the thought crossed his mind,

the long-absent system alert sounded.

A glowing screen appeared before his eyes.

[Option one: There's no room for slacking off in training. Practice hard through the night, young man. Reward: 0.01 Kakas of chakra.]

[Option two: Training should follow the natural course of things. Eating and sleeping count as practice too... Wash up and go to bed. Reward: 0.01 Kakas of chakra.]

Obito stared at the two options and fell into thought.

If he wasn't mistaken, "Kaka" meant Kakashi.

That old unit of measurement, huh.

Then was there even a choice?

Obito lay down at once and pulled the covers over his head.

All he needed now was some coffin-dance music to complete the scene.

He slept straight through till morning.

When Obito woke, he found that his body seemed a little stronger.

His 0.01 Kakas of chakra must have arrived.

After getting dressed, Obito set out with a grim expression.

He kept looking around as he walked, proceeding with extreme caution.

The way he crept along, he looked like a thief.

When he was barely a hundred meters from school,

he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the street corner,

he stuck his little head out to check, determined to stay careful.

His eyes met those of Grandmother.

"..."

Damn it. I let my guard down!

She was waiting for me after all!

As Obito hesitated, options suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Option one: Pretend you saw nothing and walk straight to school. Bad eyesight runs in the Uchiha Clan; it's perfectly normal not to see someone. Reward: You won't be late for school today.]

[Option two: Help Grandmother across the street as warmly as you always do. Reward: Sense of morality +1.]

[Option three: It's been a long time since anyone gave Grandmother a hug. Carry her across the street. Reward: Respect for Elders Aura.]

[Respect for Elders Aura: As a good child who respects his elders, you gain +1 favorability with everyone over sixty.]

Obito was even more torn.

There was no doubt option three offered the best reward.

If he ran into Danzo someday, he might even be able to strike up a connection.

But a task that took that much strength... I'm only six years old!

No choice. For the reward, I'll give it a shot!

Obito strode resolutely up to Grandmother.

"Grandmother, let me help you."

A gratified smile spread across Grandmother's face.

"What a good little—huh?!"

Before Grandmother could finish,

Obito scooped her up in his arms. In a bridal carry, no less!

Grunting with effort, Obito carried her across the street.

Well, this...

Grandmother was flooded with mixed feelings.

She had never expected to be treated like this at her age...

After struggling across the street, Obito set Grandmother down.

The alert sounded in his head.

[Choice completed! Reward acquired: Respect for Elders Aura!]

His good deed done, he left without seeking praise.

Obito hurried toward the school.

He figured he might still make it.

Grandmother watched him go.

For some reason, the child suddenly seemed awfully dear to her.

In the classroom,

Obito and the teacher stared at each other.

"So you ran into another Grandmother who needed help on your way to school?"

Obito nodded in astonishment.

"Sensei, you're incredible! How did you guess?"

The teacher had no words.

"...Sit down."

He had thought Obito had finally turned over a new leaf.

Apparently, getting one plus one right the other day had been his peak.

Oh well. Time to get on with the lesson.