Obito's outrageous filial devotion

Minato went on to explain a few key points of the Shadow Clone Technique to Obito.

"...All right, that about covers it. Give it a try, Obito."

Obito nodded slightly.

He formed the "ram" seal with both hands and slowly drew on the chakra inside him.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Poof!

A cloud of smoke appeared, then dispersed.

Another Obito stood beside him.

Except this Obito didn't exactly look normal.

A normal person's head wasn't supposed to be bigger than his body.

"Uh, looks like I failed..."

Looking at the big-headed baby beside him, Obito awkwardly dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique.

Minato laughed.

"It's fine. B-rank ninjutsu isn't that easy to learn. Let's try again."

Obito nodded firmly.

"All right!"

The moon quietly climbed into the sky, and darkness slowly blanketed the earth.

Feeling rather dejected, Obito stopped trying.

In the end.

He still hadn't gotten the hang of performing the Shadow Clone Technique smoothly.

Seeing this, Minato patted his head and said,

"Don't lose heart, Obito. You'll definitely master the Shadow Clone Technique within a week."

Obito nodded firmly.

"Got it, Minato-sensei."

The four of them regrouped outside the woods.

That marked the end of today's training.

"I'll head off first. See you, everyone."

In low spirits, Obito said goodbye to Kakashi and the others, then hurried away.

Rin asked, sounding puzzled,

"What's wrong with Obito-kun? Usually, he..."

Usually, he walks home with me, Rin added silently.

Minato said softly,

"Today's training probably didn't go as well as he'd hoped... I don't know why, but Obito seems to hold himself to very high standards."

Kakashi watched Obito's retreating figure.

He touched his forehead protector thoughtfully.

"If I'd been young and accomplished, free of insecurity~ With Susanoo and Double Kamui~"

Humming gloomily, Obito returned home in a glum mood.

After greeting Grandmother, he dove straight into his little bed.

Today's training hadn't gone smoothly, and he couldn't help feeling restless and irritable.

"There are less than five years left until my 'death,' but I..."

Obito let out a long sigh.

Although his current strength already put him well ahead of many of his peers.

Obito knew perfectly well.

In the eyes of the truly strong, he was just a little nobody, nowhere near becoming king—or anyone's daddy.

"The Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Rin's death, the Nine-Tails Rebellion, the Tragedy of Uchiha..."

That succession of tragedies loomed like a mountain.

It weighed down on him until he could barely breathe.

"Ugh..."

With his current strength.

Trying to stop that overwhelming tide was like a mantis trying to halt a chariot.

But... surely he couldn't just do nothing?

"But what can I actually do?"

Lying on his bed, Obito sank into thought.

Besides relying on the system, what other plans could I put in place?

His thoughts raced.

Obito let his imagination run wild, thinking completely outside the box.

He listed all sorts of fanciful ideas in his mind.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He shot upright in bed and exclaimed excitedly under his breath,

"I've got it!"

He had thought of a way to avert the Nine-Tails Rebellion!

"No matter who Madara Uchiha uses as his pawn when the time comes, this trick will work!" Obito muttered.

What caused the Nine-Tails Rebellion?

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina—Minato's wife.

Her seal weakened during childbirth, which allowed me to...

Pah, pah, pah!

Which allowed the mysterious Masked Man to take advantage of the opening.

"So while Konoha is still reasonably strong, I can find a way to bring little Naruto into the world early!"

"Or... I could just castrate Minato-sensei! Wouldn't that solve the whole problem?"

The more Obito thought about it, the more workable his idea seemed.

"Minato-sensei treats me so well. It's only right that I do all this for him... yep!"

The moment Obito made up his mind.

The system presented him with a new set of choices.

[Option one: Plot in secret and find a way to have Naruto born early. Completion reward: 1 Kaka chakra.]

[Option two: Plot in secret and find a way to end Minato-sensei's bloodline. Completion reward: Byakugan ×2.]

[Option three: Plot in secret and find a way to make Kushina, Minato's wife, infertile. Completion reward: Byakugan ×2.]

[Option four: Sec... kill yourself outright to avert the Nine-Tails Rebellion. Completion reward: Nine Dragons Pulling Coffins service ×1.]

Obito didn't even look at the last three options.

The system always offered some ridiculous choices. He was used to it by now.

All he had to do was pick 1.

1111111!

"The completion reward is actually 1 Kaka chakra. That's awesome!" Obito exclaimed.

But then he reconsidered.

1 Kaka chakra is only 0.01 Naruto chakra... nothing special!

I could do without that reward... no, actually, I couldn't!

Obito lay back down on his bed.

"Hmm, next I need to figure out how to get Minato-sensei to hurry things along."

Before long.

He came up with a meticulous plan.

No exaggeration, no false modesty—when it came to scheming, Obito had never met his match.

The next day happened to be a day off.

After searching along the way, Obito walked into a pharmacy.

A woman with lovely features and an outstanding air sat behind the counter.

She propped her chin on one arm, her soft, ample breasts resting on the countertop.

Their sheer size left Obito dumbfounded.

Noticing someone had entered the shop.

The woman swept the hair beside her face back with a slender hand and asked languidly,

"What sort of medicine would you like, little fellow?"

That movement taught Obito the true meaning of magnificent, surging waves.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he stammered,

"I, I'd like... some tonics."

"The kind that lets a husband and wife have a happier chat at night, with louder voices."

The proprietress gave Obito a suspicious look.

She even took a pointed glance at a certain spot.

"Little boy, what do you need that sort of medicine for?... You don't seem to have any use for it."

Damn!

Looks like she's belittling my little... underestimating me! Obito thought.

"Of course it's not for me. I'm buying it for my teacher and his wife."

At that, the proprietress gave Obito a thumbs-up.

Her long, narrow eyes curved as she said,

"Little boy, devoted youngsters like you are pretty rare!"

Obito raised his chin slightly in pride.

Of course.

A child as devoted as me.

You couldn't find another in the whole Shinobi World, even if you searched with a lantern!

...Of course, if you insist on counting Black Zetsu and Itachi, there's nothing I can do about that. ==

The proprietress stood up to prepare Obito's medicine.

And so, quite naturally, Obito got another chance to admire her from behind.

This trip was totally worth it! Obito thought.

But soon, he could no longer smile.

The proprietress placed a packet of medicine on the counter and indicated a price to Obito with her fingers.

Obito felt his whole world fall apart.

"Why is it so expensive?!"

The proprietress shrugged, a hint of teasing flashing in her eyes.

"So do you want it or not, little boy~?"

Obito gritted his teeth.

He pulled out all his savings and slammed them onto the counter.

"Yes!"