Obito Never Forgot Why He Started

Minato had never expected it.

Obito looked so honest and unassuming, yet he could be this ruthless.

"...That's right. We can place a seal on an enemy to restrict their Chakra."

As he spoke,

threads of Chakra extended from Minato's five fingers, and he slapped his hand hard against Inosuke's lower abdomen.

Inosuke grunted and slowly opened his eyes.

"Minato Namikaze!"

The moment he saw Minato's face, he gave up any thought of resisting.

Having come from Konoha himself, he knew just how terrifying the man before him was.

Inosuke gave a bitter smile.

"I didn't think the village valued me so highly that they'd send you."

Obito stood before Inosuke, wagging his head as he spoke.

"No! No! No!"

"Don't flatter yourself. You got caught by three kids fresh out of the academy, okay?"

A vein throbbed on Inosuke's forehead. He wanted nothing more than to crush the brat in front of him.

Seeing the look of irritation on Inosuke's face, Obito planted his hands on his hips and glared.

"What are you staring at? Keep looking and I'll smack you!"

"Sigh..."

Perhaps they had grown used to Obito's personality.

Like Rin and Kakashi, Minato simply stood to the side and sighed.

On the way back,

Inosuke and Obito traded insults the entire time.

In his previous life, Obito had been a master of online trash talk, capable of verbally slaughtering anyone who crossed him.

He tore into Inosuke so thoroughly that the rogue fell silent.

Minato could only marvel at the sight.

It changed his understanding of his student yet again.

"Minato-sensei, here's what happened..."

Kakashi and Rin walked beside Minato and told him the whole story of how the three of them had captured Inosuke.

When Minato heard that Obito had come up with the entire plan,

he glanced at him in surprise.

To think Obito came up with such a clever plan...

He had gone against convention and turned expectations on their head.

By deliberately revealing their whereabouts, they had lowered the target's guard.

Then he had seized on the man's weakness and created an opening for his teammates.

Hmm.

That shameless Sexy Jutsu part did sound exactly like something Obito would come up with, though.

To Minato, Obito was an uncut gem.

He needed to find a way to shape him properly.

He could not let him stray any further down the wrong path...

The five of them returned to the village.

Minato said to his three students,

"I have a few things to take care of. You don't need to train today. Go home and get some rest."

The three answered obediently.

"Okay, Minato-sensei!"

After Minato left with Inosuke,

Rin blinked her large eyes and looked at the two boys beside her.

"Kakashi, Obito-kun, what are you going to do later?"

Kakashi was about to say he planned to train,

but Obito beat him to it.

"Why don't we all go eat at Kakashi's place? He's a great cook!"

Rin's eyes lit up, and she looked at Kakashi expectantly.

"Can we, Kakashi?"

Kakashi felt a little put out and discreetly jabbed Obito.

"O-of course we can."

Rin's eyes curved with delight as she rubbed her hands together.

"Yay! I can't wait!"

Obito took Rin by the hand and slung his other arm around Kakashi.

"All right, let's go. We can talk when we get to his place."

"We've been running around on this mission for so long, I feel like I'm about to fall apart!"

Meanwhile,

after handing Inosuke over to the Anbu,

Minato made his way to the Hokage Office at an unhurried pace.

He waited for the Anbu Ninja guarding the door to announce him before entering.

"Oh, Minato. Sit down and tell me about it," the Third said with a smile.

Minato smiled modestly and sat down across from the Third.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

The Third took out his pipe.

He enjoyed a couple of puffs before speaking with a smile.

"I hear you were gathering intelligence with your students and brought back a Missing-nin from the village while you were at it. I knew I could count on you."

Minato rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.

"Third-sama, that's actually what I came to talk to you about."

Oh?

A flicker of curiosity crossed the Third's eyes, and he sat up straighter without realizing it.

Was there more to it than I thought?

Minato said, "In fact, the three kids came up with a way to capture Inosuke. I didn't do much."

Embarrassing as it was,

Minato recounted the mission to the Third, leaving nothing out.

"..."

Sexy Jutsu?

That sounds like a rather interesting Ninjutsu...

The Third made a mental note of it without letting anything show.

He planned to use the Telescope Technique to peek at Obito when he had some free time...

Minato did not notice the Third's expression and continued his account in earnest.

The Third nodded along, then remarked with satisfaction,

"Konoha's future is in good hands. Minato, make sure you guide this team well."

"I have a feeling Kakashi and Obito will become pillars of Konoha one day."

Minato nodded solemnly.

"Rest assured, Third-sama. I'll teach them with all the care they deserve."

After a moment's thought, the Third asked,

"How have the three kids been lately? Especially young Kakashi. Has he...?"

Minato smiled again.

"Kakashi seems to have come out of his shell. He truly sees Obito and Rin as his comrades now."

"They may not realize it yet, but the three of them have already formed a deep bond."

The Third smiled as he puffed on his pipe.

"That's good. That's very good."

The mission Obito and the others had accepted before setting out was only to gather intelligence.

So even though they had accomplished far more, their pay remained the same.

But at Minato's special request,

the Hokage Office set aside funds

to give each of the three kids a handsome bonus.

"Thanks, Minato-sensei!"

After collecting his money, Obito happily ran off.

Where was the first place a man went when he had money?

To the place where men went to recharge, of course!

Obito skipped into the Pharmacy he had visited before.

He planned to buy Minato-sensei some more supplements as a proper reward.

"What comes from Minato goes back to Minato," Obito muttered cheerfully.

"Hm?"

The beautiful woman seated behind the counter made a soft sound of surprise.

Her alluring, almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly as she gave Obito a puzzled look.

"You're the brat who kept staring at my chest last time. What are you doing here again?"

Obito looked positively aggrieved.

"Hey, don't go making things up! When did I keep staring at your chest?!"

...I looked at your butt and thighs too, Obito muttered inwardly.

The woman rolled her eyes.

"My name isn't 'Hey.' It's Yuki. You can call me Big Sister Yuki."

Seriously?

What, did you expect me to think you were some girl from Alistun Business School?

Obito was speechless.

I'm just here to buy medicine. Why would I need to know your name?