Obito and Shisui (Part Two)

Konoha.

After Obito got home with an armful of gifts,

he finally had a free hand to pick up the envelope Kakashi had given him.

He had wanted to ask Rin to look at it for him earlier.

But when Rin saw the envelope,

she worried its contents might be private and refused.

(Rin, at the time: p(≧□≦)q What if it's a love letter? Aaaaaah!)

"What could it be?"

Obito opened the envelope curiously.

"Huh? What's this...?"

He tipped the envelope, and a photograph fell out.

It was a picture of him with Sakumo and Kakashi.

In the photo, he stood at the front with an arm around Kakashi.

Sakumo stood behind them, looking at them both with a gentle smile.

Kakashi looked thoroughly unwilling, while Obito himself was grinning brightly.

"Oh, this was the photo we took back then..."

"Didn't Kakashi say he'd deleted it? Why did he get it printed?"

"Men really do say one thing and mean another."

Obito brushed a finger over Sakumo's image. Tenderness and murderous intent flickered through his eyes at once.

"Uncle Sakumo, I'll soon be strong enough to avenge you..."

A few months later.

In Konoha's Small Grove.

Obito stood with his hands behind his back, explaining the technique to the little boy before him.

"...And that's about all you need to know for the Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson Technique."

"Give it a try, Shisui."

Shisui nodded and began forming hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson Technique!"

He breathed out a burst of flame, then flung more than a dozen shuriken with one hand.

The spinning shuriken flew through the blaze and wheeled across the sky, wreathed in fire.

They were as dazzling as scattered balsam flowers.

But beneath that beauty lay deadly intent.

"Holy shit..."

Obito stared at the shuriken overhead, dumbfounded.

It had taken him several days to learn this B-rank ninjutsu.

And his little brother had learned it just like that?

So this is the kind of talent even my cheat can't keep up with?

No wonder. He's Uncle's son...

Shisui noticed the complicated look on his older cousin's face.

He scratched his head, suddenly unsure of himself.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Obito smiled, shook his head, and patted his shoulder.

"No. Your Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson Technique was excellent. You're already as good as I am."

Shisui pumped his fist in delight.

"Awesome!"

His older cousin's praise meant the world to him.

Then Shisui looked at Obito curiously.

"Big Brother Obito, how long did it take you to learn that ninjutsu?"

Obito froze and gave an awkward cough.

"Ahem. About as long as it took you."

As soon as he said it,

Obito realized

this conversation with Shisui felt strangely familiar.

...Huh?

Where is this damn sense of déjà vu coming from?

Beside him, Shisui nodded as though that was exactly what he had expected.

His older cousin was so talented. Of course he wouldn't have taken any longer!

"Big Brother Obito, will you practice swordsmanship with me a little longer?" Shisui asked.

"You got it."

Obito agreed readily.

He slowly drew Shadow Elegance.

Shisui drew the short tachi he carried.

Their feet shifted.

They slowly closed the distance, each searching for an opening.

Since he was sparring with his younger cousin,

Obito wasted no time and made the first move.

He leaped several meters forward and brought his blade down hard at Shisui.

Whoosh!

The fierce strike fell toward Shisui with a sharp rush of air.

Unfazed, Shisui angled his tachi up to meet Shadow Elegance and put all his strength into both arms.

Clang!

The blades met, scattering sparks.

After catching Obito's strike,

Shisui seized the chance to turn defense into offense.

He twisted at the waist and swept his tachi across at Obito.

"Nice!"

Obito swung his blade, knocking Shisui's tachi aside.

Then he slashed upward.

The two traded blow after blow.

Their blades rang clang, clang, clang, a fine display of brotherly affection.

After an exhilarating bout,

the two cousins sat beneath a tree.

Together, they listened to insects chirp and birds sing, enjoying the breeze on their faces.

Shisui looked at his older cousin and said softly,

"Thank you for training with me today, Big Brother Obito."

"You must be busy now that you're a chunin."

Obito laughed and threw an arm around Shisui's shoulders.

"No need to thank me. Come find me whenever you need anything."

Shisui nodded firmly.

"Okay!"

A little while later,

Shisui looked at his wise older cousin and couldn't help asking,

"Big Brother Obito, things between the clan and the village seem to be getting more tense."

"Who do you think is to blame?"

Obito glanced at his younger cousin in surprise.

He's still so young.

And he's already thinking about things like this?

After a moment's thought, he said, "Both sides, I think."

"Konoha has never fully accepted the Uchiha Clan, and we've never truly become part of the village or felt that we belong here."

"In the end, neither side can fully trust the other. That's where all the conflict begins."

Shisui fell into thought.

What his older cousin had said was much like what he believed himself.

"Then how do you think we can solve it, Big Brother Obito?"

"Well..."

Obito scratched his head and thought hard.

"If there were someone both sides valued, someone willing to serve as a bridge between them, maybe things would change."

Shisui's eyes lit up at his words.

"I'm sure you'll become that person."

"...Me?"

Obito's expression turned odd.

He expects someone plotting to wipe out the clan to save the Uchiha Clan?

Seeing the hope on Shisui's face,

Obito rubbed his head.

"I don't know if I can do it, but I think little Shisui could."

Shisui's cheeks flushed.

"Really? Then I'll work hard with you, and we'll turn things around!"

Obito smiled and nodded.

He glanced at the sky, then rose to his feet.

"All right, it's getting late. Let's stop here for today."

Shisui stood and reluctantly said goodbye.

"I'll be going, then."

"See you, little brother."

After watching his younger cousin leave,

Obito hummed a tune as he started home.

"Why don't you just delete me? Otherwise, I'll block you~~"

Over the past few months,

the system had only offered ordinary choices.

Most of his rewards for completing them had been chakra.

By his rough estimate,

he now had almost one Kak's worth of chakra.

That was the total amount Kakashi had possessed at his peak.

For a twelve- or thirteen-year-old

who belonged to neither the Senju nor the Uzumaki Clan,

it was a terrifying amount of chakra.

(Little Naruto appears in the next chapter.)