System mission

Rin leaned her little face close to Obito's, studying him carefully. "Obito, you really seem different now."

"Uh..." A blush crept onto Obito's cheeks, and a flicker of nervousness rose inside him.

This little girl really knew how to flirt.

I'd been planning to raise her into my future sweetheart.

Was Rin launching an early offensive on yours truly instead?

"Wh-what's different?" Obito stammered.

Rin rubbed the corner of her mouth with her little hand and gave him a sly smile. "Hmm... you seem more dependable than before."

"You used to be so silly. Now, not only are you stronger, but you've gotten smarter, too."

"Really, Rin? Actually, I've always been pretty amazing. Hehe." Obito breathed a sigh of relief.

So that was what Rin meant. I thought she'd discovered some secret of mine.

Still, this little girl really knew how to flirt.

Sure, I never dated anyone in my previous life, but I'd watched countless videos.

Who would've thought she could get me blushing and make my heart race so easily?

Rin pursed her lips, clearly aware that Obito was joking around again.

She patted his shoulder and spoke with an air of maturity. "Is that so, Obito? Then please keep up the good work. Hehe."

Obito raised his hand in a salute. "Yes, Rin."

The two walked together until they reached the road outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Rin said she needed to go home and help her mother at the shop, then said goodbye to Obito and left.

Obito had a general idea of Rin's family circumstances.

Rin's father had also been a ninja, but he had died on the battlefield before she was born.

Generally speaking, having both parents dead was the standard starting point in the ninja world.

Rin, however, had a good mother. Her mother ran a small shop to make ends meet and had raised Rin all on her own.

Obito had visited her home once before, and her mother was a warm, kind person.

Perhaps that was precisely why Rin had inherited her mother's good qualities.

It was still fairly early, only a little past two in the afternoon.

Just as Obito was about to head to the training ground to train, a system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! A special mission has been issued to the host.]

[Mission objective: Visit Might Guy at his home and increase your friendship affinity with him.]

[Complete the mission to receive the following rewards. Reward 1: One copying opportunity. Reward 2: One novel in the same series as Icha Icha Paradise.]

Obito stood there, somewhat dumbfounded.

"A novel in the same series as Icha Icha Paradise? Sounds pretty exciting."

Would a novel produced by the system steal Jiraiya's book title before he could use it?

Judging by the timeline, though, Jiraiya probably hadn't started writing Icha Icha Paradise yet.

He might not even have finished The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.

As he pondered this, Obito arrived in the neighborhood where Might Guy lived.

Most of the houses here were quite run-down, and their residents were mostly poor families.

Knock, knock, knock...

Obito knocked on the wooden house's front door.

"Who is it? Coming!" a grown man's voice called out.

After a flurry of hurried footsteps inside, someone opened the door.

The man standing inside was only about a meter and a half tall.

He wore a green bodysuit and had his hair parted down the middle.

Still, he was powerfully built, and the drooping mustache at the corners of his mouth gave him a somewhat simple, earnest look.

Obito knew this was Might Guy's father, the eternal Genin, Might Duy.

Might Duy was often mocked in the village. People said he only knew Taijutsu, would always be a Genin, and would never amount to anything.

Yet he never explained himself, letting people say whatever they wanted.

It was only after he opened the final gate of the Eight Gates Formation on the battlefield and kicked several members of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to death that he made his name in a single battle.

"You are...?" Confusion showed in Might Duy's eyes.

"Hello, sir. I'm Guy's classmate, Obito Uchiha. Is he home?"

Obito scratched his head and smiled sheepishly as he politely introduced himself.

Although Obito and Guy hadn't interacted much at the Ninja Academy, they were reasonably familiar with each other.

Might Duy froze for a moment, but his reaction in the next instant was rather bewildering.

Two streams of tears rolled down his face. He stepped forward, seized Obito's hand, and pulled him into the house.

"So you're Guy's classmate! Come right in."

"My boy Guy isn't good at socializing, and he hardly has any friends. It's so rare for a classmate to come visit him."

"Your name is Obito, right? Please spend more time with our Guy from now on. Otherwise, I really can't stop worrying about him."

Obito scratched his head and gave an awkward, sheepish laugh. "Haha, uh... don't worry, sir. I will."

Obito was still feeling completely bewildered.

Might Duy's enthusiasm had come so suddenly that it was a little hard to adjust to.

Still, Obito could deeply appreciate the concern he felt for his son as a father.

"Dad! Who's here?"

A figure wearing the same green bodysuit walked out from inside the house on his hands.

When he realized it was Obito, a little surprise appeared in his eyes, and he dropped out of his handstand.

"Obito, what brings you here?"

Obito chuckled. "Nothing much, Guy. Since we've all just graduated, I thought I'd visit and ask how your team assignment went."

Might Guy scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, I see. The team assignment went pretty well. Our Team Three starts carrying out ninja missions tomorrow."

It was clear that Might Guy was genuinely happy about Obito's visit.

Perhaps it really was just as Might Duy had said.

Aside from training relentlessly in Taijutsu, Guy rarely spent time with his classmates.

In the original story, Guy had enthusiastically pestered Kakashi, insisting on a lifelong rivalry with him.

Perhaps some later advice from his father, Might Duy, was what had changed his outlook.

Right now, Guy still felt somewhat inferior because people were always looking down on his father.

"Guy, hurry and invite your classmate inside to sit down. Don't stand out here talking. I'll wash some fruit for you two."

Might Duy hurriedly urged them inside, then jogged into the back room.

Might Guy nodded with a hum of agreement. "Obito, come in and sit down."

Obito followed Might Guy into the living room.

The furnishings were very simple, with just a few pieces of old furniture. The place was considerably worse off than even Obito's home.

Although Might Duy was a Genin, perhaps he didn't take many paying missions, leaving him with a very limited income.

Might Guy invited Obito to sit on the sofa. "Obito, let's talk in here. I'm also a little curious about you and Kakashi being assigned to the same team."