This Is Youth

The Rasengan's violent energy burned a massive crater into his back.

Then the bearded man spun through the air, hurled away by the Rasengan's rotation.

"Ming Tian!! Damn it!!!"

Seeing his companion grievously injured, the burly bald man panicked and stared at Obito in terror.

Just how terrifyingly strong was this ten-year-old boy?

His mastery of Shadow Clones was simply beyond imagination.

Not only had he effortlessly fooled his opponents, but his attacks were incredibly powerful too.

Watching Ming Tian smash through several trees before finally coming to a halt sent a chill through the burly bald man.

But he knew he was slower than Obito and had no chance of escaping.

He could only grit his teeth, swing his Ninja Tachi, and attack Obito.

"You seem weaker than both of them."

Obito chuckled, calmly fending off the bald ninja's attacks.

He ducked and dodged, avoiding every slash of the Ninja Tachi with perfect timing.

Meanwhile, at some point, Obito had drawn a pair of Nunchaku.

They whirled dazzlingly in his hands, finding an opening every time and striking the burly bald man hard.

"Aah!"

"Ooh!"

"That hurts!"

For a while, the bald man's screams filled the forest.

The Nunchaku battered his face until it was bruised and swollen. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and bruises covered his body.

"I'm done... I'm done!! I surrender!!"

At last, the burly bald man could no longer bear the torment.

He tossed aside his Ninja Tachi and raised his hands in surrender.

It wasn't that he was really such a coward. He had simply realized he was no match for Obito.

Whether he tried swordsmanship or ninjutsu, he had no way to deal with Obito.

Obito, on the other hand, seemed to be toying with him.

As he swung the Nunchaku and lashed the man's body, a smile hung on his lips, his expression full of mockery.

The burly bald man's resolve completely crumbled, leaving him no choice but to surrender.

"Hands on your head!! Stand still!!"

Obito pointed his Nunchaku at the burly man and shouted.

"Yes, young sir!" The burly bald man looked utterly miserable, as though he was about to cry.

All he could think was how he had never known Konoha had such a monster.

Had they known someone like Obito would be taking part in the chunin ninja exams, they would never have carried out their plan to seize the Byakugan during this exam.

They would have postponed it another three years, no matter what, just to avoid this monster.

Now look what had happened. Two of the three of them seemed to be dead, and he alone had been taken prisoner. He didn't even know whether he would be executed in the end.

"Good, you're behaving yourself. Now tie yourself up!"

Obito nodded in satisfaction and lightly tapped the bald man's head with the end of his Nunchaku.

The burly bald man flinched away in fright, gazing at Obito with tears streaming down his face.

"Boo-hoo... Young sir, I know I was wrong, but... I've never learned how to tie myself up..."

Obito rested his chin in his hand, finally realizing the problem. "Oh, right. You never learned."

As he spoke, Obito pointed at the burly bearded man nearby, whom his Rasengan had sent flying, and said,

"Then how about this? Go tie that guy up, sling him over your shoulder, and come with me."

"Yes, young sir..." Tears streamed down the burly bald man's face. He felt terribly wronged.

Why was this happening...?

Wasn't there something strange about being a prisoner like this? Was he being treated as a slave instead?

But he didn't dare talk back to Obito, afraid he would earn another beating with the Nunchaku.

After pulling a length of hemp rope from his Ninja Tool Pouch, he walked over to the burly bearded man and nudged his body.

He found that Luosahu was still breathing. His injuries were simply so severe that he had fallen unconscious.

Obito urged him on. "Don't worry. I know how to hold back. I didn't kill him, so hurry up and tie him up. We need to get moving!"

The system mission had specified that he had to capture these two alive.

If Obito had hit too hard and killed them, who knew whether the mission would be declared a failure?

So Obito had actually held back a great deal with that Rasengan.

Now he had successfully captured both spies.

It looked as though he only needed to deliver them to the Central Tower in the Forest of Death to complete the mission.

"Yes, yes, I understand..." The burly bald man nodded repeatedly.

Then he tied up the bearded man and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

With Obito urging him along, he was forced to walk toward Yoko Hyuga and the others.

When Obito arrived with the two men at the area where Yoko Hyuga's team had fought, he discovered that things had changed somewhat.

Aoba Yamashiro and Namiashi Raidō had both received basic treatment and bandages for their injuries. They leaned against a nearby tree with their eyes closed, apparently unconscious.

Yoko Hyuga was fine. She was simply gazing expectantly in the direction Obito had gone, as though waiting for him to return.

There were also three other people beside Yoko Hyuga.

All three were familiar faces to Obito: Might Guy, Shizune, and Yata Shimura.

The three stood behind Yoko Hyuga, guarding Aoba Yamashiro and Namiashi Raidō while warily surveying their surroundings.

"Obito!!!"

At the sight of Obito, Yoko Hyuga's face lit up. She called out loudly and waved as she came toward him.

"Everything okay here?"

Obito asked just to make conversation. The situation was already clear at a glance.

Might Guy, Shizune, and Yata Shimura must have been nearby and come over after hearing the commotion.

With those three standing guard, naturally nothing could have gone wrong here.

"Yes, we're all fine. Obito, are you hurt?"

Yoko Hyuga even forgot to ask how Obito had managed to capture the two burly men.

With a lovestruck expression, she sidled up to Obito and kept rubbing herself against him.

Yoko Hyuga was oblivious, but Might Guy, Shizune, and Yata Shimura wore expressions of disbelief as they slowly approached Obito.

When the three of them had arrived earlier, Yoko Hyuga had already told them about it.

She had explained just how terrifyingly powerful those three spies from another village were.

They had brought Yoko Hyuga and her teammates down in only a few exchanges.

But now...

Why did it look as though, of the two men who had fled, one was gravely injured while the other was trudging reluctantly ahead, his battered face full of misery?

Shizune and Yata Shimura exchanged a glance, each seeing bewilderment and shock on the other's face.

Shizune's mouth twitched. "What exactly... did Obito do to that bald man? Why does he look so miserable?"

Yata Shimura swallowed hard. "I think... Obito must have beaten him into submission. That guy really lives up to his reputation as a monster."

Might Guy gave Obito a thumbs-up, his gleaming white teeth flashing gold. "As expected of one of my eternal rivals, Obito! This is what youth should look like!"