The True Meaning of Friendship

Minazuki's scream gave Retsuo an intense sense of déjà vu. A team carrying out a mission, with Tenma and Shinji behind them, facing Obito.

In a thousand words, there was only one thing to say: I've seen this episode before!

Retsuo knew this day would come sooner or later. He had prepared a technique, though he didn't know whether it would work. But saving Tenma and Shinji's lives depended entirely on it!

This is true friendship. For your sake, I'm willing to reveal my trump card!

With that thought, Retsuo opened his Sharingan without hesitation. His eyes widened as he glared furiously at Obito, the black tomoe spinning rapidly in his scarlet irises.

The moment Obito saw Retsuo's Sharingan, all his movements froze. The opening line he had prepared suddenly became awkward, and the atmosphere came to a standstill.

Faced with this situation, the flaw of being clever only in theory was exposed: he had no idea how to respond.

Oh no! Obito suddenly shuddered, said nothing, and burrowed back into the Warped Space. He then appeared behind Tenma and Shinji.

There, a White Zetsu was half-buried in the ground, preparing to stab them with a Kunai. Tenma and Shinji had never seen death before; they had never even set foot on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War. After Minazuki went down in a single move, they were completely terrified.

White Zetsu was also stunned. After Obito grabbed his hand, he let out a sinister laugh. "I say, Lord Mastermind, did you suddenly come up with an even grander plan?"

Only then did Tenma and Shinji assume fighting stances.

Shinji's legs were trembling. She couldn't believe it, but the facts were right before her eyes. This was the legendary Masked Man!

"Masked Man, y-you're supposed to assassinate the Third Hokage, aren't you?"

Tenma gritted his teeth. He knew that if the other party had wanted to kill him, he would have died several times already.

But surrendering without a fight isn't Tenma's style! He quickly formed hand seals. "Cat Travel Mad God Technique!"

"Compared with this amusing Genjutsu..." Obito appraised it in a distracted tone, "the little girl's verbal attack shocked me much more deeply."

White Zetsu was also within the attack's range. "Where did you get those kitties? Can you get me a few too?"

"Come on, we're here to kill someone." Obito spoke as if making small talk, then pretended to glance at Minazuki, who was already lying motionless. "Hmm, he probably won't make it. Mission complete. Time to pack up and leave."

"Aren't we going to kill these brats?"

Obito paused. "Does anyone pay to kill Genin?" After saying that, he opened the vortex-like space. It was almost as if they had come specifically to kill Minazuki.

If Minazuki hadn't been on the verge of death, Retsuo might even have applauded Obito. As Obito dragged White Zetsu away and vanished like lightning, two figures rapidly arrived. They were the siblings Ukyo and Yulong, who had noticed that something had gone wrong.

They had been secretly protecting Retsuo today, but they had been too far away, and Minazuki had died too quickly.

"Wait, Minazuki isn't dead yet!" Yulong suddenly produced a Chakra Scalpel. With her other hand, she used the Mystical Palm Technique, treating Minazuki's injuries with both hands as if unleashing a special move.

He was injured in the throat, which had been pierced right through. Blood sprayed from the artery, and it was obvious he wouldn't survive. But Yulong refused to give up, dragging him back from the gates of death.

A moment later, Minazuki returned to consciousness for one last flash. He stretched out a trembling hand, pulled a booklet from his robes, and handed it to Retsuo. With difficulty, he said, "The secret of how I became a Special Jonin. Give it to the village."

It was a thin, yellowed booklet. Judging by the brush calligraphy, it clearly didn't contain many words.

A glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. "D-do I still have hope?"

As he spoke, the blood spraying from his neck never stopped.

Yulong shook her head regretfully. "If you have anything else to say, say it quickly. I can only do my best to preserve your ability to speak."

Minazuki said, "No... nothing more."

After saying that, his head lolled to one side, and the light of death spread across his broad, flat face.

Tenma, Shinji, and Retsuo each felt a wave of sorrow. However, the source of their sorrow was different for each of them.

Shinji said, "Teacher Minazuki was a true shinobi. He thought of the village first, and only then asked about himself."

Tenma said, "If only Teacher Minazuki's Taijutsu had been a little stronger."

Retsuo said, "Teacher Minazuki will probably receive the village's attention from now on—an attention he could never have enjoyed while alive."

Shinji asked, "Why are you so certain?"

Retsuo said, "My brother Obito was the same back then."

After saying that, he casually opened the booklet. Tenma reached out as if to stop him, then lowered his hand again.

"Teacher Minazuki was a member of the Flying Thunder God Array. These are the insights he wrote down after comprehending the Flying Thunder God Array."

After reading it carefully from beginning to end, Retsuo closed the booklet. That explained how Minazuki had been promoted to Special Jonin: a specialized tool.

Unfortunately, it was of no use to Retsuo. Minato had once explained the principles of the Flying Thunder God to him. A few words from Minato were worth more than Minazuki's long-winded essay.

But it did remind him of something: he needed to get Minato's Flying Thunder God Kunai. The entire batch of Kunai had now been collected by Root. By the time he had found the time to act, Minato and Kushina's home was literally "empty except for the walls," clearly with nothing prepared to leave for Naruto.

Tenma and Shinji remained silent, and so did Retsuo. As far as he was concerned, now that this ordeal was over, he probably wouldn't see Obito for a long time, right? He actually missed him.

Today had been too rushed. He hadn't even collected Obito's negative emotions. Next time, for sure!

Ukyo and Yulong were equally silent. From far away, they had also seen Obito wearing a Crimson Cloud Black Robe and a mask, as well as the strangely shaped White Zetsu. It looked like a person, but actually wasn't one!

The Uchiha possessed an instinctive intuition regarding Wood Release. This strange man, half-buried in the ground and covered in bandages, attracted their attention even more than the Masked Man.

A step behind the others, Yulong suddenly came over and asked Retsuo, "Should I erase Tenma and Shinji's memories of this? Modifying memories with Genjutsu is difficult for me, but sealing away a section is still possible."

"No, don't. This is pain that shinobi must endure."

Retsuo glanced at Minazuki's enormous corpse. He knew this matter couldn't be concealed. Besides, there was no need to hide it.

This meant he truly wouldn't have to leave the village anymore.

"What? You don't need to question me? This is the Masked Man! The Masked Man isn't dead, and you don't need to ask how I feel about it?"

Retsuo's group naturally had their movements restricted, but before long, Morino Ibiki, his face covered in scars, told him that he could leave.

"During the Nine-Tails Night, you questioned me seven or eight times over and over. Does Minazuki's death mean so little to the village?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Morino Ibiki glared at him sternly, then snorted. "Forget it. Why should I get angry with a Genin like you? Minazuki's mind retains the complete intelligence. Who needs secondhand information from you?"

Damn, I forgot Konoha had this high-tech method too. Fortunately, he hadn't tampered with Tenma and Shinji's memories. It seemed Yulong wasn't doing a very good job as an Elite Jonin.

"But doesn't Third Grandpa need to meet with me? I don't believe Third Grandpa doesn't have any questions to ask."

Retsuo switched to his little-kid routine, but Ibiki wasn't buying it. "Actually, Lord Danzō very much wants to meet you. He has plenty of questions."

"No, actually, I just want to tell Third Grandpa in person that I don't know anything."

Thanks to Fan Lanfeng for the generous donation. Thanks as well to Love This Book, Tingfeng Ruge, and Scottzh for your donations.