Going Home

"Miss shopkeeper, ten more skewers of dango, please, and another ten to go!" Seeing that Obito didn't seem full, Koki generously ordered him ten more skewers to eat there and another ten to take home.

"There's no need. You've already spent too much on me," Obito said, overwhelmed by the kindness.

"It's fine. I have plenty of spending money anyway!" Koki gave his plump little rabbit wallet a gentle pat. A skewer of dango only cost a few ryo, so he could afford to treat Obito to this much.

Seeing that Obito still wanted to refuse, Shisui spoke up too. "It's really fine, Obito-nii. We really do have quite a lot of spending money."

Ever since he had gone to live at Koki's house, Shisui's wallet had never been empty.

"Then thank you both." Hearing them both say so, Obito stopped refusing. His usual cheerful smile finally returned, and he accepted Koki's kindness.

"By the way, you didn't look well earlier. Did something happen? You can tell us about it." While they waited for the three-color dango, Shisui spoke up in an unhurried voice.

"Obito-nii, what happened? Was someone in the clan bullying you? Tell me. My dad is Fugaku." Hearing Shisui's words, Koki was shocked and hurriedly pressed for an answer.

Could someone in the clan have bullied Obito? That won't do. Watch out, or my brother Obito will wipe you all out!

Shisui, however, couldn't help laughing, as though he had heard something amusing.

The boy scratched his head, as if finding it hard to say. "It's nothing, really. I just wanted to confess to the girl I like today, and then..."

As it turned out, Obito had bought a bouquet of roses that day, intending to confess to Rin, only to find that she seemed to be on a date with Kakashi. Distraught, he had started for home.

On the way, he had accidentally bumped into a ninja. The person also attended the Ninja Academy and was in the same year as him, though not in the same class. Obito had apologized, but the other boy wouldn't leave him alone and had even mocked the dream he was always talking about: "My dream is to become Hokage."

After that, he had run into Koki and the others outside the three-color dango shop, but he hadn't had any money to buy dango.

With everything piling up, Obito had completely broken down.

"Obito-nii, how old are you?"

"I'm nine this year. Why?"

Koki looked at him in confusion. Are all the kids in Naruto this precocious? Confessing their feelings at nine?

"I don't know much about love, but I believe you can become Hokage! I look forward to the day your goggles and the Sharingan, the symbol of our Uchiha Clan, are carved into Hokage Rock."

Koki secretly added in his heart, As long as Lord Madara doesn't trick you into losing your way.

Obito abruptly raised his head, his eyes wide beneath his goggles and his face full of disbelief.

"Really? Do you really think so?"

"Of course. I believe in you. You might be the first Uchiha Hokage, so do your best, Obito-nii."

Obito's pupils contracted sharply, and it seemed as though blazing flames might burst from his eyes. His hands trembled slightly with excitement, his fingers curled, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his palms. His whole body shook uncontrollably.

All his life, he had been surrounded by ridicule and contempt, and this little boy was the first person to say so firmly that he believed in him. He was so excited now that tears nearly spilled from his eyes.

Obito's Mangekyo ability, Kamui, is so broken!

If the Kannabi Bridge incident had never happened, if he hadn't given Kakashi his Sharingan, and if Lord Madara hadn't tricked him with the Infinite Tsukuyomi, who could say whether Obito might have become Hokage? Doesn't everyone say Obito is just Naruto gone dark? But Lord Madara was deceived by Black Zetsu too.

Alas! Those tragic Uchiha geniuses!

In fact, Koki thought it would be extremely difficult for the Uchiha Clan to produce a Hokage. The specific reasons could be traced all the way back to events in the Warring States era. Besides, if the Uchiha Clan really did produce a Hokage, the other clans wouldn't agree to it either.

So Obito's road to becoming Hokage is still a long one. Do your best, kid.

Then again, Koki greatly admired and envied people who held fast to their dreams and worked unwaveringly toward them. He didn't seem to have ever had a dream of his own.

"Koki, what's wrong?"

Shisui looked worriedly at the boy, who had been staring into space for a while now, and couldn't help feeling concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think it's nice to have a dream and work hard for it. I don't seem to have a dream I'm set on, haha."

Koki forced a smile, trying to hide the confusion in his heart, but his unusual behavior still made Shisui frown.

"There's no need to worry. Whatever your dream may be in the future, I'll be with you every step of the way," Shisui said firmly.

"Okay, it's a promise."

Obito looked at the two deeply devoted friends before him, his heart full of envy. Having a close friend who would always stay by your side was truly precious. But on second thought, a person shouldn't be too greedy. Koki saying he believed in his dream was already enough to keep him happy for a long time.

Seeing the hint of envy in Obito's eyes, Koki grew thoughtful.

Obito lives all alone anyway, so why not have him move in too? He could train with Shisui and me, and the Ninjutsu at the clan head's house is much better than practicing on his own. Then he wouldn't still be at the bottom of the class at the Ninja Academy, would he?

I'd better hold on tight to Obito's thigh. He's a major boss early on, after all, with limitless prospects, and he'll be terrifyingly strong in the future too.

Thinking further ahead, if I lure both Shisui and Obito home, and with my own little brother Itachi too, we can build up our bonds. With the Uchiha's strongest fighters all on my side, who would dare bully the Uchiha again?

Would we still have to fear that old thief Danzo? What could he possibly do, stab Susanoo with a Kunai? Who gave him that courage, Liang Jingru?

Dad, look how good I am to you. I've found you another fine son.

Besides, Obito had been so pitiful, being tricked like that. Thinking of his life, Koki felt sorry for him. If Obito stayed by his side, Koki could at least try to see whether he could change Obito's fate.

If Obito hadn't been tricked by Lord Madara, he wouldn't have gone dark. If he hadn't gone dark, he wouldn't have controlled the Nine-Tails and used him to attack the village. Without the Nine-Tails' Attack, Minato and his wife wouldn't have died. If they hadn't died, Naruto wouldn't have lost both his parents at such a young age, been shunned by the whole village, gotten diarrhea from drinking expired milk, and had no money to buy food, leaving him to eat instant noodles alone at home every day.

Who knows where all the money Minato and his wife earned from those missions went!

Koki needed only a few seconds to think all this through before blurting out, "Obito-nii, you live on your own anyway. It must get lonely at home by yourself, right? We don't have school today, so do you want to come over to my house this afternoon? I have a little brother too. He's especially cute and well-behaved. His name is Uchiha Itachi. I'll introduce you to him, and we can all be good friends."

Koki decided to boil the frog in warm water and take things one step at a time. He was afraid asking outright would scare Obito.

Hearing this, Obito couldn't help opening his mouth in surprise. He had never imagined that one day he could become friends with Koki and the others.