Chapter 264: An Unknown Third Party
Chapter 264: An Unknown Third Party
"What's the point of me establishing the Ninja Academy? What was my original intention behind this policy? I..."
In his sleep, Obito felt as if he was being interrogated by a stern white-haired ninja with an icy gaze.
Obito's body shook involuntarily, and he quickly snapped out of his dream. Looking up at the familiar ceiling, desk, and bookshelf, he finally relaxed.
He felt the dampness on his back and touched it, only to realize that he had sweated through his clothes. The intense dream had literally made him break out in a cold sweat.
"How terrifying. It's a good thing the Second Hokage has already passed away," Obito said, his expression softening. In reality, he wouldn't be questioned so harshly by Nidaime Hokage, as the Second Hokage had died before he was even born.
However, as Obito's eyes fell on the clock, his relaxed mood vanished, and his expression turned serious.
"Ten-thirty! I almost slept until noon!" Obito stared at the clock in disbelief, wondering if it was broken. He usually woke up before eight o'clock.
But when he opened the curtains, the bright sunlight outside confirmed that the clock was telling the truth.
"The clock might be slow, but it's not that far off. It's definitely not eight in the morning anymore," Obito thought to himself.
"You're up, dear. You must be hungry. Would you like me to prepare something for you to eat?" Obito's grandmother asked with a kind smile.
Hearing his grandmother's words and glancing at the empty breakfast table, Obito felt a pang of sadness. It seemed that it was indeed close to noon.
However, he didn't blame his grandmother for not waking him up, as he hadn't told her about his plan to visit the Ninja Academy yesterday.
He figured that she must have seen how tired he was and didn't want to disturb him. In this situation, Obito felt too guilty to bring it up.
"No, Grandma, I have something to do and need to go out now," Obito explained briefly before rushing towards the door.
"It should be fine if I get the graduation records later," he reassured himself.
He didn't know how to face the fact that he had shown up late for both the enrollment and graduation document collection. In a way, though, it felt like a consistent pattern.
Just as Obito stepped out of the house, he ran into Nohara Rin, who was holding two sets of documents.
"Your strength has increased, but you're still as unreliable as ever, Obito," Rin said with a helpless smile as she walked up to him.
She remembered how Obito had confidently assured her yesterday, only to show up late again today. His tendency to fall short at critical moments hadn't changed at all.
If she hadn't made plans with her female classmates, Rin would have definitely woken him up early to accompany her.
"Hehe, thanks again for helping me out, Rin. I really appreciate it," Obito said, scratching his head awkwardly and letting out a nervous laugh. The tension dissipated, replaced by a sense of relief and happiness.
For some reason, seeing Rin standing in front of him with a smile on her face made everything seem easier.
If he had to rank people by their reliability, Rin would be second on Obito's list, right after the almighty Mu Yue. However, considering that Mu Yue was practically omnipotent, Rin's second place ranking held a lot of weight.
"Take good care of these," Rin said as she handed Obito the bag containing the documents.
"Yeah, yeah," Obito replied with a cheeky grin, nodding vigorously.
"By the way, Rin, you must have seen the class assignments, right? Are...are we in the same class?" Obito asked, his face turning slightly red as he felt a bit embarrassed directly asking a girl about this.
But his curiosity got the better of him, and he continued, "I mean, did we get assigned to the same team?"
"Oh, the class assignments... It's a bit unfortunate," Rin replied, lowering her head slightly. Her expression changed, and even her clear, sparkling eyes lost their shine, as if the sunny day had suddenly turned gloomy and overcast.
Hearing Rin's response and observing the change in her expression, Obito's heart sank. The previously relaxed atmosphere now felt heavy, like a sudden storm had blown in.
He had considered the possibility that he and Rin might not be assigned to the same small team, as there were forty people in each class, and the odds of them being paired together weren't high. There was also the chance that they could be placed in different teams within their class or even in separate classes altogether, further reducing the likelihood of them being together.
But now that it was actually happening, Obito realized that he felt worse than he had imagined.
He could make time to train with Mu Yue, but would he also have to squeeze in time to hang out with Rin? Doing it once in a while would be fine, but doing it every day would be troublesome for both of them.
Obito's words trailed off as his expression shifted from sadness to disbelief, and then to unmistakable joy.
Just moments ago, standing under the scorching summer sun, he had felt a chill, and would have cursed at an ant passing by. But now, he felt incredibly warm, as if his entire body was soaking in a hot spring. He even sighed with contentment at the beauty of life as he breathed in the air.
"Scared you, huh? Serves you right for being so late. All your friends left, and I waited for you at the academy for several hours, but you never showed up," Nohara Rin said, tilting her head up slightly, a hint of smugness in her smile.
"Red Bean Mud Private Marse!" Obito apologized to Nohara Rin with his hands clasped and a bow, acknowledging that this was indeed his fault.
"Alright, alright, I forgive you. After all, you're Obito. If there ever comes a day when you truly don't need my care anymore, that would be the surprising thing," Nohara Rin said with a smile, finding his formal apology amusing.
She had only been teasing him earlier and wasn't actually angry. Besides, this outcome was somewhat within her expectations.
"Hehe, going on missions with Rin," Obito said, a silly grin spreading across his face as his mind filled with fantasies of him heroically rescuing Nohara Rin, who would then look at him with admiration.
The sudden surge of happiness made Obito wonder if he was still dreaming. He pinched himself, feeling the pain, and only then did he accept that his fantasy had come true.
"Great job to whoever did the class assignments!" Obito praised the academy staff in his mind, admiring their foresight in pairing him and Nohara Rin together out of so many students.
If he knew who was responsible, he would happily give them a certificate for "Best Class Assignment of the Year."
"I thought it was three to a team? Who's our third teammate? Is it Might Guy?" Obito asked Nohara Rin curiously.
He thought it would be great if it was Might Guy, as he was strong and would be a big help in battles. Moreover, Obito felt that with Might Guy around, Nohara Rin would pay more attention to him.
It wasn't that he thought Might Guy was unattractive, but his bright green outfit was an eyesore to most people.
"No," Nohara Rin shook her head.
"Then who is it? Uchiha Tekka? Or Murai Kazuyasu?" Obito rattled off the names of their classmates, only to be denied by Nohara Rin each time.
"None of them? Then who is it? It's not someone from another class, is it?" Obito wondered aloud, running through the names of acquaintances from other classes in his mind.
"Well, it's someone who's surprising in many ways," Nohara Rin replied after some thought.
She felt that no matter how much Obito guessed, he wouldn't be able to fathom that their teammate was Kakashi, who had graduated several years ago.
Even Nohara Rin herself had been stunned when she saw the class list, and the other students were equally surprised by this unusual grouping.
She had even asked Ikegaya Isamu about it, and he explained that this usually happened when there was an issue with the original team, so the person would be placed in a new team. During times of war, this kind of situation occurred almost every year.
"Now I'm even more curious, Rin. Who is it?" Obito pressed further.
"You'll find out tomorrow. Be at Training Ground 12 by 8:30 sharp in the morning," Nohara Rin said, choosing not to reveal that their teammate was Kakashi. Instead, she shared the time and place of their meeting.
She wanted to keep it a surprise because she anticipated an interesting reaction from Obito when he found out.
Not long ago, Obito and Kakashi had mocked each other about how unfortunate it would be to become teammates, and now, ironically, they were paired together.
"In that case, am I bearing a double dose of bad luck?" Nohara Rin had a strange thought, but the image of Obito and Kakashi's expressions when they met made her burst into a brilliant smile.
"Why are you smiling so happily, Rin? Did something funny happen?" Obito asked, captivated by Nohara Rin's radiant smile.
"I guess you could say it's something funny, but I can't tell you just yet," Nohara Rin replied, a hint of mischief flashing in her eyes as she smiled.
Obito nodded absentmindedly.
"Alright, I've delivered the documents, so I won't disturb you anymore. Remember to be on time tomorrow and make a good impression on your mentor teacher.
"Hehe, I finally get to go on missions with Rin!" Tobirama exclaimed, happily bouncing in place and throwing a few triumphant punches.
Now that he was partnered with Rin, he didn't care who the third teammate was, as long as it wasn't Kakashi. He could protect Rin by himself if need be, but it would be better if their third teammate was strong.
Tobirama couldn't imagine Kakashi, that old graduate, being assigned to their team again. The last time had been a mere coincidence.
"Good days are coming," Tobirama hummed an unknown tune as he walked back home.
...
[Disciple Uchiha Obito diligently trained and achieved perfect scores in the academic assessment, earning rewards: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll]
[Disciple Uchiha Madara diligently trained and achieved perfect scores in the graduation assessment, earning rewards: Chakra +600, Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll]
[Disciple Might Guy diligently trained and achieved excellent scores in the graduation assessment, earning rewards: Chakra +450, Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll x3]
Perhaps due to graduation, the system was particularly generous this time, not only granting a significant amount of chakra but also the never-before-seen Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll. Prior to this, he had only received proficiency scrolls.
[Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll: Upgrade any mastered ninjutsu to Mastery level]
Like the proficiency scroll, the effect was simple and direct—an upgrade.
"If only it were a skill mastery scroll," Mu Yue thought to himself.
This scroll couldn't be used on nature transformations but only on concrete ninjutsu like the Grand Fireball and Palm Mystical Technique.
Previously, he had wanted to use the proficiency scroll to improve his proficiency in other nature transformations but found that it couldn't be selected.
Of course, that didn't diminish the value of the mastery scroll. On the contrary, it was a powerful item as it could be used on secret and forbidden jutsu.
Mastery-level skills were always welcome, and Mu Yue wished that all his ninjutsu were at that level. Coupled with high proficiency in nature transformations, he would truly become a walking artillery powerhouse.
In addition to the mastery scroll, he had also obtained four proficiency scrolls and a total of 1,350 chakra points—a substantial gain.
[Name: Mu Yue]
[Chakra: 53,200]
A year had passed, and his chakra had increased from 4,300 at the beginning to 53,200 now—an annual total increase of 48,900.
This chakra increase was quite impressive. When he first met Minato, the latter had only 40,000 chakra, and Mu Yue had now gained almost one and a half times that amount in a year, equivalent to 19.5 small cakes.
"Take care, Teacher Mu Yue. It's been a while since I last saw you," Shizuku waved goodbye to Mu Yue.
Due to Mu Yue's shadow clone attending classes, from Shizuku's perspective, the third term hadn't been much different from the previous ones.
"You'll get to see me plenty next semester. I'll be in charge of the special training then, so you'll be seeing me several times a day for five consecutive months," Mu Yue said with a smile.
In the next semester, he would shift his focus to ninjutsu, aiming to get all A evaluations and learn more ninjutsu. After all, increasing chakra through classes was too slow, and ninjutsu was a better option.
At the same time, he would also expand the scope of special training and strive for higher and better rewards.
"That's great! Training isn't as fun without you, Teacher Mu Yue," Shizuku said with a happy smile.
The special training in the second semester hadn't been as enjoyable with Mu Yue teaching, and she hadn't learned much while still getting tired.
"Our opportunity is coming, brother," Kotetsu said solemnly to Izumo.
"Yes, we must aim for the B group this time," Izumo replied with a smile.
"At this rate, maybe we can achieve the same results as Tobirama-senpai and Guy-senpai by the time we're in the fourth grade!" Kotetsu imagined himself completing an A-rank mission like Tobirama and astonishing the entire school.
"It's possible for me and Shisui, but you two should give up," Shizuku interjected, indicating that she and Shisui were the unwavering first and second places when it came to practical combat.
She was meek in theory but fierce in actual combat.
Watching the playful group, Mu Yue smiled. This school year had been quite fruitful in various ways.
4k, total word count is 8k, let's strive for more tomorrow, everyone remember to keep warm...
(End of Chapter)
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