Chapter 438: Well Known Person
"What does Captain Fugaku want with me?"
Obito stretched out on a chair and asked casually.
He was not very familiar with Fugaku. If anything, he had interacted more with Yashiro.
Of course, that was only by comparison. Obito did not have a good impression of Yashiro either, since the man kept trying to persuade him to join the Police Force.
"It's not a bad thing," Grandma replied as she moved around the kitchen. "It sounds like he wants to give you some kind of reward."
"Then I'll go after I finish eating."
The moment he heard the word reward, Obito's interest rose.
Joining the Police Force was out of the question, but claiming an Uchiha reward was completely fine. The clan had plenty of advanced Fire Release ninjutsu, after all.
Grandma set the dishes on the table and looked at him with loving eyes. "Is this enough?"
"Enough, enough!" Obito nodded quickly, afraid she would bring out even more. "I might not even finish all of this."
There was a certain kind of love where Grandma always thought you had not eaten enough. If Obito had not strengthened his body through the Breathing Technique, he really might not have been able to handle this much food.
After eating, Obito proactively washed the dishes, then headed to Fugaku's house.
But he forgot one thing.
When he was not on missions, he had the freedom to wander around. Fugaku, as captain of the Police Force, still had to work.
So when Obito arrived early, he did not meet Fugaku. Instead, he met Mikoto and Itachi.
"Obito, are you here to play with Itachi?" Mikoto asked with a gentle smile, clearly unaware of his reason for coming.
Obito shook his head. "Grandma said Captain Fugaku needed to see me."
"He should still be at the Police Force," Mikoto replied after glancing at the time. "He won't be back for about half an hour. Why don't you sit and wait, Obito? I'll make you some tea."
"Half an hour…" Obito thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll wait. But you don't need to make tea. I'm not thirsty."
He was willing to wait, since this was about a reward.
With nothing else to do, Obito decided to use the time to guide Itachi a little.
Itachi was in the yard, spacing out as usual.
Obito walked up and spoke abruptly. "Itachi, you have to become a good person in the future, not a bad person."
Itachi looked at him, puzzled.
"What kind of person can be called good, and what kind can be called bad?" Itachi asked, eyes full of confusion. "Why must one become a good person?"
Obito scratched his head, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
"A good person is someone who helps others a lot," Obito explained with effort. "A bad person is someone who bullies others a lot. Bad people are disliked by everyone, so you should become a good person."
Itachi's expression turned thoughtful.
"So, helping Grandma cross the road is being a good person," he said slowly, "and someone who snatches Grandma's lollipop is a bad person."
"You could say that," Obito nodded.
He helped the elderly all the time. That made him undeniably a good person.
Itachi's gaze sharpened with the focus of someone about to make things difficult.
"But what if someone helps Grandma cross the road," Itachi asked, "and then snatches her lollipop? Is that person good or bad?"
"This…"
Obito ran both hands through his hair and went quiet.
If he said the person was good, they snatched something.
If he said the person was bad, they helped Grandma cross the road.
"Ahem." Obito coughed twice, trying to brush it off. "That question doesn't count. Most people wouldn't do that."
Itachi simply watched him, calm and patient, as if genuinely waiting for the answer.
If he had a choice, Obito would not mind looking knowledgeable in front of a junior clan member. Unfortunately, he really could not come up with a clean answer, and the air turned awkward.
Then the silence was broken by someone returning early.
"Obito," Fugaku said with a smile. "Did you come back from the battlefield today?"
Obito looked at Fugaku with gratitude, like someone had just been granted a pardon. "Yes. Everyone got injured on our last mission, so Mugetsu sensei told us to return to Konoha and recover for a while."
"After a battle that intense, you need to rest well," Fugaku said with concern. "Your body matters most."
This time, Obito and Shisui brought great honor to the clan. Their reputations as geniuses had spread throughout Konoha.
"I'm fine," Obito replied honestly. "My teammates were more seriously injured."
"That's good." Fugaku nodded and led him into the living room.
"Mikoto," Fugaku said, "please bring the red scroll from my bedroom."
Mikoto, who was bringing tea, nodded and went to do as told.
Fugaku turned back to Obito, still smiling. "Obito, you have excellent talent in Fire Release. Besides your own effort, learning from the training experiences of your predecessors can also help. I have some Fire Release training techniques left by past clan heads. Take them home and study them."
"Training techniques, huh…"
Obito was a little disappointed. He had been hoping for advanced Fire Release ninjutsu.
In his mind, Training techniques were not as good. He was the least adept at reading books and materials. Researching that sort of thing alone would be hard for him to see results.
Seeing his expression, Fugaku asked, "Obito, is there any Fire Release ninjutsu you want to learn?"
Given Obito's current performance, Fugaku was willing to meet his growth needs as much as possible.
Because Fugaku truly saw hope for the clan's revival in Obito.
It was extremely difficult for an Uchiha to become Hokage.
First, there was strength, and it had to be unquestionable. The Sharingan gave the clan a major advantage over ordinary ninja, but among Hokage candidates, that advantage was not enough by itself. Every candidate was a true genius.
After talent and strength came identity.
If someone had ties connected to the Hokage, like being a Hokage's disciple, grand disciple, or a Hokage's guard, their chances rose.
Finally, there was prestige.
A Hokage could not be an unknown ninja. Greater prestige meant a greater chance.
In terms of strength, Fugaku believed Obito's talent would make him a powerhouse like the three legendary Sannin. That was not an issue.
In terms of identity, Obito's teacher after graduation was Minato, Jiraiya's disciple, a pure Hokage lineage. His other teacher, Hayate Mugetsu, was vice principal of the Academy and also a Hokage lineage powerhouse. That was not an issue either.
And prestige?
As a young chunin, Obito was already famous across Konoha. For his age, he had over fulfilled the accumulation most people needed.
At ten, Obito had already made progress in all three key elements, which was why Fugaku felt so optimistic about him.
Obito grinned. "I want to learn all the advanced Fire Release ninjutsu."
Fugaku pondered for a moment. It was not that he was unwilling to part with ninjutsu. He was simply worried Obito might bite off more than he could chew.
"Then come again tomorrow night," Fugaku said. "I'll check tomorrow and see what Fire Release ninjutsu in the clan would suit you."
"Hehe, then I'll be troubling you, Captain Fugaku." Obito scratched his head and thanked him.
"This is the clan's responsibility," Fugaku said warmly. "Just keep working hard and growing."
Mikoto returned and handed Fugaku the red scroll. Fugaku passed it to Obito.
Even though Obito was not that interested, free was free, so he accepted it happily.
After getting what he came for, Obito did not stay long.
He was worried Itachi would ask that question again, the kind that made his brain freeze.
"Itachi," Fugaku said, watching Obito leave. He patted Itachi's head, his voice full of expectation. "You should learn more from Obito."
Besides Obito, Shisui's performance had also been outstanding. If Itachi could become like them, then this truly would be an era of revival for the clan.
"Learn from Obito…"
Itachi recalled the conversation and fell into deep thought.
If he had a choice, he would still prefer to learn from Shisui. Obito did not seem very smart.
…
Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's office.
"First there was the Yellow Flash, who could fight the A and B combo to a draw," Onoki said, placing the document down. "Now there's Hayate Mugetsu, who defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and killed Reiki. Konoha really does have an enviable number of geniuses."
His expression grew heavier.
Iwagakure had done well at recuperating. Its forces had grown significantly, and now it could easily assemble an army of more than ten thousand ninja.
On the surface, the village looked like it was thriving.
But only Onoki understood the hidden danger.
Iwagakure lacked top tier powerhouses.
Among tens of thousands of ninja, only Kitsuchi in the younger generation barely satisfied Onoki. No one else showed true potential to become a top level figure.
That worried him.
The Five Great Ninja Villages were great because they had both top tier powerhouses who could awe the shinobi world and countless chunin and jonin who could overwhelm smaller villages.
Right now, Iwagakure still had old figures like him.
But if things continued like this, then twenty years later, Iwagakure would suffer greatly in top end combat power.
Onoki truly envied Konoha. From the beginning of the village era to now, Konoha had produced far too many geniuses, even though it had fewer ninja than Iwagakure.
"We need a way to weaken Konoha first," Onoki said. "Even if there's an opportunity with Kumogakure, we'll have to set it aside."
Konoha was too strong. Without weakening Konoha first, the game could not be played. If the stalemate dragged on, Konoha would always remain the strongest.
He glanced at a report Kitsuchi had submitted and formed a plan.
"Ninja Master Sosuke," Onoki said, "since their ideal is peace, if we can create conflict between Konoha and the Land of Rain, perhaps we can pit the Shinobi Sect against Konoha."
The Shinobi Sect had little overall power, but its few powerhouses could not be underestimated.
Ninja Master Sosuke, who could defeat Hanzo, went without saying. He was a true top tier figure, whose individual combat ability might only be second to Hiruzen and the Nine Tails jinchuriki.
Kakuzu, active in the black market for decades, was also not to be underestimated. Even if he could not defeat the three legendary Sannin, he would not be far off.
Nagato was not well known in the shinobi world, but according to Kitsuchi's report, he was no ordinary ninja either. His strength might be on par with Kakuzu, and his methods were extremely bizarre.
With these three, Onoki believed the Shinobi Sect could definitely make Konoha stumble hard.
…
Sunagakure.
After completing her mission, Pakura looked over the latest changes in the shinobi world.
"Konoha's great victory. Hayate Mugetsu slays Reiki, Raiga Kurosuki…"
Seeing those familiar names, a golden figure immediately formed in her mind.
"It's normal for it to be him," Pakura sighed, recalling their battle months ago.
Even accounting for differences in intelligence, Mugetsu really had defeated her in only a few moves.
If he had wanted to kill her back then, he could have done it directly.
At the time, Pakura had already felt that she would hear news of him sooner or later. Someone that strong could not stay unknown forever.
As expected, only a few months later, Mugetsu became famous across the shinobi world through the battlefield, rising like a new star.
"Hidden Mist suffered such a huge loss," Pakura thought, "so they probably won't dare bother the Hidden Sand for a while."
Before, Hidden Mist had shown significant interest in a chaotic Hidden Sand, and Pakura had been wary.
The situation in Hidden Sand really was not good.
The Third Kazekage's disappearance had triggered internal strife, consuming vital strength. Then news leaked, and Kumogakure took advantage of the situation.
Even Pakura, a hero of the village, felt that Hidden Sand was currently the weakest among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"If it weren't for that internal war over the Kazekage position," she thought bitterly, "Hidden Sand wouldn't have fallen this far."
She despised the people who dragged the village into internal conflict for power.
…
Kumogakure.
After seeing Mugetsu's battle achievements and the outcome on Konoha's eastern battlefield in the Land of Fire, the Third Raikage convened a meeting with his think tank.
This extraordinary clash, and its shocking results, spread rapidly through the shinobi world.
Even the smaller villages and independent forces learned a new name.
A young powerhouse had appeared in Konoha.
Hayate Mugetsu.
Konoha's ninja across all battlefields were greatly boosted in morale. They believed victory was surely ahead.
Meanwhile, Konoha's enemy villages went to great lengths to investigate Mugetsu.
Konoha had publicized the achievement, but most people only knew that Mugetsu was terrifyingly strong. They did not know his abilities.
Only the Hidden Mist, currently fighting him, held a significant amount of intelligence.
From their battles, they learned that Mugetsu was skilled in Ice Release, Fire and Wind combination ninjutsu, and the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Those who understood that intelligence also understood just how troublesome he was.
From afar, he could bombard with combination ninjutsu.
Up close, he could kill instantly with Flying Thunder God.
And because of their hostile relationship, Hidden Mist very happily sold multiple copies of that intelligence.
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