"This is bad, Jiraiya-sama!"
A Konoha Chunin burst in just as Jiraiya was about to rest.
Jiraiya paused, tidied his clothes, and asked the Konoha ninja, "Calm down, what's happened?"
The Konoha Chunin, urgent, took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Jiraiya. "Uchiha Obito is missing—this is the letter he left."
"What did you say?"
Jiraiya's expression changed. He quickly took the letter, opened it, and saw the situation was just as the Chunin said.
The letter basically said he wanted to act on his own to rescue his comrade Nohara Rin who had been taken by the enemy, hoping Jiraiya, as commander, would approve.
This was asking forgiveness after the fact.
"Damn it! That reckless Uchiha brat! Did he not consider the consequences of doing this?"
Jiraiya sighed with a headache.
This is war. Leaving camp without permission from a superior is treated as being a renegade ninja.
And Obito is an Uchiha.
You have to know, many Konoha ninja are very dissatisfied with the Uchiha right now. If this gets out, the Uchiha clan's situation will get even worse.
The reputation they've barely managed to recover would be ruined by Obito alone.
There was something else that annoyed Jiraiya immensely.
Obito is the student of his disciple, Minato. For Obito to leave camp against orders basically means Minato can't control his subordinates.
That would lower people's opinion of Minato.
Not even able to control a Chunin subordinate—no matter the justification, it's a stain on his record.
Besides, he vaguely felt putting Obito under Minato was something his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, did on purpose to appease and win over the Uchiha clan.
This kid looked insignificant, but his role was actually huge.
"What should we do now, Jiraiya-sama?"
Currently, the camp doesn't allow anyone below Jonin to act, much less a Chunin like Obito leaving camp with no orders. That's defiance of Konoha's wartime regulations.
"Don't let this get out for now. I'll send someone to deal with it."
"Yes."
As Jiraiya's trusted subordinate, the Konoha Chunin knew how negatively this could affect them.
The person involved was also Uchiha—a very sensitive identity.
When the Chunin left, Jiraiya no longer felt like resting. He walked straight out of his tent and called up suitable Jonin to go bring Uchiha Obito back by force.
"Seriously, are the patrols on watch outside all blind?"
Jiraiya started to complain.
Even if he's an Uchiha with the Sharingan, they should have noticed something before he got away, shouldn't they?
This is all because of that defection incident. Now there are fewer Hyuga clan ninja on the frontlines, so defense is weaker than before.
Some have also been taken by Minato to monitor the Hidden Rock's movements.
We have to keep this under wraps; too many people can't find out.
Jiraiya wasn't stupid. If the truth gets out, there are people who will make trouble over it—especially that old guy Danzo.
He might not come looking for problems during wartime, but after the war, he'll bring it up and set the council and the Uchiha at each other's throats again.
When it comes to suppressing the Uchiha, that Dark Ninja never shows any mercy.
◎
Rin, where are you?
Obito dashed anxiously through the forest under the night, his mind filled with nothing but Rin.
As for rules—they'd already been thrown to the wind, completely ignored.
He used three days to memorize Konoha camp's patrol routes, and tonight, without hesitation, he moved. No matter what, even if alone, he would save Rin from the enemy.
He had a gut feeling—Rin wasn't dead, but being held somewhere.
Rin must be so scared all alone right now. Every time Obito thought about it, his heart burned with the urge to tear the enemy apart.
Unforgivable!
No idea how much time passed—while running in the forest, Obito suddenly sensed something and stopped, his red Double-Tomoe Sharingan staring ahead.
A figure was standing tall in front, blocking Obito's path.
"It ends here, Uchiha brat. If you've made enough trouble, come back with me now."
A Konoha ninja in uniform spoke coldly to Obito.
Obito's eyes flickered with tension. He recognized this man—a Konoha Jonin skilled in Earth Style and Water Style, and with impressive Taijutsu. In a way, exactly the kind Obito didn't want to fight.
Under the Jonin's intimidating aura, Obito could only pant quietly, lips pressed tight, his Sharingan warily trained on him.
"Not going to talk? Give up. Even with the Sharingan, you're not my match—you'll just be a bit of trouble for me. I don't want to fight a fellow Konoha ninja, even if I don't like the Uchiha."
The Konoha Jonin sighed.
But his warning seemed useless—there was no wavering in Obito's eyes.
Even against a powerful Jonin, nothing could stop him from saving Rin.
"Looks like there's no way to reason with you. Sorry, I'm out of time, so I'll use violence."
After a moment's silence, seeing Obito's determination, the Jonin knew words were pointless. Only by force could he make this kid obey.