Far from the bustling world, in the Shikkotsu Forest, Obito had no idea how long it had been in the outside world since he arrived here.
Each day in the Shikkotsu Forest, aside from cultivating natural energy, the only thing left for him to do was to dig deeper into the power of his Sharingan.
But according to Hakushi, using the Mangekyo Sharingan for too long would bring the risk of blindness, while Sage Art Chakra could relieve or even suppress the risk of Mangekyo Sharingan blindness.
Therefore, before mastering Sage Art, Hakushi strictly forbade him from using the Mangekyo Sharingan's pupil techniques in his right eye.
Obito was no longer a rookie in the Ninja Realm. Ever since he awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, he'd learned a lot of hidden secrets of the Ninja Realm from Hakushi.
For example, the top secret of how the Uchiha Clan awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
For example, the mastermind who schemed for his eyes before, was actually their Uchiha Clan ancestor, Uchiha Madara, who was supposed to have died long ago.
And even when it came to the secrets of the Tailed Beasts, Obito had learned quite a few.
And precisely because of this, Lin was unable to return to Konoha.
Because the Tailed Beast inside Lin—the Seven-tailed—was the Tailed Beast of the Hidden Waterfall Village in the Land of the Waterfall. Due to the Seven-tails matter, Hidden Waterfall had negotiated with Konoha more than once, hoping Konoha would hand over Lin, who took the Hidden Waterfall Tailed Beast, letting them deal with her as they saw fit.
It was only because Lin's whereabouts were currently unknown to both the Konoha and Hidden Waterfall intelligence networks, Konoha couldn't give Hidden Waterfall a proper explanation. Apparently, because of this, Hidden Waterfall announced a direct break with Konoha. Public opinion turned sharply against Konoha, and it seemed that the remaining Five Great Nations' Ninja Villages were fanning the flames from behind, making Konoha overwhelmed and at their wit's end for a while.
If Lin's whereabouts were ever exposed, it wouldn't just be the Hidden Waterfall Ninja coming after her; even Konoha, wanting to prove their innocence and restore their relationship with Hidden Waterfall, would send people to capture Lin and hand her over to Hidden Waterfall for disposal.
Thinking0f this, Obito couldn't help but sigh in frustration.
He didn't blame Konoha at all; he could only sigh over fate's cruel tricks.
Anyway, there was still an orthodox Uchiha Clan here in the Land of Demons, so it wasn't really betraying the Uchiha Clan; it was just that he couldn't contact his old comrades any longer.
"Obito, dinner's ready."
Lin's voice came from behind him.
"Coming."
Obito put away his messy thoughts, got up off the ground, and walked toward the cabin not far away.
Lin had prepared a rather lavish lunch. When Obito sat down, he said in an admiring tone, "Lin, your cooking is as good as ever."
Lin smiled and said, "As long as you like it, Obito."
"Life here truly is carefree. Not like outside, always fighting, eating cold and hard rice balls in the camps all the time."
Obito ate the white rice and the dishes, savoring the hot food, with both meat and vegetables, rich in nutrients.
For a ninja, days like these were incredibly rare.
"Really?"
Lin tilted her head, not seeming to really understand.
"Yeah, when we were in the camp, Kakashi, Minato-sensei and I often ate cold rice balls, and on missions, we relied on Soldier Rations Pills to fill our stomachs."
Obito remembered something as he spoke, sounding rather nostalgic.
"Kakashi… Minato-sensei?"
"Ah, you don't have to worry about it, Lin."
Obito knew Lin had lost a lot of her memories, so he didn't press her.
"Sorry, I can't really remember."
"It's okay, Lin. Maybe it's a blessing for you not to remember."
"Is that so? But I feel like the name Kakashi is familiar."
Lin frowned, trying hard to recall something.
The moment Obito heard that, he froze at the dining table.
Why would Lin, after losing her memories, still find the name Kakashi familiar?
But with him, she couldn't recall anything?
He was clearly the first one to meet Lin.
He clearly spent much more time with her…
Kakashi, you really are a clingy bastard! Obito lamented silently.
"Um, Obito, what's wrong with you? You've got such a weird expression."
Lin noticed Obito's twisted face, as if he were jealous or something.
"N-nothing, just got bitten by a mosquito."
"Then can you tell me about this Kakashi?"
Lin put down her chopsticks, sat upright, and smiled with genuine interest.
"…Uh, that guy's actually not worth mentioning."
Obito responded rather reluctantly.
"It might help me recover my memories. Please, Obito."
Lin leaned in, her eyes full of hopeful light.
Facing Lin's soft request, Obito knew he couldn't refuse.
But since Lin had lost so many memories, and was hazy about Kakashi too, it shouldn't matter if he tweaked things a bit.
Thinking of this, Obito cleared his throat and said to Lin with all seriousness, "Actually, Lin, that guy Kakashi was a total underachiever."
"Kakashi… underachiever?"
Lin blinked in confusion.
"Y-yeah, when he was in school, he was always late, his exam grades were a mess, his personality was so full of himself—he was a classic example of what not to be, according to the teachers."
Obito said these words with a straight face, as if it were the absolute truth.
"So that's how it was."
Seeing that Lin completely believed him, Obito's courage instantly grew.
No turning back now—since he'd already dug this hole, he might as well keep going.
"But I was different. Born into the prestigious Uchiha Clan—taijutsu, illusion technique, and ninja techniques, I just had to look at them once to learn. I graduated from Ninja School at five, passed the Chunin Exams at six, and became the fastest Uchiha ninja in Ninja Realm history to make Chunin."