"What's the point of me establishing the Ninja Academy, what was my original intention for implementing this policy? I..."
In his dream, Obito seemed to see a cold-faced, white-haired ninja rapidly questioning him.
Instinctively, his body twitched, and Obito quickly came to his senses, looking at the familiar ceiling, the familiar desk, and the familiar bookshelf; only then did he relax.
He felt the dampness on his back and touched it, only to find that it was already soaked with sweat. That dream truly had him breaking out in a cold sweat.
"How terrifying, thank goodness the Second Hokage is already dead." Obito's expression relaxed; in reality, Tobirama Senju wouldn't question him like that, as Tobirama Senju had died before he was born.
But after Obito's eyes glanced at the clock's hour hand, his previously relaxed mood vanished, and his expression turned serious.
"Ten-thirty! I actually slept almost until noon!" Obito looked at the clock in disbelief, suspecting for a moment that it was broken—he usually got up before eight.
However, when Obito opened the curtains, the bright sunshine outside gave him the answer.
The clock might be broken, but not so ridiculously; it definitely doesn't look like eight in the morning now.
"You're up, huh? Bet you're hungry. Want me to make you something to eat early?" his grandma asked with a gentle smile.
Listening to his grandma, and looking at the dining table that should've had breakfast on it, Obito felt a bit sad in his heart; it might really be almost noon already.
But Obito didn't blame his grandma for not waking him, as he hadn't told her yesterday about going to the Ninja Academy.
He figured that his grandma must have seen how tired he was and didn't want to disturb him, and in this case, Obito felt bad about bringing it up.
"No need, Grandma; I have something to do and need to go out now." Obito briefly explained to his grandma and then quickly dashed to the door.
"Getting the graduation ninja materials later shouldn't be a problem." Obito consoled himself.
He didn't even know how to complain; he was late picking up the enrollment materials, and now he's late picking up the graduation materials too. But in a way, this could also be considered seeing things through from start to finish.
Just as Obito stepped out of the house, he bumped into Nohara Rin, who held two sets of materials in her hands.
"Even though your skills have improved, Obito, you still can't put people at ease like that." Nohara Rin said with a helpless smile as she walked up to Obito.
She still remembered how confidently Obito had promised yesterday, only to be late again today. At crucial moments, he always drops the ball, which hasn't changed a bit.
If she hadn't promised to meet other girls in the class early, Nohara Rin would've definitely been up early to call Obito to go with her.
"Hehe, Rin, you picked it up for me again; thanks a lot!" Obito said, scratching his head awkwardly and chuckling as his tension melted into a cheerful ease.
For some reason, seeing Nohara Rin standing in front of him, smiling, made everything seem simpler.
If reliability were ranked, Nohara Rin could be second on Obito's list, though considering the top spot belonged to the versatile Sage Mokgetsu, Rin's second place held substantial weight.
"Make sure to keep them safe." Nohara Rin handed the bag containing the materials to Obito.
"Got it, got it." Obito nodded rapidly with a grin.
"Oh, right, Rin, you must've seen the team assignments, right? Did we…" Obito's face flushed slightly, feeling a bit awkward about directly asking a girl if she was on his team.
But courage in his heart prevailed, and Obito quickly continued, "Did we end up in the same class?"
"Team assignment, huh, that's a bit unfortunate." Upon hearing Obito's question, Nohara Rin bowed her head slightly, her expression shifting, and even her bright, clear eyes gradually lost their shine, as if she transformed from a sunny day into a gloomy, rainy one.
Observing Nohara Rin's expression, Obito's heart leaped into his throat, and his previously easygoing mood turned heavy, as if struck by a sudden storm.
While he had considered the possibility that he and Nohara Rin wouldn't be on the same team, given that there were forty students in a class and the chance of the two being together wasn't high, and there was the possibility of joining another class's team, making the probability even lower.
But as the reality hit, Obito found himself more upset than he had imagined.
He could find time for Sage Mokgetsu's training, but would he also have to make time to hang out with Nohara Rin? An occasional visit would be fine, but doing so every day would be troublesome for both of them.
"It's okay, Rin, when you do missions, you should…"
"We ended up together; we can continue cultivating and taking on missions together." Nohara Rin interrupted him with a smile.
Obito's words halted, and his expression shifted from sorrow to disbelief, then to obvious joy.
Just moments ago, standing under the blazing summer sun, he felt cold as if ants passing by would curse. But now, warmth enveloped him as if his whole body was soaking in a hot spring, and taking a breath made him appreciate the beauty of life.
"Surprised? That's what you get for being so late; everyone's gone, and I waited for you at school for hours without seeing you." Nohara Rin slightly raised her head, her smile carrying a hint of smugness.