"Rin…"
Obito ignored both Kakashi and Minato in the photo, focusing entirely on Rin Nohara.
"This feels a little off…"
Just as he was about to sneak a kiss at her photo, he remembered how Kakashi had caught him last time.
He glanced around, confirming no one was nearby, then pulled out tape… and tissue paper.
With expert precision, he used the tape to cover Kakashi's head in the photo—So he wouldn't get the illusion that he was kissing Kakashi instead.
Satisfied, Obito picked up the tissue and leaned in for a secret smooch with Rin's image.
Time for fantasy mode!
"Rin…"
He murmured her name, completely lost in emotion.
"I'm here, Obito."
A gentle voice responded.
Obito froze.
That voice.The one he longed for day and night.
He was doomed.
His fingers tightened around the tissue as he slowly raised his gaze.
At the window stood two silhouettes.
One was Rin.The other—Kiyohara.
"Ahem… Rin, Kiyohara. Hey, guys."
Obito smoothly turned his body away and began wiping his nose, acting like nothing happened.
"What were you just doing, Obito?"
Kiyohara asked, eyeing the picture frame in Obito's hand.
Even without seeing the front, he already knew what it contained.
"Nothing. Just… reminiscing."
Obito, flustered in front of Rin, shot Kiyohara a pleading look.'Don't say anything, please!'
"You need to take care of your body, Obito. Moderation is important."
Kiyohara said meaningfully.
Sneaking kisses at a photo? Even 2D characters don't go that hard.
"Take care of his body?"
Rin blinked, not catching Kiyohara's deeper meaning.
Obito's eyes widened."You—you're slandering me out of nowhere!"
"Oh? You weren't secretly kissing Rin's picture?"
Kiyohara smirked.
Honestly, Obito should've trained under Jiraiya—One peeped at bathhouses, the other whispered sweet nothings to photos.
Obito's face flushed red as veins bulged on his forehead.
"I was blowing the dust off! Maintaining the bonds between comrades—how could that be called a kiss?!"
He launched into a passionate speech about the Will of Fire and precious bonds.
The air was filled with an odd… joyful energy.
Rin thought they were just joking around and didn't take it too seriously.
"Obito, if you don't hurry up, we'll be late. Kakashi and Sensei are already waiting."
Rin reminded gently.
Seeing Rin wasn't mad, Obito let out a sigh of relief.
His cool, heroic image must never be tarnished in her heart.
"Got it."
He turned, slung on his backpack and gear pouch, and finally adjusted his signature yellow goggles.
He'd been ready for a while—Just lost track of time admiring Rin's beauty.
"Let's go."
Rin walked to the window to wait for him.
As Obito put the photo back, he was about to grab another kunai when Rin spotted something strange.
"Why is Kakashi's face taped over?"
"Uh… less dust that way."
Obito replied quickly.
"I see…"
Rin looked puzzled but nodded anyway.
'This is probably the last time Obito kisses Rin's photo,'
Kiyohara thought.
After getting crushed under a boulder and split in half, he'd be lucky to have even one testicle left.
Whether the sausage got flattened, or just split fifty-fifty, depended on which side Obito leaned on normally.
Kiyohara figured he'd be done for either way.
White Zetsu prosthetics didn't come with that kind of attachment.
"Let's move."
Obito bid his grandmother goodbye and stepped out.
He noticed Kiyohara was looking at him…With a strange, pitying expression.
He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
…
At the village gate.
"You're late again, Obito."
Kakashi said coldly as Obito came running up.
"It's just a few minutes… What's the big deal?"
Obito grumbled.
"A real shinobi follows the rules. Those who don't are trash."
Kakashi didn't mince words.
To him, rules were everything.
His father had broken the rules to save comrades.It cost him the mission—and his life.
"Alright, Kakashi. That's enough."
Minato stepped in to smooth things over.
Ever since the death of the White Fang, Kakashi had been like this.
Minato knew some of the backstory—But as a shinobi, orders had to come first.
"During the mission, everything else comes second."
He said firmly.
A united team was critical.He wouldn't tolerate bickering.
"And remember, this mission is classified. I'll only reveal the details once we reach the border."
Kiyohara listened quietly from the back.
He never understood why missions always had to start from the village gate.
Maybe it was a ninja thing—some kind of ritual.
"By the way, future me… ever get a girlfriend?"
Kiyohara asked casually in his mind.
The urn in his mind rattled as rogue Kiyohara's spirit floated out.
"Nope. Just staying alive took everything I had. No room for romance."
He shook his head.
He'd tried, sure—But the only options available were other rogue-nin women.
Not everyone could be like Sakura—Willing to chase after an S-rank criminal like Sasuke out of pure love.
Then again… Sasuke did have the looks for it.
He wasn't ugly himself, but the years of wandering had left him looking haggard and aged.
"Figures…"
Kiyohara looked at his future self's tragic bachelor status and vowed not to end up like that.
Eventually, Minato finished his briefing and called out:
"Let's move!"
The squad headed out together.
Days passed quickly as they traveled.
By day, they darted through forests.By night, they camped for rest.
They traveled light, so they reached the border area swiftly.
"We're almost there."
Kurenai leapt from branch to branch, her pace agile and swift.
Tree-jumping was a common ninja travel method—it made long journeys much faster.
"Do you think we can pull it off?"
She glanced at Kiyohara.
"We'll do our best."
He replied calmly.
Failure might mean a demotion or penalty.Death, however, was… permanent.
He was a genin.At the very bottom of the ninja ladder.
Three thousand ryō a month—And they expected him to risk his life?
A 3K salary for 30K-level danger?
Kiyohara figured it was already generous that he wasn't outright slacking.
But many ninja clung to something called the Will of Fire—Choosing to suffer for their ideals.
"Let's stop here for now."
Minato halted the team.
They were standing on a wide grassland.As the wind swept across it, the blades of grass bowed low like kneeling soldiers.