The White Zetsu had already been sealed and sent away.
Shisui hadn't looked too closely—he'd only caught a glimpse of something vaguely human-shaped, yet clearly not human. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but one thing was certain…
Until that thing was caught, he hadn't been able to sense it clearly at all. Before then, it was just a faint, elusive presence at the edge of perception.
He remembered his teacher once mentioning such concealment techniques—
But this was his first time seeing one up close.
Curiosity flickered in Shisui's eyes, but he knew that if Kyoichi wanted him to know something, he'd say it directly. If he didn't—then the time simply wasn't right.
"Sensei, have you been following us this whole time?"
"I wasn't at ease," Kyoichi replied, nodding. "So I sent a Wood Clone to keep watch. Just in case something happened. As of now, very few people can even sense them."
If Minato could use Wood Release, he could probably achieve similar results by combining it with Sage Chakra—but unfortunately, Wood Release wasn't something just anyone could learn.
Besides…
Minato's Earth Release wasn't great—he'd only recently started studying it. As for Water Release… he didn't even know the basics.
So in short—
Wood Release simply wasn't his field.
Everyone had their specialties.
Minato's gift lay in Flying Thunder God and other high-speed techniques. His reaction speed was monstrous—so much so that even Obito with his Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't compare.
That alone said enough.
Shisui nodded silently. Behind him, Obito hurried over. When he saw Kyoichi standing there, he froze in surprise—then hesitated.
Should he go over?
Obito hesitated for a moment.
He knew Kyoichi didn't particularly like him—or at least, that his relationship with Kyoichi was different from that of Shisui or Kakashi.
Of course…
That didn't mean Kyoichi didn't value him.
Quite the opposite—
If he were honest with himself, the people who cared most about him in the village were Kyoichi and Minato.
Minato was his teacher.
Though the "one jōnin leads three" system had been abolished this year, Minato still checked in on him more often than on Kakashi. Whenever he had time, he'd stop by to see Obito's progress.
Kyoichi, on the other hand, cared in a different, less obvious way.
Obito couldn't quite describe it, but he knew his teacher meant well—Kyoichi just seemed to prefer geniuses like Shisui and Kakashi more.
And really…
Who didn't like geniuses?
Obito sighed inwardly.
"You two are supposed to be guarding Minato's team, yet the moment you sense something, you rush straight to me? Have you forgotten the ninja code?"
Kyoichi's tone was half-amused.
Shisui's face flushed red.
"My apologies, Sensei! I sensed your chakra and… forgot myself for a moment."
"Alright, go back to your post."
"Yes!"
In an instant, Shisui vanished.
Obito was about to follow—but before he could move, he suddenly realized Kyoichi was standing right beside him.
"Sensei Kyoichi?"
"No need to be so tense," Kyoichi said lightly. "I'm just a special kind of Wood Clone, not my main body or a regular Shadow Clone. Even if you curse at me…"
He smirked. "I'll just note it down—and send it to the real me via Flying Thunder God."
"Uh…" Obito's mouth twitched.
Yup. Same old Kyoichi-sensei. Even his clone had the same sense of humor.
"Alright, enough joking around. How's your Flying Thunder God training going?"
"Sensei, it's too hard!"
Obito's face twisted in exasperation.
There were so many formulae and theoretical principles behind the technique that his head hurt just thinking about them. But because it was such a powerful jutsu, he couldn't bring himself to give it up.
"It really is difficult for you," Kyoichi admitted, "but if you manage to master it, you'll be stronger than Kakashi. Isn't that reason enough to keep trying?"
"Eh?"
Obito blinked.
Could he really compare himself to Kakashi like that? Something about it didn't sound right…
He stood there for a few seconds, puzzled.
"That's only because you haven't taught Kakashi, right? If you did, he'd probably learn it faster than me."
"No," Kyoichi said firmly. "Give Kakashi ten years, twenty years—even a lifetime—and he'd still never learn this technique. He simply doesn't have the aptitude for it. You do."
His tone was serious. "Obito, you're not untalented. On the contrary—you're a genius. A true genius."
"…Really?"
Obito was dumbfounded.
He'd always thought Kyoichi was teaching him Flying Thunder God just to keep him from obsessing over his Sharingan—to steer him off that dangerous path.
But to think… he actually had talent?
I'm a genius?
"Of course," Kyoichi said. "When the Sage of Six Paths closes one door, he always opens another. Everyone has their strengths—it's just a matter of finding the right field."
"But… I've never felt like a genius. For a long time, I thought the only thing that made me special was my eyes. It wasn't until you told me to train with Guy that I realized I could push myself in other ways."
Obito scratched his head.
"Think of it this way," Kyoichi said, smiling. "If talent were a fruit—some fruits hang low, easy to see and pick. Others are hidden deep among thick leaves. To get them, you need to climb up and search carefully."
He was ladling out encouragement like a warm broth—and Obito was drinking it all up, wide-eyed.
Of course, Kyoichi wasn't just feeding him empty words.
Obito did have genuine potential.
Spatial ninjutsu wasn't something just anyone could master—especially Flying Thunder God. Even after countless attempts, only three or four ANBU squads had ever managed to use the Flying Thunder Formation, a simplified team version of the technique.
As for the true Flying Thunder God—
None had succeeded.
There was another reason Kyoichi said all this, too.
He had noticed something strange about Obito's eyes.
The chakra gathered there was potent—on the verge of transformation. All it needed was a trigger. Something—or someone—to push him past that threshold.
Perhaps…
Flying Thunder God could be that trigger.
Obito fell silent, deep in thought.
"Why not treat Flying Thunder God as a test?" Kyoichi suggested. "Give it your all. If you succeed, you'll have proven you're a true genius. If you fail—well, it simply means your potential ends there."
"Yes! I understand now!"
Obito's blood was boiling with determination, his doubts forgotten.
Kyoichi clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Good. Believe in yourself."
"Yes! Yosh! My youth—!"
Obito howled with fiery spirit.
After firing him up, Kyoichi's Wood Clone said goodbye and sank back into the ground, shifting into a low-consumption mode to conserve chakra.
That kid really had changed under Might Guy's influence.
He'd become just like him—same energy, same fiery speeches.
Then again…
He was even wearing the same green jumpsuit.
Same outfit, same madness, Kyoichi thought wryly.
While Obito marched back, brimming with energy, Minato and Kakashi emerged from underground to rest on the surface. When Obito didn't return immediately, Minato sensed it—but quickly realized what was happening.
Kyoichi's clone was nearby, likely with Obito.
No reason to worry.
Instead of fretting over Obito…
It was better to think about Madara.
After all the searching, there were still no signs of him in the Land of Fire.
It seemed, just as Kyoichi suspected, that Madara might be hiding somewhere among the smaller nations—perhaps the Land of Grass, or the Land of Waterfalls.