Chiba and Uchiha Obito
Facing Minato Namikaze's pointed remarks about the Uchiha Clan's reputation, Obito could only lower his head in silent shame.
Minato continued calmly, his eyes distant.
"Chi Yu isn't officially recognized by the Uchiha Clan, but the blood of the Uchiha flows in his veins. That fact can't be denied."
He sighed.
"Because of that, the villagers took their resentment toward the Uchiha out on Chi Yu. He was an easy target—isolated, unloved, and unprotected."
Obito swallowed hard, imagining the scene: a child, no more than five, living alone, no family, no allies, harassed by the people of the very village he called home.
The thought suffocated him.
Minato's voice was heavy with regret.
"Because of those early years, Chi Yu grew up... unstable. Untrusting. Cold to nearly everyone—especially me. I made a mistake back then, and for over a decade, he hasn't forgiven me."
Obito blinked, surprised.
"What kind of mistake would make Chi Yu-sama hold a grudge against you for so long?"
Minato gave a rueful smile.
"It had to do with Kushina. You probably wouldn't believe it, but she was the only person Chi Yu ever truly cared for. Back then, two boys—a student from the Academy and his older brother, a Genin—were harassing her. I... I made the wrong call. I backed the wrong people and let Kushina down. Chi Yu was furious."
His smile faded.
"If Jiraiya-sensei hadn't intervened, Chi Yu would have taken my arm right then and there."
Obito's eyes widened.
"He was already that strong? But Jiraiya-sama said you were incredibly talented, even back then!"
Minato nodded with a faint, self-deprecating laugh.
"I couldn't even hold a candle to him at the time. While we were still students, he had already mastered a technique he called Lightning Breathing: Body Flicker. We sparred multiple times—and every time, I lost. It wasn't until the war started, and I learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, that I started to close the gap."
Obito lit up with admiration.
"But Flying Thunder God is invincible! You're the Yellow Flash!"
Minato shook his head.
"Even after learning it, I fought Chi Yu once more. I lost again. Easily. He wasn't just fast—he was clever. Tactical. The way he anticipated my every move was terrifying."
Obito was stunned.
"I've never seen Chi Yu-sama fight, but... he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, right? That has to make him one of the most powerful Uchiha ever!"
Minato's tone turned cold.
"Obito—remember this: never bring up the Uchiha Clan in front of Chi Yu. Never associate him with them. He hates that name, and if you do, he won't hesitate to retaliate. He may be indifferent to most, but when it comes to the Uchiha, he's ruthless. If he finds any excuse, any vulnerability, he'll act on it."
Obito gulped, nodding nervously.
"Y-yes, understood."
Minato looked away. His voice dropped to a whisper.
"He and I were never compatible. He's radical, arrogant, cruel... he doesn't value comrades. If someone's wounded, he won't try to save them. He'll see it as a chance to turn the situation into an advantage."
He paused, brows furrowed with the weight of memory.
"There was a time during a mission—Daigo, one of our team, was critically wounded. He begged Chi Yu for help. Chi Yu gave him a fistful of exploding tags and told him to die with the enemy. I'll never forget the look on Daigo's face."
Obito's mouth fell open, horrified.
"Giving a dying comrade explosive tags? That's... that's monstrous...!"
Minato exhaled, the frustration plain on his face.
"What worries me now is Kakashi. He's starting to mirror Chi Yu—more cold, more calculating. I'm afraid he'll become just like him. But Kakashi is Chi Yu's student. I can't interfere—not emotionally, not logically."
Obito remained silent for a long while. His heart felt heavy.
Minato gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's getting late, Obito. Go rest."
"Yes, Sensei. You too."
---
On his way back to camp, Obito's thoughts were filled with images of Chi Yu—Minato's words, the warnings, the regrets. And Kakashi... was this really what he was becoming?
Halfway there, a voice rang out from the darkness.
"Oh? Done talking behind my back with that Minato Namikaze?"
"Wha—!?"
Obito froze. The voice sent a chill down his spine.
Turning slowly, he saw him.
Chi Yu.
His heart thundered.
"C-chi, Chi Yu-sama! I didn't see you there!"
Obito's voice cracked under pressure.
Chi Yu looked him over with thinly veiled contempt. He couldn't understand how this fool—awkward, soft, naive—would one day be remembered as the one who nearly destroyed the world.
His gaze tightened. Obito was suffocating under the weight of it.
Finally, Chi Yu spoke.
"So... do you think I'm as radical, cruel, arrogant, and extreme as Minato says?"
Obito forced a laugh, nervous and fake.
"No, no! Not at all! I—I don't think that!"
Chi Yu gave a thin, mocking smile.
"You weren't there," he said coldly. "You didn't see how I grew up. I did nothing wrong—and yet I was insulted, beaten, and spat on. I had no one. No clan, no family, no teacher. No one to rely on but myself."
His voice lowered, venom laced in every word.
"I had to survive by crawling through the filth of this village. And when I finally became strong, when I could stand on my own, what did they ask me to do?"
His lips curled in disgust.
"Protect the people who used to beat me. Do you know how that felt?"
Obito couldn't answer. He just stared, stunned.
Chi Yu's eyes darkened.
"And now they say I corrupted Kakashi? That I made him cold?"
He took a step forward.
"It wasn't me. It was Konoha."
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