Chapter 694: Captain Obito Arrives
Under Mugetsu's direction, the first group of Uchiha ninja selected to temporarily leave the Police Force were all assigned to teams.
Uchiha jonin generally served as captains of various squads, while Uchiha chunin were mostly assigned as ordinary team members.
However, there was a small interlude.
Obito, who was not a member of the Police Force, also wanted to participate and serve as a captain in another squad.
His reason was that he wanted to train his leadership abilities in preparation for becoming Hokage.
Mugetsu, however, felt that Obito was probably just eager to experience what it felt like to be a captain, especially after being suppressed by Kakashi for so long.
Still, Mugetsu did not refuse him.
He assigned Obito to a three person squad that currently had no captain.
"It's finally my turn to be a captain. This time, I'll definitely accomplish something, show Kakashi how capable I am, and let Rin see how much I've improved."
Obito was incredibly excited as he made his way toward the training ground.
Although he was merely a small jonin captain with command over only three team members, to Obito, this was still a major step in his life.
It was another firm step along his path toward becoming Hokage.
At present, his three team members were only chunin.
Perhaps by the time he became a Hokage candidate, they would all be jonin.
That would mean three jonin votes.
"Senior Obito, long time no see!"
Kotetsu Hagane spotted a somewhat familiar figure and immediately chased after him, greeting him enthusiastically.
Among the seniors who had graduated from the Ninja Academy before him, aside from his older brother Ebisu, Kotetsu admired Obito and Might Guy the most.
The year Kotetsu entered the Ninja Academy happened to be the year Obito transformed from a dead last student into a genius ninja.
Moreover, after graduating from the Ninja Academy, Obito only became more impressive.
He was promoted to jonin at only ten years old and later achieved an outstanding second place in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
"Kotetsu, long time no see," Obito greeted him with a smile.
"Senior Obito, are you training at one of the nearby training grounds today?" Kotetsu asked as he jogged alongside him.
"Something like that," Obito replied with a nod.
Before the two could talk for long, another voice quickly caught their attention.
"Kotetsu? Senior Obito?"
Izumo Kamizuki looked at them with some uncertainty.
"Good morning, Izumo. Yeah, it's Senior Obito. He's training around here today," Kotetsu explained as he turned around.
Izumo showed an expression of understanding and warmly greeted Obito.
"Senior Obito, during Teacher Mugetsu's succession ceremony, were you watching from the rooftop of the Hokage Building? I don't remember seeing you in the crowd below," Izumo asked curiously.
"Yeah, I was up there. Though my position wasn't that great. I was in the last row," Obito replied.
Izumo and Kotetsu both revealed envious expressions.
They had been squeezed into the crowd below.
"As expected of Senior Obito. Even Ishizaka Yoshio sensei wasn't qualified to go up to the Hokage Building to watch," Kotetsu exclaimed.
Ishizaka Yoshio was their jonin instructor.
"Yeah," Izumo agreed with an envious nod.
Then, after mentioning their teacher, his expression dimmed slightly.
"But speaking of Ishizaka Yoshio sensei, I wonder when his injuries will heal. I hope he recovers soon."
Izumo sighed.
Ishizaka Yoshio did not possess Mugetsu's overwhelming strength, nor did he have Mugetsu's extraordinary teaching ability, but he genuinely treated them very well.
During their previous mission, if Ishizaka Yoshio had not desperately protected them, one of them might have died.
"What are you guys talking about so early in the morning? Why are you sighing?"
Anko Mitarashi noticed the familiar backs of her teammates.
Hearing their sighs, she quickly ran over and patted Izumo on the shoulder.
"Senior Obito, good morning!"
Only after getting closer did Anko recognize Obito.
She immediately greeted him with a cheerful laugh.
Obito smiled back.
"What else could it be? We were talking about Ishizaka Yoshio sensei," Kotetsu explained.
"If we don't have a mission today, let's visit him together after training this afternoon."
Izumo and Anko both nodded.
After all, Ishizaka Yoshio had been so badly injured because he had protected them.
"Generally speaking, an acting captain on their first day should first familiarize themselves with the team's situation instead of immediately taking the team out on a mission," Izumo analyzed.
After all, ninja missions were not something one completed alone.
A team with excellent coordination and a team with poor coordination could have completely different combat effectiveness.
"Who cares about what usually happens? He's just a temporary acting captain," Anko declared boldly.
"If he gets along with us, then we'll cooperate normally until Ishizaka Yoshio sensei comes back. If he doesn't, we'll show him what we're capable of."
The three of them were all top class chunin.
Combined with their excellent teamwork, even an ordinary jonin might not necessarily be able to gain the upper hand against them.
"Exactly! We'll show him the power of our Teacher Mugetsu Class Trident!" Kotetsu pumped his fist enthusiastically.
"It doesn't necessarily have to turn into a direct confrontation," Izumo said, clearly having another idea.
Kotetsu immediately became interested.
"Izumo, what brilliant plan have you come up with this time?"
"If we confront him directly, it might look bad if the matter reaches Teacher Mugetsu," Izumo explained.
"If the new captain doesn't get along with us, we can mock him indirectly every day. We'll pretend to obey his orders while secretly doing the opposite until he gets so frustrated that he gives up on us."
"That makes sense. Izumo, you really are something," Kotetsu said, thinking it was an excellent plan.
Mugetsu was now the Hokage.
If their acting jonin captain complained about them to Mugetsu, it could damage Mugetsu's impression of them as excellent students.
"How exactly do you mock him indirectly? And how do you pretend to obey while doing the opposite?" Obito asked curiously.
"That's simple."
Izumo immediately grew enthusiastic.
"On the first day, we pretend to casually ask about his past. Then we use whatever information he gives us to find people who knew him and investigate the details."
"After that, we use what we discover to mock him indirectly."
"For example, if he boasts about having excellent grades at the Ninja Academy but our investigation reveals that his grades were actually average or terrible, we first pretend not to know and praise him."
"Then, later, we deliberately let him discover that we already know the truth, while making it obvious that we look down on those kinds of grades."
"After that…"
"We can also do this…"
"And then that…"
Kotetsu and Anko quickly joined the discussion.
The three became more and more excited, as if they could already imagine some arrogant jonin having his spirit completely shattered by their brilliant scheme.
Obito showed a trace of surprise.
How could these juniors be so young yet already full of so many mischievous ideas?
They were talents.
Talents who might someday be useful against Kakashi.
As they continued talking, the group approached a small decorative building.
"We're here, Senior Obito. Goodbye," Izumo and Kotetsu said with smiles as they prepared to part ways.
According to the information provided by the Village, this was where they were supposed to gather.
"Senior Obito, let's hang out often if you have time. Next time, I'll make you treat me to dango," Anko added with a cheerful laugh.
However, something quickly confused all three of them.
Obito had stopped walking too.
He simply stood there, looking at them with a wide smile.
"Senior Obito, are you…?"
Izumo looked puzzled.
"I've arrived at my destination too," Obito replied with a mischievous smile.
The smiles on Izumo and Kotetsu's faces slowly disappeared.
"Senior Obito, are you training here too? Great!"
Anko forced a giggle.
"If the jonin who comes to lead us is really strong, you can help us out, right?"
Obito's smile deepened slightly.
He did not answer Anko's question.
Instead, he continued speaking.
"Let's introduce ourselves again."
"I'm Uchiha Obito, the acting captain of Team Six."
Anko's eyes widened.
Her mouth fell slightly open, and the smile vanished from her face.
"Heh heh."
Izumo suddenly sneered.
"Kotetsu Hagane, Anko Mitarashi, I knew you two were up to no good from the beginning."
"No matter who the captain is, a captain is still a captain. Obeying a superior's orders is the duty of a ninja."
"Earlier, I deliberately brought up the topic of dealing with our new captain, and sure enough, you two immediately came up with all kinds of malicious schemes."
"Truly, human hearts have fallen!"
Izumo reacted quickly.
But Kotetsu was no slower.
"I think you're the one with ulterior motives!"
"I saw through your intentions from the start, which is why I deliberately asked whether you had any ideas."
"I never expected you, Izumo, and Anko to be this despicable, already plotting every possible way to deal with our captain before he even appeared."
Anko fell silent.
How had she somehow become an evil, disloyal, and unfilial villain in only a few seconds?
"I was only transforming myself into darkness to lure out the true darkness!" Izumo insisted stubbornly.
"No! You were the darkness hidden beneath the light!" Kotetsu immediately retorted.
Anko did not participate in their grand debate.
Instead, she pulled out a dango with a pained expression, held it in both hands, and offered it to Obito.
"Captain Obito, I'll treat you to dango. Just hit those two. Don't hit me," Anko said sincerely.
They were not afraid of an ordinary jonin.
But Obito was not an ordinary jonin.
According to the rumors circulating throughout Konoha, Obito was already a jonin comparable to famous Ninja World powerhouses like Kitsuchi and Pakura.
Hearing Anko call him Captain made Obito feel incredibly comfortable.
It was as though a surge of spiritual energy rushed from the soles of his feet straight into his head, leaving his entire body refreshed.
He had originally intended to accept his first gift as a captain.
However, after seeing Anko's painfully reluctant expression, he ultimately handed the dango back.
Obito felt that if he actually ate it, Anko might still be thinking about that lost dango in her dreams tonight.
It was only one dango.
There was no need to make such a big deal out of it.
"Thank you, Captain Obito!"
The instant the dango returned to her hands, Anko beamed with joy.
She had specifically saved it that morning, intending to eat it after training to replenish her energy.
"Munch!"
After thinking for a moment, Anko quickly stuffed the dango into her mouth and ate it in several large bites.
Only once the dango was safely inside her stomach did it truly belong to her.
"Captain Obito, don't listen to her slander. Anko was the most arrogant one earlier."
"That's right. Even putting aside the facts, Anko is definitely the one who deserves to be beaten the most."
Seeing Anko switch tactics, Izumo and Kotetsu immediately formed a temporary alliance and redirected all their criticism toward her.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Obito pressed his index and middle fingers together.
His figure flickered.
In an instant, he tapped all three of them on the forehead.
"Stop arguing. Everyone gets a turn," Obito said with a smile.
He had originally intended to deliberately put on a stern expression to establish his authority as captain.
However, no matter how hard he searched through his memories, he could not remember Teacher Mugetsu ever wearing the kind of intimidating expression he wanted to imitate.
Mugetsu always seemed gentle.
Realizing that, Obito decided there was no point pretending.
"So hitting people on the head feels this satisfying? No wonder Teacher Mugetsu always did it to us."
Obito rubbed his thumb against his middle and index fingers, secretly delighted.
He felt that choosing to become a captain had definitely been the correct decision.
He got to enjoy the entertainment and experience what it felt like to be Teacher Mugetsu.
Even if he had to pay money for this opportunity, he still would have come.
"You all already know each other, so there's no need for introductions."
Obito's expression became slightly more serious.
"Now we'll begin official training."
"Although I'm your senior, I'm also your captain. I won't go easy on you."
By now, Obito had experienced wars of various sizes.
He understood clearly that the life of a ninja was not beautiful.
In fact, it could be extremely cruel.
If training was easy, then future missions would become dangerous.
Kotetsu, Izumo, and Anko also stopped joking around and nodded seriously.
"We'll begin with bell snatching training."
Obito took out two bells.
"As long as any one of you manages to take a bell from me, all three of you pass."
Obito himself had gone through bell snatching training twice.
Once against Mugetsu.
Once against Minato.
He believed it was an excellent training method for becoming familiar with one another.
It definitely was not because he wanted to experience what Teacher Mugetsu had felt back then.
"Bell snatching, huh?"
Anko's eyes lit up.
"Do we get a reward if we succeed?"
She had also participated in bell snatching training when she interned under Mugetsu.
At that time, the reward had been a high level Ninjutsu or Taijutsu.
"A reward?"
Obito thought for a moment.
"If you want a reward, then there has to be a punishment too."
"If you fail to take the bells, you'll have to take a written test."
Anko froze.
She stared at Obito as though she had just encountered a terrifying enemy.
Had this man just said something horrifying?
She had already graduated from the Ninja Academy.
She had even become a chunin.
Why were written tests still chasing after her?
She absolutely refused to let this happen.
"Actually, I don't think a reward is necessary," Anko said with an extremely serious expression.
"Training is something every ninja should do anyway."
"Alright," Obito replied, barely suppressing his laughter.
"Then the reward will be nothing, and the punishment will still be taking a test."
Anko stared at him in disbelief.
It could work like that?
Looking at Anko's expression, Obito suddenly felt as though he were seeing his younger self after finishing one round of problem solving training, only to be faced with another pile of questions.
Perhaps this was tradition.
As Teacher Mugetsu's strongest disciple, Obito felt he had a responsibility to pass down Teacher Mugetsu's secret teaching methods.
"If you manage to take the bells today, I'll give each of you a Ninjutsu or Taijutsu," Obito added.
"If it's Fire Release, I can teach you myself. For other Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, I'll find someone suitable to teach you."
After all, these three were also Teacher Mugetsu's students.
How could Obito truly give them nothing?
Anko and the others instantly became fired up.
Some wanted the Ninjutsu reward.
Others simply did not want to take a test.
In the end, with Obito deliberately holding back, Anko and her teammates finally managed to snatch the bells just as the sun began to set.
With Obito's current strength, if he had not gone easy on them, forget Anko and the other two.
Even three ordinary jonin would not have been able to take the bells from him.
Watching the happy expressions on the faces of his three team members, Obito suddenly felt a unique sense of accomplishment.
"I definitely have to lead a team of newly graduated genin someday," Obito thought.
Perhaps he could also become someone else's Sage Mugetsu.
…
The other Uchiha did not adapt quite as smoothly as Obito for various reasons, but none of them encountered any serious problems.
Although Uchiha Inaho was only a chunin, his actual combat strength was not much weaker than that of a jonin because he had recently awakened the Sharingan.
This situation was not particularly rare in Konoha.
Jonin were already scarce, and some of them held important responsibilities that prevented them from leading squads.
Therefore, many team captains were actually experienced chunin.
When Inaho first joined his assigned team as captain, he immediately sensed a subtle distance between himself and his three teammates.
It felt as though they had some kind of opinion about him.
Most Uchiha were not skilled at social interaction.
However, that did not mean they were incapable of sensing other people's emotions.
On the contrary, Uchiha were surprisingly sensitive to emotional changes.
If this had happened in the past, Inaho would have done nothing.
They were merely a few outsiders weaker than him.
Why should he waste time investigating why they disliked him and trying to bridge the gap?
Would that time not be better spent training?
If those shortsighted and jealous outsiders wanted to misunderstand him, then let them misunderstand.
This time, however, Inaho did not remain indifferent.
He acted according to the methods Shisui and Obito had taught them.
During training, Inaho remained cold and strict, placing high demands on his teammates.
Afterward, however, he treated the three of them to a meal, asked whether they had suffered any injuries, and reminded them to rest properly.
Inaho understood that completing missions efficiently alone was extremely difficult.
He did not need his teammates to like him very much.
But he could not allow them to actively dislike him.
Earning slightly less money by completing fewer missions was irrelevant.
The real issue was that he was a ninja personally recognized by Lord Fourth.
If the performance of his squad was as mediocre as that of any ordinary team, would he not be disappointing Lord Fourth's high expectations?
When he returned to the Uchiha Clan, the other captains might boast about how many S Rank and A Rank missions they had completed and how highly their clients praised them.
Meanwhile, if his own squad remained completely average, it would simply disgrace the clan.
Several days passed like this.
Then Inaho led the team on an ordinary B Rank mission.
However, an unexpected problem occurred.
The client had falsely reported the exact circumstances surrounding the mission, causing Inaho's team to fall into a passive situation.
Fortunately, Inaho was no ordinary chunin.
Relying on his solid combat strength, he successfully completed the mission.
Afterward, he gave the client an extremely harsh scolding without showing the slightest politeness.
Following that mission, the attitude of his three teammates changed completely.
Inaho no longer sensed that subtle distance from them.
Instead, they treated him with enthusiasm and even a hint of guilt.
After completing the mission and returning to Konoha, all three teammates insisted on taking Inaho, who had originally planned to return home and train, out for drinks and barbecue.
During their conversation, Inaho finally learned why they had kept their distance from him at first.
He already knew that various rumors about the Uchiha circulated throughout the Village.
However, he had never expected them to be this absurd.
"I can't speak for other people," Inaho said seriously.
"But I can responsibly say that during all my years working in the Police Force, I have never once abused my authority to wrong an innocent person or used my position for personal gain."
"Captain Inaho, of course we trust your character," one of his teammates hurriedly reassured him.
"The main issue was that the Police Force used to be entirely controlled by the Uchiha Clan, so everyone naturally assumed those kinds of things could happen."
"But now that I think about it, there are probably a lot of problems with the rumors too."
Another teammate nodded.
"Most of the ninja in the Uchiha Clan should be normal people. Otherwise, how could there be an upright young ninja like Captain Inaho?"
As more time passed, the ninja assigned to teams with former Uchiha Police Force members gradually discovered that the Uchiha were not nearly as unpleasant as the rumors claimed.
This would not immediately reverse the Uchiha Clan's reputation throughout Konoha.
However, for the first time, that reputation had begun moving in a positive direction.
…..
…..
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Frieren: The Demon Who Learned to Love