"Not good, Lord Jiraiya!"
A Konoha Chunin suddenly barged in while Jiraiya was preparing to rest.
Jiraiya paused his actions, tidied up his clothes, and asked the Konoha Chunin, "Calm down first, what exactly happened?"
The Konoha Chunin looked anxious, took a letter out of his pocket, and handed it to Jiraiya: "Uchiha Obito has disappeared, this is the letter he left."
"What did you say?"
Jiraiya's face changed, and he quickly took the letter, opened it to have a look, and indeed, it was as the Konoha Chunin had said.
The letter roughly conveyed that he wanted to take unauthorized action to rescue his companion Nohara Rin, who was captured by the enemy, and hoped that his commander would allow it.
This was acting first and reporting later.
"Damn it! That reckless Uchiha kid! Didn't he consider the consequences of such actions?"
Jiraiya sighed in frustration.
This is wartime. Leaving the camp without permission from a superior is treated as a renegade ninja action.
Moreover, Obito is a member of the Uchiha Race.
You know, many Konoha Ninjas are quite dissatisfied with the Uchiha Race lately. If this matter comes to light, the Uchiha Race's situation will become even more difficult.
The hard-won momentum might be affected by Obito alone.
Moreover, there's another thing that troubles Jiraiya.
Obito is a student of his disciple Minato, and Obito leaving the camp without orders indirectly reflects poorly on Minato's ability to restrain his subordinates.
This would lower others' evaluation of Minato.
Failing to manage a Chunin subordinate well, despite the circumstances, could be considered a blemish.
Also, he vaguely felt that assigning Obito under Minato was a deliberate move by his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to appease and win over the Uchiha Race.
This kid seemed insignificant, but his role was quite substantial.
"What should we do now, Lord Jiraiya?"
Currently, the camp does not permit ninjas below the rank of Jonin to go out, and let alone Obito leaving without orders is in defiance of Konoha's wartime rules.
"Do not spread this matter for now, I will send someone to handle it."
"Understood."
As Jiraiya's trusted aide, the Konoha Chunin was aware of the severe implications of this matter.
Moreover, the person involved was a member of the Uchiha Race, making the situation too sensitive.
After the Konoha Chunin left, Jiraiya no longer felt like resting, and he directly walked out of the tent to gather suitable Jonin to forcibly bring Uchiha Obito back.
"Seriously, are the patrol personnel outside blind?"
Jiraiya complained.
Even though it's the Uchiha boy who awakened the Sharingan, it shouldn't be so difficult to notice something amiss only after he's gone.
This was all due to the defection incident, resulting in fewer Hyuga Clan ninjas on the battlefield than usual, decreasing their vigilance.
Some were taken out by Minato to monitor the Hidden Rock's movements.
This must be kept under wraps, not letting more people know about it.
Jiraiya was no fool; if this matter gets exposed, some people would inevitably make a fuss over it, especially that old fox, Danzo.
He won't cause trouble during wartime, but after the war, he'll surely bring this up to pit the village's higher-ups against the Uchiha Race once again.
In squeezing and manipulating the Uchiha Race, that Dark Ninja never holds back.
◎
Rin, where are you?
Obito, with a face full of anxiety, was sprinting through the forest in the dark, his mind occupied only with Rin's situation.
As for rules, he had thrown them into the clouds, completely ignoring them.
After spending three days to figure out Konoha Camp's patrol routes, Obito began his action tonight without hesitation. Even if he was alone, he must rescue Rin from the enemies.
He had a feeling, a hunch, that Rin was still alive, held somewhere in captivity.
Rin must be very scared alone right now, and just thinking about it filled Obito's heart with an urge to tear the enemy to shreds.
Unforgivable!
Not knowing how much time had passed, Obito, who was running through the forest, suddenly sensed something and stopped abruptly, using his red Double-Tomoe Sharingan to stare ahead.
A figure stood tall in the path ahead, blocking Obito's way.
"That's enough, Uchiha kid. If you've made enough fuss, come back with me now."
Wearing a Konoha Ninja uniform, the figure spoke coldly to Obito.
Obito displayed a nervous look in his eyes; he recognized this person as a Jonin of Konoha, proficient in Earth Style and Water Style, and quite skilled in Taijutsu, a type that Obito was not good at dealing with.
Under the pressure of the Jonin's aura, Obito could only breathe heavily, tightly pursing his lips, with his Sharingan vigilantly staring at him.
"You're not planning to speak? Give it up, even if you've awakened the Sharingan, you are no match for me. At most, you are just a bit troublesome. I don't want to fight with a fellow village ninja, even if I don't like your Uchiha Race."
The Konoha Jonin sighed.
But his advice seemed to have no effect; Obito's eyes showed an unwavering determination.
No matter how powerful the Jonin might be, he couldn't stop Obito from rescuing Rin.
"It seems there's no room for negotiation. Sorry, time is limited, and I'm planning to use force on you."
After a moment of silence, seeing Obito's resolute expression, it became clear that this kid wouldn't be persuaded through words alone and could only be subdued by more forceful means.