[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]
Konoha, 44.
...
...
After that conversation with Naruto, they left the Hokage Rock to return to their respective homes.
Something had broken inside Obito. Of course, he couldn't deny that he had deep feelings for Rin up until that moment, and they should still be there, but he knew that, in the end, he was right, and that his sensei was right as well.
Sometimes, people can't always have what they want, especially when we're talking about another person. After all, that's not a choice that literally depends on only one person. It depends on the choice of both.
Obito was more than convinced that he would no longer keep his thoughts focused on himself. He had to move forward and accept things as they were. He now had his own pride as well. If this had been some time ago, he would have denied it, shouted, even wanted to cry, but he would never have accepted that Rin would love Kakashi and not him...
Now, he felt different.
'Maybe I'm finally becoming more mature. It was about time...', he thought as he walked through the village beside Naruto.
He couldn't help but look at the blond with gratitude. Naruto noticed his gaze and gave him a small smile.
"What is it, Obito?"
"I just wanted to thank you," Obito said sincerely.
Naruto returned the smile, this time wider and warmer, the kind only a friend would give. "Of course. Actually, we're quite alike, if you look at it from a certain perspective," Naruto began.
Obito raised an eyebrow, and Naruto continued.
"I'm not just talking about the fact that we both ended up getting close to people who certainly won't return that same love, or at least never have. I'm also talking about the fact that you, just like me, are willing to move forward. I used to be just like you, pretty loud and impulsive. At the same time that I shouted to everyone that I would become the next Hokage, that was who I was until I began my training in this world a few months ago... We also share the same dream, Obito. I believe that can connect us."
Obito's eyes widened when he heard that. Soon after, he gave a smile just as warm as Naruto's.
"I think you're right, Naruto. Thank you. You're a great older brother."
Naruto was surprised, but he smiled. "Thanks... I guess," Naruto said as he began to part ways with Obito. "Well, I'm heading this way. I'll see you later then, Obito."
Obito nodded to Naruto. As the blond walked down another path, Obito simply slipped his hands into his pockets and lifted his head. Now, with a much calmer expression, he headed toward the Uchiha Clan.
He just didn't expect to run into Rin right away. It looked like she had just come out of another shop with her friends late that afternoon. As they said their goodbyes and headed to their respective homes, Rin only had two friends with her at that moment.
She noticed him, blinked, and smiled. "Obito-kun!"
He no longer felt that urge to act like a fool or try to impress her right away. No. Something had already changed inside him.
Even so, she was still his teammate, so he would treat her as such. "Hello," he said, giving her a friendly smile.
A hint of surprise flashed through Rin's eyes, but she didn't comment on it. She simply smiled.
"Are you enjoying Sensei's day off?" she asked.
The other two girls behind Rin quietly grumbled as they looked at Obito. He ignored them and answered Rin directly.
"Just taking a walk. I ran into Naruto. We stayed at the Hokage Rock talking. Nothing special, just enjoying the day after so much training," he said in a much calmer tone than he usually used.
Rin nodded. Even though she was still looking at him with some surprise, she didn't say anything about it.
"You know, I was thinking... I was going home now, but we could stop and grab something to eat early tonight," she asked.
Obito was a little surprised by the invitation, but soon shook his head after thinking for a few moments. "Sorry. There are things I need to take care of tonight. Even so, thank you, Rin. Goodbye." He simply said that before continuing on his way.
His thoughts were focused entirely on the Uchiha Clan. It was not something he would brush aside so easily, not after everything that had happened that morning.
After what he had displayed, he had caught the jōnins' attention and revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan. He knew very well that they should already be looking for him. So it was better to settle that matter once and for all.
In a way, he didn't even notice Rin staring at his back in surprise.
"How strange. He's always so impulsive... and even a little annoying," one of Rin's friends said, remembering Obito from their days at the Academy.
"He must be having problems," Rin murmured worriedly.
Naturally, Obito didn't look back. He kept walking until he disappeared from their sight.
Just as Obito had expected, as soon as he arrived at the clan, a few members of the Military Police—or rather, the clan's jōnins—came straight toward him.
He could have easily avoided all of that by teleporting to his own dimension and reappearing inside his house, but he preferred to deal with the situation once and for all.
"Lord Obito, the Patriarch wishes to speak with you," one of them said. At least they weren't as foolish as those chūnin from earlier.
"Alright." With those words, they headed deeper into the clan, toward the Patriarch's large mansion.
As he entered, he noticed Fugaku sitting beside Mazu, the Patriarch.
It was obvious that all the elders had already held some kind of meeting to discuss his Mangekyō Sharingan. Just imagining those irritating old men gathering to decide what they should do with him was enough to make Obito feel annoyed.
"How can I help you, Patriarch?" Obito asked as he approached. He took off his sandals and sat down in front of the low table without needing to be invited. After all, it was obvious he would be summoned sooner or later.
Fugaku said nothing. He merely observed him while Mazu looked directly at Obito.
"You certainly drew a lot of attention this morning," the Patriarch said, looking at him with great interest, as though trying to read him.
Obito merely shrugged. "What can I tell you? That idiot thought he could buy me. He wanted me to become a spy on my own sensei. He thinks he could give me more resources and privileges than my own sensei already does. Can you believe that an elder like Morzan actually thought that?" Obito said in a mocking tone.
Fugaku frowned, clearly displeased with the way Obito referred to the elders, while Mazu simply sighed.
"We should not offend the elders like that, Obito," the leader murmured.
Obito, however, did not avert his gaze. He looked straight at him before replying seriously. "Do you really think that elder could compare himself to my sensei? Protect me, give me resources, and guide me better than my sensei, Minato Namikaze?"
"No." The answer came immediately. "No one in the clan could offer you more support than Lord Namikaze. He has already proven that very well by guiding two Uchihas. Even so, I am surprised. Despite my doubts that Minato helped my daughter develop her Mangekyō Sharingan, she only awakened it when she was fourteen or fifteen years old. And as far as I know, you're ten. That is extremely unusual. Even before Konoha, there had never been anyone like you. Everyone is quite stirred up because of it..."
"Almost eleven," Obito replied, ignoring Fugaku's gaze filled with interest.
"Well, almost eleven. Even so, you have displayed greater talent than my own daughter, who is considered by some to be the reincarnation of Uchiha Madara himself."
Obito snorted as he looked directly at the Patriarch. "That's going a bit too far, Leader," he said.
From what he had already heard about Madara through his sensei, that bastard was still alive and causing trouble. From what he had also realized, the village leaders themselves should already know that, including the man in front of him.
"I don't know... That's not possible. Not when the man is still alive, waging a war," Obito said in a grim tone.
That surprised Fugaku a little, who kept his eyes fixed on him.
"That information was passed on to Fugaku, but if it had been anyone else, I would have reprimanded you. Do not speak of that information so casually, Obito-san," Mazu told him. "At present, the only three Uchihas who know about Madara Uchiha are us. Excluding my daughter, of course." The villages had made sure that this information did not spread any further.
"I figured Fugaku should already know about it, since he's going to be the next clan leader," Obito said.
"He will act as the clan leader during the next war. I will be retiring and becoming one of the elders as well," Mazu informed him.
Obito nodded in understanding. It was obvious that the current leader had wanted to retire ever since his daughter had returned to the village.
"So, is there anything I should do about a clan that's dissatisfied with my actions?" Obito asked, wanting to know what the clan had already discussed regarding him.
"Yeah... At least not today. I'm far too tired after dealing with all those people... There was certainly a very long discussion in the meeting about your powers... You have no idea how Elder Morzan came in shouting for all of us to gather and talk about you, saying you had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Immediately, all the elders became eager to bring you into their own factions."
"Well, I could tell everyone was looking at me quite differently ever since I walked through the clan gates," Obito murmured, somewhat dissatisfied.
Everyone stared at him while whispering among themselves. Naturally, he ignored it, already knowing where all that attention came from, but he still couldn't help complaining now.
"I suppose they want to claim me for themselves. They want me to be loyal to the clan, preferably under the wing of one of them," Obito asked sarcastically.
"You know, ever since the war against the Uzumakis, the Uchiha Clan has been making several changes. Bringing many shinobi who aren't from the clan into the Military Police is one of them. Although we still hold command, we've already implemented a force where about thirty percent of the Military Police is made up of people from outside the Uchiha Clan. Your sensei pointed out some things we failed to see, such as the fact that we had stirred up a certain hatred toward the clan among the people of Konoha," he began, pausing briefly before continuing.
"But that doesn't mean we've completely changed. Our elders still crave power and prestige. As fascinated as they are that my daughter awakened a legendary power from ancient times, she is no longer directly connected to the Uchiha Clan."
"In other words, she's no longer in their hands, is she, Patriarch?" Obito couldn't resist mocking them, since that was practically the truth. They no longer had any control over Mikoto Uchiha.
Mazu simply closed his eyes, while Fugaku seemed somewhat irritated by the way Obito spoke about the elders. Even so, he said nothing.
Obito wasn't about to lower his head either. Not when they were talking about people who wanted to get their hands on his power and control him.
Neither he nor his sensei would ever allow that. He wasn't a piece belonging to the Uchiha Clan. Nor was he a killing machine for the village.
Minato had told him that ever since he began training him. His powers were the result of his own efforts. He was strong because he had earned that strength himself. He had reached a level where he no longer needed Konoha. On the contrary, Konoha needed him now. He wanted the same thing to happen with Obito.
"Obito, I know where you're going with this, and I don't agree with many of the clan's ideas," Mazu said calmly. "Even so, I'd like to ask a few things of you. The elders are going to pressure you—that's inevitable—and I know that won't be good for any of us. I don't want you to submit to the clan's rules as a pawn or a weapon."
Obito relaxed a little upon hearing that.
He understood that point. It was only natural that the Patriarch needed some cooperation from him. After all, Obito would continue to be a member of the clan and a shinobi of Konoha.
The elders would never stop being a nuisance. They would probably continue to be quite irritating from then on. Perhaps he would have to give in a little.
"So tell me, what does the clan want from me? If you're going to tell me to join a faction, well... you already know what my answer will be," Obito said. He wasn't going to side with anyone, as that would only create even more problems when he could practically alter the clan's entire balance of power.
Mazu merely gave him a small, sorrowful smile. "Of course not. That became clear the moment they told me you challenged and defeated two of Morzan's protégés, knocking them unconscious as though they were nothing. You fought against two chūnin and displayed strength far beyond what anyone would expect from someone who had just graduated from the Academy..." He paused.
"What we want is simply for you to attend the clan meetings. It doesn't have to be every single one, but we would like your presence to be noted, to show that you also have an interest in what we discuss."
"Seriously? Me? A ten-year-old kid? Are they actually going to listen if I want to say something?" Obito couldn't help mocking the idea a little.
"A child of 'almost eleven' who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, easily defeated two jōnin, and is also the disciple of the strongest man of our era, perhaps even stronger than the ancient legends. You are surrounded by powerful people. You have better connections than any of us, and among them, you have direct contact with the most powerful Uchiha of our era: my daughter." He said this, and Obito nodded at his point.
"You've certainly noticed how the clan has changed since the time you became Minato Namikaze's disciple."
This time, Obito nodded with obvious displeasure. He had been quite foolish back then, but it only took a little thought to notice the change. The way the clan treated him before was completely different. He had been seen as a nobody.
He hadn't even needed to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan or demonstrate his strength. Simply becoming Minato Namikaze's disciple had completely changed the way the clan viewed him.
That deeply irritated him. He hadn't even realized that he had let those feelings show.
Mazu simply let out a sigh. "I know you're frustrated by this change in behavior," he said.
"And how could I not be? Hardly anyone reached out a hand to me before. Now, all of a sudden, everyone sees me as the only source of water in the middle of a desert."
"I'm sorry for that. But perhaps you could extend your hand to those who come to you, Obito. You won't be the first child the clan has neglected, and you certainly won't be the last. You could have a voice within the clan and help them. People would listen to you. Even the elders are willing to hear you out, and they see you as the future of the clan. They don't want to lose the Mangekyō Sharingan to someone outside the clan."
That surprised Obito a little. Although it was obvious that those old men only wanted to keep his name and his future contributions to the shinobi world tied to the Uchiha Clan, he couldn't simply ignore that fact.
His sensei had also told him never to abandon the clan. He simply wasn't to allow the clan to pressure his freedom.
If that happened, Minato would intervene.
"Well... I'm not going to let them decide who I'm going to marry." That was all Obito said.
Mazu showed a small, more relieved smile. "As long as you keep your surname, I'm sure the future of the clan will be glorious," Mazu said.
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