Chapter 708: The Inevitable Accident
That evening, after finishing dinner, Rin went for her usual walk along the streets near her home.
It was not because she was deliberately trying to maintain her figure.
Rather, it was a habit she had developed since childhood, when her parents would often take her for a walk after dinner.
Now, if she did not walk around or at least stand for a while after eating, she would feel strangely uncomfortable.
As Rin continued down the street, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure ahead.
"Obito, good evening," Rin greeted with a smile.
"Good evening, Rin," Obito replied, smiling back.
Before Rin could say anything else, Obito quickly spoke first.
"What a coincidence, Rin. You're out for a walk after dinner too, right?"
"Too?"
Rin looked slightly confused.
"Obito, are you also taking a walk after dinner?"
The Uchiha Clan Compound was quite far from her house.
If Obito had really walked all the way here, that was quite a long post-dinner stroll.
"Mm."
Obito nodded.
Then, acting as though he had suddenly remembered something, he said, "Oh, right. While I was walking around, I happened to notice that the Yamanaka Flower Shop is holding a promotion tomorrow."
"Rin, do you want to go take a look? I'm free tomorrow, so we could go together."
Naturally, Obito had not actually wandered here by coincidence.
He had deliberately come to this area because he knew Rin's habits and wanted to create an "accidental" meeting.
According to Izumo, the master of romance theory, inviting a girl too directly might make her subconsciously become more guarded.
Therefore, the ideal method was to "accidentally" run into her first, then naturally bring up the invitation at the right moment.
"Obito, aren't you eating dinner at home?" Rin asked, finding the situation even stranger.
The Yamanaka Flower Shop was not particularly close to either of their homes.
"Uh, I ate dinner with my teammates tonight."
Obito immediately noticed the flaw in his story and hurriedly tried to patch it.
"That's nice."
Rin thought back to the times when Mugetsu and Minato had taken them out to eat after completing missions and could not help feeling a little nostalgic.
Without her even noticing, Obito had also become someone who guided younger ninja.
"So, Rin, about tomorrow?"
Obito asked tentatively while desperately suppressing the emotions rising inside him.
"A flower shop?"
Rin smiled.
"Sure. That sounds nice."
Despite Obito's best effort to maintain a calm expression, the corners of his mouth immediately began to rise.
"Izumo, Kotetsu, you truly deserve to become members of my future Hokage Guard Platoon! You're incredibly reliable!"
Obito laughed wildly in his heart.
Becoming a squad captain had truly been one of the greatest decisions of his life.
Not only did it provide immense spiritual satisfaction, it had even brought him unexpected assistance like this.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow at nine fifty."
Obito deliberately chose 9:50 in the morning, exactly as the operation scroll had instructed.
It was still before lunch, but close enough that if they deliberately took their time, the outing could naturally stretch into lunchtime.
"Nine fifty?"
Rin thought about it.
"That feels a little late. Wouldn't nine o'clock be better?"
Sweat immediately appeared on Obito's forehead.
Rin usually ate lunch around noon.
If they started at nine, he would somehow have to keep the outing going for three entire hours before he could naturally invite her to lunch.
But how could anyone spend three hours inside a flower shop?
Even the two hours and ten minutes in their original plan had already required Obito and his two strategists to squeeze every possible minute out of the schedule.
"Obito, what's wrong?"
Rin looked at him curiously.
"Do you have something to do at nine?"
"No."
Obito answered instinctively.
The moment the word left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself.
Why had he been so honest?
Now he had completely destroyed any excuse for insisting on 9:50.
"Rin, you're right."
Obito forced himself to smile.
"Let's meet at nine. Nine fifty would be a little late."
"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow at nine."
Rin smiled and waved goodbye.
"Goodbye, Rin."
Seeing her smile, Obito could not help smiling as well.
He waved and began walking cheerfully back toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Captain Obito, how can you still be smiling? This is a major mistake!"
Kotetsu sighed heavily, wearing an expression of disappointment.
To prevent unexpected problems, the Emotional Duo plus Anko had secretly observed Obito's entire conversation from nearby.
And sure enough, something had gone wrong.
Obito had followed the prepared script far too rigidly.
Worse, whenever Rin suggested something, Obito instinctively went along with her.
As a result, the carefully constructed plan had immediately deviated from schedule.
"That's right. How are we supposed to deal with those extra fifty minutes?"
Kotetsu's words finally pulled Obito's mind away from Rin's smile.
His expression immediately became worried.
If those extra fifty minutes prevented them from naturally reaching lunchtime together, almost half of the operation plan would become useless.
It was a serious problem.
"It doesn't matter."
Anko crossed her arms calmly.
"I'll step in when the time comes."
"Step in and do what?"
Izumo looked at her speechlessly.
"It would already be great if you didn't create another problem."
Although neither Izumo nor Kotetsu could compare to Anko in combat strength, when it came to romance, they believed she was completely out of their league.
After all, forget dating experience.
Anko had not even displayed any romantic interest in anyone.
They could not imagine what kind of person Anko might eventually like, much less what she would act like in a relationship.
"Captain Obito, you don't need to panic."
Izumo handed Obito a walkie-talkie.
"We'll provide support from outside the field."
"We'll secretly follow you and make adjustments whenever necessary, giving you assistance to ensure the operation proceeds smoothly."
Izumo understood perfectly well that plans rarely survived contact with reality.
Designing a flawless operation that anticipated every possible accident was extremely difficult and currently beyond their ability.
But even if they could not create a perfect plan, they could adapt whenever something changed.
That was much more realistic.
"I'm counting on you!"
Obito said, deeply moved.
These really were the teammates he had personally acknowledged.
Aside from himself, who else could possibly be this reliable?
...
The next morning, Obito carefully selected clothes appropriate for a date.
Even he understood that he could not show up in his usual combat uniform like he was heading to training.
When his grandmother noticed how seriously he was choosing his outfit, she smiled teasingly.
"You're picking your clothes very carefully. Are you going on a date with Rin and planning to confess?"
Obito's face instantly turned red.
"Grandma, don't say weird things!"
He waved his hands frantically.
"We're just going out to have some fun."
"Going out to have fun?"
His grandmother deliberately looked confused.
"Isn't that a date?"
Obito fell silent.
His face only grew redder.
Seeing his reaction, his grandmother finally stopped teasing him.
She smiled and returned to her own business so she would not delay him.
After a long struggle, Obito finally chose a beige hoodie with black trousers.
He had no idea how to dress fashionably or what kind of clothes would make him especially attractive.
So he could only choose the combination he personally found most satisfying.
After changing, Obito carefully reread the operation scroll one final time and confirmed the entire plan for the day.
Once everything was ready, he left early for the agreed meeting place.
He arrived fifteen minutes before nine.
Those fifteen minutes were his emergency buffer.
Obito knew that if some unexpected accident caused him to arrive late, he would probably regret it for a long time.
Rather than regretting something after it happened, it was better to prepare in advance and prevent it.
After all, this was a rare opportunity for him and Rin to go somewhere alone.
There would be no annoying white-haired Kakashi standing in the middle.
About five minutes after Obito arrived, Rin appeared in his field of vision.
"Rin, good morning!"
Obito greeted her cheerfully.
"Good morning."
Rin smiled.
"Obito, you're really early. I guessed you'd arrive ahead of time, but you're even earlier than I expected."
"Hehe."
Obito's smile became even brighter.
He had arrived fifteen minutes early, yet Rin appeared only five minutes later.
That meant Rin had also deliberately arrived early.
Even if Rin had been late, Obito would still have been happy as long as she came.
But seeing her arrive early made him even happier.
Because it meant she also cared about meeting him.
"I feel like you look a little different today, Obito."
Rin noticed that he was neither wearing his combat uniform nor sportswear.
Even the goggles he almost never removed were gone.
"How does it look?"
Obito immediately became nervous.
"How should I put it..."
Rin looked thoughtful.
"When you wear your combat uniform, you seem a little more reliable..."
Obito's heart sank.
A tense expression immediately appeared on his face despite his effort to remain calm.
"But this casual outfit makes you look more relaxed and handsome."
Rin smiled.
"It suits you really well."
"Phew..."
The enormous weight hanging over Obito's heart instantly disappeared.
Relief washed through him.
If the outfit he had spent so long choosing actually left a worse impression than his ordinary combat clothes, he might never have bought casual clothes again.
Then the meaning of Rin's words finally registered.
"Wait. Rin said I'm handsome!"
Obito's heartbeat instantly accelerated as though chakra were surging violently through his entire body.
His smile nearly overflowed from his face.
"Pfft."
Rin covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"This is bad."
From a distant hiding place, Izumo lowered his binoculars with a serious expression.
"Captain Obito is being completely controlled already, isn't he?"
The operation to win Rin's heart had not even officially begun, yet Izumo felt as though Obito was already close to raising the white flag.
"Isn't that fine?"
Kotetsu lowered his binoculars as well, looking envious.
"Rin really is thoughtful."
If Miho could notice his feelings every time they met, Kotetsu felt he would overcome any obstacle no matter how difficult.
"You can actually hear what they're saying from this far away?"
Anko asked in confusion.
"This is the difference between us."
Kotetsu raised his chin proudly.
"As a qualified ninja, how can you not know how to read lips?"
Combined with Obito's extremely readable expressions, lip-reading made understanding their conversation almost effortless.
Bang!
Anko clenched her right fist and punched Kotetsu without hesitation.
Caught completely off guard, Kotetsu nearly collapsed onto the ground.
Izumo frowned at Anko.
"Kotetsu is an important combat specialist. If you knock him out, how are we supposed to help Captain Obito complete the operation?"
"Then I'll do it."
Anko spoke confidently.
"Do what?"
Izumo muttered while helping Kotetsu back up.
"Take them to a dango shop and hope their feelings naturally deepen?"
"Stop arguing."
Kotetsu steadied himself and raised the binoculars again.
"Captain Obito and Rin are about to move."
Arguing with Anko was a minor matter.
Their captain's lifelong happiness was far more important.
"Then it's our turn."
Izumo nodded.
The three simultaneously released chakra and disappeared from their hiding place.
They rapidly moved ahead, bypassing Obito and Rin before reaching a point farther along their route.
Immediately afterward, all three performed the Transformation Jutsu and changed their appearances.
"You're too selfish! You keep acting however you want and forcing the entire team to suffer the consequences!"
Kotetsu angrily pointed at Anko.
"Are you deliberately trying to destroy our squad? Get out of the team!"
Anko's fist moved on instinct.
Bang!
She punched Kotetsu directly and shattered his Transformation Jutsu.
"Anko, what are you doing?!"
Izumo quickly rushed over to help him.
"We're acting!"
In romance novels, protagonists going on dates always seemed to encounter unexpected events.
But this was reality.
Rather than leaving Obito's date to luck and hoping some convenient accident happened naturally, Izumo and Kotetsu had decided it would be much more reliable to create one themselves.
Their planned "accident" was a squad conflict.
Two teammates would angrily confront a newly joined member.
Then Obito would step forward and righteously mediate the conflict.
Rin would witness Obito's kindness, responsibility, and reliability firsthand.
It was supposed to be perfect.
"I'm sorry, Kotetsu."
Anko clasped her hands together apologetically.
"You acted too well."
Kotetsu's expression and tone had been so convincing that Anko had genuinely felt as though he were scolding her.
"Forget it. Just transform again quickly."
Izumo raised his binoculars.
"Captain Obito and Rin are almost here."
Kotetsu hurriedly reapplied the Transformation Jutsu.
Then they resumed their carefully planned "accident."
Kotetsu and Izumo loudly criticized Anko over and over again.
Their expressions were vivid.
Their voices were emotional.
Even Anko was impressed by how convincing they sounded.
She had to admit that when it came to acting, she really was inferior to the two of them.
Several times, she nearly forgot this was fake and almost punched both of them.
"What's happening over there?"
Rin noticed the argument as they approached.
"Obito, let's go take a look."
"Okay."
Obito naturally knew exactly what was happening.
He nodded and increased his pace, walking half a step ahead of Rin.
Following the plan, Obito stepped forward and began mediating their staged dispute.
Then a familiar voice suddenly sounded from nearby.
"Aren't you Obito's teammates?"
"What are you doing?"
Obito froze.
Kakashi stood nearby with a strange expression on his face.
He had merely been passing through the area when he happened to hear someone shouting about leaving a team.
Having personally experienced a similar situation before, Kakashi's instincts immediately reacted, and he came over to see what was happening.
But with his sharp senses, he quickly noticed something strange about the three people arguing.
So Kakashi activated the Transparent World.
And immediately discovered that the three supposed strangers were actually Obito's temporary squad members.
Kotetsu, Izumo, Anko, and Obito all felt their hearts sink at the same time.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
"Why did this guy have to appear now?"
Obito cursed silently.
"That inherently evil white-haired brat!"
But what was meant to happen had already happened.
Kakashi had exposed them.
And naturally, Rin asked the question already forming in her mind.
"Obito, are those your teammates?"
Rin looked at him curiously.
"We're role-playing!"
Izumo suddenly dispelled his Transformation Jutsu, struck by a flash of inspiration.
"It's that game that's been getting popular lately, where people pretend to be characters from novels and things like that."
"Right, right!"
Kotetsu immediately nodded.
Obito secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected of his future Hokage guards.
They really were reliable.
"Kakashi, good morning."
Rin then smiled and greeted Kakashi.
Obito's heart immediately sank again.
Was this going to become exactly like before?
Was Kakashi going to insert himself between them again?
Someone, please save me.
And while you're at it, cure this inherently evil white-haired brat.
…..
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