As the white light faded, a splash of orange caught Obito's eyes.
Looking at the orange creature in front of him, which resembled a mix of a lizard and a salamander, Obito scratched his head.
Whether it's strong or not, Obito wasn't sure yet, but it certainly wasn't cool.
Obito closely examined the bipedal orange creature, initially finding it somewhat lizard-like, but upon closer inspection, noticing significant differences.
Most of its body was orange, except for its belly and the underside of its tail, which were cream-colored. Its limbs appeared rather short, and its fingers were so small that Obito almost overlooked them.
The only thing that made Obito feel its uniqueness was its tail; the seemingly ordinary tail's tip was ablaze with a lively flame that didn't seem to harm the creature.
"It's probably just because it's freshly hatched, and hasn't grown into itself yet. Once it's grown, it'll surely look fierce," Obito reassured himself.
After all, he had personally nurtured the creature from the egg, so even if it didn't match his expectations, there was no way he'd go to Mokgetsu asking for a trade.
"Charmander." The creature looked at Obito with its blue eyes and chirped happily.
Obito stroked Charmander's small head, thinking it wasn't bad. Though it wasn't the fierce and impressive type he'd imagined, it seemed to have a good temperament, unlike Shisui's Zorua.
Obito then turned his gaze towards Nohara Rin, as he had also noticed the movement from her egg just moments ago.
Truthfully, Obito felt a little happy for Nohara Rin. If everyone else's eggs had hatched except hers, leaving her waiting alone, the anticipation would've been too torturous.
But when Obito saw the creature in front of Nohara Rin, he was dumbfounded.
"This... this must be the wrong egg, right?" Obito racked his brain for a way to comfort Nohara Rin, but struggled to find any flattering words for the peculiar, ugly fish in front of her.
The creature Nohara Rin hatched was on a different level from the ones they'd hatched.
Though the creatures they hatched didn't have fierce appearances, each had its own special traits.
As for Nohara Rin's creature, Obito truly couldn't discern any unique aspect—unless being particularly ugly counted as special? He had never seen such an odd-looking fish before.
Despite being newly hatched, its fins appeared tattered, as though it had been through a beating, and its body was pitted, like it had been mistreated.
"Hatching a fish in this environment?" Kakashi was also a bit surprised by the creature Nohara Rin had hatched.
However, Kakashi quickly shifted his focus to other questions; if dogs could be egg-born, he wouldn't question the fish emerging without water. Rockruff and the others seemed stranger still.
"I don't think so." Nohara Rin shook her head at Obito. Though she hadn't expected to hatch such an odd fish, she wouldn't deny it.
"Kakashi, could you use Earth Release to create a recessed area?" Watching Feebas lay sluggishly on the ground, occasionally struggling, Nohara Rin asked Kakashi.
Even though Feebas wasn't as cute as she had imagined, Nohara Rin couldn't ignore her own creature.
"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!"
Kakashi nodded, quickly formed hand signs and caused the ground beneath Feebas to sink rapidly.
Nohara Rin then stepped back from the sunken ground, forming signs to use Water Release to fill the depression with water, creating a small pond.
"Can such a creature really have combat power? It seems like it might never even defeat Black Feather," Obito couldn't help but jest, standing at the edge of the pond.
Feebas really gave him a weak impression, appearing dumber than regular animals.
"Not necessarily." Kakashi maintained a contrary view.
Mokgetsu never showed favoritism or singled out any disciple. Since Mokgetsu claimed the eggs had immense potential, surely Nohara Rin's wasn't an exception.
"But I really can't see anything special about it, unless it's particularly..." Obito left his thought unfinished, understanding how hurtful it might be.
"Just like with ninjas, some show natural talent with just a touch of ninja knowledge, while others seem average at first but mature into late bloomers through effort and foundational growth," Mokgetsu remarked as he approached.
Feebas certainly had an awkward early stage, unlikely to possess combat power before evolution.
But if nurtured well, Nohara Rin could potentially surpass others to become the first to evolve a Pokemon into its complete form.
Because Feebas doesn't require rigorous training to evolve; it needs beauty, love, and trust from its owner.
"If you nurture it carefully, the end result won't be disappointing."
"Thank you, Teacher Mokgetsu. I will take good care of it; this little one seems to need a lot of attention," Nohara Rin thanked Mokgetsu, intent on bringing Feebas home for devoted care.
She never intended to abandon Feebas from the start, but Mokgetsu's words bolstered her confidence.
Obito ran his fingers through his hair, activating his Three Tomoe Sharingan to scrutinize Feebas, yet still couldn't discern anything exceptional about it.
Ultimately, Obito chose to give up; after all, he knew Sage Mokgetsu wasn't deceitful; it was just his lack of insight.
That day, Obito reduced his cultivation time, allocating it to developing a bond with Charmander.
Previously, without a hatched creature, it hadn't mattered. But now with his own, Obito was eager to train Charmander to become strong, and give that pesky white-haired dog and the red-haired fox a good beating.