"Pass."
Faced with Obito's challenge, Yuu kept eating and casually said, "Beat Might Guy first, then come challenge me."
"Uh…"
Obito was speechless.
Although he had always looked down on Might Guy a little, feeling the guy only knew taijutsu and had no technical depth at all, he had to admit that ever since the Ninja Academy graduation exam, his win rate against Might Guy was still zero.
A few days ago, he had clearly made full preparations for that fight. He had even opened his Sharingan. But then the other guy had pulled out the Eight Gates and crushed him anyway, turning what he had imagined as his famous victory into nothing…
So, faced with Yuu's words, Obito could only mutter incomprehensible things like "losing in taijutsu doesn't count as losing," "winning with taijutsu is only a small win; winning with ninjutsu is a big win," "I was careless and didn't dodge," and "the four uses of the Sharingan," filling the training ground with a cheerful atmosphere.
Of course…
Yuu and Rin still took Obito's pride into account and didn't laugh too obviously.
Rin even stepped forward to smooth things over, agreeing to spar with Obito in the afternoon to see his Fire Release and practice her own Water Formation Wall. After that, they could talk about him challenging Yuu. Water Dragon Bullet was still a little too difficult, and Rin hadn't learned it yet.
Yuu had no objection.
He also wanted to see how much substance there was behind Obito's boasting, and how well his Sharingan had developed.
In theory, a two-tomoe Obito should be able to use part of his intangibility ability. In the original timeline, that was why he avoided being crushed to death by rocks. From that perspective, Obito could also be considered an unprecedented cheat user…
As they were talking,
they suddenly heard a faint boom from deep in the woods behind them. Then a flock of birds burst out of the trees and circled into the sky.
"…Hm? What happened?"
Obito was the first to jump up. He activated his Sharingan and looked toward the direction of the sound.
Yuu also turned back while calmly continuing to eat.
That sound just now sounded a little like an explosive tag. But it was rather far away, probably one or two kilometers from here, so after echoing through the forest, the sound was a little distorted.
But soon…
the sound drew closer, accompanied by the cracking of trees being smashed aside and the sharp whistle of ninja tools cutting through the air. A ninja wearing a Konoha vest, covered in blood, staggered out from the forest. Behind him were two figures wearing animal masks.
"Huh, it's a Konoha comrade! Someone actually dares launch an attack inside Konoha!"
Obito glanced over, immediately felt his blood boil, and charged with a roar toward the closer masked ninja, trying to stop him.
The masked ninja's eyes turned cold. The kunai in his hand traced a tricky arc straight toward Obito's throat.
"You're courting death!"
This masked ninja attacked extremely quickly, and his strength seemed quite good. If the one standing here had been an ordinary chūnin, they would probably have been stabbed already.
But Obito's Sharingan wasn't for show. In a hurry, he twisted sideways, his neck almost brushing against the kunai as he narrowly dodged. Then he threw several shuriken in counterattack.
At this moment, a sharp light flashed in the eyes of the Konoha chūnin being chased. He suddenly turned back, formed hand seals, puffed up his chest, and forcefully spat out a Great Fireball toward the pursuers behind him—along with Obito, whose back was turned to him.
The next moment,
there was a sharp clang!
A flash of snow-bright blade light cut through the air from above and slashed down into the center of that great fireball. The blazing flames were split apart as if by a pair of invisible giant hands, roaring past both sides of the white-haired boy's body and crashing into the trees behind him, setting them ablaze.
It was Mikami Yuu.
After splitting the Great Fireball with one slash, his movements did not pause at all. In a flash, he appeared beside the Konoha chūnin. Under the other party's horrified gaze, Yuu formed his fingers like a blade and struck the back of his neck with just enough force, making his eyes roll back as he collapsed into sleep.
Only then
did Obito and the first masked ninja react and pull apart.
Yuu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the two across from him.
"Are you Anbu or Root? What's going on with this person?"
"…We do not need to explain our actions to you. Hand him over."
The masked ninja who had not fought Obito spoke coldly, then stepped forward, intending to take away the unconscious man directly.
But…
Swish!
The blade flashed again.
The masked ninja reacted the instant he heard the sound, raising his sword horizontally in front of himself while preparing to pull back and release ninjutsu. But before he could complete even the first movement, an icy chill appeared in front of his face.
Clang!
With that sound, the sword in the masked ninja's hand snapped in two, leaving only the hilt in his grip. At the same time, his mask and white chest guard silently split open, revealing a vertical line of blood from top to bottom.
An ordinary-looking male face in his twenties was exposed, filled with shock.
"You…"
"You're that newly promoted special jōnin, Mikami Yuu?!"
"Oh, so someone actually knows my name? Looks like I'm getting a little famous in the village."
Yuu spun his blade and sheathed it.
Across from him,
the now-maskless ninja looked at Yuu, whose expression was calm and aura cold, then gritted his teeth.
"We are a branch of Anbu. This man is a traitor and internal spy who has long been leaking important village intelligence to other villages. We were ordered to carry out a purge mission… Can you hand him over now?"
"So it's Root…"
Yuu nodded slightly.
The old him had been somewhat afraid of Root. After all, Shimura Danzō's ill reputation was known far and wide, and he was infamous for doing whatever it took. If Orochimaru had not taken an interest in Yuu, perhaps Root would have already invited him to meet Danzō, the darkness of the shinobi world.
But now…
Yuu had already latched onto Tsunade's thigh, and he also maintained good relationships with Minato, Orochimaru, and even Sarutobi Hiruzen. If Danzō really came looking for him, Yuu would dare clash with him.
Of course, not being afraid was one thing. There was still no need to provoke him on purpose and bring a pile of trouble onto himself.
"Since this is a purge of an internal spy, you can take him. But keep the noise down. Don't disturb the villagers."
Yuu stepped aside and spoke calmly.
The maskless ninja looked deeply at him and said nothing more. He merely gave his companion a look. Then the two worked together, swiftly hoisted the unconscious ninja up, and vanished into the depths of the forest in a few leaps.