Chapter 8: Hana-obaachan
†--------------------------------†
If you want to read some chapters ahead from everyone for free you can join my discord.
Discord Link :- https://discord. gg/qxvX7Tvpqp (without space)
†--------------------------------†
Obito blinked.
… Well, that made sense in a way; he had displayed some level of proficiency handling his dōjutsu by using Amaterasu, but… Fugaku's son? Obviously, he was referring to Itachi.
But if he recalled correctly, Itachi was… what, two years old now? Three? Not to mention, it carried a bad stigma for the future of the clan to be trained by the black sheep of said clan. "Uchiha Itachi, correct?"
Fugaku nodded, and Obito gave an incredulous look. "Itachi is three," he deadpanned, formalities be damned, "the clan heir, and as such the future of the clan. I'm the black sheep. I think you know where I'm going with this."
"The offer still stands, but it won't for long. It's your decision," Fugaku replied plainly.
"I accept, I just want to know, why me?" Obito let out a humorless chuckle.
It seemed he was wondering that often, lately. "Surely there are better tutors for your son."
"'Why' isn't relevant. We have a deal." With that, Fugaku turned back and began walking out of the room, but he halted at the threshold.
"… Obviously, you will not begin immediately. I will come to you when I wish for his training to begin."
As he exited the room, Obito called out, "I would've trained him anyway, y'know!" And it was true. Itachi was one of the few Uchiha members that he acknowledged and respected; Obito had no qualms with spending time with the young prodigy.
In fact, the boy could prove a valuable resource against individuals like Madara, Zetsu, and Orochimaru. That is, if they weren't all dead by the time Itachi had grown old enough for battle.
When he felt Fugaku's chakra signature come to a stop near Minato's, he activated his Kamui to listen in. His control over the technique was a little shaky, as his Amaterasu had been, but unlike that particular technique the Kamui was one he had been using for the majority of his life.
Altering the space to direct their voices to him was not something difficult, not when he was a master of utilizing the technique even in the heat of battle against S-Ranked foes. Besides, their conversation was regarding him, and he felt he had a right to know.
"Fugaku?" Minato's voice was calm, but with underlying worry. "What happened? What did you talk about?"
A sigh. "He wishes to remain independent from the clan. I cannot blame him for it, either."
"In that case," Obito could practically hear the grin in the Minato's voice. "Let me watch over Obito. I had already spoken to Hokage-sama about it, and he said that it's fine as long as I gain the Uchiha clan's consent."
"Minato…" There was a pause, and Fugaku sighed again. "… I will do my best to keep the clan elders at bay, but I make no promises. They will not be happy about this, I assure you."
"That's fine, I'm more than capable of defending against a couple of bitter elders, after all."
The clan head let out a frustrated groan and Minato chuckled. "The matter of the child's Mangekyo will remain a secret amongst your team and I. Make absolutely certain that your students keep this under-wraps, as I doubt the resulting fall-out should this become public knowledge will be pleasant."
"Of course."
Their voices filtered out, and the last thing Obito heard was a curt, "goodbye" before the sound of a door lock engaging alerted him to the end of the conversation.
He canceled the Kamui and forced the chakra from his eyes, deactivating the Sharingan.
"Obito?"
His eyes snapped to the slowly opening door which revealed Minato, a sheepish smile on his face.
Obito couldn't help it, but his eyes were riveted to Minato, watching every movement, every shift in expression.
It had been many years since he had seen the man—alive and well, that is, and not an Edo Tensei—and one of the last memories he had of him was the cold expression he had worn when they battled on the night of Naruto's birth.
"Uh…" Minato scratched the back of his head, and Obito realized that his staring had perhaps been more than a bit unnerving.
"Since you're going to be living here for a while, you'll probably need some new clothes. Like I said last time, nothing but the picture could be recovered—" At the alarmed look Obito shot him, Minato quickly supplied, "—which is over there, on the nightstand."
He pointed to said nightstand and Obito followed with his gaze, only to sigh in relief at the sight of the picture. It was placed in a new frame, a plain birch one, but that mattered little him.
His attention was once again directed at Minato, however, when the Minato grabbed Obito's hand to place something in his palm.
When the man's hand withdrew, Obito found himself staring at a bright-green, plump and frog-shaped wallet. He mentally noted that it was a wallet that was very… reminiscent of Naruto.
"We should go shopping for some, are you feeling well enough to move around?"
Experimentally, Obito stretched his aching legs over the side of the bed and rolled his shoulders. His skin still felt a little sore, but as far as he knew, there was no lasting muscle or bone damage, so he was fine.
He stood up and walked past Minato, before speaking in a quiet tone. "… Minato-sensei, could you… Could you leave me alone for a bit? I'll be back before sunset, I just want to have some time to myself."
If Minato was alarmed, he did well to mask it. From what he could see out of the corner of his eye, Minato's expression had not changed much—he only looked somewhat dejected—and only the barest fluctuation of chakra indicated the unease the man felt at Obito's statement.
Regardless, Minato sighed. "That's fine. Just don't do anything reckless. Please."
Obito nodded, before looking away. "Sorry… Sensei. I just need some time to myself, I'll be back to normal afterwards."
After he took some time to organize himself, he couldn't see that cheery mask that he had grown accustomed to.
As it stood, he was far too lost and confused to, and some time alone was exactly what he needed.
Without another word, he walked out of the room and headed to the more lively areas of Konoha.
As Obito walked down a familiar street, he cringed at the sight he saw. It was far too familiar, and an internal battle had sparked to life almost immediately.
When he was a child, he always treated his elders—the elderly elders—with respect. It was just how he was, and he always went out of his way to help them.
There was one woman in particular—'Hana-obaachan'—that Obito had a sort of grandmother-grandson relationship with.
Whenever they crossed paths, the boy would help her, be it carrying her groceries, helping her water her potted plants, getting something out of the highest cupboard, or carrying her to the hospital because she suffered from a sudden arthritis attack.
Whatever the request, Obito was always there to help her. Heck, sometimes she didn't even need to say anything; it had become so routine for him to help her that he would just act on instinct. More often than not, that instinct proved to be correct.
So, Obito of 31-years who was stuck in his twelve-year-old body, stared at the woman. The woman who, was currently, on the ground in a prone position, face to the side with her eyes shut in pain.
His first instinct was to turn away and continue walking. To ignore the woman's plight, and to move on. He had his own problems, too, after all, and it wasn't as if he hadn't done anything worse before.
Because he had already seen her die once before.
Well, he hadn't actually seen it. But he knew that she had died during the Kyūbi attack, and by extension, died by his hand.
She had apparently been one of the many unfortunate souls that had been crushed to death under the beast's giant claws in the midst of its Mangēkyō Sharingan-controlled Kyūbi rampage.
Obito didn't realize she had died until one day, during his usual check-ups on the village and visitations to Rin's grave, he passed by the old woman's house (the remains of) and saw red spider lilies.
The absence of life in the vicinity, along with the rather obvious flowers, were enough to notify him of her passing.
‡--------------------------------‡
Thank you for reading this story.
‡--------------------------------‡
If you want to read some chapters ahead from everyone for free you can join my discord.
Discord Link :- https://discord. gg/qxvX7Tvpqp (without space)
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Kazuma_trash
Kazuma_trash If you want to read some chapters ahead from everyone for free you can join my discord.
Discord Link :- https://discord. gg/qxvX7Tvpqp (without space)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone