Yet Kakashi still didn't turn around or say anything.
He simply paused for a moment before slowly walking away.
[Confusion and Struggle from Kakashi, Emotional Value 8]
[Sorrow and Pain from Kakashi, Emotional Value 8]
Well then, this bastard Kakashi...
All these classmates around here have already generated several waves of emotional value.
And his arrives late like this?
Still acting all cool, leaving without even saying a word.
He really thinks he's something else!
"Yoncher!"
Might Guy gave Yoncher a thumbs-up, tears streaming down his face as he spoke: "After hearing your words, I finally understand why Kakashi always comes to school!"
"He actually accepted us long ago!"
"That's the true power of youth!"
"My youth is boiling over right now!"
[Deeply Moved from Might Guy, Emotional Value 13]
That sun-like Guy...
Out of everyone Yoncher had met so far, only Guy could continuously provide him with positive emotional values.
These emotional fluctuations rival even those of the Uchiha clan.
Obito wanted to speak two sentences too, but when the words reached his mouth, they turned into: "Damn you, Kakashi!"
Tsunade gently patted Yoncher's shoulder: "You said it very well—truly very well."
Yoncher looked in the direction Kakashi had left and sighed.
The difficulty of this side quest involving Kakashi was just too high.
How easy is it to change a person?
But just then, he received emotional values from Kakashi—
Confusion and Struggle.
Sorrow and Pain.
It seemed that earlier speech indeed caused significant emotional turbulence within Kakashi.
There must've been some effect.
My Hashirama Cell Fragment… when can I gather the remaining five pieces?
The crowd finally drifted apart.
As Obito walked away, he thought to himself: "Strange, I feel like I forgot something. What exactly did I come here to do again?"
Suddenly,
He realized, immediately turning back and running until he stood before Tsunade: "Tsunade-sama, I oppose Akihara Rin joining Team 9!"
Rin Nohara pursed her lips slightly: "Obito, you…"
Obito said: "Rin should be placed in my class!"
"What do you know about right or wrong?" Tsunade replied. "These children don't understand anything. All class assignments carry special significance. Isn't it better that you're together with Kakashi and Akihara Rin?"
Before Obito could speak,
Akihara Rin, who had been following behind, her eyes brimming with tears, said: "Obito-onii-sama, you don't want to stay in the same class as me?"
"I…" Obito's face turned red, panic rising. He wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say.
"Hmm." Yoncher glanced thoughtfully at Akihara Rin.
Setting aside whether she was good or bad, Akihara Rin truly was beautiful.
With looks like hers, combined with her superb tea-brewing skills, not only would Obito Uchiha fall easily—he'd probably break many hearts too.
The fact that Obito and her grew closer only happened during the past two weeks, after all.
Although Obito still had a thing for Rin Nohara, with both his IQ and EQ, he was practically under Akihara Rin's thumb now.
"C'mon, c'mon… don't cry anymore—"
Obito gently tugged Akihara Rin's sleeve, his face turning red as he stammered: "That's not what I meant! Of course I want to be teammates with you!"
"Really?" Akihara Rin stopped crying and smiled: "I'll bother you in the future, Aniki. I feel so guilty."
Yoncher got goosebumps all over.
This damn Akihara Rin is really eleven years old?
If someone told him she was twenty-one, Yoncher wouldn't doubt it for a second.
What bugged Yoncher the most was that this idiot Obito actually fell for her whole act.
These two lovebirds won't end up screwing up the ninja world together, right? Narrowing his eyes, Yoncher watched Obito and Akihara Rin walk away.
At this moment, only Tsunade, Rin Nohara, and Momiji Uchiha remained beside Yoncher.
Tsunade coughed lightly, then flicked Yoncher's forehead and said, "Why did you skip school today by hiding at home?"
"I came!"
"You didn't show up until after school ended this afternoon!"
"Well, I still came!"
"Bullshit!"
"You just swore! It's just that I feel my abilities are still too weak. I wanted to keep studying at the Ninja Academy for a while longer. I was doing fine there. Why drag me out?"
"If you don't graduate this year, you'll have to wait until next year—and next year, you'll already be thirteen!"
"So what if I'm thirteen? That's still a damn kid!"
"A kid? Where's that shameless punk who checked me out just yesterday? Now you're calling yourself one? Kids five or six years old are sent into battle all the time!"
"So what? Isn't that trampling the Will of Fire—sending little kids to war as cannon fodder while shouting about the Will of Fire, protecting those old geezers?"
Tsunade froze.
Momiji Uchiha and Rin Nohara also stood frozen.
What Yoncher had said was indeed quite bold.
And this matter couldn't really bear deep thinking.
In reality, every ninja village was like this—they'd send children barely several years old into war, and everyone considered it normal.
Yoncher continued, "The First Hokage once said something unforgettable:"
"To build our village is to let our children be born into peace in the future, freely growing up until they can taste wine."
"So, what's wrong with spending one more year studying at the Ninja Academy?"
"Brat, you sure know how to talk! But we're not in a peaceful era either!" Tsunade frowned and said, "Didn't you just say you value your comrades? Don't you want to grow stronger outside the Ninja Academy and protect the people around you?"
"If you keep hiding in the Ninja Academy, what exactly are you protecting?"
"You better listen up—"
"You've already graduated and joined Team 9. Behave yourself!"
Yoncher's expression darkened too: "Before, I looked at you and thought you were beautiful and sexy. Now when I look at you, I just find you disgusting."
Momiji Uchiha and Rin Nohara: "..."
Tsunade snarled furiously: "What did you just say?!"
Yoncher shrank back a bit, his tone softening instantly. "I mean... nothing. It's just that next time, could you at least talk to me first and get my opinion before deciding on your own?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Sure!"
"Phew!" Yoncher exhaled in relief.
At that moment, Momiji Uchiha, who had been silently observing from the sidelines, finally spoke. "The graduation exam isn't difficult. It's just a chance to prove what we've learned. If you won't even participate, how insecure can you be?"
"Wanna stay stuck in the Ninja Academy forever? You really that much of a chicken?"
Yoncher rolled his eyes. "Shut up, extra! You haven't even gotten a name credit yet!"
"How dare you!" Momiji Uchiha exploded furiously, her face turning bright red.
Though she didn't quite catch everything Yoncher said, she could tell he was teasing her.
"Yoncher-kun, Momiji-san, please don't fight! Let's talk things through calmly," Rin Nohara hurriedly tried to mediate.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You guys are definitely the most troublesome squad I've ever trained."
Yoncher blinked in disbelief. "Most troublesome squad? Did you even train anyone else before?"
"Not at all." Tsunade answered bluntly.
Yoncher and the others: "..."
Tsunade added bluntly, "You're more trouble than the other three put together."
Yoncher grinned proudly, "Thanks, Lady Tsunade. Didn't know you thought so highly of me."
Tsunade: "Was I actually complimenting you?"
Rin Nohara bowed deeply, her face turning red. "Yoncher-kun, please look after me from now on!"
"'Look after me'? Please, just stay alive—and don't make me cast an Infinite Tsukuyomi just to save someone like you. I'm not planning on turning into Obito, got it?"
Yoncher sighed. "Great! I hereby declare The Five Fireballs Church officially established today! I shall be its supreme leader!"
"Slap!"
Before he could finish speaking, Yoncher received another slap across the head.
Tsunade shot him a fierce glare, shouting, "What kind of nonsense is this?! The Five Fireballs Church?! Are you serious?!"
"You don't have to join if you don't want to. Why hit people?" Yoncher rubbed his head while also massaging the bruised purple marks on his thigh. "Think about it—me, Rin, Momiji, Shizune, plus Lady Tsunade. That makes five right there!"
"And once we all learn Fire Release techniques, each of us can create a massive fireball, capable of sweeping across the entire ninja world!"
Tsunade remained speechless.
What exactly is going through this kid's mind?
"Alright, take a few days off to rest."
Waving her hand dismissively, Tsunade continued, "Gather at my place in three days. From then on begins your real training—this will be grueling, unlike anything back at the ninja academy!"
"Be prepared!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Both Momiji Uchiha and Rin Nohara showed eager expressions.
Seeing Tsunade preparing to leave, Yoncher hastily asked one last question. "Lady Tsunade, who was that captured ninja—a spy from which village?"
"We'll know after investigation," Tsunade frowned slightly. "Before removing him, the Anbu checked—he should be from Sunagakure."
"These matters aren't yours to concern yourself with."
"Yoncher, get ready."
"The training plan I designed for you will differ from those for Momiji and others. Be mentally prepared!"
"Isn't this different from our training plan?" Momiji Uchiha hesitated, then turned to look at Rin Nohara. However, Rin was wearing a composed expression, as if it were only natural for Lady Tsunade to set up a special plan for Yoncher.
Once Tsunade and Rin Nohara left,
The smile in Yoncher's eyes slowly vanished.
It was like the calm before the storm—something big was coming.
Had ninja from Sunagakure secretly entered Konoha? Could they actually believe Konoha was behind The Third Kazekage's disappearance?
Thinking about it, the disappearance of The Third Kazekage should fall around Konoha Year 44 to 45.
And that event became the spark that ignited The Third Great Ninja War.
Because of the Kazekage's disappearance, Suna fell into chaos and confusion, which allowed Kumogakure to seize the opportunity and launch a surprise attack, leading to an all-out war among the major hidden villages.
During Konoha Years 44 and 45, tensions among the major hidden villages had already been rising steadily.
By Konoha Year 46, the full-scale war officially kicked off. Each village deployed its elite forces, throwing everything into chaos, with the conflict lasting for several years.
Reflecting on The Third Great Ninja War, Yoncher's gaze turned serious.
He knew far too little about The Third Great Ninja War.
In the anime, all the information came from flashback scenes.
If even hardcore fans struggled to untangle the timeline and piece together the events of The Third Great Ninja War, how much harder would it be for him—an average anime fan?
Surviving such chaotic battles meant one thing: overwhelming strength!
Right now, the cards he held weren't enough for him to rest easy.
At this rate, when The Third Great Ninja War broke out next year, he would definitely be sent to the battlefield.
But he still lacked Hashirama's cells and Wood Release.
That made him feel dangerously vulnerable.
It was already January in Konoha Year 45.
In just over ten months, unless he could obtain Wood Release or grow significantly stronger, he might easily become cannon fodder during The Third Great Ninja War.
Don't mistake his current strength—he is slightly stronger than the average jonin.
But even then, one stab in the back would still finish him off.
A single Explosive Tag could blow him to bits.
His only hope of leveling up his strength and survival odds was getting Hashirama's cells.
However, fragments of Hashirama cells could only be obtained through System tasks.
Even if he wanted to work hard, there was no way forward.
Without missions assigned by the System, all he could do was sit around and worry.
What annoyed him most was that not a single mission had appeared in these past two weeks!
Unable to get Hashirama cell fragments, his only alternative was to obediently go out and earn Emotional Value to increase his stats.
But now, because of Tsunade's interference, he'd lost access to a huge source—the Ninja Academy students—who used to supply him a large amount of emotional value like crops ready for harvest.
Now, earning over 3,000 points of Emotional Value within half a month had become nearly impossible.
Once Team 9 was formed, most of his time from now on would probably be spent training and doing missions with the other members of Team 9.
Without enough Emotional Value to invest into his abilities, dreaming of becoming significantly stronger in a short time was nothing but wishful thinking.
Besides collecting Emotional Value, what other ways could improve his survival odds during The Third Great Ninja War?
Yoncher sat on a chair beneath a large tree and fell into deep thought.
What he was currently doing involved investing Emotional Value points into "Chakra" and "Chakra Control Level," then developing the "Defense Form" of the [Lightning Release Suit].
If the defensive capabilities of the Lightning Release Suit could be maximized under conditions of sufficiently abundant chakra,
then in the entire ninja world, there would hardly be anyone capable of harming him!
Even if he couldn't dominate the battlefield like back in the Third Ninja War, at least he wouldn't have to live in constant fear anymore.
But it still wasn't enough.
Yoncher thought of Tsunade who had just left.
Tsunade was an elite Medical Ninja!
She developed the S-rank Medical Ninjutsu known as the [Strength of a Hundred Technique], allowing her to rapidly and continuously regenerate the moment she was injured!
Together with her summoned slug Katsuyu, Tsunade accomplished the incredible feat of single-handedly healing an entire village!
If he could learn the [Strength of a Hundred Technique] and combine it with the [Lightning Release Suit], even if he still hadn't obtained Hashirama's cells after ten months, he wouldn't die easily, right?
And if Rin and Momiji worked hard enough and became outstanding Medical Ninjas within ten months,
That means he'd basically have three medics by his side!
Just as Yoncher finished this thought, a prompt appeared in his mind:
[Side Quest Obtained]
[Side Quest 1: Learn the [Strength of a Hundred Technique] and teach Rin Nohara, Kurenai, and Momiji the [Mystical Palm Technique] and [Delicate Illness Extraction Technique];]
[Side Quest 2: Kill Danzo within one month;]
[Reward: A Fragment of Hashirama Senju's Cells Ninjutsu - [Lightning Release: Thunder Fang Binding]]
It's finally here! The quest is here!
Yoncher almost wept with joy.
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Thank you for reading, Your support will keep me updating!
~ **4 bonus chapters** this weekend if I get kind comments.