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"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Rin?"
Seiji slung his cloth bag over his shoulder and walked to the doorway. Through the open gate he caught a glimpse of Kakashi already disappearing into the crowd. Obito was hanging around near the school gate, clearly waiting for someone.
"Didn't we agree you'd let Seiji practice ninjutsu with us?" Rin said.
"I see." Seiji nodded lightly.
He couldn't tell whether Rin had stayed behind because she wanted to, or simply because Kakashi had left. Either way, he didn't dwell on it.
The tangle between Rin, Obito, and Kakashi was messy enough to be the plot of a soap opera. Rin clearly liked Kakashi—she'd even given him a personalized medical pouch with a charm she'd sewn herself. But Obito liked Rin. And Kakashi and Obito were supposed to be best friends.
"Let's go."
"Mm." Rin nodded and followed Seiji outside.
Kakashi's figure was long gone, swallowed up by the bustling street.
"Rin, you're really gonna teach this guy ninjutsu?" Obito grumbled.
The thought of Rin and Seiji being alone together rubbed him the wrong way. If anyone should be getting that chance, it was him.
"Seiji came here all on his own. We should help him," Rin said firmly.
"Fine, fine…" Obito backed down, though he clearly wasn't happy.
Thick-skinned as ever, he tagged along behind them until they reached one of the training fields.
Konoha had more than fifty of these, each with its own shape and scale. Sometimes they even doubled as exam sites—the Chūnin Exams, for instance, were often held in certain fields.
The three of them weren't full-fledged shinobi yet, but even academy students had access. The moment you signed your name at the academy, you were considered a "provisional ninja." Even if you failed a year, so long as you could pull off the most basic Clone and Substitution techniques, you'd eventually graduate as a genin.
Today, they ended up at Training Field Three.
"Perfect, no one's around," Rin said after scanning the area.
She coughed lightly and added, "Obito, you'd better listen closely too. At this rate you won't make it through the graduation exam."
"Heh, yeah, I know, Rin."
Obito scratched his head sheepishly. His Clone, Substitution, and Transformation techniques were sloppy, and his reputation as the class dunce was well-earned.
"But I'm still better than him." He jabbed a finger at Seiji.
Deep down, Obito was certain of that. Sure, he was near the bottom of the class, but at least he'd had proper training. Seiji was just some half-literate stray who'd barely learned to refine chakra. No way he could match him.
Besides, Obito had heard plenty of rumors about Seiji from his grandmother. The whole Uchiha clan was watching the outsider like hawks. None of them trusted someone with roots in the Land of Lightning.
And why would they? The Second Hokage had died at the hands of Kumogakure shinobi, and the last war with Lightning had ended only a few years ago. The bitterness hadn't faded. Obito's own parents had died in that war—just like many other Uchiha.
Ninja weren't noble warriors. They were mercenaries dancing on the edge of a blade, never knowing if they'd see another sunrise.
"Obito," Rin said, frowning. "That's not how you talk to a classmate."
"It's fine," Seiji cut in before it could turn into an argument. "Please, Rin, go ahead with the lesson."
He ignored Obito. Whether or not Obito had already caught Madara's eye was an unknown, and Seiji had no interest in gambling. He needed distance from him—and time to get stronger.
Being an Uchiha in Konoha meant carrying original sin. One day there would be the Uchiha Massacre. Danzo's greed for the Sharingan would never go away. These were threats Seiji couldn't ignore.
And time was short. Graduation wasn't far off, and after that would come the Third Great Ninja War—the bloodiest conflict in history. Even children barely older than toddlers would be forced onto the battlefield.
"Alright," Rin said, straightening. "To learn ninjutsu, you first need to practice tree climbing."
She explained the basics in detail—far more carefully than Kakashi ever did for Team 7 in the original story.
Seiji listened attentively, asking questions whenever something didn't click.
"You gather just enough chakra at the soles of your feet. That creates an adhesive force that lets you stick."
To demonstrate, Rin slipped off her sandals. Her pale toes, neat as crescent moons, pressed softly against the bark as she showed Seiji exactly where to focus the chakra.
Then she put her shoes back on, formed the Ram hand seal with practiced ease, and walked up the thick trunk as though it were level ground.
Seiji tilted his head back as Rin climbed higher, stopping near the leafy crown. She waved down at them, signaling for them to try.
"Easy!" Obito shouted.
He mimicked Rin's seal—something he'd learned long ago—and forced chakra to his soles. When his first step stuck, confidence surged. He planted his other foot and began to climb.
"See? Not a problem," he muttered, just as he turned his head, eager to watch Seiji flounder.
The next instant he lost control and tumbled straight down.
"Don't lose focus while controlling chakra," Rin chided gently.
Obito groaned, rubbing his sore back before scrambling to his feet. "Guess it's your turn, Seiji."
"Alright."
Seiji placed a hand against the trunk and began.
Like Obito, he slipped almost immediately, managing only a meter before dropping.
But instead of being discouraged, he tried again.
So did Obito, gritting his teeth. Now he regretted all those times he'd slacked off in chakra control lessons.
The two of them practiced side by side as the hours slipped past.
By the time the setting sun spilled golden rays through the canopy, Rin was staring in open surprise.
Seiji's progress was staggering. With Obito there as a comparison, the difference was impossible to ignore.
Obito had improved only slightly—from two meters to maybe three and a half at best.
Seiji, on the other hand, had already climbed nearly five meters, just shy of the treetop.
A faint chime echoed in Seiji's mind as the panel flickered to life.
You have unlocked: [Muscle Memory (White)].
"....."