Minato's team was finally back together.
But there was still a decent chunk of time left until midnight.
Yuto Souta didn't want to let this opportunity slip away.
Facing off against such a formidable opponent would let him quickly refine his vast array of ninjutsu.
Likewise, Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake weren't about to slink away after such a humiliating ordeal...
They'd been tied up the whole way.
At one point, they'd even been used as bargaining chips to force Yuto Souta to surrender.
How could they stomach that?!
No words were needed—the trio's unspoken agreement to keep fighting was crystal clear.
"Her chains are the problem. Obito, you need to pay more atten—Obito, your eyes..."
Yuto Souta, mid-tactic briefing, suddenly froze.
Obito Uchiha, his face dark with frustration, seemed lost in thought. But in his eyes, two tomoe had appeared!
This... didn't quite add up.
Yuto Souta was puzzled.
It had only been about half a month since Obito first awakened his Sharingan.
Getting captured once was enough to jump straight to two tomoe?
Was having a fragile ego the real key to unlocking the Sharingan?
Yuto Souta couldn't help but glance at the proficiency required to upgrade his own Sharingan.
Unlike ninjutsu proficiency, which got bonus boosts from defeating enemies, his Sharingan only progressed through constant use or point allocation.
And since he'd always been in a calm, scientific mindset with no real desires or emotional triggers, there hadn't been much to push his Sharingan forward.
That felt like a bit of a loss.
"Don't worry, Souta."
"Those sluggish chains aren't a match for these eyes anymore."
Obito Uchiha tilted his head, twirling a kunai in his hand with a cool flourish.
"Leave the rest to me..."
Whoosh!
His figure blurred into a shadow as Obito Uchiha charged straight ahead!
Kushina Uzumaki, standing opposite them, frowned.
With a flick of her hand, two chains shot toward Obito Uchiha!
Those chains had once been Obito Uchiha's nightmare.
Caught off guard, he'd been bound by them, paraded around, and mocked the whole way!
In the end, they'd even turned him into a bargaining chip to make Souta surrender...
But now!
He had two tomoe.
The power surging from his bloodline filled him with confidence. Those once-unstoppable chains now seemed painfully slow in his eyes. He even had the leisure to throw Kushina Uzumaki a mocking glance mid-dodge...
That's it?
"Too slow..."
Obito Uchiha sidestepped the two chains with ease, maintaining his speed as he rushed toward Kushina Uzumaki!
And then!
Then he was promptly wrapped up tight by the chains that abruptly curved back, leaving him completely immobile...
In some ways, Kushina Uzumaki's Adamantine Chains shared a similarity with the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.
Once a target entered a certain range, the chains' chakra locked onto them with uncanny ease...
"Damn it! Let me go already!"
"If you've got the guts, fight me with ninjutsu! I'll—mmph mmph mmph mmph..."
The chains, as it turned out, were still Obito Uchiha's nightmare.
"Let him go."
Yuto Souta, unable to watch any longer, sighed helplessly.
Kushina Uzumaki glanced over, the smirk on her lips still dripping with disdain.
"Why should I?"
Forget the fact that this little punk kept provoking her—even tied up, he wouldn't behave.
On top of that, Yuto Souta's fake surrender earlier had already bruised her pride!
And now they wanted her to let this brat go?
On what grounds?
"If you're looking for a fight, I can keep you company until dawn."
"But if you just want to teach Obito a lesson..."
"Go easy. He's got a ninja exam in seven days."
Yuto Souta threw up his hands in defeat.
The mother-son Great Fireball combo that freed Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake earlier had likely worked because Kushina underestimated him.
He'd even factored in the possibility that Minato might've mentioned that technique to her.
Thankfully, the tactic paid off.
But it was exactly because of this that he understood just how formidable those Adamantine Chains were.
These were chains that could bind the Nine-Tails—his Flame Dragon Beam, which had once shredded Stone ninja Earth Release techniques, took over twenty shots to melt through them!
The gap between Minato's team and Kushina Uzumaki was still substantial.
But according to his calculations,
Once he earned his chunin rank, with Dust Release breaking past the LV2 threshold, he could probably take on Kushina Uzumaki.
Add Wood Release into the mix, and his odds would be better than even.
And by the time he reached jonin rank, he wouldn't even need Dust Release or Wood Release to handle her.
That train of thought led Yuto Souta to a sudden question.
Beyond jonin was the rank of Kage.
Becoming a Kage wasn't so simple... He had no interest in vying for Hokage, nor the energy to compete for it.
At that point, he'd be left with just two choices.
One: Follow Orochimaru's example, build his own ninja village, and declare himself its Kage!
But that wouldn't necessarily be recognized...
A village's Kage wasn't something you could just claim for yourself.
It was a supreme title that required the approval of all five great nations!
The leader of the Rain Country, Hanzo of the Salamander, had even sparked the Second Great Ninja War over this.
Yet in the end, the Rain Country's leader remained just that—a leader. A half-god, but never a Rain Shadow.
The other choice, however, was much simpler...
From genin to chunin to jonin to Kage-level, there was actually a transitional title in between.
Rogue ninja.
An S-rank rogue ninja—infinitely close to Kage-level, some even surpassing it!
That was an option too.
Yuto Souta mulled it over, gradually forming a plan in his mind.
He couldn't stay in Konoha forever...
But just then,
Kushina Uzumaki suddenly tossed Obito Uchiha back to them. Crossing her arms and tilting her head up, she struck a pose eerily similar to Obito's earlier bravado.
Except on Kushina Uzumaki, it somehow screamed "big sister gangster"?
Yuto Souta caught Obito Uchiha midair, using a quick glance to stop him from charging again in a fit of impulse.
"I've got to say, you three disappoint me."
"Minato's just too soft on you... You call yourselves geniuses?"
"I could beat you all with one hand!"
Kushina Uzumaki reveled in her moment of teacherly authority, then turned to leave, leaving them with a cool view of the back of her head.
"Tomorrow, 6 a.m., right here. Whoever doesn't show is a coward!"
Before walking off, Kushina Uzumaki set their meeting time for the next day.
That's when it hit the trio... This woman was their substitute teacher, wasn't she...
Yuto Souta let out a breath of relief.
Putting everything else aside, at least his pile of ninjutsu would get some proper refinement now.
"Whoever doesn't show is a bastard! Tomorrow, watch your Obito-sama take you down!"
Obito Uchiha leapt up, shouting threats into the air!
He kept hurling taunts until Kushina Uzumaki's figure vanished from sight, only stopping then.
But when he turned around and saw Yuto Souta's conflicted expression, he paused again.
"What's wrong, Souta? Used too much chakra?" Obito Uchiha asked with concern.
"No... It's nothing."
Yuto Souta shook his head.
The three lingered there for a bit longer before heading home, exhaustion weighing on them.
Along the way, Yuto Souta stayed silent, his conflicted look growing heavier.
On his retina, an option hovered quietly...
[Triggered Choice: Konoha Rogue Ninja. Please select: Stay in Konoha / Defect.]
[Note: This choice is permanently valid. Once selected, the current mainline task will be replaced with: B-Rank Rogue Ninja.]
[B-Rank Rogue Ninja: Chakra reserves / Vitality increased by 125%, ninjutsu level cap raised to LV3.]
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