Chapter 39: Let Rin Nohara Reflect on Whether She's Truly Trying Hard Enough
Seiji's eyes, now awakened with the full power of the Sharingan, could see everything.
He saw the gentle sway of the tree branches in the distance, each arc traced with stunning precision. The veins on the leaves above were so sharp they looked etched by hand.
Farther out, a swarm of insects circled the streetlamp's glow. Their wings fluttered through the halo of light, and Seiji could make out the rapid frequency of their movement—more clearly than ever before.
Obito's face was right in front of him, etched with anger and disbelief. Rage radiated from every twitch of his features, almost tangible in the air between them.
Seiji's gaze drifted across Obito's slightly parted lips—he could even track the tiny, unconscious grinding of teeth behind them.
Then he turned toward Rin.
Fatigue lingered in her expression, a faint shadow of weariness between her brows. Concern clouded her eyes—subtle, but undeniable.
Seiji observed them both in silence, his crimson Sharingan spinning slowly.
One black tomoe followed the motion in his eyes.
This... was the true power of the Sharingan.
---
"It's getting late. I should go," Rin finally said, glancing at the darkening sky.
"Obito, let's go."
She motioned for Obito to follow, not wanting to leave him behind to cause more trouble for Seiji.
"I... alright."
Obito suppressed his frustration and quietly followed her out.
Seiji watched their retreating backs until Rin—ever polite—closed the door gently behind her.
Only then did he look away.
---
"A bull without a burden has no soul."
Obito, throughout his life, would bring nothing but pain to the shinobi world.
The Nine-Tails' attack… the Blood Mist years… the Fourth Great Ninja War…
One disaster after another.
Each event tore families apart, left villages in ruin, and claimed countless innocent lives.
A man like that deserved punishment.
Could he be steered onto another path?
Unlikely.
For one, Uchiha Madara had probably already marked him as a viable pawn.
But more importantly… even without knowing the full truth, Obito witnessed Kakashi kill Rin—and instantly, he collapsed into blind hatred.
He didn't question. He didn't seek answers.
He didn't challenge the system through logic or revolution.
Instead, he chose to drag the entire world into the illusion of the Infinite Tsukuyomi—to run from the pain rather than confront it.
That kind of extremist… was the embodiment of the "Uchiha Curse."
Tobirama Senju had called it:
Uchiha, when consumed by emotion, became twisted—minds altered by their very dōjutsu.
Seiji, however, was different.
He wasn't a pure-blooded Uchiha.
He wasn't even from this world.
He didn't understand people like Obito—and he had no intention of changing them.
---
"The next step won't take long now," Seiji murmured with a quiet smile.
His theory had no precedent, no confirmed success.
But Rin—driven by her desire to help Kakashi—would be back.
And if she couldn't learn Lightning Style?
Well… that wasn't his fault.
Maybe she needed to ask herself—
Was she really trying hard enough?
Rin Nohara and Obito walked together to the edge of the Uchiha compound. Just a few more steps and they'd be back on the main streets of Konoha.
"Obito, just now... Seiji was helping me train in chakra nature transformation," Rin finally explained.
"What kind of chakra training needs that kind of contact?"
Obito frowned, clearly unconvinced. After a moment, he added, "Rin, you better be careful around Uchiha Seiji. Some people look kind and sunny, but inside—they're anything but."
Obito clearly didn't trust Seiji and was trying to persuade Rin to stay away from him.
Though he didn't know much about chakra nature transformation—mostly because he spent most classes asleep—he was sure of one thing:
You weren't supposed to be holding hands or doing anything like that.
"You don't understand, Obito."
Rin shook her head gently. Whether it worked or not, she had to try.
Was she supposed to just sit back and watch Kakashi spiral further into loneliness?
When a ninja let their emotions run wild, it usually led to disaster on missions.
She wanted to share some of Kakashi's burden, even if just a little.
"I'm heading back."
Rin waved and stepped off the Uchiha grounds, disappearing into the street crowd.
Obito stood alone at the compound's edge, watching her go.
"Chakra nature transformation, huh? But Rin always wanted to be a medical ninja… could it be she's learning a Yang-nature transformation?"
Obito frowned, lost in thought.
---
**Morning.**
Seiji rose from bed, ate a simple breakfast, washed up, and headed to the Third Training Field.
Birds scattered as he passed through the dense forest.
He stopped in front of a large tree.
Concentrating, Seiji began extracting a precise amount of chakra, shaping it with technique. He formed hand seals, then extended his index and middle fingers—pressing them tightly together.
Blue-white arcs of electricity danced at his fingertips as he calculated the chakra-to-stamina ratio.
This wasn't like the basic E-rank jutsu, nor the Lightning Release: Iron Body technique, or the Cloud-Style swordsmanship he'd already learned.
A pure offensive jutsu like Lightning Release: Spark Finger demanded precision.
If your sealing technique or chakra control wasn't up to par, the result would be waste.
Only high-level jōnin could perfectly convert excess chakra into physical energy.
Crackle!
Sparks flared as Seiji focused his chakra into the meridians of his fingers.
With a sudden thrust—
Ssst—!
The thick bark sizzled with a sharp burn, smoke curling from where Seiji had struck.
Two blackened holes pierced deep into the wood, steam still rising.
"Not bad."
Seiji nodded in satisfaction.
Jutsu rank wasn't everything.
With high enough stats in "Ninjutsu" and "Control," even lower-ranked techniques could be deadly.
Just look at Uchiha Madara—his Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, a B-rank jutsu, required over twenty Mist nin to counter with their own B-rank Water Wall technique.
Thanks to the Yotsuki clan's natural affinity, Seiji's compatibility with Lightning Release was already high.
And with the added 20% buff from the green-tagged "Lightning Release Genin" title, even a modest jutsu like Thunderbolt Finger had considerable bite in his hands.
"And I'm still getting stronger…"
His Sharingan was still feeding him power, the feedback from the awakening continuing through the night into morning.
Seiji could feel it—it wasn't done yet.
"Next up: genjutsu," he mused quietly.
With swordsmanship, he'd gained the Apprentice Sword Ninja title. With Lightning Release, he became an Apprentice Lightning Release Ninja.
Logically, once he started on genjutsu, another tag would follow.
Though he wasn't sure whether a technique like Lightning Release: Blazing Flash would be categorized as genjutsu or lightning.
After a moment of thought, he shook his head. No point in overanalyzing.
Better to focus and make the most of every second.
---
**Konoha Streets.**
Rin walked among the bustling crowd, her thoughts drifting back to Kakashi.
"Lightning Release… how exactly does it stimulate cell activity?"
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.
Turning around—
"Kakashi!"
There he was.
"You've already been assigned to a three-man squad?" she asked, a smile forming.
"Yeah."
Kakashi nodded, his ninja gear neat, a short sword—the famous White Fang's blade—strapped to his back.
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