"Hang on! Hang on! Obito-sama is here to save you, Kakashi! Yuu—!"
Obito had come in shouting at the top of his lungs, looking like he was about to rescue Mikami Yuu and Kakashi from certain doom. But the moment he pushed through the brush and saw the scene in front of him, he froze.
Beside him, Inuzuka Tsume noticed it too. She looked just as shocked as Obito.
"You already finished them off? That was fast! Those guys were all Rain Village chūnin, weren't they? And the two of you just took them down?"
"Yeah. Mostly thanks to Yuu."
Kakashi didn't try to take credit.
Obito had originally wanted to brag a little about his own side of the fight, but after seeing what Mikami Yuu and Kakashi had done, the words stuck in his throat.
After all, over there it had been two against one, and he'd nearly gotten wrecked in the one-on-one until Tsume arrived and helped finish the guy off. Compared to this side's clean two-versus-three wipe, it really felt childish.
"Haha, nice work!"
Tsume clapped Kakashi on the shoulder, then looked at Mikami Yuu with clear approval. "You're Hatake Kakashi, right? I've been hearing your name for the last couple of years. And you too—not bad at all. No wonder you're one of Minato's people. Looks like the 'Yellow Flash' really will have successors."
"'Yellow Flash'?"
Obito blinked. "That's Minato-sensei's nickname? He's that strong? Then how does he compare to the 'White Fang of Konoha'?"
The instant those words left his mouth, the air froze.
Kakashi snapped his head around and stared at Obito coldly, then gave a sharp snort and turned away.
"Hey! Kakashi! What was that supposed to—"
Obito looked completely lost.
Tsume's smile stiffened too. She scratched her head awkwardly. "This kid really has a talent for saying exactly the wrong thing… Anyway, they're both Konoha ninja. There's no need to rank them. Alright, this place isn't safe to stay in. Grab that guy and let's get back to camp."
Obito was still confused and turned to Mikami Yuu. "What did I even say wrong?"
"…Go ask Minato-sensei yourself later. Let's move."
Mikami Yuu sighed.
…
On the way back, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Once they reached camp, Tsume handed Fujiwara over to Akiyama Hayato and gave a complete report of what had happened. After hearing the full story, Hayato was delighted and said again and again that he'd make sure to write several good lines about them in the mission report.
Obito was thrilled by that.
Mikami Yuu and Kakashi, by contrast, stayed pretty calm.
After the report was done, Mikami Yuu specifically took out the spoils they'd collected—everything except the scroll containing Water Formation Wall—and reported them to Hayato, asking whether they should be turned over to the camp storehouse. Hayato refused without hesitation.
So just like that, the loot became the legitimate spoils of Minato Squad.
Mikami Yuu split the kunai, shuriken, and similar items with Obito and Rin. Kakashi didn't care either way, so after that he just went back to his temporary quarters. Using post-battle rest as an excuse, Mikami Yuu tried to encounter Water Formation Wall:
[After defeating the Rain ninja, you pick up a young blue-haired girl from the battlefield. She's sitting curled up among the torn remnants of a shattered scroll, hugging her knees, like a piece of abandoned luggage. Even when you approach, she doesn't look up, as though she's already used to this and has no expectations for her future.]
[Talk]
[A: Get up, brat! Who said you were allowed to sit here? No manners.]
[B: The rain's too heavy. You'll catch cold like this. Come home with me. My place is pretty spacious—if you get tired, you can sleep there directly. (Hold out your hand)]
[C: (Stay silent and sit with her)]
"…Uh…"
How did this suddenly turn into a "waiting for a savior girl" plot?
Mikami Yuu silently complained.
Still, it did make some sense.
After all, this Water Formation Wall had been obtained in a way completely different from all the jutsu before it. It was the first technique he'd seized from an enemy ninja from another village.
If the Three Basic Jutsu—learned at the Academy and already there when the system first activated—were positioned as the childhood-friend sisters next door; if Great Fireball, gained by watching Obito train, was positioned as the noble young lady encountered in the woods; if Hatake Swordsmanship was the aloof, untouchable beauty above the clouds…
Then this one was naturally war loot.
—Though if he'd gotten Water Formation Wall from Hiruzen instead, the text box probably would've described her very differently.
After a moment of thought, Mikami Yuu chose C.
[Water Formation Wall: …]
Mikami Yuu: "…"
[Water Formation Wall: …]
"…Did it freeze?"
Just as he was about to start looking for a rollback function, the text box finally changed—
[Water Formation Wall: …Aren't you going to give me an order?]
"An order?"
[Water Formation Wall: You defeated my former master. I am your spoils of war. You may use me as you please, give me any command you want. There's no need to just sit here with me.]
[A: Fine. Shine my shoes.]
[B: Then I order you to stand up right now and come home with me. Don't stay out in the rain.]
[C: (Stay silent and sit with her)]
"B."
[Water Formation Wall: 'Home'… what does that mean? I'm only a technique, a tool. If rain soaks me, I won't get sick. If I'm abandoned, I won't feel sad. You don't need to care about a tool's feelings.]
"…"
Alright, so not a "waiting-for-rescue girl," but basically ninja-technique Haku.
This galgame system really did have a weirdly wide range of character types.
Mikami Yuu grumbled inwardly, but kept his expression serious. "You're not a tool. You're a one-of-a-kind Water Formation Wall. I respect you the same way I respect every other jutsu I've met. If you're willing to trust me, come with me. I'll make sure you're taken care of."
[Water Formation Wall: …Alright.]
[The blue-haired girl stands up, revealing gray-blue eyes with no real focus, like shallow puddles left after rain. She follows you silently, like a stray dog that's been abandoned too many times. Somewhere you can't see, her lips move, whispering softly: …Will you throw me away too? Just like all the others before?]
[Water Formation Wall affection +1. Added to romance list! Current affection: 1/100 (Stranger)]
"Phew…"
Mikami Yuu let out a breath.
Finally got her.
Still, this Water Formation Wall felt a little off somehow. Probably because her personality was such a huge contrast from the Three Basic Jutsu, Great Fireball, and the others. But since she'd entered the romance list successfully, he didn't dwell on it.
After all, it was just a jutsu.
The system was so bare-bones it didn't even have character art. There was no way it'd have some yandere reverse-attack feature or anything, right? That would be way too—
[Ding! The host now has 10 active romanceable targets. "Bond Codex" function unlocked!]
"Huh?"
A new feature too?
Mikami Yuu's eyelid twitched, instantly interested.