Chapter 10: The Will of Fire (Part One)
Early May. The temperature had been climbing steadily, and back at the Ninja Academy plenty of people were still talking about the two who had graduated ahead of schedule not long ago.
Shuriken class had just ended. Uchiha Obito dropped onto one of the benches at the edge of the training grounds with a dejected look and stared up at the sky, none of his usual energy anywhere to be found.
"You're spacing out again. Are you okay, Obito?"
Nohara Rin's bright voice came from beside him. At the sight of her worried expression, Obito answered in a flat, quiet voice:
"Do you think I'm really just missing the Uchiha clan's talent."
"Even Guy graduated, and now he's on a three-person team with Osamu and Kakashi."
"They're already taking on missions. By the time I graduate, I'll probably end up as a subordinate to all of them."
Most of their classmates saw the three who had graduated early as geniuses. When a genius surpassed you, the natural response was to cheer and admire. And then, on the side, find a fresh reason to laugh at the Uchiha clan's dead last.
"Obito's grades are actually really good!"
Nohara Rin sat down beside him and offered the compliment, then kept going:
"Don't worry about it. You've been working incredibly hard. Your theory scores still have some room, but your overall ranking is already near the top."
"Rin, I, uh... it's just a few subjects that are decent!"
Being complimented made Obito so nervous he could barely sit still. The sight of her genuinely encouraging him made it worse, and he turned away in embarrassment, muttering:
"Thanks, Rin. You're the only one who's always been in my corner."
"You two are whispering again!"
Yūhi Kurenai appeared suddenly behind them. Her teasing nearly sent Obito leaping off the bench. He spun around, stuttered something incoherent, and made a hasty exit:
"I, I'm going to get some drinks..."
Yūhi Kurenai watched him stumble off, blinked, then grabbed Nohara Rin's arm and asked with genuine curiosity:
"He used to avoid group activities, was it because he was afraid of being outshone? Strange Uchiha."
Thinking of the times Obito had refused to join in recently, looking thoroughly put out about it, Nohara Rin gave a small shake of her head and explained simply:
"Obito just wants more people to recognize him. He's been living on his own since he was very young. He actually really wants more friends."
Different upbringings shaped different people. Kurenai couldn't quite wrap her head around it. She looked up and said thoughtfully:
"Is that right? Osamu doesn't seem to have any of those troubles, though."
"They've already taken on a C-rank mission. I haven't even left the village yet. Father says it's dangerous outside, but I really want to go out and see the world."
Thinking of Furukawa Osamu, who had spent the past two months completely stepping away from the medical track and following at Tsunade's side, Nohara Rin answered with a trace of envy:
"Geniuses are always a little different, I suppose."
The two girls moved on from the topic. But when the conversation circled back to the three who had formed their team early, Nohara Rin's face still took on that familiar look of longing whenever Kakashi's name came up.
She didn't know what her own team situation would look like after graduation, but Nohara Rin very much hoped she would end up on Kakashi's team. That afternoon in class, she found herself drifting into a daydream:
If Kakashi were the team leader, that wouldn't be bad at all...
* * *
Late at night. On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields, a merchant caravan had settled in to rest in a dense stretch of forest, and everyone let out a collective breath.
The caravan's middle-aged leader, a slightly heavyset man pushing forty, came over to Nara Shikaku with an apologetic look on his face once dinner was done. He bowed quietly toward the group:
"I'm terribly sorry, Nara-san. We had no idea Takigakure ninja would show up."
"We'll arrange compensation once we reach the destination. Please accept this small gesture from all of us. And regarding the mission evaluation, we're counting on you."
Nara Shikaku, who had only recently been promoted to jonin, looked at the people bowing in front of him and let out a tired sigh:
"This did turn into something of a mess. Given the friendship between Oshima-san and our clan, I'll take care of the evaluation."
The group visibly relaxed at the reassurance. Any mission involving combat between ninja was at minimum a B-rank assignment, and Konoha had its own evaluation system for client requests. This time, the fault clearly lay with the client's failure to disclose the full situation.
After a fight that had cost four of their guards their lives, the remaining dozen-odd members of the caravan looked at the three young ninja sitting on the ground with barely concealed awe.
The three had moved away from the main group, and in the dark their faces were hard to make out. Might Guy was pale, fighting down his discomfort, forcing himself to get through another rice ball.
Kakashi had his mask on, which hid whatever was happening on his face. But seeing Guy's lack of appetite, he spoke quietly:
"You don't need to take it this hard. Aside from the Takigakure ninja, the rest were just wandering missing-nin."
Furukawa Osamu, short blade strapped across his back, looked completely unaffected. He worked through his rice balls and dried meat and answered simply:
"If they came out to attack us, they should have been ready to die for it."
"Dead men are the only safe ones. I'm not interested in getting ambushed again before we reach the Land of Rice Fields. This was a warning."
The ninja who had played dead or feigned injury to slip through had all been finished off by Furukawa Osamu. Perhaps because of the months of blood-soaked nightmares he had already lived through, the act of killing produced no emotional response in him.
"Osamu's right. We can't afford to fail our first C-rank mission."
"I've already prepared myself for this... ugh..."
Might Guy took over the conversation with a face that looked nothing like his usual self at school, serious and set. He took a large bite of rice ball, then followed it up with a mouthful of dried meat, and promptly choked on both at once.
"What am I going to do with you..."
Kakashi handed over his canteen and his dead-fish stare returned. He was a chunin and had already seen real combat. What had startled him was just how clean and efficient Furukawa Osamu had been about it.
Nara Shikaku settled down beside the three of them, genuinely satisfied with how his team had handled things. He offered a few words of encouragement with an easy smile:
"Looks like my worrying was unnecessary. Exactly what you'd expect from the genius Lady Tsunade has such high regard for."
"Guy, you did well too. There's no need for sympathy toward enemies who stand in the way of a mission."
"Kakashi, trust your teammates. And here's some good news: once we reach the destination, the payment will go up to one hundred thousand ryo. The caravan and the Nara clan go back a ways, so there'll be some additional compensation on top of that."
Doubled pay made Might Guy's eyes light up. Ninja missions came with real equipment costs, shuriken and kunai and the rest of it, and of the four of them his gear was by far the most threadbare.
Nara Shikaku seemed to sense exactly what was going through his teammate's head. He rubbed his chin with an easy expression and said:
"Guy, don't forget the three prohibitions of the ninja. A good ninja doesn't let money be their master."
The three prohibitions being alcohol, women, and money. Furukawa Osamu knew the team leader was joking around and smiled along, adding:
"Right. It's just a few tens of thousands of ryo. Don't think too much about it. The captain isn't the type to be stingy."
The Nara clan's medicinal trade had made them genuinely wealthy. Nara Shikaku knew Guy's situation at home, and he laughed and made a straightforward offer:
"The extra on top goes to you three."
"Good junior ninja matter more than any mission payout."
"Remember this: ninja have rules to follow, but when a mission goes sideways, your teammates come first. That is the Will of Fire that gets passed down."