Chapter 707: Date Battle

“Being a captain isn’t hard, as long as you understand your team members’ thoughts, the team will be easy to lead.”

Obito generously shared his secret to leading a team with a Uchiha Ninja who was about to be transferred from the Police Force.

“I see, no wonder you’re always praised at Clan Meetings, Obito. Leading a team really has so many tricks to it,” the Uchiha Ninja exclaimed.

To encourage the Uchiha Ninjas to actively build good relationships with their squad members, Shisui often highlighted certain well-performing Uchihas as examples at Clan Meetings.

As one of the current representative geniuses of the Uchiha, and with his excellent team-leading results, Obito was promoted the most.

“Thank you so much,” the Uchiha Ninja thanked Obito, then looked at Uchiha Teuchi and said:

“Boss, give me two pancakes too. Put Obito’s on my tab.”

With that, the Uchiha Ninja started to get his money out.

“No, no, I’ll pay for myself,” Obito waved his hand.

He actually quite enjoyed the feeling of teaching others.

“Alright then, I’m off to work.” The Uchiha Ninja nodded, put the extra money back into his wallet, and left with his pancake.

“Mm,” Obito replied, then walked towards the Training Ground while eating his pancake.

As he neared the Training Ground, Obito, with his excellent eyesight, spotted his three team members from afar.

“They’re quite early today,” Obito thought.

Muzuki rarely made his disciples wait for him, often arriving about five minutes early, and Obito, as Muzuki’s strongest disciple, had inherited this fine tradition well.

Since Izumo Kamizuki and the others were even earlier than Obito, it meant they had arrived quite a bit ahead of time.

“As expected of my team members.”

Obito was very pleased and decided to teach them a Body Flicker Technique today.

“Captain Obito, good morning!” Anko was the first to notice Obito approaching, greeting him with a cheerful laugh.

Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane quickly followed suit with their greetings.

“Good morning to you all too,” Obito replied with a wide smile.

Being called ‘Captain Obito’ first thing every morning was truly enjoyable. Obito even worried he might not get used to it if he stopped being a captain in the future.

“Captain Obito, you like Rin Nohara, don’t you?” Anko stated directly.

Obito stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

After regaining his balance, Obito looked at Anko with a puzzled expression. He hadn’t told anyone about this; how did Anko know such a secret?

Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane also looked at Anko, quite speechless. How could she just blurt it out without any preamble?

Their trip to the Hidden Mist exchange meeting made them realize Obito’s feelings for Rin Nohara.

To repay Obito for his dedicated guidance, the two of them decided to help him win Rin Nohara’s affection.

As for Anko, she had accidentally overheard their plan and was forced to join.

“Ahem,” Obito coughed softly, his face slightly red. “First, let’s define what ‘like’ means.”

“Actually, liking is a common thing. For example, I also like you guys a lot, and I even want you to become my Shadow Guards in the future.”

“Thank you for your liking, Captain Obito, but your liking for Rin Nohara is clearly not that kind of liking, it’s admiration for the opposite sex!” Since Anko had already spoken, Izumo Kamizuki didn’t waste any more time and stated directly.

“Uh, it’s not what you’re imagining,” Obito tried to explain.

“Oh, so Captain Obito doesn’t like Rin Nohara? It’s a misunderstanding. We should tell Rin Nohara next time,” Kotetsu Hagane said deliberately.

“It’s not that I don’t like her!”

Obito panicked. He couldn’t let such words be spread around. What if Rin Nohara actually believed it?

“So, is it ‘like’ or ‘don’t like’?” Anko asked.

“It’s not a matter of ‘like’ or ‘don’t like.’ It’s more like, having a good impression,” Obito tried hard to explain.

“You’re too young, so you might not understand. It’s just feeling that the other person is very good, and you think about her now and then.”

“Isn’t that just liking? And Captain Obito, you’re only a few years older than us,” Kotetsu Hagane retorted.

“Uh… then maybe it’s a little bit of liking.” Obito rubbed his forehead, sighed, and finally admitted it.

How to describe it? This feeling was strange, like a hidden treasure he didn’t want to be discovered had been exposed.

“Captain Obito, let us, the Emotional Duo, help you win over the person you like!” Kotetsu Hagane said with a serious, deep voice.

Then, Kotetsu Hagane grandly introduced Izumo Kamizuki with both arms:

“Izumo is an experienced romance novel reader. He has read hundreds of romance novels and is proficient in various dating and courting techniques. He is an absolute expert in romance!”

“That amazing?”

Obito was a little surprised. Even for romance novels, hundreds was an impressive number.

Izumo Kamizuki pushed his black-framed glasses, which he had put on at some point, with his middle finger and said modestly:

“I wouldn’t call myself an expert; I just know a bit more about the theoretical aspects than most people.”

“Kotetsu, on the other hand, has a childhood friend and more real-world experience. He’s a practical powerhouse who can be more useful in actual combat!”

Izumo Kamizuki introduced Kotetsu Hagane with a solemn gesture of both arms.

“Childhood friend? Real-world experience, that sounds impressive too.”

Obito’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected his team members to be ahead of him in this regard. Young people these days were truly remarkable.

“What about me? Why is it only a duo?” Anko jumped between the two, dissatisfied.

They hadn’t introduced her! She was the Ninja Academy’s perennial top student, a genius, and the strongest member of the squad.

“Then it’s the Emotional Duo plus Anko,” Izumo Kamizuki said.

“Why isn’t it the Emotional Trio?”

“Because you’re special, Anko, so you need to be listed separately.”

“Alright then,” Anko accepted this explanation.

She couldn’t help it; she was such a genius. Geniuses were destined to be different.

“It’s clearly because they think she doesn’t understand anything, so they’re excluding her,” Obito muttered to himself.

However, Obito didn’t intend to point it out. It would indeed be a bit inappropriate to have Anko strategize for his romantic life. Anko was better off as a mascot.

“Let’s not talk about these digressions. Let’s start training first.” Seeing that it was almost time, Obito began to guide Kotetsu Hagane and the others in their training.

Obito had carefully watched Anko, Izumo Kamizuki, and their battles during the Hidden Mist exchange meeting and had found some of their shortcomings.

They trained until lunchtime, and only at the strong suggestion of Kotetsu Hagane and the others did they resume their morning conversation.

“Captain Obito, since you like Rin Nohara, why don’t you take action?” Izumo Kamizuki asked curiously.

To offer advice, he first needed to understand the situation; he couldn’t just give random suggestions.

“I told you, it’s just a little bit of liking, no, it’s just a good impression,” Obito emphasized.

Kotetsu Hagane was speechless. Obito’s stubbornness was even greater than his strength. When Rin Nohara complimented him, his excitement and happiness almost overflowed. Was that just ‘a little bit of liking’?

“Captain Obito is quite shy and easily embarrassed when it comes to romance,” Izumo Kamizuki noted down the information in his mind.

Then Izumo Kamizuki continued to ask, “Then, if Rin Nohara could become Captain Obito’s girlfriend, would Captain Obito be happy?”

“Of course I’d be happy,” Obito subconsciously blurted out his thoughts.

Seeing the three of them give him the “You still say you don’t like her” look, Obito quickly tried to salvage the situation:

“After all, Rin is such a good person; anyone else would surely think the same.”

Obito really couldn’t bring himself to say he wouldn’t be happy if Rin Nohara became his girlfriend. Just thinking about that possibility made him very happy.

“Captain Obito, do you know what Rin Nohara likes and dislikes?”

“Rin likes planting flowers and drawing, and she likes to eat strawberries. She dislikes cooked seafood, dislikes war, and then there’s…”

Watching Obito list Rin Nohara’s preferences as if reciting a family treasure, Izumo Kamizuki’s gaze towards Obito became somewhat appreciative.

He knew her so well, had a clear understanding of all her likes and dislikes.

“The intelligence is unexpectedly abundant, which greatly increases the probability of victory in this war,” Izumo Kamizuki said, raising his black-framed glasses with his right hand.

“War?”

Obito looked at Izumo Kamizuki in confusion. How did this get linked to war?

“Love is war!” Izumo Kamizuki said with a serious and solemn expression.

“And it’s a very difficult war. Even if a confession is successful, it’s not a complete victory, because in a romantic relationship, the person who confesses first is more passive and needs to put in more effort.”

“Based on my experience of reading hundreds of romance novels, the person who confesses first often has to rack their brains to do all sorts of things to increase the chances of a successful confession. After getting together, they still have to find ways to maintain the relationship, and breakups are often initiated by the person who was confessed to.”

“Is it that exaggerated?” Obito looked shocked. Could there really be such a big difference just based on who confessed first?

However, after thinking about it carefully, Obito realized it made some sense.

It was somewhat similar to what Muzuki had said about sunk costs. The one who confessed first might have invested more, and therefore cared more about the relationship, willing to compromise for its continuation.

“Of course, I read a novel like that. The male and female protagonists liked each other in the first volume, and to make the other confess first, they used every trick in the book. Eight volumes later, they still hadn’t formally confessed,” Izumo Kamizuki nodded.

Obito fell into thought. If Rin was thinking the same way, should he confess first?

“But novels are just novels. I think as long as two people like each other, that’s enough; there’s no need to care so much,” Kotetsu Hagane said.

For the sake of storytelling, novels had to ignore reality to some extent.

“Indeed, it’s good enough if the confession succeeds. It’s too difficult for a girl to confess first,” Izumo Kamizuki agreed.

Although he found that novel very amusing, doing so in reality wasn’t necessary.

“Then let’s set the operational goal as Captain Obito successfully confessing!” Izumo Kamizuki declared, pumping his fist with great enthusiasm.

“Confessing is still too early,” Obito quickly waved his hands.

If it really succeeded, that would be excellent, but if it didn’t, how could he face Rin Nohara? It would be too awkward.

“Aim high, but the actions can be more practical, right?” Kotetsu Hagane said with a sly laugh.

“First, go on dates to build up good feelings, and then confess when the time is right.”

“Dating…” Obito was somewhat moved. Perhaps he really should be more proactive?

It was like learning Ninjutsu; you might not learn it even if you tried, but you definitely wouldn’t learn it if you didn’t try.

“You should still focus your energy on training. You don’t need to worry about this kind of thing,” Obito said, shaking his head.

For Izumo Kamizuki and the others, training was the serious business. Their age was crucial for building a foundation, and it would be a loss if they were distracted by his personal matters.

“It’s impossible to pause training this afternoon and let you keep discussing this,” Obito reminded them.

If Izumo Kamizuki and the others’ goal was to make training easier, then it was absolutely out of the question.

“We’ll definitely still train seriously, but we don’t train every day, do we? There’s still the weekend,” Izumo Kamizuki said, patting his chest.

He really wanted to help Obito wholeheartedly pursue Rin Nohara, but knowing Obito’s character, he knew it wasn’t realistic.

Although Obito usually joked around with them and didn’t put on any airs as a Jonin captain, he was very responsible and never sloppy when it came to training.

He was even more professional than their actual Jonin captain, Ishizaka Yoshio, with very reasonable training plans.

“Strength is the foundation of a Ninja’s existence. We understand that. We just feel that Captain Obito is very good to us, so we want to repay you,” Kotetsu Hagane added.

“That’s right, that’s right,” Anko nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.

Obito scratched his head, a little embarrassed. He was actually just following Muzuki’s example, and he hadn’t even learned it perfectly.

“Then let’s talk about it on the weekend. Your diligent training is my repayment. The squad I lead can’t be weak,” Obito said with a smile.

When the afternoon training time arrived, Obito immediately led the group to continue training… Friday’s training ended.

When Obito announced their dismissal, the three of them, Kotetsu Hagane, did not leave, but instead surrounded Obito.

“Captain Obito, we have completed your first date operation plan!” Kotetsu Hagane said excitedly.

“Captain Obito, take a look. If there are no problems, we can proceed directly,” Izumo Kamizuki handed a scroll to Obito.

Obito’s expression was subtle. Why was there such a sense of ceremony, even using a scroll to record it?

But when he opened the scroll and saw its contents, Obito showed a surprised expression.

“Yamanaka Flower Shop will hold a promotional event on Saturday, and Yanzawa Flower Shop on Commercial Street is Konoha’s most diverse flower shop…”

At the beginning of the scroll was various intelligence, such as flower shop events, the location of the art museum, and so on.

“You can use the flower shop event as an excuse to ask Rin Nohara out, preferably at a time close to dinner but with some time remaining. After browsing, naturally eat together, and be sure to treat her to dinner. This way…”

Following the intelligence were specific action strategies on how to practically utilize the information in a date.

“Captain Obito, it’s pretty good, right?” Kotetsu Hagane asked confidently.

To create this operational plan, he and Izumo Kamizuki had spent this entire week, apart from training, working on Obito’s date plan.

“You guys…” Obito felt both touched and helpless.

So much content must have taken a lot of time.

“So, Captain Obito, do you think we can proceed with the plan?” Izumo Kamizuki asked, looking at Obito.

PS: I’m in the underworld.

Recommending a book:

Title: “In the Ninja World, Kakuzu Teaches Me How to Make Money”

Synopsis: “Kid, from today onwards, your name is Moneybags.”

Kakuzu unexpectedly rescued a child, named him Moneybags, hoping he would earn more money for him.

But as time went on, more money was earned, but why were there more and more people too?

In just over a month, you brought back Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato, saying that more people meant more power and better earnings in the future.

But how did you get involved with the Sannin too? You haven’t earned much money, but there’s a huge mess of problems!

Moneybags said: “Kakuzu-sama, I’m playing the long game to catch a big fish~”

…Until later, Kakuzu, counting his endless money, exclaimed:

“Kid, you don’t need me to teach you anymore. You’re better at making money than I am. A proper Ninja, who still relies on missions to earn money?”