"Obito, get off me! If you hit me again, I'll fight back, you know?" Yunmi struggled and struggled, but Obito stayed firmly on top, then punched him again. "Go ahead, fight back!"
Unfortunately, without the Sharingan, Yunmi was evenly matched with Obito, who hadn't awakened his eyes either. Pinned under Obito, Yunmi could barely move.
A Uchiha called out, "Obito, get up! Yunmi just finished surgery." Another added, "Come on, get up!"
A thick bundle of pale yellow nerve-like strands, resembling ancient tree roots, crawled out from behind the tent.
In an instant, the strands passed between Yunmi and Obito.
One strand split into multiple thumb-thick offshoots that surged, wrapping from their fingers and palms, up their wrists, forearms, elbows, and all the way to their shoulders. The two were pulled apart immediately.
But it wasn't over. The strands kept wrapping, layer upon layer, covering their entire bodies. The ends extended and sealed off their chakra points.
Yunmi and Obito were like roots wrapped around a tree, about ten feet apart, lifted roughly one meter above the ground.
Uchiha Kin stepped out of the tent. One palm connected to the nerve strands, the other holding onto the tent's steel frame.
"This noise is ridiculous! This is a hospital, not your playground!" He looked at Yunmi with a sneer. "Your ridiculous superiority complex—if you don't like these eyes, then whatever." Then he turned to Obito: "You actually surprised me."
Obito shouted, "If you're so surprised, why don't you put me down? Your technique is disgusting—why are you just like Orochimaru?"
Uchiha Kin grunted, then retracted the nerve strands one by one. The two suddenly dropped to the ground.
Unexpected to the two Uchiha, Yunmi and Obito landed squarely on their butts with a loud "ouch." They both got up, rubbing their behinds and grimacing.
Rin and Kakashi both felt too embarrassed to watch; Kakashi was grateful for his mask, while Rin turned her head toward Uchiha Kin and gave a slight smile, a dimple forming at the corner of her mouth.
Two other Uchiha pulled Yunmi aside and apologized to Kin. "Kin, sorry. He just lost his eyes and is shaken."
Kin replied casually, "I can tell." He nodded once to the two before they breathed a sigh of relief and left with Yunmi.
Obito defended Kin. "How can he be like that? No apology at all. You saved him for nothing."
Kin didn't care. "Anyway, they dislike me, the 'unorthodox' Uchiha. It's not just one or two... And you, the one without eyes awakened, don't you call me a 'failure' all the time?"
Obito got fired up. "Bastard, I was speaking up for you! You may be a failure, but you did save him."
He puffed out his chest, proud and justified, thinking, I'm just straightforward with grudges—right is right, wrong is wrong.
Uchiha Kin chuckled.
Obito continued, "If you don't want to be looked down on, prove yourself the Uchiha way—your blade control is undeniably the best among the Uchiha. Nobody disputes that. You'd definitely wreak havoc on the frontline!"
"You have such blade control skills, but you hide in the hospital. Do you know what they say about you?"
Kin guessed, "Coward?"
"How did you know?" Obito was surprised.
Kin glanced around the tents, listening to the wounded groan, and said, "Compared to the frontline, this is my battlefield. The frontline doesn't lack fighters, but here, there's a shortage of competent medical ninjas."
"Here, I save people who should have died from their injuries. Many who should have been disabled recover fully."
"By saving one person, I save a whole family—their father, mother, wife—all kept safe because of me. How many lives does Konoha save because of my work here? How many recover and return to fight again?"
"Saving lives is killing the enemy." Kin and Obito smiled. "If I fought on the frontline, it would be a waste."
Obito said, "But people will look down on you. Especially those Uchiha with awakened eyes."
Kin stepped closer and gently poked Obito's chest. "Don't live by others' judgments."
"Every individual is unique and independent. Each life is like a leaf—similar but distinct. Live your own brilliance. Ask yourself if you are truly living the way you want."
"For example, do you really understand your true feelings? No, you don't. Like many others, you're lost and confused."
"Born into a chaotic world, like a puppet following rules set by someone unknown, moving mechanically. You shout, you laugh, you think you're proud—but when you calmly examine yourself, what is it really?"
"What is it?" Obito took a step back, feeling a strange fear.
Kin said three words: "You're insecure."
Obito froze, then snapped back, shouting, "You bastard! I'll kill you!" He wildly swung a fist at Kin.
Before his punch could land, Rin grabbed his arm. Obito stopped mid-swing, like a frozen frame, and turned to look at her.
Rin called, "Obito," then apologized to Kin, "Sorry, he's too impulsive."
Rin said to Obito, "Actually, you're very talented." Obito's face lit up, but then she added, "Being on a team with Kakashi already proves that. Not many classmates have that privilege." He sulked for a moment, then perked up.
Obito wasn't happy about the mention of Kakashi, but he was pleased to be indirectly praised.
Kin said, "Yeah, but you're still a bit worse than Kakashi."
"Kin-senpai!" Rin scolded.
She knew Obito's personality well but still teased him to get a reaction. She'd just barely calmed him down.
She thought to herself, This is so hard.
Minato Namikaze, with one arm in a sling, approached with a warm smile. He'd suffered a minor injury—his forearm bone was fractured during a battle with Iwa shinobi—but it had been healed by the Healing Hands Technique. The arm still needed to be immobilized for a day or two.
"Sensei!" "Are you healed, Sensei?" The three greeted Minato eagerly. Obito asked directly, "Sensei, can you train us these next couple of days?"