Chapter 249: Dream of Ending the War

At noon, in the southern forest, Obito showed the developed photos to Rin Nohara.

"Rin, what do you think? These pictures are pretty good, right?" Obito asked, fidgeting with his clothes and drawing circles on the ground with his finger, unable to stop because he was nervous about Rin's evaluation.

Rin Nohara, who was carefully looking at the photos, paused, revealed a smile, nodded, and then clasped her hands together and said:

"They're really good. I think these wildflowers look so beautiful. Even though they grow alone in the wild, they can still become this gorgeous."

"Hehe, I thought they looked nice too, so I took them." Obito instantly felt relieved and said with a chuckle.

Seeing Rin Nohara's happy smile, he immediately felt that his efforts hadn't been wasted. It's hard to capture beautiful scenery on luck alone; you have to put in the effort to find it.

"If you like them, Rin, next time I see some pretty flowers, I'll pick a few for you. Teacher Muyue should have a way to preserve them."

Rin Nohara smiled and shook her head, saying softly, "Thank you for your kindness, Obito, but there's no need for that trouble. Haven't we already recorded their beauty with the camera? There's no need to bring them back."

Rin Nohara felt that wildflowers already had a hard enough time in the dangerous wild, and there was no need to harm them that way. Let them grow naturally in nature. Different flowers need different environments, and even if you bring them back, they might not survive.

"That's true. Flowers wither quickly, but if it's a photo, it can last a long time if stored properly." Obito nodded.

"The camera is really a wonderful and convenient thing. I wonder how smart those people must have been to invent such a thing." Obito sighed in admiration.

With his knowledge, he couldn't understand the working principle of the camera at all. How could just pressing a button capture the scene? It was as magical as ninjutsu.

But Obito didn't care about that. Not knowing the principle didn't stop him from using it.

"It is amazing, but the camera isn't omnipotent. Hand-drawn pictures have a feeling that cameras can't capture, and there are many things the camera can't record, like dreams." Rin Nohara thought for a moment and said.

"Speaking of dreams, Rin, what is your dream?" Obito asked curiously.

He thought carefully and realized he didn't seem to have any related memories. Although all students had to introduce themselves when they first entered first grade, talking about dreams wasn't mandatory.

"Dreams... My dream is to save more people injured by war, and ideally, to make war disappear." Rin Nohara looked up at the sky and smiled.

"Is it strange for a girl to have a dream like this? I'm not good at fighting, yet I have a dream of making war disappear." Rin Nohara turned to look into Obito's eyes and asked with a smile.

Whether it was Shisui, Kakashi, Obito, or Might Guy, they were all children from ninja families, though some had lost their parents early on. Rin Nohara was different from all of them. Both her parents were alive but were ordinary people, and none of her ancestors were ninjas either.

Rin Nohara didn't go to the ninja academy because her parents sent her; she took the initiative to tell them she wanted to become a ninja.

It wasn't because she envied ninjas earning large sums of money through missions, nor because she thought ninjas were strong enough to live better. It was because a neighbor sister Rin was close to as a child had died in the war.

From then on, the cruelty of war was etched into Rin's mind, and she had this dream.

That was why Rin Nohara greatly admired Tsunade, one of the Sannin. Not only could she heal injured comrades with medical ninjutsu, but she also played a significant role in battle.

"It's not strange at all. I think it's great!" Obito stood up excitedly and said.

"After going to the battlefield, I truly understood how cruel war is. Both comrades and enemies seem to die every minute."

"Understanding all this, my dream is no longer just to become Hokage. I want to become Hokage, and I also want to end the war, to stop this cruel war from ever happening again!" Obito clenched his fists and said passionately.

Hearing that Rin Nohara also wanted to make war disappear, Obito was very happy. Having the same dream as the person he liked was simply wonderful.

As Obito randomly let his mind wander, he pictured the future where he and Rin Nohara would work hard together to achieve their dream.

"If it's you, Obito, along with Kakashi and the others, maybe it really could come true." Rin Nohara clasped her hands behind her back, a look of longing in her eyes.

Obito felt that the words "and the others" could be edited out.

"The graduation exam needs to come soon. Rin spends every day with Kakashi, and she's starting to be influenced by him." Obito muttered inwardly.

Mentioning Kakashi suddenly really ruined the mood. Obito couldn't wait to graduate and disband the training team, so Kakashi wouldn't have so much time to appear in front of Rin Nohara.

But what worried Obito was that if they graduated, he might not have many chances to see Rin Nohara either.

"Sage of Six Paths, please bless me. Sage Muyue, please bless me. Sage Shima, please bless me. Sage Fukasaku, please bless me... Please, please let Rin and I be in the same team." Obito silently prayed to every deity he knew.

Although the two sages, Shima and Fukasaku, didn't seem particularly reliable, Obito felt that living for eight hundred years had to count for something.

"What are you mumbling about?" Kakashi, suddenly sensing something, looked at Obito suspiciously and asked.

He always felt that Obito was badmouthing him in his heart.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about things after graduation. According to the rules, teams should be reassigned. By then, Kakashi, you should be changing teams, right?" Obito snapped back to reality and said.

Kakashi thought for a moment and replied, "If nothing unexpected happens, I suppose so."

Although following Muyue on missions always involved unexpected events, Kakashi felt quite comfortable. Thinking about going to a new team, he felt a bit reluctant.

But inside, Kakashi knew that Mu Yue could not continue as their team leader, because Mu Yue didn't lead genin at all; he was a teacher at the Ninja Academy.

Hearing Kakashi's words, the corners of Obito's mouth couldn't help but lift upward. If Kakashi left and Nohara Rin was still on his team, life would be far too comfortable.

"Even if I'm not on this team anymore, I'm still your teacher. If you have time, remember to come train with me," Mu Yue said with a smile as he walked over.

In his second academic year, he planned to brush up on more skills, but he would still have time to teach his disciples; as long as he was willing to make time, he could always find some.

"Mn mn, even after I graduate, if I have time, I'll definitely come see you often, Mu Yue-sensei," Obito quickly nodded.

After spending nearly a year with Mu Yue, unconsciously he had become accustomed to having Mu Yue in his life. Obito even thought that if his own team leader wasn't strong enough, he could just keep training with Mu Yue as before.

"Me too! With Mu Yue-sensei's guidance, the flames of youth burn even more fiercely," said Might Guy, jogging backwards as he passed by.

"After I graduate, I also want to come ask Mu Yue-sensei questions. I hope you won't find it troublesome," Nohara Rin said with a gentle smile.

"If I have time, I'll come," Kakashi promised.

Shisui watched silently. Graduation was still far off for him as a first-year. When Obito and the others graduated, he would only advance to the second year.

"Everyone is full of enthusiasm. Let's start training," Mu Yue announced with a smile, beginning the afternoon training.

"Obito and Shisui, first finish the special training before practicing," Mu Yue called to the two about to start their regular training.

"I've seen your growth these days. From being unable to dodge even once at first to being able to dodge five times or more, I'm very pleased with your progress," Mu Yue praised with a full smile.

"With such a good teacher like Mu Yue-sensei, it's only natural to improve quickly," the happy Obito returned the compliment.

"It's all thanks to Mu Yue-sensei's careful guidance," Shisui nodded in agreement.

Mu Yue had really taken care of them both physically and mentally.

"Alright then. For better results in the special training, I'll increase the speed of the Shadow Clones a bit. You need to concentrate even more on using the Breathing Technique to strengthen your bodies and dodge the attacks," Mu Yue announced the change to the special training.

"A bit faster — how much faster exactly?" Obito sensed something bad. He had just been about to finish solving the problems recently; he wouldn't have to rack up more debt again, would he?

"You'll know when you train," Mu Yue replied with a gentle smile.

After having the two prepare, Mu Yue split off a Shadow Clone and shouted, "Begin!"

Obito immediately concentrated his breathing to the maximum, then continued running. When he was chased down and couldn't run anymore, he tried his best to dodge, only to find that he missed by a hair.

"Why is it always by just a little?" Obito began to doubt his life.

If it were a huge margin, he wouldn't feel much, but missing by a hair really frustrated him — that was two problems, a full two problems.

"Could it be that because I'm always a little short in training, that's why I'm always a little short during the exercises?" Obito felt he needed to train even harder.

Next, even though Obito dodged with all his might and his Sharingan was pushed to its limit, he still missed every dodge by a hair.

"Obito hit fifteen times, dodged zero times, total thirty-three problems. Shisui's dodge count matches Obito's; also thirty-three problems," Mu Yue announced the results.

"Damn it, just one little bit!" Obito voiced his frustration. If he could just succeed once, he'd reduce the problems by five — the two for the dodge itself plus the extra ten percent.

"I must break through somehow," Shisui also felt the pressure. Mu Yue's problems were no joke.

"Obito, if you want to become Hokage, you can't be too weak in theoretical knowledge," Nohara Rin encouraged him.

"It doesn't matter how many problems there are; I just want to perform better in training," Obito quickly changed his expression and explained.

He had just recently said he wanted to become Hokage; he couldn't admit defeat over problems.

"Mu Yue-sensei, I suggest doubling Obito's problems to save his theory," Kakashi suggested.

"Oh, in that case..." Mu Yue showed a thoughtful expression.

"Mu Yue-sensei, I think the problems should follow the rules; they can't be changed arbitrarily," Obito panicked instantly when he saw Mu Yue seemed to be seriously considering it.

Smack!

Mu Yue's finger precisely landed on Obito's forehead, and he said with a smile, "Then just finish all the problems seriously."

"Definitely," Obito breathed a sigh of relief inside, already thinking about how to confront Kakashi after training.

It's already two o'clock and I'm a bit dizzy from writing. If there are any mistakes, just leave a comment, and I'll correct them when I get up.