Chapter 649: Date a Live

"Being a captain isn't really that difficult—once you grasp what your squad members are thinking, leading them becomes easy."

Obito generously shared his leadership tricks with an Uchiha shinobi who was about to be transferred out of the Police Force.

"I see, no wonder you're always praised at the clan meetings, Obito. There's so much skill involved in leading a team too." The Uchiha shinobi remarked with admiration.

To encourage the Uchiha shinobi to take the initiative in building better relationships with their squad members, Shisui often used a few standout Uchiha as exemplary models during clan meetings.

As one of the current representative prodigies of the Uchiha, and with his outstanding results in leading his team, Obito was most frequently promoted.

"Thanks a lot." The Uchiha shinobi thanked Obito, then turned to Uchiha Tezuka and said,

"Boss, give me two of those pancakes too. Obito's order is on me."

Saying this, the Uchiha shinobi started taking out money.

"No need, no need. I'll handle it myself." Obito waved his hand.

Truth be told, he rather enjoyed this feeling of teaching others.

"Alright then, I'll go to work." The Uchiha shinobi nodded, stuffed the extra money back into his wallet, and left with his own pancake.

"Mm." Obito replied, then headed toward the training ground while munching on his pancake.

As he neared the training ground, Obito, who had excellent eyesight, spotted the figures of his three squad members from afar.

"They came pretty early today," Obito thought.

Muyue rarely made his disciples wait; he usually arrived about five minutes early, and Obito, as Muyue's strongest disciple, had inherited this fine tradition.

Since Koharu and the others were earlier than Obito, it meant they had come well ahead of time.

"As expected of my squad members."

Obito was very satisfied and decided to teach them the Body Flicker Technique today.

"Good morning, Captain Obito!" Anko was the first to notice Obito approaching and greeted him with a grin.

Koharu and Kotetsu followed closely with their own greetings.

"Good morning to you all too." Obito replied with a full smile.

Being called "Captain Obito" a few times early every morning was truly enjoyable—Obito was worried he might not get used to it if he stopped being a captain.

"Captain Obito, you like Lin-san, don't you?" Anko said bluntly.

Obito stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

Steadying himself, Obito looked at Anko with a puzzled expression. He had never told anyone about this—how could such a secret matter be known to Anko?

Koharu and Kotetsu looked at Anko with exasperation—how could she just blurt it out without any lead-in?

The trip to the Mist Exchange Meeting had made them aware of Obito's feelings for Nohara Rin.

To repay Obito's dedicated guidance, the two of them decided to help Obito win Nohara Rin's heart.

As for Anko, she had only accidentally overheard their plan and was forced into joining them.

"Ahem." Obito coughed lightly, his face slightly reddening. "First, let's define what 'like' means."

"Actually, 'liking' is a common thing. For example, I like you all very much, and I want you to become my personal bodyguards in the future."

"Thank you for that, Captain Obito, but the way you like Lin-san is clearly not that kind of like—it's romantic affection for the opposite sex!" Since Anko had already brought it up, Koharu decided not to waste time and stated directly.

"Uh, it's not what you think." Obito tried to explain.

"So you don't like Lin-san, Captain Obito? I see, it was a misunderstanding. I'll have to clear that up with Lin-san next time," Kotetsu deliberately said.

"It's not that I don't like her!"

Obito panicked. You couldn't just say that—what if Nohara Rin actually believed it?

"So do you like her or not?" Anko asked.

"It's not a matter of like or dislike—it's that kind of… fondness." Obito struggled to explain.

"You're too young to understand, maybe. It's when you think she's wonderful and can't stop thinking about her now and then."

"That's exactly what 'like' means, Captain. And you're only a few years older than us," Kotetsu pointed out.

"Uh... maybe I like her just a little." Obito rubbed his forehead, sighed, and finally admitted.

How to put it? It was a strange feeling, like a treasure he didn't want discovered had been exposed.

"Captain Obito, let us, the emotion duo, help you win over the one you like!" Gang Zitie said seriously in a low voice.

Then Gang Zitie spread his arms and grandly introduced Kamiizuki Izumo:

"Izumo is a seasoned romance reader, having read hundreds of romance novels. He's mastered all kinds of dating and pursuit techniques—an absolute romance expert!"

"That impressive?"

Obito was a bit surprised. Even in romance, hundreds of books was a remarkable number.

Kamiizuki Izumo pushed up the black-rimmed glasses he'd somehow put on and said modestly:

"I wouldn't call myself an expert; I just know a bit more theory than the average person."

"As for Zitie, he has a childhood friend and more real-world experience—he's the practical combat expert who can actually get things done!"

Kamiizuki Izumo solemnly gestured toward Gang Zitie with both arms as he made the introduction.

"Childhood friend? Real-world experience? That sounds amazing too."

Obito's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected his own squad members to be ahead of him in this area—young people these days were really something.

"What about me? Why is it only a duo?" Anko jumped between them, dissatisfied.

She hadn't been introduced at all, even though she was the perennial top student at the Ninja Academy and the strongest member of the team.

"Then it's the emotion duo plus Anko," Kamiizuki Izumo said.

"Why not the emotion trio?"

"Because you're special, Anko, so you need to be listed separately."

"Fine then." Anko accepted this explanation.

What could she do? She was just that talented, and geniuses were destined to be different.

*It's actually because they think she doesn't know anything at all, so they're leaving her out, * Obito thought mockingly.

But Obito didn't plan to point it out—having Anko help plan his love life really wasn't a good idea. Better to let Anko be the mascot.

"Enough digressions. Let's start training." Seeing that it was about time, Obito began instructing Gang Zitie and the others.

Obito had carefully watched Anko and Kamiizuki Izumo's fights during the Kirigakure exchange and noticed some of their shortcomings.

They trained until lunch, and only under Gang Zitie and the others' strong insistence did they continue the morning's topic.

"Captain Obito, since you like Lin-senpai, why don't you do something about it?" Kamiizuki Izumo asked curiously.

If they were going to offer advice, they first had to understand the situation—they couldn't just give random suggestions.

"That's why I said I only like her a little—no, I mean, I just have a bit of a crush," Obito emphasized.

Gang Zitie looked speechless. Obito's mouth was tougher than his strength. When Nohara Rin praised him, his excitement and joy almost overflowed—and that was just "a little"?

*Captain Obito is thin-skinned when it comes to romance and gets embarrassed easily, * Kamiizuki Izumo noted internally.

Then Kamiizuki Izumo continued, "If Rin-senpai could become your girlfriend, would you be happy?"

"Of course I'd be happy!" Obito blurted out the thought in his mind.

Seeing the trio's expressions of "so you do like her," Obito quickly tried to cover it up:

"After all, Rin is such a good person—anyone would feel the same way."

Obito simply couldn't bring himself to say he wouldn't be happy with Nohara Rin as his girlfriend. Just the possibility made him very happy.

"Obito-senpai, do you know what Nohara Rin-senpai likes and dislikes?"

"Rin loves flowers and painting, likes strawberries, hates boiled seafood, hates war, and also..."

Watching Obito rattle off Nohara Rin's preferences like a fluent list, Kamiizuki Izumo's gaze toward Obito grew somewhat admiring.

He knew her pretty well, having completely figured out her likes and dislikes.

"The intelligence is unexpectedly abundant. This greatly increases our probability of winning the war." Kamiizuki Izumo adjusted his glasses with his right hand.

"War?"

Obito looked confusedly at Shenyue Chuyun. How did this get tied to war?

"Love is war!" Shenyue Chuyun said with a solemn expression.

"And it's a war of extreme difficulty. Even if you succeed in confessing, it's not really a complete victory, because in a romantic relationship, the person who confesses first is more passive and has to put in more effort."

"Based on my experience reading several hundred romance stories, the one who confesses first often racks their brains trying to increase the odds of a successful confession. After starting the relationship, they also have to find ways to maintain it, while breakups are usually initiated by the one who was confessed to."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Obito showed a shocked expression. Could just the order of confession make such a big difference?

But after thinking it over carefully, Obito found that it actually made some sense.

This was a bit similar to the sunk cost that Mu Yue had mentioned. The one who confessed first might have invested more, so they care more about the relationship and would make concessions to keep it going.

"Of course, I read one book just like that. The male lead and female lead liked each other from the very first volume, but they used every trick to make the other confess first. Eight volumes in, and they still haven't officially confessed." Shenyue Chuyun nodded.

Obito fell into thought. If Rin thought that way too, should he confess first or not?

"But in the end, I think as long as both sides like each other, that's enough. There's no need to care so much." Gang Zitie said.

For the sake of the story, you have to ignore reality to some extent.

"True, as long as the confession succeeds, that's fine. It's too hard to get a girl to confess first." Shenyue Chuyun agreed.

Even though he enjoyed reading that book, there was no need to do that in real life.

"Then let's set the operational objective as getting Captain Obito's confession to succeed!" Shenyue Chuyun punched the air with great momentum.

"Confession is still too early." Obito quickly waved his hand.

If it actually succeeded, that would be wonderful. But if it failed, how could he face Rin again? It would be too awkward.

"You can aim high, but your actions can be more practical." Gang Zitie chuckled.

"First go on a date or something to raise affection, then confess when the time is right."

"A date..." Obito felt a little tempted. Maybe he really should take the initiative?

It was just like learning ninjutsu. If you study, you might not learn it, but if you don't study, you'll definitely never learn.

"You guys should focus your energy on training. You don't need to worry about this kind of thing." Obito shook his head.

For people like Shenyue Chuyun, training was the real priority. They were at an age where they should be building their foundation. If they got distracted by his personal matters, the loss would outweigh the gain.

"It's impossible to pause training this afternoon just so you can keep discussing this." Obito reminded them.

If Shenyue Chuyun and the others were aiming to make training easier, then that was absolutely out of the question.

"Of course we'll still train seriously, but we don't train every day. There are weekends, right?" Shenyue Chuyun patted his chest.

He really wanted to help Obito pursue Rin, but knowing Obito's character, he understood that was unrealistic.

Although Obito usually joked around with them and didn't put on the airs of a Jonin squad leader, Obito was very responsible and never slacked off in training.

He was even more professional than their actual Jonin squad leader, Ishibashi Yoshiyuki, and his training plans were extremely well-organized.

"Strength is a ninja's foundation. We understand that. It's just that we think Captain Obito has been really good to us, so we want to repay you." Gang Zitie followed up.

"Yeah, yeah." Anko nodded rapidly like a chick pecking rice.

Obito scratched his head a little sheepishly. He was really just copying Mu Yue, and he hadn't even done it perfectly.

"Then let's talk about it on the weekend. If you train properly, that's your repayment to me. I can't have the squad I lead be weak." Obito said with a smile.

When it was time for the afternoon training session, Obito immediately took the group to continue training.

Friday's training ended.

When Obito announced they were dismissed, Gang Zitie and the other two didn't leave. Instead, they surrounded Obito.

"Captain Obito, we've completed the plan for your first date operation!" Gang Zitie said excitedly.

"Captain Obito, take a look. If there's no problem, we can act right away." Shenyue Chuyun handed a scroll to Obito.

Obito's expression was odd. Why was there even this much ceremony, and they'd even written it on a scroll.

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

"The Yamanaka Flower Shop is having a promotion on Saturday, and the Yanze Flower Shop on Commercial Street is the Leaf village's flower shop with the richest variety of flowers..."

At the very 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 invite Senpai Rin out. Ideally, it should be close to mealtime but still with some time to spare. After browsing, you can naturally go eat together, and you must treat her to the meal. That way..."

After the intelligence came specific action strategies, how to actually apply the information to the date.

"Captain Obito, not bad, right?" asked Kotetsu confidently.

To perfect this operation plan, he and Izumo had spent this week, aside from training, making date plans for Obito.

"You guys," Obito said, both touched and helpless.

With so much content, it must have taken a lot of time.

"So, Captain Obito, do you think we can proceed?" asked Izumo, looking at Obito.

P. S.: I'm dead.