"Oh? Hit him harder? Got it."
Half-drunk, Youyu heard Tanaka Shuichi's "request" and instantly became interested.
With drunken eyes, he looked Obito up and down.
Mm. Don't know him. Safe to cut.
Although he and Tanaka Shuichi hadn't interacted much, the man was still his teacher.
And honestly, ever since Tanaka Shuichi had arrived, Youyu's days had been pretty comfortable.
Unlike that earlier idiot he had cut down, Tanaka Shuichi wasn't too naggy.
He didn't interfere much with his drinking either.
So naturally, Youyu believed he should return the favor.
If his teacher had a request, then of course he ought to satisfy it.
"Hey, you bastard. You actually dared upset Sensei? Hurry up and get over here so I, a model student, can teach you a lesson on his behalf."
Youyu raised his drunken face and declared it in a righteous tone.
"The hell?! When did I ever say hit him harder?!!"
Off to one side, Tanaka Shuichi was utterly dumbfounded.
"Did Sensei really tell Youyu to hit him harder?"
"I think he said go easier on him, but I didn't hear it clearly."
"Sensei is so harsh. Even if Obito's dead-last, telling Youyu to go hard on him is too much. He'll kill him."
…
The students' murmurs reached Tanaka Shuichi's ears, and he felt like crying.
Earlier, because he had been afraid Youyu might go on a drunken rampage, he hadn't spoken with much confidence.
His voice really had been a little too quiet.
But who could have guessed Youyu would hear that as "hit him harder"?
At that moment, Tanaka Shuichi wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face.
Serves you right for speaking carelessly.
Now look what happened.
If anything happened to Obito, he definitely wouldn't come out of this clean either.
Obito, meanwhile, was furious as well.
Looking at Youyu's expression—that utterly righteous look, like he was punishing evil on behalf of heaven—Obito felt his blood boil.
You call yourself a good student?!
Sure, he really was dead-last.
But at least he strictly followed the three ninja taboos.
This guy had been hugging a bottle every day since enrollment and had even cut down a teacher before.
And yet he was calling himself a model student and claiming he would discipline someone for the teacher?
Then Obito remembered how close Youyu had been with Rin these past days, and the rage he had been bottling up completely drowned what little reason he had left.
"Bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"
Obito pulled out a kunai and gripped it tightly. His eyes were bloodshot.
He slammed his foot against the ground and charged, stabbing viciously toward Youyu with the kunai.
"Mm?"
Watching Obito come rushing toward him, Youyu reached for the sword strapped behind him—the Shusui, whose size looked almost mismatched against his body.
"This is bad! That idiot Obito actually dared use a kunai against Youyu."
"Kakashi got beaten that badly back then just for drawing a blade on him."
…
The students watching from around the field were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out.
Since Youyu enrolled, Obito was only the second person to openly point a weapon at him.
The first had been Kakashi, the super genius who had already graduated.
But even Kakashi, heir to the White Fang's blade arts, had been brutally taught a lesson after provoking Youyu.
And Obito?
He was nothing more than the dead-last of this class.
If Kakashi had been dealt with that badly, then wasn't Obito just going to die?
Even Tanaka Shuichi, watching from the side, felt things had gone terribly wrong. He hurriedly sent a signal to the surrounding ninja.
"One-Sword Style—"
Youyu shifted into a sword-drawing stance, his killing intent completely locking onto the charging Obito.
Obito, whose mind had been swallowed by rage, suddenly felt his breathing catch.
His feet stopped all on their own.
"W-What… what's happening?!"
It felt as though a terrifying beast had fixed its gaze on him, making it hard to breathe.
Reason returned to Obito's mind at once. Looking at Youyu's cold eyes, he found himself struggling just to draw breath.
"Lion's Farewell!"
SHING!!!
A piercing sound rang out as the blade came free of its sheath.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
"That's enough!"
Suddenly, three figures leapt out from the woods surrounding the training field.
One of them, clearly shorter than the other two, flashed to Youyu's side in an instant.
His right hand clamped down hard on Youyu's sword arm.
The other two grabbed his shoulders from either side.
"Hah… looks like we made it in time."
Seeing the three appear, Tanaka Shuichi finally let out a breath of relief.
"That's enough, Youyu."
The shorter figure spoke calmly.
"That's… Kakashi?"
The students widened their eyes as they recognized the familiar figure.
"The person I want to cut down isn't someone you can stop."
At that moment, Youyu suddenly grinned.
Splurt!!!
A sharp slicing sound came from behind them.
Kakashi's pupils contracted violently.
…
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