Chapter 116: You're Great
Obito was extremely conflicted right now.
Although this statue was the best one he had ever made so far, there was no harm without comparison.
If it weren't for the comparison with the statue carved by Kamishiro, Obito might really have thought that the one he made was quite nice.
But unfortunately, Obito carved his statue following the one made by Kamishiro.
With the comparison, even if Obito were blind, he would know that the statue he made was not good - looking.
After walking some distance with Obito, Rin Nohara asked, "Obito, so what did you want to talk to me about?"
Obito shivered all over. What was coming would always come. After stopping his steps, he summoned up his courage and said, "Rin... I, I have a gift to give you."
Rin Nohara asked in confusion, "Give it to me?"
Obito scratched his head and replied, "Because of what happened to Lady Kushina, I missed your birthday. So today I want to make up for the gift."
Rin Nohara suddenly realized and said with a smile, "So that's it. I've even forgotten about it."
Obito took a deep breath and handed the statue to Rin Nohara. "Rin, this is the gift I'm giving you. I hope you'll like it!"
Looking at the statue in Obito's hand, Rin Nohara was very surprised. "Wow, this statue is so beautiful!"
Obito forced a laugh. "Ha, really? I'm glad you like it."
In the end, Obito still didn't have the courage to give the statue he made. He quietly took out the statue carved by Kamishiro as a gift and gave it to Rin Nohara.
Obito silently sighed in his heart. Sure enough, Rin Nohara really liked this statue. If he had given the one he made, she definitely wouldn't have been this surprised.
"But Obito... You must have taken the wrong one, right?"
Hearing what Rin Nohara said, Obito was stunned for a moment. "Why do you say that?"
Rin Nohara showed the bottom of the statue to Obito. "Because it's engraved with 'Obito, you big idiot. I despise you'. I don't think you would scold yourself, right?"
Obito's face turned as ugly as if he had just swallowed a fly.
Is Kamishiro a worm in his stomach (knowing exactly what he's thinking)?
"Achoo!"
At home, Kamishiro, who was doing some research, suddenly sneezed hard.
Kamishiro rubbed his nose and muttered, "I'm wondering how that guy Obito is faring. Hmph, if he dares to give Rin the statue I carved, he's gonna be in deep trouble! Forget it. Why should I worry so much about his dating? I'd better focus on my Kanna first."
Then Kamishiro dived back into his research.
Obito was extremely embarrassed now and didn't know how to explain it to Rin Nohara.
After all, he'd already given Rin Nohara the statue carved by Kamishiro. If he were to give her his own statue now, it'd give away his lie.
Rin Nohara would definitely guess that he couldn't bring himself to give her the one he made, so he gave her the one made by someone else.
"I, I..."
Obito was about to say that he had taken the wrong gift when Rin suddenly took a step to Obito's left and looked at his left hand, which he had been keeping behind his back.
"Obito, the statue you want to give me must be in your left hand, right?"
Cold sweat broke out on Obito's forehead. He didn't expect Rin to have already noticed.
What should he do? What could he do?
Seeing Rin's expectant look, Obito really felt too embarrassed to take it out.
Now that he was in a dilemma, Obito decided to just go for it regardless. He took out the statue he had made himself, which he had been holding in his left hand.
Bowing his head, Obito apologized, "Sorry, Rin. Actually, the one in your hand was made by Kamishiro. I really wanted to carve a more beautiful statue than Kamishiro's as a birthday gift for you, but I'm just too clumsy. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't carve it well. It turned out like this. Forget about this one. I'll get you another birthday gift."
Just as Obito was about to take his hand back, Rin suddenly grabbed his hand and took the rather abstract statue from his hand.
Looking into Obito's eyes very seriously, Rin said, "Why are you apologizing? This is the gift you gave me. Why do you want to change it? Although the one you carved is indeed not as good - looking as Kamishiro's, I think yours is more interesting. Compared to Kamishiro's, I like this statue you carved better.
Obito, don't compare your weaknesses with others' strengths. You're actually really excellent. Besides, I don't think Kamishiro's first carving could be better than yours. You've done a great job carving this."
Obito stared blankly at Rin. Suddenly, he felt his heart beating very fast.
"Achoo, achoo..."
Kamishiro sneezed several times in a row.
Kamishiro rubbed his nose desperately. Looking at the Iron Sand that had scattered on the table because he hadn't controlled it well while sneezing, he complained, "What's going on? Who's speaking ill of me? Forget it. Since I don't know who it is, I'll just assume it's Obito!"
Obito came to his senses from his daze and quickly lowered his head. His face was as red as a ripe tomato.
"R - really? As long as you like it, Rin."
"Obito, help me hold these two statues. Leave your left hand free."
"Ah? Oh."
Obito, not knowing what was going on, held the two statues together with his right hand.
Then Rin took the initiative to hold Obito's left hand.
Obito shivered as if he had been electrocuted, and he felt like he was on cloud nine.
Rin took the initiative to hold his hand! Was this a dream?
"Obito, be more careful when carving. Look at all the wounds on your left hand. You don't even know to treat them. Just wait a little. It'll be done soon."
Rin took out the ointment for treating external injuries from the ninja tools pouch and carefully applied it to the wounds on Obito's left hand.
Obito felt a little disappointed. So, she didn't want to hold his hand!
But this little disappointment soon vanished without a trace.
Wasn't this considered holding hands?
In Obito's mind, it definitely counted!
After Rin Nohara applied the ointment on Obito's wound, she wrapped it up with a bandage.
"Alright, give it to me."
Obito handed the statue he carved to Rin and kept the one carved by Kamishiro. "Rin, I'll take this one."
"Okay."
Rin nodded. After all, that wasn't a gift for her.
Obito looked at the statue carved by Kamishiro in his hand, especially the words 'Obito, you big idiot, I despise you' at the bottom. He pursed his lips.
"Shoo!"
Obito directly threw the statue carved by Kamishiro into the distance.
After getting rid of it, Obito felt refreshed. He smiled at Rin and said, "Rin, let me walk you home."
Rin gave a subtle look in the direction where Obito threw the statue. She silently prayed that it wouldn't hit anyone. If it did and people saw it was her statue, they might think she threw it.
"Ouch! Which bastard is littering!"
Granny Touno, whom Obito always helped, fell on her butt. The statue didn't hit Granny Touno but landed on the ground in front of her, scaring her into falling.
Just then, Kakashi appeared and helped Granny Touno up. "Are you okay, Granny Touno?"
"It was almost an accident. I don't know who is so unethical, just littering like that."
Kakashi looked at the ground in front and saw the statue of Rin. His expression instantly became extremely strange.