"Oh? Hit him harder? Got it."
Jin, vaguely hearing Mr. Tanaka's "request," suddenly perked up.
He drunkenly sized Obito up and down.
Hmm, don't know him. Can cut him down!
Although he hadn't interacted much with Mr. Tanaka—
He was still his teacher, sort of.
And since Mr. Tanaka arrived, life had indeed become more comfortable.
Unlike that guy he cut down before—
Mr. Tanaka didn't nag much.
And he didn't really bother him about drinking.
Shouldn't he return the favor?
Since the teacher made a request, naturally, he had to fulfill it.
"Hey, you bastard! How dare you make the teacher unhappy? Get over here quickly, let this good student teach you a lesson for the teacher."
Jin tilted his drunken face upwards, speaking with an air of heroic indignation.
"What the hell?! When did I say hit him harder?!!!"
Nearby, Mr. Tanaka stood completely dumbfounded.
"Did the teacher say Jin should hit him harder?"
"I think... he said Jin should go easy, right? I didn't hear clearly either."
"The teacher's being too harsh. Even if Obito is the dead-last, telling Jin to hit him harder is too much. Jin will kill him."
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The students' whispers reached Mr. Tanaka's ears, making him want to cry but unable to shed tears.
He had been afraid of Jin going on a rampage earlier, so his admonishment lacked conviction.
His voice was indeed a bit quiet.
But who knew this guy Jin would mishear it as him saying to hit harder?!
At this moment, Mr. Tanaka desperately wanted to slap himself hard.
Told you not to speak carelessly! Look what happened now?!
If something really happened to Obito, wouldn't he be in deep trouble too?
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Meanwhile, Obito was also fuming.
Seeing Jin's heroic expression, as if he were about to deliver heavenly justice, Obito felt anger bubbling up from nowhere.
You, a good student?!
While he himself was indeed the dead-last—
At least he strictly followed the three ninja prohibitions!
You've been clutching a wine bottle all day since enrolling, and even cut down a teacher before!
And yet, you call yourself a good student and want to teach me a lesson for the teacher?!
Thinking again about how close Jin and Rin had been lately, the accumulated anger in Obito completely overwhelmed his reason in that instant.
"Bastard! I'll fight you!"
Obito pulled out a kunai, gripping it tightly, his eyes bloodshot.
He pushed off the ground forcefully, thrusting the kunai viciously towards Jin.
"Hm?"
Watching Obito rush towards him, Jin gripped the Shūsui hanging behind him—a sword that seemed somewhat mismatched with his current size.
"I-It's over! That idiot Obito wants to use a kunai against Jin!"
"Kakashi got beaten so badly back then precisely because he drew his sword on Jin."
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The surrounding students stared, eyes wide, at Obito's actions.
Obito was arguably only the second person since Jin enrolled to draw a weapon on him.
The previous one was the already graduated Kakashi, hailed as a super genius.
But even Kakashi, who inherited the "White Fang's" swordsmanship, was brutally beaten for provoking Jin.
And Obito? Just the dead-last of this class.
If Kakashi was beaten so badly, wouldn't Obito be killed?!
Mr. Tanaka, watching the fight, also sensed things were going badly and quickly sent signals to the surrounding area.
"One-Sword Style—"
Jin assumed a sword-drawing stance, his killing intent locking completely onto the charging Obito.
Obito, his reason drowned by rage, felt his breath catch, his steps halting involuntarily.
"Wh-What's happening?!"
Obito felt like he couldn't breathe, as if targeted by a terrifying beast.
Reason flooded back into Obito's mind. Looking at Jin's somewhat cold eyes, he found it hard to breathe.
"Lion's Song!" (Shishi Sonson - A One Piece technique)
SHIIIING!!!
The piercing sound of a sword being drawn rang out.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
"That's enough!"
Suddenly, three figures leaped out from the trees surrounding the training grounds.
One figure, noticeably shorter than the other two, flashed to Jin's side in an instant.
His right hand clamped down hard on Jin's sword-drawing right hand.
The other two figures pinned Jin's left and right shoulders respectively.
"Phew— Made it just in time?"
Mr. Tanaka sighed in relief upon seeing the three arrivals.
"It ends here, Jin."
The short figure stated calmly.
"Is that... Kakashi?"
The students in the class stared wide-eyed at the familiar figure who had appeared.
"The person I want to cut— you can't stop."
Just then, Jin suddenly grinned.
SQUELCH!!!
A sickening sound came from behind him. Kakashi's pupils contracted violently.
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