Sealing Jutsu Sensei

Clap, clap clap, clap…

In the tiny treehouse, after Asuma announced the start of the meeting, Obito and Ebisu cooperated by clapping enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, since there were only the two of them, the applause sounded somewhat thin to Asuma.

"By the way... where are the other group members?" Asuma couldn't help but ask.

"Rin and Kurenai went shopping today," Obito said with a look of regret. "I wanted to go too, but Kurenai turned me down."

"As for Guy…" Obito scratched his head. "He's been sneaky lately. Every time I look for him, he's nowhere to be found. I have no idea where he's gone."

Hearing this, Ebisu raised an eyebrow, remembering that just a couple of days ago, he happened to see Guy coming out of Kakashi's house. He even recalled how refreshed Guy looked while Kakashi, despite wearing a mask, appeared somewhat drained...

After thinking it over, Ebisu decided to keep this information to himself.

"Darn it…" Asuma, now knowing where the others were, slapped the wooden table in front of him with dissatisfaction.

"These guys have no sense of organisation or discipline. How can they, as members of our Shuriken Squad, miss such an important meeting?"

"Uh…" Ebisu hesitated before speaking, "Maybe it's because we've had four meetings in just a few days, and everyone's getting a little tired."

"What do you mean by that, Ebisu?" Asuma's eyes widened. "My dad always said that incidents aren't solved in the field but in the meeting room. That's why, even as the strongest Hokage, he still has meetings every day. I don't quite understand it either, but following his example can't be wrong!"

"What? The Hokage actually said something like that?" Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses, which had slid down in shock. "When you put it that way, it suddenly makes so much sense." He even took out a notebook to record this wise saying from the Hokage.

Both of Ebisu's parents were civilian ninjas who changed their fate through hard work, becoming a model of success for the common folk. Growing up influenced by this, Ebisu had a deep, almost fanatical respect for Konoha and the Hokage, who had given them this opportunity. So, when he heard what Asuma said, his attitude shifted dramatically.

Meanwhile, Obito looked at Asuma and Ebisu in silence, thinking that Asuma had perhaps figured out the key to handling Ebisu.

Seeing Ebisu's devout expression, Asuma hesitated to admit that he wasn't entirely sure if he had remembered his father's words correctly. But after a moment of consideration, he decided not to dwell on it and proceeded with the meeting.

"Alright, since the others have things to do, we'll carry on without them. Let's move on to today's agenda." He looked at Obito and Ebisu, speaking in a nostalgic tone, "As we all know, our Shuriken Squad has always been a symbol of Konoha's peace. Since its founding, we've made great contributions to the village's stability…"

Obito nodded vigorously, fully agreeing.

But now that Asuma's words weren't wrapped in the glow of the Hokage's wisdom, Ebisu, with his critical thinking back, looked a little speechless.

"I remember we've only been formed for about a week…" Ebisu started to say but was immediately silenced by the glares from the other two. Fine, if you're happy, that's all that matters.

"Ahem," Asuma cleared his throat and continued, "For example, a few days ago, our blue ninja, Obito, helped an old lady who was lost find her way home…"

Obito tilted his head proudly, his face full of pride.

But Ebisu, in his mind, was thinking: Isn't this something Obito always does? How does this count as a squad achievement?

"And then, the day before yesterday, we helped Uncle Tuck find his missing dog…"

True, but the Genin assigned to this mission did scold us for interfering, Ebisu thought to himself.

"The most impressive thing, though, was two days ago when we defeated the rogue ninja cat terrorising Konoha and took it to be neutered."

Ebisu's face turned even darker. Though Asuma's words were valid, the result was that, ever since then, when he walked through the streets, a number of stray cats stared at him, and their gaze was focused on a very particular area…

Being watched by these 'crotch-gazing' cats all the time made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Asuma, paying no attention to Ebisu's discomfort, continued with a sigh, "Thanks to our tireless efforts, the village has finally returned to peace, and there's no longer anything that requires our intervention."

"So, today, I've gathered everyone to come up with a plan for the squad's future activities."

Hearing this, Ebisu couldn't help but feel a little helpless. He finally understood what Asuma was getting at after all the roundabout talk: I'm so bored. Do you guys have any fun activities for our squad?

Although he could sympathise with Asuma's sentiment—after a few days of squad activities, they had all realised that while the battle gear given to them by Natsuhiko sensei was powerful, there didn't seem to be much need for it in the village.

Since they couldn't leave Konoha, they couldn't find many situations that required their new battle gear. It was like holding a hammer and seeing everything as a nail.

Of course, having worked hard for a semester to earn these suits, they wanted to put them to good use.

However, even though Asuma had suddenly brought this up, neither Obito nor Ebisu had any good ideas on the spot.

Finally, Asuma broke the silence by saying, "Alright, I'll get the ball rolling." He suddenly turned to Obito and said, "Obito, why don't you turn evil?"

"Huh?" Obito looked completely confused.

Although, after being immersed in Teacher Natsuhiko's story projections, he knew what it meant to turn evil and then be redeemed, he didn't understand why Asuma would suddenly suggest that he turn evil.

Asuma explained earnestly, "After thinking it through, I realised that the reason our Shuriken Squad has nothing to do is because we don't have a worthy enemy. So, if you turn evil, Obito, we'll have something to do during the break."

"Don't make me turn evil just because you're bored!"

Obito couldn't help but complain.

Asuma clasped his hands together and pleaded, "What's the big deal? Sensei said that characters who turn dark and then redeem themselves are the most popular. Don't you want to hear Rin say, 'Obito is the coolest'?"

The scene tempted Obito Asuma described and almost agreed on the spot.

However, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then why don't you turn dark, Asuma? Don't you want Kurenai to say that about you?"

Asuma shrugged, "I'd love to, but the story of a big shot's son turning dark is too cliché. But you, Obito, you were always the underdog, and you help old folks all the time. Your turn to the dark side would have way more impact."

"Besides, Sensei also said, 'Turning dark makes you three times stronger.' Now that Kakashi has joined the research group, too, if you don't hurry up and get stronger, he'll leave you behind."

Asuma's reasoning almost convinced Obito, the mix of stick and carrot, but still felt conflicted inside.

"Then... when can I redeem myself?" Obito hesitated to ask.

Asuma crossed his arms, tilted his head, and thought for a moment, "To maximise the redemption effect, it would probably be... right before you die?"

"Don't write me off so casually just to fill time with a death scene!" Obito, feigning anger, lunged at Asuma, and the two of them playfully wrestled.

Ebisu watched their childish antics and helplessly shrugged.

After wrestling for a while, neither of them could get the upper hand, so they called a truce and lay on the wooden floor, panting lightly.

Asuma looked at the poorly nailed roof with beams of light leaking through and sighed, "Ah, why is the village so boring? There's not a single event happening..."

...

At the same time as Asuma made that complaint, not far from the treehouse, a thrilling chase was underway.

In the dense forest, a small figure was stumbling and rushing forward in a panic.

This figure was none other than a messy and desperate Anko Mitarashi.

She was scrambling through the forest, using both hands and feet to flee, occasionally glancing back nervously.

Every time she looked back, her expression became more desperate.

Boom! Boom!

The sound of trees being snapped in half echoed repeatedly.

Behind Anko, a giant snake as thick as a manhole cover was relentlessly chasing her. Its massive body ploughed through the forest, smashing trees to pieces creating a terrifying scene.

Still running, Anko adjusted her breathing, took a deep breath, and shouted with all her might, "Someone... someone helps me!"

...

Today, Anko finally understood what it meant to go from joy to sorrow!

She had just become Lord Orochimaru's disciple, which meant she could have all the red bean soup and dumplings she wanted in the future.

But no sooner had she parted ways with her teacher and left the research lab than this giant snake suddenly attacked her!

Why was she so unlucky? And why was Orochimaru's research lab built in such a remote forest where there wasn't a single person around to ask for help?

Anko called out for help for a long time, but no one came to her rescue, and she began to feel a growing sense of despair.

In her distraction, she tripped over an exposed tree root and fell hard to the ground.

It's over.

For a split second, Anko thought that, and images began flashing through her mind like a slideshow: her father, her mother, red bean soup, dumplings, mochi, daifuku, dorayaki, yokan...

Little Anko didn't quite grasp the concept of death yet. She just thought that if she died, she wouldn't be able to eat all those delicious foods anymore, and the fear of that brought her to tears.

At the same time, a massive droplet of saliva fell behind her, sizzling as it eroded the ground.

Anko flipped over and saw that the giant snake had already loomed over her. Its red, lantern-like eyes glared down at her, and its saliva dripped as it hungrily eyed her.

Unlike her, who craved sweets, the snake was clearly craving her...

"Ahhhhhh!!!" Anko's high-pitched scream echoed through the forest once more.

(End of Chapter)

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