Led by Natsuhiko, everyone left the classroom and started heading towards the Sealing Jutsu Office.
Upon leaving, Kushina, at Natsuhiko's request, walked in a different direction.
On the way, Ebisu, from a civilian ninja family, was adjusting his sunglasses, trying to strike up a conversation with Asuma.
However, Asuma, after a few perfunctory responses, leaned towards Kurenai, trying to find something to talk about.
Kurenai, slightly annoyed by Asuma, moved closer to Rin to chat with her.
Seeing Rin looking thoughtful, Kurenai asked curiously, "Rin, what are you thinking about?"
Rin Nohara looked out the window at the students leaving the school in groups, then turned to Kurenai and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing; I was just thinking about how Obito has been disappearing right after school recently. I'm a bit worried."
Hearing it was about Obito, Kurenai lost interest immediately. "He's probably out helping the elderly again," she said casually, then tilted her head, thinking. "But now that you mention it, I haven't seen him around after school either."
"Could he have found a girlfriend and is secretly dating?" Kurenai joked, hugging Rin's arm.
Rin smiled helplessly and added, "I just hope he doesn't get involved in anything strange."
Since the classroom was close to the Sealing Jutsu Office, they soon arrived at its door.
Leading the way, Natsuhiko heard voices inside the office but didn't mind, directly opening the door.
Inside, he saw Obito and Guy in their tight yellow clothes.
Recently, they had been coming to the office every day after school to borrow the tights for special training, so Natsuhiko wasn't surprised.
At that moment, Obito, with his butt sticking out, was sneakily peeking through the blinds and muttering to himself.
"Why are there so many people outside today? We don't even have a chance to sneak into the little forest behind the mountain for training."
Behind him, Guy was doing squats and said, "Obito, this sneaky approach isn't going to work. It's not like we're doing anything shameful."
"No, it's because our entire attire is shameful that we have to be sneaky!" Obito was about to retort when the sudden opening of the door startled him.
He turned around nervously, then sighed in relief, clutching his chest.
"Oh, it's just Natsuhi..." Obito started to say but then froze.
He saw Rin, covering her mouth in surprise, appear behind Natsuhiko!
Crash...
He imagined the future where he and Rin had many children, shattered into pieces.
To make matters worse, Asuma walked in and exclaimed, "Obito, why are you wearing Guy's clothes?"
"Is this classroom cursed? Why does it always turn into a place of social death?" Natsuhiko mused.
"Special training! It's all for special training! And this is a tool invented by Natsuhiko-sensei. See, this suit is yellow, different from Guy's!" Obito kept explaining to Asuma.
Asuma, digging his ear, replied, "I got it, I got it; you've said it many times."
Asuma found Obito annoying, interrupting his admiration of Kurenai's beauty.
Obito, muttering to himself, glanced at Rin chatting with Kurenai.
"Rin, that's great. Obito isn't involved in any strange incidents..." Kurenai whispered to Rin.
"Because he's become the strange incident himself," she added.
Rin, initially feeling conflicted, couldn't help but laugh at Kurenai's comment.
Did Rin smile at me? Obito, always watching Rin, got all the details.
His mind once again filled with visions of a happy future with Rin.
Standing by, Ebisu observed everyone's reactions.
It seems Obito likes Rin, and Asuma likes Kurenai; how boring.
Is this a research group or a matchmaking session?
And by this pattern, does that mean...
Ebisu's gaze met Guy's.
Guy flashed a bright smile.
...
This feels like a heart attack, Ebisu thought, averting his eyes, pretending not to see.
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko quickly organised a corner of the office, placing a few tables and chairs, and called everyone over.
"Today is our first activity as the Sealing Jutsu Research Group."
"I believe we don't need any introductions. Before we start, does anyone have any questions about this research group?"
"Sensei," Asuma raised his hand, "why are Obito and Guy here? I thought it was just the four of us."
"Obito isn't even in the top twenty, and Guy didn't even take the Sealing Jutsu course."
Obito looked hurt by Asuma's words.
Why do fellow dog lickers make things difficult for each other?
Natsuhiko explained, "Guy is an unofficial member, only participating in some equipment testing activities."
"I invited him because his physical skills are beyond his peers, providing us with valuable data."
Everyone looked at Guy, impressed by Natsuhiko's high praise.
Guy, not missing a beat, gave a thumbs-up, showing his bright teeth.
With his distinctive haircut, the four students pondered deeply.
Is this really the Guy-sensei we're talking about?
"As for Obito, he's an official member and will join all activities."
"But his role differs from yours."
"While you assist in research, Obito will be the subject of research."
"For example, any binding formations or chakra restraints you learn can be tested on him..."
Everyone looked sympathetically at Obito.
Having signed a humiliating agreement to beat Kakashi, Obito could only muster a forced smile.
"That's why Obito was granted membership. Unless, Asuma, you'd like to take his place?"
Asuma's expression changed, quickly taking Obito's hand. "Welcome to the research group."
Natsuhiko smiled and continued, "If there are no other questions, let's begin."
Seeing no one speaking, Natsuhiko said, "Since this is our first activity, we won't conduct any serious research. Instead, we'll test new equipment."
Everyone was eager to give it a try after hearing this.
However, Kurenai, remembering what Obito had just said, looked terrified. With a trembling finger, she pointed at Obito and said, "Natsuhiko-sensei, do you mean the new equipment is the outfit Obito and Guy are wearing...?"
Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow. "As expected of True Red's daughter, you guessed it so quickly. I was going to keep it a secret for a bit longer."
"That's right, what we're going to test today is this training suit."
Kurenai forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
Although she was praised, she wasn't happy at all.
Even Rin, who had previously declared she would follow Natsuhiko-sensei's lead, was now deep in thought.
Clearly, Sensei's ninja way is to create joy with heart.
Why doesn't she feel any joy right now?
Asuma muttered, "If Sensei says so, there's no choice."
In truth, he felt excited inside, thinking the outfit actually looked pretty cool.
As for Ebisu, who knows what he was thinking—he started having a nosebleed again...
Guy, however, was so excited he stood up. "Sensei, are we testing the suit's action copy function like before?"
Lately, he had been training with Obito, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment as he gradually moulded Obito's movements into his own.
He felt that if Obito just got a bowl haircut, they would be indistinguishable.
Guy, full of excitement, scanned the new students, planning whom to mould into his image next.
His intense gaze sent a chill down everyone's spine.
But to Guy's disappointment, Natsuhiko shook his head and said, "Today, we're testing the new features of the Mark-2 training suit."
With that, he produced several small yellow tights from a storage card and placed them on the table.
"Alright, we don't have much time. Everyone, change into the suits quickly."
"Girls can change in the partition."
Kurenai looked miserably at the pile of eye-catching tights, pleading with Natsuhiko-sensei, "Sensei, can't we just watch from the side without wearing them?"
Beside her, Rin hesitantly nodded in agreement.
Natsuhiko looked stern. "Of course not. After all, practice is the only standard for testing truth."
Seeing their troubled expressions, he sighed and added, "I knew this might happen, so I prepared styles you girls will like."
Kurenai and Rin's eyes lit up with hope.
As expected, Natsuhiko-sensei wouldn't let us down!
Then, they watched in anticipation as Natsuhiko took out two pink tights...
Their smiles froze.
"I know you girls like pink, so that you won't have any objections now, right?" Natsuhiko said confidently.
Expressionless, Rin and Kurenai picked up the yellow tights from the table and silently walked into the partition...
(End of chapter)
This is a re-translation of chapter 72.