Chapter 470: I, Shinichi Higashino, Will Find You Even If I Have To Search The Heaven And Earth!

In truth, she understood little of what Obito had said about the association, the convention, or the diverse applications of chakra. Still, she could roughly understand that the association Obito had joined was dedicated to helping people live happier, more peaceful lives.

More importantly, she could clearly see the unprecedented light shining in her grandson’s eyes whenever he spoke about it.

Obito had grown up, and together with his companions, he had found something he truly believed in and a direction he wanted to dedicate himself to pursuing.

Her only regret was that she had grown old. She probably didn’t have many years left and likely wouldn’t live long enough to witness the beautiful new world her grandson described and was striving so hard to build.

But that was all right. Seeing her grandson so happy and knowing he had found his own purpose was already enough.

After dinner, Obito insisted on washing the dishes himself. Then he fetched hot water and carried it to his grandmother’s feet, attending to her until she had finished soaking them before finally returning to his own room.

After closing the door behind him, the excitement in Obito’s heart still hadn’t faded. His mind kept replaying the oath-taking ceremony from today’s association meeting.

In that large conference room filled with companions, he, Rin, Kakashi, Minato-sensei, Kushina, and countless like-minded peers and seniors had all stood together under President Shinichi’s leadership, raising their right fists and solemnly swearing before the ninja manifesto, personally written by Shinichi, to dedicate their entire lives to the great mission of liberating ninjas and restoring them to their true essence.

For some reason, at that moment, Obito felt an unprecedented sense of mission and pride.

That pride was even greater than what he had felt when he graduated from the Ninja Academy and officially became a ninja. It was as though, deep within his heart, becoming a member of Shinichi Society was something even more worthy of pride than becoming a ninja.

As his excitement gradually settled, Obito leaned against his bedhead, and Shinichi’s closing remarks from the assembly unexpectedly resurfaced in his mind.

"Many of you may be wondering why everyone in our association, including myself, Shinichi Higashino, is only a probationary member, without a single full member among us."

The young president standing before everyone fell silent for a moment before continuing, enunciating each word carefully.

"Because this is a road destined to be difficult. Along the way to its end, you will certainly encounter countless hardships. You will be misunderstood, criticized, and obstructed. Some among you will inevitably find yourselves unable to continue. Some may even..."

The young man on the stage paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire hall.

"... Become traitors!"

Yes, traitors.

It was clearly the very first day of the association’s founding, a joyous occasion. Yet, Shinichi had said that some of them would inevitably be unable to persevere, and that traitors might even emerge.

At the time, Shinichi’s expression had been incomparably stern. It was only the second time Obito had ever seen him like that. The first had been when Shinichi had awakened the confused Kakashi. Even then, Shinichi had already been extremely serious.

But this time, he was even more severe than before, so severe that Obito found him unfamiliar, and even faintly frightening.

"Throughout this process, you will continually witness the ugliness of this world, even its ugliest aspects. Some people with immature minds will inevitably develop the illusion that the darkness before them is the entirety of reality. They will come to believe that the world’s true nature is nothing but cruelty and selfishness, that it is beyond salvation, and in turn begin questioning whether the association’s path is wrong, naive, and unrealistic."

"That will certainly happen! But what I want to say is that everything has two sides. To see only beauty while turning a blind eye to suffering and evil is a form of blindness. But to see only ugliness and conclude that it represents the whole truth of the world, believing everything is already beyond saving, is equally a form of blindness."

"Finally, I want to tell every member present today, as well as everyone who joins this association in the future: if you find that you can no longer continue, if you believe this road cannot be walked, you may choose to leave. We will part on good terms. There is no shame in that. The association will preserve the basic respect due to every former member. But..."

At that moment, an overwhelming killing intent, as though the might of thousands upon thousands of soldiers had converged into a single body, suddenly erupted from the young man on the stage. Everyone present instinctively sat up straighter, and even their breathing became noticeably lighter.

"But if someone chooses to betray the association, or even murders one of our companions with their own hands, then I don’t care who you are, what your reasons are, or whether you believed you had no other choice at the time. No matter where you flee..."

Shinichi’s voice rang out, one deliberate word at a time.

"I, Shinichi Higashino, the president of the Ninja Way Origins Research Society, will find you even if I have to search heaven and earth, and I will make you pay a terrible price!"

To be honest, when Shinichi’s sharp and overwhelming presence enveloped the entire hall, Obito truly understood why the president before him was called Crimson Flame Shinichi, the greatest genius in the history of the Shinobi World, the young God of War who struck terror into the hearts of enemies on the battlefield.

He was completely different from the Shinichi everyone usually saw, the gentle young man who smiled warmly at everyone and seemed as though he never lost his temper.

At that moment, Obito found his body involuntarily tense, especially when Shinichi’s gaze swept over the area where he was sitting.

Even though it was the crisp, refreshing season of autumn, he felt a bone-deep chill spread throughout his body. Every hair stood on end, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

It was as though Shinichi’s words weren’t directed at everyone, but specifically at him, yet even as he felt afraid, he also found it rather strange.

’I’m never going to betray the association, and I’d never kill my companions. So why am I afraid?’

As Obito thought this, he remembered Shinichi’s gaze again. It had seemed to linger over their section, or perhaps even on him, a little longer than elsewhere.

"It was probably just my imagination."

Obito shook his head. Maybe it was because he had been sitting near the front. Maybe the president had simply glanced over casually, and he was just being overly sensitive.

He tried to push the thought aside, but Shinichi’s gaze and those words stubbornly refused to leave his mind.

Without realizing it, Obito pulled his blanket up tighter around himself and muttered in a voice only he could hear, "I’d never become a traitor, and I’d never kill my companions!"

The empty room offered no reply. Those words seemed to be spoken partly to himself, and partly to the president who had already left after the meeting.

He didn’t even know why Shinichi’s final speech affected him so deeply.

For Obito, Shinichi’s image had continually changed over the years.

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