Chapter 15 : The Last Meal

Chapter 15: The Last Meal

Dawn broke gray and cheerless over Konoha, matching Rei's mood as he split his consciousness three ways. The shadow clones materialized with practiced ease—one to handle the tedious social niceties of invitation, another to procure ingredients and transform them into something resembling hospitality, and the third to scrub away the accumulated grime of a life lived in service to violence.

His true body remained in the courtyard, cycling through chakra nature transformations. Fire, lightning, water, earth—each element bent to his will through months of grinding practice. Only wind remained elusive, slipping through his mental grasp like smoke.

The irony wasn't lost on him. In his previous life, he'd dreamed of wielding the elements themselves. Now that he possessed such power, it felt hollow—just another weapon in an arsenal designed to preserve a system that devoured its own children.

"That's enough," he told his clone, watching it head toward the Yamanaka compound. "Get them here by noon."

The clone nodded and vanished, leaving Rei alone with his thoughts and the bitter taste of chakra on his tongue. Yamanaka Inoichi knew exactly what techniques Rei had mastered—every jutsu catalogued and filed away in some intelligence report. The man had even witnessed Rei's battle against a special jonin, victory achieved through calculated brutality rather than any noble ideal.

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The morning crawled by with agonizing slowness. Rei's chakra control exercises felt more like a ritual now, a way to maintain the illusion of progress while time ground forward toward an inevitable conclusion. The Chunin Exams loomed ahead like an executioner's block, and beyond that lay ANBU—the final severing of whatever innocence he might have preserved.

His musings were interrupted by approaching footsteps. Yamanaka Inoichi arrived first, his expression mixing professional approval with something that might have been paternal concern.

"Shadow clones for invitations?" Inoichi shook his head with mock disapproval. "You really can't stop training, can you? Even when preparing dinner."

"Efficiency," Rei replied, though they both knew it was more about maintaining distance. Why engage in meaningless small talk when clones could handle the pretense?

The others arrived in quick succession—Wada Yu with his eager grin, Hanazuki trying to hide her excitement behind professional composure, and trailing behind them all, Uchiha Obito. The boy had somehow convinced Rei's shopping clone to extend an invitation, though "convinced" might be too strong a word. Obito had a talent for making himself everyone's problem.

"Obito." Rei looked up from his training forms, unsurprised by the additional guest. "Still sleeping through classes?"

The boy's face flushed red beneath his goggles. "I don't sleep that much! And I'm not late... often."

"You're definitely going to graduate dead last at this rate." Rei's tone carried cruel certainty. He'd seen the academy records, knew where Obito ranked among his peers.

"I'm not the worst!" Obito's indignation was immediate and predictable. "That's what Kakashi calls me, but he's wrong!"

True enough. Obito wasn't the weakest fighter in his class—that distinction went to some civilian-born child who'd never survive his first mission. But academic performance was another matter entirely, and everyone knew it.

"Come here," Rei said, rising from his training stance. "Show me what you've learned."

Obito's earlier bravado evaporated like morning mist. "I... I can't fight you, Brother Rei. You're too strong."

"Worried about getting hurt?" Rei let a smile creep across his face, the expression holding no warmth. "I visited the Hatake compound yesterday. Saw Kakashi sparring with a chunin. He's everything they say he is—a true prodigy. Natural talent, perfect technique, absolute dedication."

He watched Obito's face carefully, noting the way the boy's hands clenched into fists.

"You're in the same class, aren't you? I have to wonder..." Rei sighed with theatrical disappointment. "Maybe the Uchiha really are in decline. Maybe none of you can match someone like Kakashi anymore."

"That's not true!" Obito's voice cracked with emotion. "I'll beat him! I'll beat all of them!"

"Will you?" Rei's tone suggested profound doubt. "Because from where I'm standing, your dream of becoming Hokage just met its first real obstacle. And frankly, I'm not sure you have what it takes to overcome it."

The words hit their mark perfectly. Obito's face flushed crimson as he fumbled for a kunai, his movements jerky with barely contained rage.

"Prove me wrong then," Rei said quietly. "Attack me like you mean to kill me, Obito. Show me the strength of an Uchiha."

What followed was less a fight than a brutal lesson in the gap between ambition and ability. Obito's techniques were textbook perfect but lacked the killing intent that separated academy exercises from real combat. His substitution jutsu was flawless but predictable. His Great Fireball technique possessed impressive scale but no tactical awareness.

When Rei finally dragged him underground with a perfectly executed Earth Release technique, leaving only the boy's head exposed, Obito looked more confused than defeated.

"Let me out!" he demanded, struggling uselessly against the packed earth.

"Not until you understand something," Rei said, crouching beside Obito's trapped form. "Kakashi doesn't just beat you because he's more talented. He beats you because he's willing to do whatever it takes to win. He's already a killer, Obito. Are you?"

The question hung in the air like a blade pressed against skin. Obito's eyes, usually so bright with naive determination, flickered with something darker.

"I..." Obito swallowed hard. "I will be. If that's what it takes."

"Good answer," Rei said, releasing the jutsu. "But understanding and doing are different things entirely."

He proceeded to beat Obito thoroughly, each strike calculated to leave maximum pain with minimal lasting damage. When the others arrived to find Obito sporting a spectacular collection of bruises, Rei introduced him as "my little brother who's going to be Fourth Hokage someday."

Obito's swollen face managed a pained smile as he greeted the newcomers. "Brother Rei was just... helping me train. So I can beat Kakashi."

Hanazuki immediately began applying medical ninjutsu to reduce the swelling, her gentle touch a stark contrast to the violence that had caused the injuries.

The meal that followed was an exercise in maintaining facades. Rei's shadow clone had outdone itself, preparing dishes that would have been considered exotic delicacies in this world's limited culinary landscape. The techniques he'd learned in his previous life—a culture that had spent millennia perfecting the art of transforming simple ingredients into transcendent experiences—felt almost like cheating here.

"This is incredible, Rei," Hanazuki said, her face glowing with genuine pleasure. "I thought your grilled fish was impressive, but this..."

"Cooking is just another form of training," Rei replied, though the words tasted like ash. In truth, it was one of the few activities that still brought him joy—the alchemy of heat and time, the satisfaction of creating something beautiful in a world dedicated to destruction.

Yamanaka Inoichi nodded approvingly. "I didn't know you had time for hobbies with your training schedule."

"Apart from getting stronger, there's not much else worth doing," Rei said, and meant it. Entertainment felt frivolous when death lurked around every corner.

Obito and Wada Yu had already abandoned conversation in favor of devouring everything within reach. The sight of their enthusiasm should have been endearing, but Rei found himself cataloguing it instead—noting how Obito favored his left side where the bruises were worst, how Wada Yu's improved appetite reflected his growing confidence as a shinobi.

"I wanted to discuss something with all of you," Inoichi said once the initial feeding frenzy had subsided. "I'm recommending you for the Chunin Exams. Your progress over the past months has been remarkable, and I believe you're ready."

"Perfect timing," Rei said, setting down his chopsticks. "I've already committed to joining ANBU after promotion. Promised Sakumo-sama yesterday."

"ANBU?" Obito looked up from his meal, oil glistening on his chin. "What about the Konoha Military Police? Isn't that where Uchiha usually—"

"The Police Force?" Rei's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Who would want to waste their time with that glorified security detail? There's a whole world out there, Obito. Why trap yourself in the village playing politics?"

The words carried more venom than he'd intended. The Uchiha's isolation was a wound that hadn't healed, a constant reminder of how even the most powerful clans could be marginalized by those who feared their strength.

"What about us?" Wada Yu asked, glancing between Rei and Inoichi. "Where will we go?"

"Regular forces," Inoichi replied. "Standard mission assignments, probably some specialized training based on your individual strengths. Not everyone can join ANBU—it requires particular... qualifications."

The unspoken implications hung heavy in the air. ANBU wasn't just about skill; it was about loyalty, about willingness to do things that regular shinobi might hesitate to do. It was about becoming a tool in the truest sense, sharp and deadly and utterly expendable.

"Let's celebrate early," Rei said, raising his cup. "To our promotion to Chunin, and to whatever comes after."

The others joined the toast with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Wada Yu's grin was infectious, Hanazuki's smile was warm but worried, and Obito's expression held the fierce determination of someone who'd glimpsed the darkness ahead and chosen to walk forward anyway.

"Don't get overconfident," Inoichi warned, though his own smile betrayed his pride. "The Chunin Exams draw candidates from across the village. Hundreds of competitors, all of them hungry for advancement. It won't be easy."

"When is it ever?" Rei murmured, but he raised his cup again anyway.

The feast continued with forced joviality, everyone pretending not to notice the undercurrents of tension. This might be the last time they'd all sit together like this—the last time they could pretend they were just friends sharing a meal rather than weapons being prepared for deployment.

When the others finally left, Obito lingered behind, his earlier confidence replaced by something more vulnerable.

"Brother Rei," he said quietly, "could you... could you help me train? Really train, I mean. Not just academy exercises."

Rei studied the boy's face, noting the way Obito's hands trembled slightly—whether from excitement or fear, it was impossible to tell.

"You want to beat Kakashi," Rei said. It wasn't a question.

"I want to become strong enough to protect the people I care about," Obito replied, and for a moment, his voice carried the weight of someone far older. "I want to be worthy of the dream I carry."

"Are you prepared for what that means?" Rei asked. "Real strength isn't just about techniques or chakra control. It's about choices, Obito. Hard choices that will change who you are."

"I know," Obito said, though Rei doubted he truly understood. "I'm ready."

"Very well," Rei said finally. "But remember—once we start down this path, there's no going back. The person you become might not be the person you wanted to be."

"I understand."

"No," Rei said quietly, looking out at the darkening sky. "You don't. But you will."

As Obito left that evening, Rei couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just set something terrible in motion. The boy's original fate had been tragic enough—crushed beneath a boulder, manipulated by madmen, transformed into a weapon of mass destruction.

But perhaps this path would be different. Perhaps early intervention could change the course of destiny itself.

Or perhaps he was simply ensuring that when Obito finally broke, the pieces would cut even deeper.

Only time would tell which future they were walking toward together.