Hey everybody, here's another update for 'A Shinobi's Creed' it only took me a year to make. Christ, that's sad, even for me. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I just don't find myself into writing Naruto stories as much as I used to, namely because there are hundreds on here that blow mine out of the freakin' water. Anyway, I'm back with an update and I hope you enjoy it. I particularly had fun writing this chapter. Read and review if you are feeling generous. Either way, enjoy.

Chapter Summary: Rin finds Kakashi and Minato and learns the truth of what went down at Obito's hearing after she became suspicious about his abnormal behavior. Meanwhile, Obito goes to a spot that he enjoyed throughout his childhood to clear his head, but soon finds himself in a heart to heart conversation with someone.

Bold-Jutsu

Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks

Disclaimer- I do NOT own Naruto in any way and I never will. I just own the idea of the story, the story here and any possible support OCS.


Rin was walking down the early evening streets in between crowds of people. She was searching for Minato and Kakashi after Obito told her about his trial and saying that she should ask them for further details. As she went through the crowds she would occasionally bump into somebody, not even bothering to apologize as her mind was elsewhere. Namely, it was drifting back to Obito. A frown came to her face as she thought about her teammate. Her encounter with him about a half hour ago was strange. Obito appeared lost and not himself like he usually was when she saw him. It was as if he seemed to be hiding something and was reluctant to share it with her as he gave her a quick dismissal after she greeted him on the street. She sighed and crossed her arms as she came to a stop.

"Obito, what are you not telling me?" Rin muttered. "Did something else happen during your trial?"

Rin looked up and turned her head to see Kakashi and Minato sitting down inside a barbeque restaurant. Her face lit up as she found the two people she was looking for and she hurried inside to speak with them. As she walked to their booth, she could see the troubled looks on their faces and was immediately curious as to what was eating at them. She stopped beside the table and garnered their attention and their expressions quickly became happier. Rin inwardly rolled her eyes at their poor attempt of hiding their emotions and sat beside Kakashi. She decided not to bring up their mood unless she had to and was ready to figure out what happened at Obito's trial.

"Hey," Rin greeted with a smile. "How are you two doing?"

"We're doing well. We just decided to get some food after finishing up the hearing," Minato replied as he leaned back.

"So, where's Obito? Wouldn't it be better to be celebrating that he wasn't discharged for his actions?"

Rin knew that Obito was not with them as she saw him heading home but she was trying to fish out any information about the trial that she could before she brought out the big guns. There was something that she was not being told and she was going to find out what it was.

"He's not here. He went back home," Kakashi said as he looked at her.

"Oh, okay. I just thought I'd ask because I bumped into him on the street before coming in here," Rin replied.

Minato and Kakashi did not say anything as Rin responded. Rin could make out no change in demeanor between the two of them and continued to pry for information.

"So, how did his trial go? He didn't tell me all the details when I pulled him aside but he said he believed it went well."

This time, Rin got the reaction she was looking for. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kakashi's eyes quickly dart to the table and Minato's brow furrowed. Rin looked between the two of them and crossed her arms as she waited for an answer, but it never came.

"It did go well, right?" Rin pried.

"What exactly did he tell you?" Minato asked.

"It's like I just said, Sensei. He said he believed it went well and that he said to talk to you two for all the details. To be honest, it seemed as though he was eager to avoid the conversation and get home."

"I can imagine why," Kakashi muttered as he rubbed his eye.

Now Rin knew that something did happen after she caught Kakashi's comment. Obviously Obito lied about what he told her and now she was determined to find out what happened.

"So, are you two going to tell me what actually happened?" Rin asked.

"You're a sharp girl, Rin," Minato said with a chuckle.

"Girls are very perceptive. All I had to do was bait you both with what I knew and your reactions gave me the answer. So, talk."

Minato just chuckled and shook his head at his student. He had to give her credit for her clever technique and insightful nature. As much as he wanted to keep the trial a secret from Rin until he and Kakashi could sort out the situation with Obito and possibly get him back in the Shinobi Corps, it was not going to pan out that way now. He looked at Kakashi and nodded at him to start informing Rin of what happened during the trial. Their food was placed on the table and the three of them started to eat as they told Rin what happened.

As Kakashi and Minato took turns telling parts of the story, Rin was appalled with everything she heard. Rin was not too concerned for Obito's hearing as she believed his actions were just and that Minato's and Kakashi's words would be more than enough support to keep him free from any trouble. Now that she found out he was relieved of duty because of his decision for doing an honorable action, she wished she could go back in time and attend the hearing. If she was there to give her support, it may have given more leverage towards his favor.

With what she heard next though, it threw her for another loop. Kakashi then told her of the questions that the council asked Obito ranging from his relationship with them as a team and how he would operate as a Jounin if they allowed him to stay in the Shinobi Corps. When she heard Obito's beliefs on each of them it shocked her. She already knew that the opinion about his relationship with Kakashi was true because she saw it on a daily basis, but she did not expect his opinion of her to be as critical as it was. She felt offended at first when she learned about his true opinion, but she did not say anything.

As she thought about it, she looked back on all the instances she, Obito and Kakashi were together and then played out each memory. Going through each memory made her feel as though she had reached a new low. Obito was right about her. She would follow Kakashi's lead more and always side with him, regardless if his beliefs were good or bad. Rin looked down at the table and hugged her sides as she continued with her reflection.

"Obito is right," Rin said aloud.

"What was that?" Minato asked.

"I said Obito was right about me. About all of us for that matter."

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Pardon my language, but I feel like a total bitch now."

Minato waved her apology aside. She was a kunoichi and swearing came with the job and he personally had no problem with cursing if it was used in an appropriate setting and the one they were in now was one of those times. He took a long drink from his glass and set it back down on the table. He pulled out some money and extra for a tip to pay for the food.

"Kakashi, Rin, finish up eating. We're going to see the Hokage," Minato said as he stood up.

"For what, Sensei?" Rin asked.

"We're going to get our teammate back in the Shinobi Corps one way or another," Kakashi said as he squeezed by Rin. "What better way to do it than go talk to the boss himself?"

"Count me in."

Rin got out of the booth and followed Kakashi and Minato out of the restaurant and into the street. Just as they were about to take off for the Hokage Tower, they were stopped by Nara Shikaku as he came up to them. The sudden arrival of the Nara clan head got Minato's attention and he was curious as to what he was doing.

"What are you doing here, Shikaku?" Minato asked.

"I was sent to find you," Shikaku replied with a shrug. "The council found it appropriate to send me to deliver you this message which alone is troublesome in itself."

"Okay. What did you need to tell me?"

"It's in regards to Obito and his hearing."

"What about it?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, let's put it this way…"


Obito had been home for almost an hour. His mind was still adjusting to the fact he was no longer a shinobi as of an hour ago. He arrived home to see his mother was cooking dinner and she asked him about the trial. Not wanting to talk about the thing that was causing his downtrodden attitude, he told her the bare minimum she needed in order to get the message. Since telling her, she did not bring it up and only spoke to him to tell him that dinner was ready. He did not feel hungry and for the first time in his life, Obito felt truly defeated. He did not know what to do. What was there to do now that he was no longer a shinobi? What was his purpose in life now?

"Damn-it," Obito muttered as he dragged his hands down his face.

He sat up in his bed and looked out his window. The sun was just beginning to set on this bad day and the next day that came would no longer be better. He was now trapped in an endless slump and that frustrated him to no end. He let out a sigh as he left his room in just his pants and his black t-shirt. He made sure to keep his footsteps faint as he crept to the front door to not alert his mother. Obito quietly opened the door and closed it behind him as he stepped out into the cool evening air. He glanced down the streets which were now almost empty as the Uchiha families were beginning to eat dinner.

His legs started to carry him down the road and to the river a couple of blocks away that he would always go to skip stones or fish at. As he walked to the river, he wondered whether or not Rin found Kakashi and Minato and asked them about his trial like he suggested to her. If she had found them, chances were she now knew the whole story of how his hearing went and he was pretty sure that Rin was ecstatic about his departure from the team as he was no longer in the Shinobi Corps.

Obito finally came to a stop at the riverside and picked up a flat stone. He tossed it up and down for a bit before he chucked it with a flick of his wrist. His eyes watched the stone as it bounced a couple of times across the river's surface before vanishing into the depths. He squatted down and picked up another rock and looked across to the other side. When he was younger he always tried to skip a stone all the way to the other side but the closest he ever got was halfway. He looked across the bank and concentrated once again as he tossed the rock with the flick of his wrist. Once again the rock bounced five times and sunk midway. Obito grimaced at failing his task once again as he plopped down on the grass. His fingers picked up another rock but he held onto it as he continued to eye the other side. As he twirled the smooth stone between his fingers, he sensed someone coming up behind him. He did not bother to greet the person as he had a good idea who it was.

"I knew I'd find you here," a masculine voice said.

"Well, you found me," Obito replied, not looking back.

"I figured I would. I remember bringing you here ever since you were a little kid, especially if you had a bad day."

The man then took a seat beside him and picked up a smooth rock. He wound his arm back and threw it with a flick of his wrist. His rock bounced twice and sank into the calm river. Obito glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye. The man was easily six feet tall. His eyes were onyx black, his hair was black and in a wild style and he had a fair complexion. The man was Uchiha Takashi, his father. Obito said nothing as he looked back at the river and continued to twirl the stone between his digits.

"I heard about everything from your mother," Takashi said

"And?" Obito replied, not wanting to talk about the subject.

"I was surprised, yet at the same time I wasn't. Especially after I heard about the verdict they gave you for your hearing."

Obito scoffed and stopped fiddling with the rock and clutched it tightly. His father was always hard on him when he was younger to push him as he got older to become the young man that he was now. If what his father said was true, then he knew about him awakening the Sharingan and his first kill. While his father may not have been the touchy-feely type of person, he was able to usually break through to him and help pick him back up.

"So, Mom told you about me being dismissed from the Shinobi Corps?" Obito asked.

"To be fair, when she said you were on trial for insubordination I knew that they were going to hit you with that verdict," Takashi replied as he looked at his son.

"Really?"

"Obito, outside of the insubordination, that was not what truly got you expelled from the Shinobi Corps. Placing you comrades over the mission was the final nail in the coffin for you."

Obito's fists clenched hard at that. Now he was going to get the same lecture that he got today from his father. Not that it would not make any difference now but it still angered him that he was getting a fresh reminder about it, from his father no less. He was struggling to keep his anger in check and he knew that depending on how much his father pressed the issue, he would explode. He said nothing as he waited for his father to continue talking.

"You know how high we hold the creed, so why did you break it?" Takashi asked.

"Why are you asking? Mom told you everything, so you already know why I broke it!" Obito retorted.

"Don't take that tone with me. All your mother told me is that you saved your friends before continuing the mission. I am just trying to fill in the blanks."

"I did it because I saw that we were combat ineffective after Rin was captured and she was our medic, so the mission was botched either way. I decided to ignore Kakashi's order and go after her because I personally would not be able to live with myself if I left a comrade behind, especially if it was my teammate."

"I see. So, your friends are more important to you."

"So what if they are? What would you have done if you were in my shoes at the time? I did it because I believe the creed is total bullshit if it places the mission as top priority over your comrades! Excuse me for doing what I believe is right!"

A loud smack echoed around the bank. Takashi pulled back his hand and said nothing as his eyes stayed on Obito. The surprise slap had stunned him but Takashi only did it to calm him down so he could answer his son and stop his rant.

"Boy, if there is one lesson I taught you that I want you to remember is to always keep your composure. If you are ruled by your emotions, it will be the end of you. In this case with your latest mission, it was," Takashi replied calmly.

"So, you're saying that my emotions are what got me booted out?" Obito challenged. "I find that hard to believe. Everyone loses their cool at some point."

"Be that as it may, what I am trying to tell you is that I do not condone what the council did and that I believe you were in the right. If I was in your position, I would have done the same thing, especially if it was my teammates or you or your mother for that matter."

Obito's widened briefly as his father made that revelation to him. For the first time today, Obito turned to look his father in the eyes and saw nothing but pride in them. He was stunned that his father, the ultimate hardass, was agreeing with his decision. He thought his father was one of the old, hardcore shinobi that believed in the old laws, but he was wrong. Obito felt his father put a hand on his shoulder and he saw him smiling at him. The first true smile of the day came to Obito's face as he felt a lot of his anger vanish when his father told him those words.

"I'm proud of you, Obito," Takashi said as he ruffled his hair.

"Thanks, Dad," Obito replied as he swatted his hand away.

Takashi's face became serious again as he looked at his son.

"I know I've been hard on you growing up Obito, but that was because I saw you had an unlimited amount of potential inside of you and the only way to bring it out was to push you," Takashi said as he picked up another rock.

"I figured as much, but still, would it have killed you to give me some form of acknowledgement for the milestones I achieved? I know you did for some, but it really messed with my head and gave me the impression you did not want to be involved in my life," Obito replied.

"I feared that if I gave you too much attention that you would never reach your true potential. You need to find what you want in life and go after it and the only way to do that is to build your self-esteem and desire to chase it."

"I see what you are saying. Although, I have to say that's still a little messed up."

Takashi laughed at his son's response as he wound his arm back and threw the stone he was holding. This time the stone skipped long and far and fell just a few feet short of the opposite bank. Obito saw how far his father got and sent a small glare at him. How was his father able to do that? He was never able to get that far and the fact that his father just did it was like another slap to his face. The two of them sat in silence for a moment and watched as the sun was now almost setting behind the trees on the other side of the river.

"Obito, you may not be a shinobi anymore, but I want to tell you something," Takashi said as he stood up.

"What's that?" Obito asked as he looked up at him.

"While you may not be a shinobi, don't let that stop you from going after your dreams. Don't let this incident swallow you and turn you into a helpless pile of nothing. Cowards do that and that's not you!"

Obito blinked as his mind processed his father's words. It was in that moment that Obito realized that his father did pay close attention to him otherwise he never would have said those words. Smiling to himself, he stood up and twirled the rock in his fingers again as he looked at the opposite bank. Right when he was about to throw the rock, his father spoke again.

"Do you know what some elders say when you skip stones?" Takashi asked.

"No," Obito replied.

"Well, I guess you can say it's a fable of sorts and if you choose to believe it, that's your call."

"Enlighten me, Dad. I want to hear it."

Takashi looked at his son and smiled again. He crossed his arms as he looked across the river where his rock landed.

"They say that when you have a dream, you take one of these stones and skip them across. If your dream is strong enough, it will reach the other side. Although, like I said, it's a fable," Takashi explained.

Obito did not find the story silly at all. He would not admit it, but he was enthralled with fables and stories that elders told because they usually were true in some way. When his father finished telling him this one, it immediately became his favorite. He looked down at the smooth, oval shaped rock he was holding and then looked across the river. He closed his eyes and thought about his dream. When he finished, he opened his eyes and took a short jump step and flicked his wrist. The rock skipped once, twice, three times and continued until after twelve skips. There was a small crack as the rock landed on the other side. Obito blinked for a minute and grinned. Not only did his rock finally reach the other side of the river, but if the fable was true, that meant he would achieve his dream someday.

"Look at that," Takashi said with a nod.

"I finally made it across," Obito said with pride in his voice.

"Yeah, you did."

Takashi put his hand on Obito's shoulder again and smiled down at him.

"Come on, let's go home. I'm sure your mother is going to throw a fit if we aren't back in time," Takashi said as they started back up the hill.

"Right," Obito replied.

The father and son started their walk down the street back home. As they walked, Takashi though back to the fable and looked down at his son.

"So, what was your dream?" Takashi asked.

"My dream was that if I somehow go back into the Shinobi Corps, I would do whatever it took to change the Shinobi Creed to prevent other shinobi from being looked down on like the White Fang was. It is unjust and our shinobi are too afraid to do the right thing because they are afraid of being shunned by their comrades," Obito replied.

Takashi smiled again at his son and ruffled his hair again. He was proud of the young man his son had become and knew deep down that his son would succeed with his goal. The reason he knew that was because his son did not know how to fail.


The two of them opened the door to the house and entered the dining room to see Minato, Kakashi and Rin sitting in it. In front of Minato was a green vest and Obito's Hitai-ate was resting on top of it. A knowing smile came to Takashi's face as he quietly left the room and entered the kitchen where Taki was.

Obito looked at his teammates, somewhat confused as to why they were sitting in his house. He walked over to the table and sat in the open seat beside Rin. His team all looked happy about something and he was sure he was about to find out why.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Obito asked.

"We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by," Kakashi said with his eye smile that was strangely starting to catch on.

"I'm sure there's more to it than that, right, Cyclops?"

Kakashi sent Obito an irritated look at the joke.

"Too soon?" Obito asked.

Kakashi was about to retort but Minato cleared his throat to stop the tension from growing. He looked at Obito and his signature grin was on his face.

"We are here because we wanted to give you a surprise together," Minato said.

"Yeah, it was all Rin's idea," Kakashi noted.

"No it wasn't!" Rin denied.

"What are you three talking about?" Obito asked as he looked at the three of them.

"What if I were to tell you that the council had a change of heart after you gave your speech to them and they decided to reinstate you into the Shinobi Corps as a Jounin?" Minato replied as he pushed the vest and his Hitai-ate over to him.

Obito blinked for a minute as Minato's words entered his ear and circled around his brain. As his mind tried to comprehend what Minato said, he shook his head to clear it. He looked at Minato who was still grinning.

"Wait… what?" Obito asked bewildered.


Well, that's the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I find that I have to have a long break for these stories before I put up a new chapter because I'm sure I have acquired a newfound respect for my writing and the quality. With these four chapters here, I'm sure that backs up my belief because of the level I believe they are at and if I try to pump out chapters quickly, they won't be up to par with them. Anyway, I have no idea when I'll update next, so I guess I'll just say keep an eye open and I'll see you next time. Later.-Captain

OC Introduction:

Uchiha Takashi: Obito's father. Although he is hard on his son, he does it to push him to succeed as a shinobi and into becoming a man. He and his wife Taki are both former ANBU operators and now are part of recon teams for the Third Shinobi War as Jounin team leaders.

Story Shoutouts:

Naruto vs Sasuke: The Aftermath by Kingkakashi- A story that starts directly after the failed Sasuke retrieval mission. Without a doubt one of the best stories I have come across for the Naruto category on fanfiction. This story grips the readers attention from start up to the most recent chapter. Definitely a legendary story by an outstanding and legendary author. (Rated one of the best Naruto authors on this site, might I add.)

Naruto: Potential Realised by Iron Monkey Fist

A damn fine addition to the Naruto archives. It is spectacular in terms of quality, plot and literature. Give it a read. I am sure you will not be disappointed. This story is one of those that I mentioned in the top author's note that blows mine out of the water.