I am back and I have milk.

First: Thank you for 100 favourites! You guys are cool.

Second: Sorry for the wait. I've had some personal things thrust upon me. Not fun. To atone for my sins I have made this chapter longer by a significant margin.

Third: As always, feel free to PM me, or to leave a review with your thoughts or criticisms. There will also be a longer note at the bottom, as is now tradition.

Chapter 7: Third Party

"You mean to tell me I'm not authorised to hunt down a known murderer?! A Villain that's killed many of my colleagues?" A large, rotund man demanded through clenched teeth, his hands curling into fists.

The HPSC representative sighed, his weariness clearly visible on-screen.

"Don't be stupid. The autopsy reports indicate all of his victims were paralysed before their execution. In all likelihood he has a close range quirk. It's a bad matchup for you."

"You think I care? He's in my city. I cannot—no, I will not allow this injustice to stand! How many more people will be murdered in the meantime?"

"You're a beacon for your city, Toyomitsu. We cannot allow you to fall to this Villain. So far, only smaller, lesser-known heroes have been targeted. As we speak I have a specialised team hunting him down. Do not interfere."

Fat Gum narrowed his eyes, a fiery passion visible even through his laptop's camera.

"I'm a hero. Don't presume to tell me how to do my job."

"Be reasonable. Go do some public showings. Let us handle this," the representative countered coolly.

Taking a deep breath, Fat Gum calmed himself.

"You have one chance. One chance. If I hear of a single dead man or woman at Stain's hands, I will apprehend him myself."

"Of course. We expect nothing less from a Hero of your level, Toyomitsu."

The video call ended, and Fat Gum snapped the laptop shut. Sitting back in his chair, his fingers impatiently tapped his desk. He glanced from his office window out to the skyline of Esuha.

"I don't like this one bit," he said to himself, upset, yet understanding his orders.

"No, not one bit," he muttered, lacing his fingers together.

Abruptly standing from his seat, he tacked on a smile and strode out of his office. Grabbing a high-calorie smoothie from his refrigerator, he left his Hero Agency and went on patrol, both to clear his mind and ease his nerves.

Esuha City was tranquil, despite the Hero Killer's presence. It was simple, really. Most people, as a general rule of thumb, were not overly concerned with Villainy. Why should they be? They had Heroes, local and national, that would surely deal with the threat.

In spite of the attitude of the average citizen, Fat Gum remained vigilant. For civilians to not be concerned with Villains, it was up to Heroes to be prepared for any Villainy. His trained eyes sought any disturbance or forewarning of danger. The heat of the afternoon quickly vanished as the day grew long. The sky was clear, and there was a faint, cooling breeze that meandered along the streets. All seemed well.

If he hadn't known of Stain's existence, the patrol would have been quite nice.

Fat Gum's usual cheerful and friendly approach to his patrol vanished due to his foul mood.

How would I catch him? Non-lethal is prerequisite, of course, but should that even be considered? He's murdered and paralysed more Heroes than anybody else in recent history. In fact, he specialises in killing Heroes. Would it be wrong to use lethal force? The people would be divided, and I'd likely get my licence suspended. But does the man deserve anything less? What if he starts to target civilians?

Patrolling on autopilot, he stopped at one of his favourite food stalls. They specialised in high-calorie foods for people with quirks like his. Muttering a quiet 'thank you' to the vendor, he took a seat and dug in.

What if he's committing murder right now, while I'm eating?

"Mom, mom! Look! It's Fat Gum! Do you think I could get his autograph?"

People had noticed the Hero, but had respectfully kept their distance. His closed-off look and paranoid attention to his surroundings created an invisible bubble around him. It was obvious to all but the boy that the man was upset.

The small boy's mother looked at the Hero and recognised the look of a tired adult.

"I don't know, sweetie, he's probably pretty busy. I don't think he wants to be bothered right now," she reasoned to him quietly.

"But mom…" the boy whined, tugging on her hand.

Their interaction cut through Fat Gum's internal monologue.

I can't let this get to me.

Rebuking himself for his brooding, he felt a genuine smile form at the boy's enthusiasm.

"It's no problem, little man! You got something for me to sign?"

That's right. Even if I can't do anything about him now, I can be strong for everyone here. I can't neglect my duty, not for a moment.

The mother smiled as her son offered his baseball cap for a signature.

Fat Gum continued his patrol, intent on keeping his citizens safe, even as the sun set.

Obito leaned back in his chair in the library. He had spent the last few hours researching his target before devising a plan to meet him.

What would the Hero Killer: Stain be like? He had never vocalised his beliefs. Until now, he had allowed his blade to do most of the talking.

Obito had a basic idea from the list of victims: Stain had a bone to pick with Heroes, and he did not hesitate to pick it. Therefore, the man was most likely driven by some sort of belief. What that belief actually was, or why he held it was another issue entirely. If he could figure out the belief, it would become easy to navigate around the man, or to persuade him, if need be.

Obito found himself drawn to the method of execution. All shinobi admired efficiency. General assassination theory exalted efficiency and the safety of the assassin over all else. A single attack to a helpless victim was near the pinnacle of that school of thought.

Stain's mode of operation was simple. He would stalk, and later execute multiple Heroes in a city before moving on. Only one dead hero had surfaced in Esuha, so all Obito had to do was follow a likely victim around, and in theory, he'd meet the Hero Killer.

It was far from a perfect plan, but it was better than nothing.

The only current difficulty was managing transportation. Maps—thankfully memorised with his sharingan—indicated that the city was roughly 336 kilometres away. He had two choices: cover the distance manually, or take some form of public or private transportation. In the end, he chose what he was most familiar with.

The moon was still new—not yet a quarter full—giving Obito the perfect opportunity. The lack of light would only aid him.

As the sun set, he put his plan into action. With slow, confident steps, he walked into a small restaurant. During the course of his meal, he went into the restroom. A quick scan of his surroundings ensured that nobody was watching. Vanishing from one plane of reality and into another, he left a single henged shadow clone behind to continue the facade.

Swirling once more into existence just outside the city, Tobi took in his surroundings. His teleportation had been perfect—he was right next to the main highway that led into Esuha, yet out of the sightline of those on the highway. Running, he swiftly accelerated to speeds no motor vehicle could match. The idle countryside quickly transformed into a sprawling metropolitan area, where he was left once more to hunt his prey.

Izuku rubbed his eyes. Even on a weekend, his entire body ached. Training with All Might was no easy feat.

Scrolling absentmindedly on his computer, he quickly found something that caught his interest. It was a podcast from his favourite host, Present Mic. The man was a full-time Hero and a part-time show host.

I haven't seen any of his stuff recently.

The video was titled, 'Interview With a Villainologist | Understanding Villainy'.

It's 8:00 PM. I have some time to listen.

Clicking on the video, he found himself drawn in immediately, and he began taking notes as he listened.

"Hello to all my listeners, This is Yamada Hizashi! Tonight on Larger Than Life #403, with me tonight is a very esteemed guest! Please welcome… Professor Yasuda!"

"Thank you for having me."

"For those of you that don't know, Professor Yasuda is a renowned expert of villainology and professor of psychology. He has been a professor in the University of Musutafu for more than… how long?"

"I've been a professor for twenty-three years."

"Twenty-three years!"

"Yes."

"So, why don't you tell the listeners a bit more about what you specialise in?"

"Sure. To put it simply, I am a villainologist and an expert on villainous behaviour. Villainology is the study of the nature of villainy and Villains, as well as society's response to villainy and crime, so on and so forth. Essentially, we concern ourselves with the why's and how's of Villains and criminals. Of course, there is also a lot of research into the penal system and rehabilitation of offenders."

"That's very interesting! I've read some of your work, and you seem to be mostly interested in, as you put it so aptly, 'the why's and how's of Villains'. Why is that?"

"Well, for me it started fairly young. In middle school, I wanted to become a Professional Hero, as so many young boys dream of. Sadly, my quirk was not suited to heroics, and to that end I gave up. But, the desire to stop Villains remained, and simply changed form—"

"What was your quirk, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, I have a minor colour-changing quirk. Basically I can change my hair colour at will."

"Yeah, I can imagine how that would be disappointing. Please, by all means continue, I'm sorry to have interrupted."

"Certainly. I still wanted to stop Villains as best I could. At first, I considered becoming a Police Officer. Midway through high school, though, this changed."

"Why?"

"Well, a lot of my classmates from middle school became delinquents after we all changed schools. And that was very interesting to me. Why? Why become a delinquent? Of course, I couldn't ask the delinquents, and the adults had no answers. Eventually I looked to the internet, and I learned something very interesting. Students with delinquent behaviour had a much higher chance of becoming a Villain than the other students. Of course, the chance itself is still small, but it was the difference in that chance that intrigued me."

"What is the chance?"

"They are roughly ten times more likely to become Villains or small-time criminals, but the actual rate is about four people out of every million."

"That seems pretty small."

"Yes, it is quite small. However, this compelled me as a young man to learn. I thought to myself, 'if I can figure out why, perhaps I can prevent it, as well as help better apprehend Villains'."

"And here you are!"

"Haha! And here I am."

"Now, I hope you won't mind if I pick your brain a bit, being a Professional Hero myself. Your most recent work is with the HPSC. Do you have anything you can let us know about the mindset of the Villain you're helping to catch?"

"Ah, the vicious Hero Killer?"

"The one and the same."

"Maybe you should let the viewers know who they are before I go into too much depth?"

"Oh yeah! So, Hero Killer: Stain is a man wanted for the murder of thirteen Pro Heroes—"

"Technically, he is wanted for quirk assisted homicide of those thirteen, as well as the quirk assisted battery of twenty-three others."

"What's the difference? I know, but just for the sake of the listener."

"Well, quirk assisted simply means that the Villain used his quirk to assist the crime. It's why he's labelled as a Villain, actually. "

"Really? So if someone committed a crime without using their quirk, they wouldn't be labelled a Villain?"

"To answer your question: yes, although it is quite rare. Such law breakers are aptly called 'criminals'. The term Villain refers specifically to those that use their quirk to assist in their crime."

"That makes sense."

"Now, as for the Hero Killer himself, what matters both to me and to the wonderful Heroes that will no doubt capture him soon, is why he is committing his crimes. If we can know the why, then it becomes much easier to predict his actions and to apprehend him. Knowledge is, as they say, power."

"And what do you think his reasoning is?"

"I and most other experts believe it to be ideological in nature. Specifically that he has something against Pro Heroes."

"Oh? He's not just a common murderer?"

"Well, generally, every serial killer has a reason for his actions. However, the most important part is their signature, that is: a ritual, something the killer does intentionally for emotional satisfaction—something that isn't necessary to commit the crime."

"So… like a killer leaving the body a certain way, or branding them beforehand, or something like that."

"Yes, those would be signatures. In Stain's case, every victim has suffered the same fate: a small cut, and then a swift execution by severing the spine at the base of the neck, or permanent paralysis by destroying the spinal cord. Likely using a katana, given the witness reports. This has remained consistent, even when it may have been easier to attack his victims by other methods."

"But why ideological? It might not even be a signature at all, it could just be a part of his quirk."

"That much is true. I am of the mind that it is both part of his quirk as well as part of his signature. As for the ideology, every execution has been swift and painless. He may hate the people he is killing, but he does not torture them."

"For those that aren't aware, what is his quirk…?"

"At the moment it is unknown, but most experts believe it to be a form of paralysis, given the method of execution. The forensic analysis indicates that the victims were entirely motionless yet cognizant up until the moment of their death."

"Damn."

"As for the ideological aspect, the most reasonable conclusion is that he holds something against the people he is killing. In this case: Heroes. Why? Abuse from a Professional Hero as a young child is the most prevalent belief."

"As much as I hate to say it, it does happen from time to time."

"Yes, although recorded cases are exceedingly rare. In any case, the fact remains that Stain exclusively targets Professional Heroes. One thing that I found interesting is that, aside from all being Heroes, each of his victims were involved with one scandal or another."

"Really?"

"Yes, although it could simply be random chance. As I'm sure you're more than aware, many Heroes are involved in various scandals over the course of their careers. A good example would be all of those baseless rumours of murder that All Might was subject to all those years ago. It is simply part of the job."

The two continued the interview as Izuku's mother knocked softly on his door.

"Izuku? I know you're awake. It's going to get late soon and you need your sleep, you have school tomorrow."

She received no response other than the droning of a computer's speaker. Opening the door softly, she saw Izuku, fast asleep at his computer. A small puddle of drool formed at the base of his keyboard. His hand still clutched the pen he had been using to take notes.

Smiling, she grabbed a blanket and gently covered his shoulders.

"Now, as far as the Hero Killer is concerned, do you have any advice to the Heroes attempting to apprehend him?"

"Not much, other than—"

"How dreadful," Inko murmured, finally noticing the contents of the interview. Pausing it, she set the computer to sleep, and smiled at her son again before leaving the room.

"Goodnight dear."

The door closed with a soft thud.

Stain was invisible in the darkness. He made no noise. The only sound that was audible was the soft drip, drip of water from a pipe. Unmoving, he waited. In a few minutes, another false hero would be cut down. The fraud frequently used this alley as a small shortcut to his apartment.

His prey; Kingo Yanagi, also known as the Time Hero, was a fraud. He could change the influence of time on himself in minor spurts, resulting in greatly enhanced speed and reflexes for a tiny part of the day. He was a flashy sort of hero, pompous and arrogant. Quick to take credit, and loathe to take criticism, he was the type that Stain despised most.

His arrogance had gotten more than one civilian killed.

His opportunity came as expected. Stain dropped with the grace and silence of a cat. In one single motion he unsheathed his katana and cut the fraud across the face, licking his ragged blade as he landed.

There was only one problem.

His katana had no blood on it.

An ambush!

Within a fraction of a second, he leapt backwards and away from his victim—who had disappeared—just in time to avoid the snake-like motion of a chain.

A robed attacker emerged from the end of the alley; the attacking chain led up their sleeve. They remained motionless as the chain moved of its own accord in an attempt to ensnare the Hero Killer.

Continuing his retreat yet unwilling to take his eyes off his new assailant, he scrambled backwards before crashing into a purple barrier.

Trapped, he had no choice but to contend with the robed figure.

Over one-hundred metres away, Tobi sat above the skirmish. Seated in an impossible location—the side of a large apartment building, he had a perfect view of the spectacle. He had seen the three Heroes prowling around with their decoy and positioned himself accordingly. With his sharingan, no detail went unnoticed.

"A swing and a miss! Oh, Barrier-Man protects his friend in the nick of time! Oh-ho! What's this? The Hero Killer takes advantage and attacks both simultaneously! Barrier-Man can't keep up!"

He devoured a stick of dango as he commented on the fight.

"Barrier-Man is completely defenseless! But wait!" he gasped, leaning forward.

"His sword went right through him! It was a double bluff! Barrier-Man was nothing but an illusion the entire time! The real Barrier-Man is nowhere to be seen! And Stain fell for it!"

Given the collective strength and teamwork of the three Heroes, Stain had no choice but to try and overwhelm one of them. Something he was failing at as he tried his best to create an opening to escape.

"Well, I guess it's too much for him to handle on his own," Tobi languished as brushed the crumbs off of his robe. The battle had reached a stalemate with neither side able to gain a significant advantage.

Pinching a pellet between his fingers, Tobi took aim. With a soft whistle and a slight bounce, the projectile landed in the midst the four combatants.

Stain was fast. Impossibly fast. If anyone other than the illusion had walked underneath his perch, they would have been dead or paralysed on the floor before they had even noticed there was anything wrong.

They had expected an ambush from the Villain, and were planning to use that ambush to spring their own.

They had not expected the Hero Killer to instantly notice the decoy and retaliate before they could trap him.

Itoh heaved as the battle quickly began to exhaust her. Stain was simply too quick, too nimble. He could dodge her chain, and he was quick with his counterattacks. He was also smart, as he had quickly discerned the nature of all three of their quirks and worked to counter them. The support of her comrades was barely enough to even the fight.

Without my teammates here I'd be a goner.

She had two teammates: Akira, who had a barrier creating quirk; and Mako, who had a simple illusion quirk. Together they could cover each other's weaknesses, and create deadly traps to trick their opponents.

She grew tired of the skirmish. Counting on her comrades one last time, she concentrated entirely on creating more chains. One became two, two split into four, and within a second she had a net of sixteen chains poised to trap the Hero Killer.

"Ultimate Move: Chain Binding Techni—"

Without warning, a tiny, errant projectile made itself known with a soft thud as it landed in the midst of their fight. Thick black smoke erupted from the capsule, blanketing the entire battlefield in darkness.

"Take cover!"

Stain saw his opening the instant it manifested, and fled.

"He's getting away!" Itoh yelled, noticing the lull in combat. The chains that emanated from her robe swayed angrily. Together, the three Heroes scrambled after the Villain, who quickly began to outpace them. Her chains nipped at the Villain's feet in vain. Turning several corners, they soon found themselves at a crossroads.

"I'll go left, you and Akira go right!" Itoh commanded as her entire body thrummed, angry at losing her target.

Running headlong to the leftmost path, she ran into a shining purple barrier.

"What the hell? He's getting away!" she exclaimed, rubbing her sore nose.

Akira shook his head as he released the barrier.

"No. We can't split up. He's an ambush fighter. He'll pick us off one by one if we do," he rebuked calmly.

Their companion nodded in agreement.

"Akira's right. The three of us together were barely a match for him. On our own we stand no chance."

Itoh grumbled as her chains disappeared into her billowing sleeve.

"Fine. We'll pursue him as a group. Akira, notify the HPSC: Stain has escaped the ambush and is on the loose in Esuha once more. I want everything in a fifteen block radius shut down and evacuated yesterday. Have them form a perimeter. We'll smoke this bastard out if we have to."

At the very least, we've got proper footage of him. Yasuda and the others should be able to break it down.

You won't get away, Hero Killer.

Stain ran.

Guided by instinct, he ran from the ambush as though he were a wounded animal. Unable to hear or even think, he ran. His heart raced, sheer adrenaline fueling his dash long after he had lost his pursuers.

Finally reaching an abandoned building, he collapsed on the ground. Sheathing his katana—in his rush to escape he had forgotten to sheath it—he wondered why everything seemed muted. As his rational mind made itself known again, he realised it was the blood rushing in his ears.

They almost had me!

It was the first time he had come so close to being captured. He felt no shame—only anger at being fooled. Fooled by those frauds.

Still paranoid, his eyes darted around the room. Hearing a bump, he instinctively hurled a knife into the dark hallway he had blindly ran through moments ago.

With a clang, his knife slammed into something in the darkness. He gripped the handle of his sword and prepared to attack anything that moved.

A large rat emerged from the hallway, clearly startled by the throw.

Relief flooded through the Villain as his heartbeat finally began to slow down.

It was nothing. I'm safe, for now.

He released the grip on his sword as the remaining adrenaline left his body. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment of respite.

Tobi watched from the dark hallway. A large, audible grin formed behind his mask as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Tobi sa—"

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by nearly a metre of steel to the face.

Omake—Codes (3)

Hirata's Electronics and More had a device for everyone. Hirata, the store owner, wholeheartedly believed in his slogan. It had served him well for more than ten years.

Then Obito's henged shadow clone decided to grace his store.

Todoroki had explained the nature of phone numbers quite adequately. They were used to remotely contact whomever the number belonged to, by using a device colloquially known as a phone.

Obito lacked such a device.

A phone would be required in order to use the code he had been provided, and so, after some asking around and some searching, he decided to visit a store and purchase one for himself. He could use a payphone, but that was not a permanent solution.

What if he encountered more of these numbers? It would be inefficient to go to a payphone every time.

In addition, according to Todoroki, it was socially odd for an adult to not have such a device. Apparently, even teenagers and children owned them.

Obito was not about to be outdone by children. Combined with the shinobi mindset that defined his actions, he had given his shadow clone the mission of obtaining the phone while the original Obito tracked down the Hero Killer.

"I've been told I can acquire mobile phones here?" the clone asked, his speech slow and elegant.

The middle-aged man smiled at the clone.

"Yes, yes, you certainly can! What are you looking for, Mister…?"

The shadow clone took a moment to decide a name for itself, and more importantly, for the henge.

"You can call me Madara. I'm not too sure myself. What would you recommend?"

Hirata looked up and down at his customer, a single finger on his chin as he did.

Middle-aged, most likely. He looks tired and a bit impatient. His clothes are nice enough, though, and he speaks in a really old-fashioned way.

"Ok Madara, how about this?" he said as he pulled a phone out from under the glass. He put it on the countertop in front of his potential customer.

"It's a middle-of-the-road model. Not too expensive, but it has everything you can expect from a modern phone. Gorilla glass screen with an OLED panel. Expandable storage, fast charging, and it's got good processing power. Not as powerful or fancy as some of the newer ones coming out, but an excellent choice for its price."

Madara blinked.

"What can it do?" he drawled. His hands remained robotically at his sides.

Hirata blinked back.

"Anything a phone can do, really," he answered with a bit of a shrug.

Has he never used a phone before?

Madara nodded slowly.

"Ok, but what can a phone do?"

Hirata pulled out his own phone from his pocket and beckoned his customer to take a look. He flipped it around so the screen would face Madara.

"So, I can call anyone whose number I have here," he said as he opened the dial pad, "and I can also view videos and websites on the internet, just like a computer."

Madara nodded.

It would be useful to have that on demand. I wouldn't be confined to the library.

"And, with modern technology, you can use a map that shows where you are, and will help you reach any destination you'd like! It even shows the schedules for the trains and buses, too!"

Alarm bells went off in Madara's head at this declaration.

"So… it knows where I am?" he asked slowly. Being unfamiliar with the local technology was becoming a clear burden.

"Yup! As long as you have data it will be able to help you navigate. If you connect it to a computer you can also find your phone if it ever gets lost."

A portable tracking device. People really buy these?

Instantaneously, several possible circumstances ran through his mind.

He was relaxing in his Kamui dimension, and somehow, the government intruded upon it, using his phone to trace him.

He was humming along as Tobi, peacefully minding his own business whilst stalking others, and suddenly, a Hero caught up to him, using his phone to trace him.

He was trying to acclimate to daily life using his henge, and without warning, someone with a technology quirk revealed they had tracked his movements and were going to arrest him.

He was—never mind. Clearly, this was not desirable.

"Do you have one without such a feature? I only require one for entering numbers," he asked a few moments later.

"Ah, you're one of those. I have just the thing for you," Hirata answered as he put his phone away.

Madara waited as Hirata went to the back of his shop and came back with what resembled a brick. It had a tiny screen and a few buttons on its face.

"This is an older kind of phone, just for folks like you! It can only dial and call people. Most people don't like them, but they're very sturdy and have a long lasting battery."

"Does it track their user?"

"Well, technically yes, when you connect to a tower to make a call—"

Madara interrupted the man by raising his hand.

"No, thank you. Do you have any that do not have this fatal weakness?"

"Fatal weakness?" Hirata mumbled to himself, his eyebrows furrowed. "No, for any phone to work it is basically impossible, not to mention quite illegal."

"I see. That is rather unfortunate. Thank you, and goodbye," Madara finished with a shallow bow before striding out of the store.

Such a risk was unacceptable.

"Wait! I have tablets as well! Would you be interested in one of those? A laptop, perhaps?"

His words fell on deaf ears.

The shadow clone went to a public restroom and with a single motion of his hands, summoned another clone and dispelled it. The knowledge hit prime Obito instantly.

"Madara, eh? Pah. What a stupid name for grumpy-civilian man. I really do hate myself sometimes," he grumbled softly.

Well, I did use his voice in that disguise. Just like old times back home, I suppose.

The rest of the knowledge was swiftly processed.

Wait. People here buy tracking devices? And they aren't convinced or tricked into doing it?

.

.

.

The Hidden Villages would have loved that.

Chapter End

Monster King: Thank you!

bankleo305: It seems I missed your first review. Sorry for that. Will we see the waitress again? Will Obito call her back? Is he even able to? Who knows. Enjoy the new chapter!

candrariski155: Well, I do understand why people like those other stories (I am especially guilty of this), but I'm not too upset about it. I was at first a bit annoyed, but that's only fueled my desire to do better as a writer. I've had a few friends and strangers pick apart what I've written so far, so with any luck it should be a bit better! Although, I do appreciate the sentiment, and it would be pretty cool to become "mainstream" while maintaining the original idea. Thank you!

rntobi: I always thought it was weird for a shinobi to go to a new world and not be paranoid as hell, even if they were more laid-back in their own world… I legitimately cannot imagine any other response than to take absolutely nothing at face value and be overly cautious. As far as pairings go… Well, I've never written one. This is my second story, so I don't know how I'd go about implementing it, and I wouldn't want it to take over what people came here for (Tobi doing reasonably Tobi things in the MHA verse while being somewhat funny). I might give it a shot though, if I think I can do it well, or if I run out of ideas. Thanks for the review!

AsrielDreemr: I have no plans to quit, but thank you for the encouragement!

I don't think I'll be making any more promises for update dates. I'm still definitely going to work on this, since it's a lot of fun, but for the life of me I can't plan out times to put out a chapter. Which is funny because of course the chapter after I say things will come quicker, I'm late.

One thing I think I've been doing without realising is slowing down the pacing a bit, because I'm not 100% on where to go. Not much has happened in terms of canon. If you'd prefer for Obito to be more involved in the actual canon (such as the entrance exams, or the USJ arc, etc.), please let me know! I don't want the story to become too bogged down.

Finally, I've done some thinking about whether I should grab things from the manga and implement them here. For now, I don't think I'm going to do that, since a lot of people would prefer not to have any manga spoilers.

As always, have a good day!