Hand Speed Versus Eyesight

Obito felt a little irritated.

If Kakashi did not participate, then even if he took first place, it would be meaningless.

What Obito wanted was to defeat Kakashi in front of Nohara Rin, wash away his humiliation, and claim first place. Without Kakashi, Obito would not be very happy even if he won.

His obsession with taking first place in the Youth Ninjutsu Tournament had been entirely caused by Kakashi.

Back then, in front of Nohara Rin, Kakashi had overwhelmingly taken first place with a score that crushed his, turning Obito's champion's speech into empty boasting.

Obito had always remembered that, but he had never had the ability to win before.

Now that he had the ability to beat everyone, he discovered that his opponent had already moved on, which made Obito extremely unhappy.

"No, I have to make Kakashi enter the tournament!" The more Obito thought about it, the more he felt that a competition without Kakashi simply would not do.

"We can go ask Kakashi after school whether he wants to participate," Nohara Rin suggested.

"I can go with you. We haven't seen Kakashi in a long time anyway."

Although the three of them had a good relationship, they had fewer chances to meet after Kakashi graduated.

Nohara Rin and Obito had to attend school every day as students, while Kakashi had missions to carry out as a ninja.

"Okay." Obito nodded, thinking Nohara Rin's idea was good.

Before school ended, Obito asked Mu Yue-sensei for a day off. He would not be going to Mu Yue's place after school today; he would settle the matter with Kakashi first.

After school, Nohara Rin and Obito headed straight to Kakashi's house.

Kakashi's home was not in the Main City Area, but in the suburbs beside it. It was less prosperous, but not as crowded as the Main City Area.

Nohara Rin and Obito had been to Kakashi's house before. They had even been invited inside for a meal.

When the large, single-story house with its slanted roof came into view, they knew they had arrived.

The two of them were lucky. Kakashi had no mission today, and when they arrived at his house, he was training in the yard.

Holding a silver-white Chakra Short Blade, Kakashi cut off a straw dummy's head and limbs in just two or three strikes.

Seeing his friends arrive, Kakashi let out a light breath, sheathed the Chakra Short Blade behind his back, and asked:

"Why are you here?"

"We haven't played together in a long time. We both missed you, so we came to see you." Nohara Rin smiled.

Obito was nowhere near as polite as Nohara Rin. He asked directly:

"Kakashi, the Youth Ninjutsu Tournament is about to begin. Are you signing up?"

"The Youth Ninjutsu Tournament?" Kakashi thought about it and recalled that it was a civilian competition he had casually entered back when he was still in school.

"No. I'm not interested," Kakashi replied flatly.

To him, that kind of competition was for children, and the reward for first place was only a somewhat more exquisite kunai.

Even when he was at the Ninja Academy, he had only participated because he was bored, much less now.

Obito's face fell. Kakashi had refused far too decisively.

"Why? Didn't you participate before?" Obito asked, unwilling to give up.

He truly wanted Kakashi to enter the tournament.

"Back then, I was a Ninja Academy student. Now, I'm a chunin." Kakashi pointed at the Ninja Headband on his forehead.

Obito felt that Kakashi was hinting at something. Back then, he had been a student too, and now he was still a student...

"What does it matter whether you're a chunin or not? There isn't even an age limit," Obito continued.

"Do I have to say outright that I'm not interested in this childish game of a competition?" Seeing that Obito intended to keep pestering him, Kakashi showed no mercy.

Obito was getting a little heated. What childish game of a competition? This was the Youth Ninjutsu Tournament!

"I'll be competing too. Kakashi, don't tell me you're afraid of losing to me!" With his temper flaring, Obito became more aggressive.

"Lose to you? Have you ever beaten me?" Kakashi asked expressionlessly.

"I... I..." Obito frantically searched his memories, only to make the shocking discovery that he really had never beaten Kakashi.

Realizing that miserable fact, Obito's face reddened even more.

"Don't get cocky, Kakashi. I'm not the same as I used to be." Obito put his hands on his hips, declaring that he had changed completely.

Kakashi looked Obito over twice. Goggles, a tracksuit, a goofy grin on his face, hands on his hips—the sheer foolishness was overwhelming.

Kakashi answered honestly, "I can't tell."

"Konoha profanity!" Obito could not hold it in anymore.

"You two finally meet after so long, and you're still exactly the same." Nohara Rin covered her mouth and laughed softly at the sight.

Nohara Rin had lost count of how many times this scene had played out before her.

Obito loved competing with Kakashi, but Obito was always the one who suffered in the end.

Obito took a deep breath and temporarily calmed himself. Then he suddenly thought of his teacher, Mu Yue-sensei.

"If it were Mu Yue-sensei, what method would he use?" Obito fell into thought.

To make him train more seriously, Mu Yue had made him do one extra question for every additional hit he took. Training was difficult, but doing questions was even more painful, so he chose the lesser of two evils and trained more seriously to reduce the number of times he was hit.

"The lesser of two evils..." Obito suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with an idea.

"Kakashi, didn't you say I can't beat you? Then do you dare to make a bet with me?" Obito asked with a provocative grin.

Kakashi's expression did not change as he replied flatly:

"Bet on who gets first place in the tournament? Do you think I'd fall for such a stupid provocation?"

Going to a meaningless competition like that would be worse than reading a few more books.

"Of course not. Don't you think you're impressive? Then how about we test whether your eyesight is stronger or my hand speed is faster?" Obito said.

"If you win, I won't bring up the tournament again, and I'll even treat you to ramen five times. If you lose, you only need to enter the tournament."

As long as Kakashi refused, Obito would keep pestering him to enter the Youth Ninjutsu Tournament. By then, Kakashi would naturally agree to this simpler, faster contest.

Kakashi did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked, "How exactly are we competing?"

Obito plucked a leaf from a tree beside Kakashi's house, placed it on his palm, and said:

"It's simple. I'll quickly switch the leaf between my left and right hands, then you guess which hand it's in at the end. Simple, right?"

Kakashi thought about it and felt that Obito's hand speed could not possibly be faster than his eyes, so he agreed immediately.

He knew Obito's personality. Obito might keep pestering him until Night.

It would be better to use this simple contest to let Obito understand the gap between them.

Obito pushed his hand speed to the limit, wildly moving his hands back and forth. He did not stop until about five minutes had passed.

"Your right hand." Kakashi directly pointed to Obito's right hand, where the leaf was hidden.

"I really don't know where you got the courage to compete with me in this." Kakashi sounded a little disappointed.

He had thought Obito's hand speed might be impressive, but this was all there was to it. The leaf had never left his sight.

Hearing Kakashi's words, Obito laughed instead and asked:

"Kakashi, are you sure it's this hand? Once you're sure, you can't change your answer."

"Trying to trick me? It's your right hand. Open it already." Kakashi did not change his mind because of Obito's smile. He only felt that Obito was putting on a bluff.

"Then I'll open it." Obito slowly opened his right hand.

There was a funeral today, so I wrote this in a bit of a rush. If there are any problems, feel free to point them out. I'll fix them when I see them later.