Will He Win?

"When you walked out of that pile of rubble, Obito, you looked so cool. You have no idea how incredible the expressions on the Iwagakure ninja beside me were."

Asuma laughed as he patted Obito on the shoulder.

"It was like they were saying, 'How is that possible? This guy took an attack like that and came out completely unscathed.'"

Even now, thinking back on it made Asuma feel exhilarated, but it also made him regretful.

He had failed to take part in such a grand ninja event, getting eliminated in the preliminaries.

When I get back, I have to tell Mom how that old man beat me so badly, Asuma thought viciously.

If not for his old man, with his strength, a little luck would have gotten him into the second round, where he could have faced famous powerful fighters.

"It was all right, I guess. Thinking about it carefully, there were still a lot of things I could have done better in that fight."

Obito chuckled modestly, constantly stealing glances at Nohara Rin beside him.

He was happy that his best friend thought he looked cool, but Nohara Rin's opinion was the most important thing.

"You were already amazing. Everyone was shouting your name back then, Obito," Nohara Rin said with a bright smile.

"Ha ha, really? Then I have to thank everyone. But I still need to keep working hard."

Obito scratched his head, desperately controlling his expression so his grin would not look too smug.

Namiashi Raidō: ...

He felt that Obito was really asking for a beating right now. Unfortunately, he could not beat him.

"His strength feels a little unfamiliar now, but Obito is still Obito," Kurenai Yuhi remarked.

She and Namiashi Raidō had not entered the tournament because they knew their strength was