Obito's Challenge

At last, another boring day had come to an end.

The studies at the Ninja Academy had the Hatake brothers complaining.

"We might as well train at home."

"Yeah."

Karot and Kakashi were rarely in agreement.

Just as Karot finished speaking, an Uchiha wearing goggles suddenly appeared in front of the brothers.

"Kakashi, let's settle this in a duel."

"No."

Kakashi refused simply and directly.

"Damn it."

Uchiha Obito had not expected Kakashi to reject him so bluntly. He then turned his gaze toward Karot.

"You're Kakashi's brother, right? Kakashi's afraid of me, so I'm challenging you."

Obito thought that Kakashi was called a genius, so he was certainly no weakling. Fighting him might backfire. But Kakashi's brother had no reputation to speak of, so Obito should be able to handle him. Defeating Kakashi's brother was the same as defeating Kakashi. Obito was brilliant.

"Me?"

Karot pointed at himself in disbelief. He had only wanted to watch the show, but somehow, as he watched, he became the show.

"That's right, you."

Obito said with certainty. Seeing Karot's expression, Obito became even more convinced that he had made the right choice. He believed that experts were like Kakashi, unruffled by anything. His confidence grew even stronger.

"Idiot,"

Kakashi muttered under his breath.

"Fine, then. I'll play with you for a bit. Entertain me to your heart's content. Come on."

Karot crooked a finger at Obito, signaling for him to attack first.

"As expected of Kakashi's brother—you're just as obnoxious."

With that, Obito swung his fists and charged at Karot.

A left punch, a right punch, a left kick, a right kick—Karot barely dodged every one of them, as though Obito only needed to put in a little more strength to get what he wanted.

But before long, Obito was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

"Do you only know how to dodge?"

Obito shouted, bracing his hands on his thighs.

"Wasn't I letting you hold out a little longer? I was afraid that if I made a move, you wouldn't get another chance."

"Damn it, you're even more obnoxious than Kakashi."

Kakashi, who had been watching from the sidelines, got cursed for no reason.

"You figured that out too?"

"Damn it!"

Obito flew into a helpless rage and charged at Karot again. This time, however, Karot did not dodge. Instead, he firmly caught Obito's fist.

"Huh?"

Obito stared at Karot in disbelief.

"It's getting late, and I'm hungry. If children go home too late, their parents will worry."

"What?"

While Obito was still stunned, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his abdomen, and his entire body flew into the air.

Bang.

He crashed to the ground.

"Kakashi, stop watching. Let's go home."

Karot and Kakashi slowly walked away, leaving only Obito lying on the ground, staring up at the sky and contemplating life. The sky was so blue, the clouds so white. But he couldn't move. It hurt so much!

When they got home, Hatake Sakumo had already prepared a lavish dinner.

He asked the two brothers about how their studies at the academy were going. It was probably a common flaw among all parents.

He had wanted to keep asking, but when he saw the longing in Karot's eyes as he stared at the food, he surrendered. They should eat first.

"Awesome!"

"Let's eat."

Karot was the first to dig in, and the food on the table began disappearing without end.

Whenever Kakashi watched his brother eat, he was amazed. How could he eat so much? They had the same mother, so why was the difference so huge?

After dinner, Karot sat cross-legged in his room.

"System, the training clothes aren't heavy enough anymore. Increase the weight."

"Understood, Host."

Karot, who was sitting cross-legged, consciously felt the clothes on his body grow heavier.

After resting for a while, his body slowly adapted to the weight.

Looking at the tail wrapped around his waist, Karot recalled the hardships of training. It had taken him a full two years to overcome the weakness that left his whole body limp whenever someone grabbed his tail. If he'd had this kind of perseverance before transmigrating, he would've gotten into a top university long ago. He just hadn't been pushed hard enough. Faced with the threat of death, he overcame it.

Now that training had made him hot, he could even use his tail as a fan.

"Good night, System."

"Good night, Host."

Ever since transmigrating here, Karot had always treated the System as a friend he could talk to. Although he had to put up with its crap every day, the System was also the only thing he could rely on.

And so, the quiet, uneventful campus life continued for a week. It wasn't that Karot hadn't considered skipping class, but every time he tried, Kakashi dragged him back on the grounds that skipping school would disgrace the Hatake family's honor. Sigh, his authority as an older brother had completely crumbled.

"No matter what, I'm not going to school tomorrow. I'll just sleep if I go anyway."

Karot had endured it for a week, and he finally snapped.

"That won't do. The Hatake family's honor cannot be ruined by my brother."

Kakashi wore a serious expression. The Hatake family's honor was Kakashi's bottom line; even if Karot was his older brother, he would not allow him to tarnish it.

"Kakashi, I'm your older brother."

"Even if you're my older brother, you still can't."

"Kakashi, who exactly did you get this personality from? Why are you so stubborn?"

Karot looked into Kakashi's unyielding eyes. Then he vigorously kneaded Kakashi's head with one hand. Kakashi tried to break free, but Karot's hand seemed glued to his head, impossible to shake off.

"If you oppose me like this again next time, I won't go easy on you, Kakashi."

Letting go of Kakashi's head, Karot burst into laughter at the sight of Kakashi's messy hair.

Kakashi sensed that his brother had grown stronger again. He actually couldn't break free.

When the two returned home, they sensed a familiar presence in the house. Their father was back, and joy instantly appeared on both their faces.

"Karot, Kakashi, welcome home."

Hatake Sakumo said with a broad smile as he watched his children return from school.

"Shouldn't we be the ones saying that to you, Father?"

Kakashi looked like a little adult.

"Is that so? Hahaha."

Hatake Sakumo scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily.

Everyone in this family was more unreliable than the last. The Hatake family could only rely on me, Kakashi thought to himself.

"Wash your hands and eat. The food is already prepared," Hatake Sakumo said.

"Yes, Father."

At the dinner table, the three talked about what they had experienced over the past week.

"How are you doing at the Ninja Academy? Have you made any new friends?"

Every parent was the same—asking about school as soon as they opened their mouths.

"Boring."

"Not interested."

Those were Karot's and Kakashi's respective answers.

"Is that so? I originally hoped you two brothers would make some new friends at school. It seems this father's wish won't come true."

Hatake Sakumo folded his arms and tilted his head, thinking about how to get the brothers to make more friends.

Karot couldn't care less about that. Trying to have a heart-to-heart with a Saiyan at the dinner table—wasn't that just making things difficult for him? He buried himself in the food.

Thanks to Karot's true nature on full display, dinner took a full hour to finish.