The Hokage Competitors Were the Late Duo

The next morning, on the streets of Konoha.

"Crap, crap, crap!"

A black figure burst out of an alley, startling several cats sunning themselves by the roadside. They scattered in every direction, and one even puffed up its fur and shot up a nearby telephone pole with a "meow!"

Obito Uchiha, five years old and a boy who would become Hokage in the future, was facing the biggest crisis of his life.

He was going to be late for school.

"I'm done for, I'm done for," Obito wailed as he sprinted. "Teacher Ibuki just yelled at me yesterday. If I'm late again today, I'm really done for."

Teacher Ibuki's face, black as the bottom of a pot, began to appear in his mind.

And that jerk Asuma would definitely make fun of him if he was late today.

Obito gritted his teeth, his little legs pumping furiously.

Ahead, an elderly woman with white hair was bent over, struggling to pick up the vegetables and fruit scattered across the ground. It looked like her basket had tipped over; tomatoes, cucumbers, and apples had rolled everywhere.

Obito slowed for a moment. He looked at the old woman, then at the road ahead. The Ninja Academy was still a long way off.

The sun was already high in the sky.

"Damn it." Obito gritted his teeth and came to an abrupt stop. "Ma'am, let me help you."

The old woman looked up and saw a little boy, his head covered in sweat, crouching down and quickly gathering the vegetables into her basket.

"Oh, thank you, young man."

"No problem, no problem." Obito shoved the last tomato into the basket, stood up, and was about to run. "I have to go now, ma'am. I'm going to be late."

"Wait, take this." The old woman took a bright red apple from her basket and pressed it into his hand. "Thank you for helping me, good boy."

Obito stared at the apple in his hand, momentarily stunned.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

Then he turned and ran, his little legs pumping once more.

But time waited for no one, and the sun kept climbing higher.

Obito's heart sank lower and lower.

I'm done for, I'm done for, I'm done for! This time, I'm really done for!

Then Obito spotted someone up ahead.

A red shirt, yellow shorts, and a little backpack. The boy was strolling along at a leisurely pace.

Obito's face fell at once.

No way...

"Shin Nohara!" Obito cried out in dismay, speeding up as he sprinted toward him.

Shin-chan heard the shout and looked back. He raised a hand and flashed his trademark radiant smile. "Good morning, Obito!"

His tone and expression made it seem as if they'd run into each other in a park, not as if they were racing against the clock on their way to school.

Obito rushed up to him, panting like a bull. "We're going to be late! Hurry up and run!"

Shin-chan blinked. "Late? But the sun just came up."

"The sun's been up for ages! You just got up too late!"

"But I left at this time yesterday, too."

"And you were late yesterday, too!"

Shin-chan tilted his head, thought it over, and nodded. "I guess I was."

"Stop thinking and run!" Obito grabbed Shin-chan and charged ahead.

At last, the Ninja Academy gates came into view.

"Quick, quick!" Obito sped up with all his might. "We still have a chance."

Shin-chan was being dragged along so fast that he almost flew.

The two of them rushed through the gate, down the hallway, and to the classroom door.

Everyone in the classroom turned to look at the two panting figures in the doorway.

Asuma was the first to laugh, his mouth stretched wide.

Teacher Ibuki stood at the lectern. He had just put down the chalk, and his eye twitched as he looked at the two panting figures in the doorway.

"Shin Nohara. Obito Uchiha."

"Here," they answered in unison.

"What time is it?"

Obito lowered his head. "Eight ten."

"When did the bell ring?"

"Eight."

"How late are you?"

Obito's voice grew softer and softer, until it was barely louder than a mosquito. "Ten minutes."

Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath, then turned his gaze to Shin-chan.

"Shin Nohara."

"Here."

"You said yesterday that you'd come earlier today. And what happened?"

Shin-chan blinked. "I was still late."

"..."

Someone in the classroom couldn't hold back a laugh and hurriedly covered their mouth.

Teacher Ibuki's eyebrow twitched. He took another deep breath, trying hard to keep his voice calm. "What about yesterday's homework? Three hundred words on your thoughts about the Will of Fire."

Shin-chan's eyes lit up. "I did it, I did it."

Then he pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

Teacher Ibuki took the paper and unfolded it. His expression froze completely.

The paper was covered in writing.

But it was only one sentence.

The Will of Fire means not eating green peppers.

The Will of Fire means not eating green peppers.

The Will of Fire means not eating green peppers.

Thirty lines in all.

Every line was exactly the same.

Teacher Ibuki's hand was trembling.

"Shin Nohara."

"Here."

"What is this?"

"My thoughts on the Will of Fire." Shin-chan blinked. "I wrote thirty sentences, ten words each. That makes exactly three hundred words."

A vein popped on Teacher Ibuki's forehead. He fought to keep his anger in check. "I said three hundred words, not the same sentence thirty times. This isn't a reflection!"

"But, Teacher, yesterday you said at least three hundred words. You didn't say I couldn't repeat myself." Shin-chan blinked. "Is thirty times not okay?"

Teacher Ibuki's mouth twitched.

"Besides," Shin-chan continued, "I really mean it. The Will of Fire means not eating green peppers. To protect my right not to eat green peppers, to protect other people who don't eat green peppers..."

"That's enough!"

Teacher Ibuki slapped the paper down on the lectern, making the whole classroom shake.

Everyone shrank back.

Shin-chan shrank back, too.

"Shin Nohara." Teacher Ibuki pointed outside. "Go stand in the hallway."

Shin-chan blinked. "Stand in the hallway?"

"Yes. Until the end of the first lesson."

Shin-chan looked outside, then at Teacher Ibuki, and muttered under his breath, "But it's so boring out there..."

"Out!"

Obito stood beside him, watching it all unfold. He could only hunch his shoulders and try to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, silently praying: Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me...

Shin-chan sighed and slowly headed for the door. When he reached it, he looked back at Obito.

"Obito, aren't you coming?"

Obito's heart skipped a beat.

Teacher Ibuki's gaze settled on him.

"Obito Uchiha."

"Here."

"You were late, too."

Obito lowered his head.

"Out. You can stand there together."

Obito trudged over to the door and stood beside Shin-chan.

The classroom door closed behind them, and the hallway fell quiet.

Teacher Ibuki stood at the lectern, his chest heaving.

He looked at the sheet covered in "The Will of Fire means not eating green peppers" and suddenly felt that he was a complete failure as a teacher.