Two Years Later

Two years later.

With graduation from the Ninja Academy just around the corner, the students in class were a mixed bag of excitement and dread.

Most of them were happy to be on the verge of becoming ninjas.

Their five years at the Academy were finally coming to an end. They wouldn't have to listen to their homeroom teacher nag anymore or worry about being called out and criticized without warning.

But that was only true of the students who weren't worried about the graduation exam. For those who were, this period was a downright nightmare.

The prime example was Obito Uchiha. In the past two years, he still hadn't shaken his reputation as the class dead last. In the overall rankings, he and Might Guy were tied as the class's two most hopeless cases.

Obito was now fretting over the final exam. He'd heard that this year's exam would test the Clone Technique.

It was a simple test, in theory, but the Clone Technique happened to be Obito's weak point.

And although Obito and Might Guy were the class's two hopeless cases, their situations weren't quite the same.

Might Guy was practically a special admit for Taijutsu. His ninjutsu scores had always been at the bottom of the class, so Obito's ninjutsu scores were actually the best of all his subjects.

The one thing they had in common was that they both did terribly in their academic classes.

At first glance, with Obito good at ninjutsu and Guy good at Taijutsu, Obito seemed to have the edge. Besides, both of them had bright futures ahead.

But when graduation exams came around, things were very different.

Since Might Guy had been at the bottom in ninjutsu for years, the school had taken his special circumstances into account and exempted him from the ninjutsu exam.

But Obito's ninjutsu scores were decent. He was at least around the middle of the class.

So there was no reason to exempt him.

That left Obito frantic, with no choice but to cram in extra training every day.

It had to be said, Obito's last-minute effort was paying off.

After all, Obito trained at the Training Ground even in the rain. His Fireball Technique had now caught up to Toru's level from two years ago. His Shurikenjutsu wasn't exceptional, but at least he could hit the targets.

The only exception was the Clone Technique. He had to strain for ages just to produce a passable clone. With skills like that, Obito had little confidence about taking the graduation exam.

The reason Obito was so worried about the final exam was that, during a training session in the rain, Rin had found him. He'd boasted to her that he would definitely pass.

If he failed, Obito had no idea how he'd explain himself to Rin.

Obito thought it over for a long time, then suddenly came up with someone who could help: Uchiha Toru.

"Right, Toru's one of my clanmates. He'll definitely help me."

So Obito went to find Uchiha Toru and explained why he'd come. As expected, Toru didn't turn him down.

At the Training Ground, Obito stood stiffly at attention. Toru stood in front of him, rubbing his chin and sizing him up from head to toe. After a while, he said, "You're stronger than I expected."

Toru used his Six Eyes to examine Obito's abilities. His grades were poor, but his actual skills weren't.

He couldn't match the likes of Might Guy or Kakashi in Taijutsu, but he had solid fundamentals. He just lacked technique.

As for ninjutsu, he had a large Chakra reserve, the foundation of any ninjutsu user. He hadn't mastered many techniques, but he knew enough to handle the graduation exam.

As for genjutsu, he'd only learned the basics, but the genjutsu portion of the graduation exam was basically just a written test, so there was no need to worry.

Looking at it that way, Obito should be able to pass.

But Obito wasn't confident, so Toru could only put him through some token training.

Obito had a decent foundation. The only thing he needed to work on was technique.

Toru said, "Your training methods have always been too rough and haphazard. That's your weak point. From now on, we'll focus on technique."

For Taijutsu, Toru acted as his sparring partner, teaching him his combat experience with every punch and kick. Then he had Obito practice on his own while Toru watched and offered pointers.

For ninjutsu, they worked on refining the way Obito performed the Clone Technique. Toru used his Six Eyes to observe the flow of Chakra inside Obito's body and guide him through it step by step.

Obito thought Toru was incredible. He could even guide the flow of Chakra inside his body and make it run smoothly. With Toru's instructions, performing the Clone Technique became much easier.

In truth, Obito's Clone Technique was already good enough. He was just using a needlessly strenuous method.

Toru had simply pointed out an easier path. He didn't think he'd done much at all—just a tiny bit of help.

But Obito was still extremely grateful. To show his appreciation, he treated Toru to a barbecue meal.

Obito's parents had been gone for a long time, and his grandmother had passed away too. His family was far worse off than Toru's, who could count on help from Fugaku and Shinku.

That barbecue meal cost Obito nearly half a month's living expenses.

And even after treating Toru to dinner, Obito still felt it wasn't enough. He thumped his chest and declared that he owed Toru a favor. If Toru ever needed anything, Obito would go through fire and water for him.

Toru just laughed it off. He didn't think he'd ever need Obito's help.

Still, Toru thought the Uchiha in front of him was truly special. Someone so cheerful and carefree was one of a kind among the entire Uchiha Clan.

There were Uchiha like Toru, calm and composed; Uchiha like Uchiha Doka, sly and smooth; Uchiha like Uchiha Tekka, quiet and wooden; and Uchiha like Uchiha Fugaku, mature and politically savvy.

But there was no one else like Obito, so cheerful and outgoing. The word "cheerful" seemed to have nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan at all.

With Toru's help, Obito passed the graduation exam.

However, on the day of the graduation ceremony, Obito was very late because he'd helped an old woman cross the street.

He even missed the class assignments and the ceremony where they were given their Forehead Protectors. Fortunately, Rin had waited outside the graduation ceremony, and in the end, she held a graduation ceremony for Obito herself.

When Obito asked about the class assignments, Rin lowered her head, making him think they wouldn't be in the same class. His mood sank.

Then Rin put her hands on her hips and teased him. "Sorry to disappoint you, but we're in the same class."

Obito was overjoyed. When he asked who their other teammate was, Rin only gave him a mysterious smile.

By then, Toru had graduated too. Wearing Konoha's Forehead Protector, he sat on the rooftop of a building.

The two people beside him were familiar: Yuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma. The three of them made up a Genin team, Team 8.

Facing them was Team 8's jonin instructor, a man in a jonin vest with black hair tied up like a pineapple and a goatee.

Two scars marked the right side of his face, lending him a fierce air. Yet his eyes held a sharp intelligence.

After carefully sizing up the three students before him, the man spoke. "Let's start with introductions. I'm your teacher, Nara Shikaku."