Obito: She Has Me in Her Heart

The test continued.

Having watched Mikami Yu and Kaimon Hyuga's battle up close, many of the students had been affected. They all gave it their all, hoping to show off in front of the other teachers and students like he had.

Some succeeded—

For example, Genma Shiranui and Aoba Yamashiro, both future Special Jonin, displayed considerable talent for Ninjutsu.

And some failed miserably at showing off—

Obito, who had just boldly declared in the classroom that he would become Hokage, was near the bottom of the rankings and did not take the field until almost everyone else had finished. He gave it everything he had and squeezed out a grotesque clone that barely looked human, drawing loud laughter from the surrounding children:

"Hahaha, a dead last is still a dead last!"

"You can't even use the Clone Technique properly, yet you want to become Hokage? What a joke!"

"You're not even worth one finger of Asuma's!"

"..."

Among the group, only Nohara Rin softly offered Obito a few words of comfort.

Mikami Yu stood silently to one side and did not join the others in laughing at Obito.

—Of course. Who would dare laugh at Obito?

As a science-minded top student who had scored full marks in cultural theory, Mikami Yu could roughly tell that Obito's problem was actually the same as Naruto's: chakra control.

At the same time, both of them possessed abundant chakra.

That was why they performed poorly with Ninjutsu requiring precise control, yet were better suited to brute-force techniques like the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu and the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

After holding it in several times, Obito ultimately did not reveal that he had learned the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu. He planned to give everyone a surprise later. "Hmph, I won't stoop to the level of you ignorant fools for now. Just wait until the combat matches!"

If everything went smoothly, Obito really could have made a big splash with the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu.

Unfortunately...

The opponent he drew in the combat match was Might Guy.

Obito had only formed two hand seals and had not even had time to breathe out flames when Might Guy charged right up to him with a strange yell. One Leaf Hurricane sent him sprawling, followed by a relentless barrage that turned Obito into a punching bag. Finally, one kick sent him tumbling off the platform.

"Obito, are you okay?"

Kind-hearted Nohara Rin hurried over to help him up, asking nervously.

Obito lay flat on his back, grinning foolishly. "Heh... hehe, I'm fine... Rin is worried about me. She has me in her heart..."

"..."

Mikami Yu covered his face. He could not bear to watch.

As one match after another concluded,

Mikami Yu stepped onto the stage once more.

—Strictly speaking, his match with Kaimon Hyuga had not counted toward the results. The test had not started at the time; it had merely been a private spar between the two of them.

This match was the real test, and the opponent he had drawn was...

Mizuki.

Yes, that's right.

The Chunin Mizuki, who in the original storyline would still only know the Three Techniques and the Body Flicker Technique more than a decade later, and would trick Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals.

This guy was also a commoner, and one of the most ordinary kind. He competed with Obito year-round for last place in the class, but because his background was too unremarkable, no one paid any attention to him. He did not even deserve the title of "dead last."

Mikami Yu did not waste words with him. He directly greeted him with a barrage of shuriken and kunai, then rushed in and beat him down, ending the battle with ease.

Incidentally, after a brief rest, Kaimon Hyuga took the stage again and faced Genma Shiranui. This time, he won, but Kaimon Hyuga did not look happy at all. He merely stood quietly to one side, occasionally glancing at Mikami Yu with a puzzled expression.

When the day's tests finally ended,

Teachers Oki and Himura announced that everyone was dismissed. As for the rankings, they would need some time to organize them and were expected to be announced together after next week's cultural theory exam.

Unlike everyone else, Mikami Yu did not leave immediately. He remained where he was as instructed.

"Yu, what exactly was that Ninjutsu you used in the match just now? Could you tell us about it? Teacher Himura and I are both very curious."

"This? It was just the basic Substitution Technique."

At the request of the two Chunin teachers, Mikami Yu demonstrated his Instant Substitution Technique on the spot and roughly explained the principle behind it.

Well... although Mikami Yu's instant-casting ability had been granted by the Gala System, he was still its user and could explain a thing or two about how the chakra circulated. To avoid being too shocking, he even symbolically formed a few hand seals.

The two Chunin teachers clicked their tongues in amazement.

What delighted Mikami Yu even more was that the praise directed at his Three Techniques seemed to please the Three Techniques themselves.

[Clone Technique: Hmph, I suppose these two have good taste... But why are they all praising the Substitution Technique? Wasn't my sister's and my performance impressive too?]

[Transformation Technique: Ara ara, we're only basking in Little Mikami's glory. Don't fuss over it so much.]

[Substitution Technique: o(^▽^)o]

[Substitution Technique Favorability +2]

"...Come to think of it, can the Substitution Technique really be used like that? Why can't I do it?"

Teacher Oki copied Mikami Yu's hand seals and tried several times, but still failed to perform the "Instant Substitution."

Himura stroked his chin. "This should be Mikami's improved version, something equivalent to a new Ninjutsu. It won't be that easy to learn. I never expected Mikami to have such unique insights into the Three Techniques before even graduating. It's truly astonishing..."

"Would you mind if we compiled these materials and reported them to the Third Hokage?"

"Of course not."

Mikami Yu shook his head.

He had expected this situation.

After all, the Ninja Academy's direct superior was the Hokage, and this class even had Asuma, the Hokage's son. Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly pay them extra attention.

Although entering Hiruzen Sarutobi's field of vision might bring some trouble, it would also bring opportunities, such as chances to learn new Ninjutsu—

To add new targets to the Galageki System, he needed to go through the process of [Encounter], and the prerequisite for an "Encounter" was seeing the other person perform Ninjutsu. Whether they taught him willingly, he observed and copied it himself, or he obtained a Ninjutsu scroll to study.

But as a commoner, Mikami Yu would normally find it difficult to come into contact with advanced Ninjutsu through the first two methods.

Thus, attracting Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention through his identity as a Ninja Academy student was actually a more convenient method.

As for the potential trouble...

If he wanted benefits, he could not avoid all risk.

"Speaking of copying techniques..."

Mikami Yu thought of someone.

—A green-suited uncle who loved running laps around Konoha and remained bursting with energy despite his age.