Being the Referee

After a fierce round of arguing, the Uchiha kids finally divided themselves into teams. Obito stood in the middle of his team. Though he felt a little uncertain inside, he still forced himself to straighten his back.

"Uchiha Chuan, which team are you joining?" Obito could not help asking, a trace of anticipation in his eyes. After all, he knew Uchiha Chuan's strength. If he joined their team, their chances of winning would definitely increase greatly.

"I'm not joining either team. I'll be the referee." Uchiha Chuan smiled slightly, took a whistle from his robes, and gave it a shake.

"Oh." Obito let out a breath, though his feelings remained complicated. Their team was clearly weaker, made up entirely of younger kids, while the other side consisted of older Uchiha with greater strength and experience.

"Now that you've divided yourselves into teams, let the captains from both sides call the toss." As Uchiha Chuan spoke, he pulled out a coin and held it high.

The two older Uchiha captains stepped forward, confident smiles on their faces. Obito stood off to the side, feeling somewhat unhappy, but there was nothing he could do. Their side did not have any older students.

"One side is heads, and the other is numbers. Each of you pick one. Whoever guesses correctly gets to choose which goal to attack first," Uchiha Chuan explained.

"I call heads." The first Uchiha captain answered without hesitation.

"I call numbers." The second Uchiha captain refused to be outdone.

"Alright, now comes the moment of truth." Uchiha Chuan tossed the coin high into the air. It spun through the sky, tracing a silver arc. Then, with a slap, Uchiha Chuan caught it against the back of his right hand.

"Reveal." He slowly lifted his palm, exposing the face of the coin.

"Heads," Uchiha Chuan announced.

"Yes!" The first Uchiha captain jumped up excitedly, his face full of smug delight.

"Damn it." The second Uchiha captain shook his head in frustration, clearly dissatisfied with the result.

"Which goal do you choose to attack?" Uchiha Chuan asked.

"We'll attack this goal." The first Uchiha captain immediately made his choice, pointing toward the goal defended by Obito's team.

"Alright, enter the field. We'll skip the entrance ceremony." Uchiha Chuan waved his hand, signaling for both teams to take the field.

Right after that, everyone stepped onto their stilts and staggered into the field. Uchiha Chuan stood at the sidelines with the whistle in hand, his gaze sweeping over every player.

"One more reminder: if you fall off your stilts, you can't touch the ball. Touch it anyway, and it's a foul. You can only touch the ball while on the stilts, so don't fall off too easily." Uchiha Chuan's tone carried a hint of teasing.

Were they really kids who had all refined chakra? Their balance was far better than that of adults from his previous life. They all stood steadily on their stilts. Though they wobbled a little, at least none of them fell.

"These stilts have the same wonders as tree climbing and water walking!" Fugaku Uchiha and the others, watching from the shadows, could not help exclaiming.

"Indeed. The stilts alone can train quite a lot, and once you add the intense confrontation between both sides during the match, the results may be far better than simply climbing trees and walking on water." The Great Elder nodded as well, his eyes full of approval.

"Hehe, this was designed by our Uchiha genius. Of course it's impressive." The Second Elder already trusted Uchiha Chuan almost blindly, his voice brimming with pride.

The next moment.

Beep! The whistle sounded, and the match officially began.

The opening kick was immediately a mistake. Unable to control the force while standing on stilts, someone sent the ball flying far too hard. The ball sailed away, and players from the other side promptly chased after it with heavy thumps, snatching it away in one grab. But because they could not control their strength either, the ball flew off again.

For a time, the field was a complete mess. Everyone chased after the ball, including the goalkeepers. As long as they did not foul, Uchiha Chuan did not interfere and let them play freely.

Finally, someone was bad at using stilts and fell with a slap, grabbing the ball in the process.

Beep! Uchiha Chuan immediately blew the whistle. "Foul. Ball to Team Two."

Uchiha Chuan then placed the ball at the spot where it had been touched and signaled for Team Two to restart play.

Having learned from Team One's mistake, Team Two actually kicked the ball straight toward the goal. Unfortunately, they could not control it properly. Not only did they miss the ball, but they also fell over.

"Attack!" Seeing this, Team One immediately launched a fierce assault. In an instant, everyone swarmed forward again.

Countless stilts crowded into the small space. The ball flew wildly, and bodies collided chaotically.

"Damn it, move!" At last, one Uchiha lost his patience and slammed another Uchiha away.

"Foul! He fouled!" the Uchiha who had been sent flying shouted.

Everyone stopped and looked toward Uchiha Chuan.

Uchiha Chuan shook his head, his tone calm. "That was a fair collision."

"Hahaha, attack!" That person immediately grew excited and resumed kicking the ball.

"Damn it!" The Uchiha who had been knocked off his stilts gritted his teeth, quickly climbed back up, and charged forward again. Along the way, he barreled into everyone he came across.

Beep! Uchiha Chuan's whistle sounded again.

"Foul for charging into others," Uchiha Chuan declared.

"Uchiha Chuan, what do you mean by that? He can ram into me, but I can't ram into others?" the Uchiha demanded angrily.

"His was a fair collision, within the rules. Yours was not. I saw you hooking other people's stilts with your own. And you were obviously angry; you were specifically trying to crash into people. You weren't trying to play well. This is a ball game, not a ninja battle. Competition and fair collisions are allowed, but tripping people and deliberate charging are not. You're an older student. You should know how strict the ninja code is," Uchiha Chuan explained evenly.

"You think you can lecture me? I'm not playing anymore!" The boy jumped off his stilts, violently threw them aside, and looked at Uchiha Chuan with disdain.

He did not believe a kid like Uchiha Chuan was some kind of genius. Even if he was, he could not compare to experienced teachers. He had been dissatisfied about leaving school for Uchiha Chuan's sake, and though he had not dared say anything before, it all erupted now.

"Third Elder, he belongs to your branch, doesn't he?" Fugaku Uchiha asked darkly from the shadows.

"When we return, I'll lower his training rank." The Third Elder spoke blandly, a trace of chill in his voice.

"Mm." Fugaku Uchiha nodded and said nothing more.

"Ten against eleven. Do you people from Team Two still want to continue?" Ignoring him, Uchiha Chuan directly asked everyone present.

"Continue! I'm not an idiot like him!"

"Exactly!" Everyone looked at the boy with contempt and voiced their agreement.

"Looks like you're not very popular. Leave," Uchiha Chuan said indifferently.

"Damn it, you'll regret this!" The Uchiha left in fury, his retreating figure filled with anger.

The match soon resumed. The kids ran wildly after the soccer ball on their stilts once more. Even the goalkeeper had abandoned his post, and with a bang, an own goal rolled into the goal Obito was defending.

"Huh?" Obito was dumbfounded.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Only the Uchiha from Team One burst into laughter. "Hahaha, goal! We scored first!"

"Damn it, just wait! We haven't lost yet. We'll score soon too!" Obito refused to lose in spirit and shouted loudly.

"Fine, bring it on!" The Uchiha from the other team refused to back down.

Soon, the battle began again. This time, it was even fiercer than before. They collided with one another, and one half-grown child after another fell from their stilts, only to climb back up one by one.

Fugaku Uchiha could not stand it any longer and shouted, "Idiots, work together!"

"It's the Clan Head, the Great Elder, the Second Elder, and the Third Elder! They came to cheer us on!" someone cried out in surprise.

Obito was startled as well and immediately looked up, but he quickly came to his senses. "That's right, we can work together!"

Obito then truly became a commander and started directing his teammates. At last, under his careful planning, Obito's Team One finally pulled one back.

After that, Team Two began organizing themselves as well. Just like that, the match finally became pleasing to watch.

In the end, Team Two proved slightly stronger, since they had one more player.

Beep! Final score: three to two. Team Two wins. Uchiha Chuan blew the final whistle.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I'm heading back first. From here on, just listen to the Clan Head's arrangements." Uchiha Chuan waved his hand and turned to leave the field.

"Yes." Although Obito and the others still wanted to play, with the Clan Head present, they could only accept Uchiha Chuan's decision.

"Come here, all of you. I have something to tell you." Fugaku Uchiha stepped out and beckoned to everyone.

"You'll do this and that, and then this and that." Fugaku Uchiha began giving instructions, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Yes, we guarantee we'll complete the mission!" Everyone immediately replied excitedly, their eyes full of anticipation.