Challenge

It has been almost half a month since Mitarai Luoshan entered the Ninja Academy, and under the guidance of Anko Mitarashi, he successfully refined his chakra.

As for his time at school, although most people still disliked him, besides Anko Mitarashi, Mitarai Luoshan also made a few friends: the underachiever and tardiness-prone Obito Uchiha, the aloof and arrogant genius Kakashi Hatake, the kind and upright Rin Nohara, the overly enthusiastic training Might Guy, the cigarette-loving Asuma Sarutobi, and the strong and gentle Kurenai Yuhi. Overall, he was quite good.

Mitarai Luoshan often brought Little Wolf to school, but he wasn't actually very strict about it.

The elite class consists of two parts: two-thirds are scions of various clans, and the remaining one-third are exceptionally talented commoner ninjas. The Ninja Academy only teaches basic knowledge, such as the Three Body Technique, and does not teach anything too advanced. Clan ninjas have their own training systems and methods, while commoner ninjas are grouped after graduation and taught by the instructors in their assigned groups. This is the biggest difference between clan ninjas and commoner ninjas.

The mornings were all about theory, and the afternoons were all about practice. It was during wartime, so there wasn't much time for them to learn slowly. In the past two weeks, Mitarai Luoshan, Obito Uchiha, and Might Guy were also called the "bottom three" because they had never passed any exams, which gave Jiro Nakamura a lot of headaches.

······

The practical training course is divided into several aspects, including combat exercises, wilderness survival, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, etc. Each day has different training programs, and today's training is on ninja tool throwing and sparring.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

"Kurama Zuoming, six hits!" Looking up at the bullseye in front of him, Jiro Nakamura wrote it down in his notebook and shouted, "Score: Pass, six points!"

Jiro Nakamura finished speaking, Kurama Zuoming immediately became smug. Six out of ten shots made—this score was nothing to brag about, but don't forget, they were just a group of kids who had just entered the Ninja Academy. This score was already quite good.

"Next up, Anko Mitarashi!"

"Yes!"

Hearing Jiro Nakamura's voice, Anko Mitarashi rubbed her nose, responded, and walked over. As she passed Kurama Zuoming, the guy gave her a disdainful smile. Anko Mitarashi raised an eyebrow in annoyance but didn't say anything. She walked to the designated spot, picked up a dart that was lying to the side, and swung it forcefully.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

"Anko Mitarashi, eight hits!" A slight smile played on Jiro Nakamura he announced loudly, "Congratulations, Anko, you got eight points! Try for a perfect score next time!"

"Yes!"

Nodding, Anko Mitarashi Kurama Zuoming, who stood not far away with a livid face. She raised the corners of her mouth in a rather provocative manner. Although she didn't say anything, sometimes silence is more effective, isn't it!

"Anko is amazing!" Kurenai Yuhi exclaimed with a grin as she saw her friend walking back.

"Haha!" Anko Mitarashi. "That's all, red is fine too!"

"I'm not good at this!"

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head. She enjoyed learning Genjutsu, but she knew perfectly well that she didn't have much talent when it came to ninja tools.

"What?!"

Standing utterly bored next to Anko Mitarashi, Mitarai Luoshan pursed his lips; he had never liked these things.

"Stop nagging!" Anko Mitarashi sighed, her smile turning into helplessness.

"Hi hi!"

"······"

"Next up, Kakashi Hatake!"

"Yes!"

Kakashi Hatake responded indifferently and stepped forward. He picked up all the darts and threw them out. After a series of neat sounds, all ten darts hit the bullseye perfectly. The playground fell silent for a moment, and then a noisy discussion broke out.

"Amazing! They hit all of them!"

"As expected of Kakashi!"

"So handsome!"

"······"

"Tch! Kakashi, that bastard!"

Obito Uchiha, standing not far away, immediately curled his lip, his face full of dissatisfaction. Especially when he saw Rin Nohara, the girl he had secretly admired for a long time, looking at Kakashi Hatake with admiration and love, his anger surged instantly.

"Don't say that, Obito!" Anko Mitarashi raised an eyebrow. "If you're so capable, why don't you go up there too? Most girls like geniuses, right? Rin is one too!"

"I hate geniuses!" Obito Uchiha. "One day, I'll defeat a genius as a loser!"

"A genius!"

His previously disdainful face suddenly furrowed. Mitarai Luoshan looked at Anko Mitarashi, who was making faces at Obito Uchiha, paused, then grinned, his dark eyes turning to look at Kakashi Hatake, a strange crimson glint flashing in them.

"Kakashi Hatake, a perfect score!" Jiro Nakamura nodded with a smile at Kakashi Hatake, writing it down in his notebook, then announced loudly, "Next up is Obito Uchiha!"

"Yes!"

"Just you wait and see! Anko, I can do it too!" Obito Uchiha, looking at Anko Mitarashi with high spirits.

Without paying attention to Anko Mitarashi or the questioning looks from the crowd, Obito Uchiha jogged forward, picked up a shuriken, aimed, and "swish, swish!" threw them all out. The next second, the playground fell silent, but this silence was quite different from the previous ones.

"Hey!" Jiro Nakamura the Roar, his voice filled with anger and resentment. "You bastard, Obito Uchiha, do you want to kill me?!"

All the darts hit their mark precisely around Jiro Nakamura; his accuracy was quite impressive, but his aim...

"Sorry!"

Realizing what was happening instantly, Obito Uchiha's face fell, and he bowed apologetically.

"Haha..." Instantly, bursts of laughter echoed throughout the entire playground.

"Idiot!" Kakashi Hatake and snorted coldly.

"Obito, you're hilarious, haha!"

Anko Mitarashi laughed so hard she could barely breathe, and finally she just lay on top of Mitarai Luoshan, laughing until tears streamed down her face.

Mitarai Luoshan held Anko Mitarashi's waist with one hand, tugged at her black, tousled hair with the other, and still wore a bored expression on his face.

"Why!"

Looking around at the laughing crowd, Rin Nohara gave a dry laugh, then lowered her head listlessly. This guy...

"Obito Uchiha, zero points, failing grade!" Jiro Nakamura, his face still somewhat grim, shouted. "Next up is Mitarai Luoshan!"

"Tch! Boring!" Mitarai Luoshan scoffed, not even moving an inch.

"Mitarai Luoshan!!!"

"Didn't I already say it was boring!"

"You two idiots are infuriating!" Shaking with rage, Jiro Nakamura roared, his eyes red. "Obito Uchiha, Mitarai Luoshan, get to the track and run ten laps right now! You can't move on to the next event until you finish! Now, next up is Might Guy!"

"Yes!" Obito Uchiha, Might Guy.

"Boring!" Mitarai Luoshan.

"Ah!!!"

"·····"

······

The Land of Fire, Konoha Ninja Village, Ninja Academy.

The vast playground was now completely silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone except Anko Mitarashi, including Jiro Nakamura and Kakashi Hatake, stared blankly at the three figures running around the playground.

Leading the pack was Mitarai Luoshan, who wasn't even out of breath and clearly had a disdainful expression. Next was Might Guy, who was covered in sweat but still persevered. And at the very back Obito Uchiha, who was exhausted.

As for why Might Guy is here, well, it's both unexpected and expected. He doesn't know Genjutsu or Ninjutsu; he only knows Taijutsu. Of course, ninja tools don't count, so he naturally gets a zero. Jiro Nakamura, who was already driven crazy by Mitarai Luoshan and Obito Uchiha, went completely insane. So, in the blink of an eye, ten laps became one hundred laps.

Mitarai Luoshan and Might Guy were fine; one was a wild beast who grew up in the jungle, and the other was a training fanatic who worked hard to improve himself. Running a hundred laps was no big deal for them. But Obito Uchiha was different. He let out a wail and immediately looked worried.

The Ninja Academy's training ground wasn't particularly large, but it certainly wasn't small either; running a hundred laps was still quite a challenge for these children.

Thus, amidst many gloating glances, the above situation arose, and shock became the only expression on their faces.

When they finished running all one hundred laps, Obito Uchiha, who was already exhausted, collapsed to the ground. Might Guy was panting heavily, while Might Guy Mitarai Luoshan remained unchanged, walking over with a bored expression and helping the powerless Obito Uchiha.

"Idiot!"

Kakashi Hatake turned his gaze from Mitarai Luoshan to Obito Uchiha, shook his head, and snorted coldly.

"You... you bastard Kakashi..."

Gasping for breath like a fan, Obito Uchiha trembled, so exhausted that he could barely speak a single sentence. In the end, he simply gave up arguing with Kakashi Hatake.

"Snort!"

"Alright, everyone!"

Seeing this, Jiro Nakamura shook his head. He suddenly wondered if he had been too demanding of Obito Uchiha. After everyone's attention was focused on him, he spoke loudly, "The break time is over. Let's move on to the next activity. In principle, each person can only challenge once, and no repeated challenges are allowed. You all understand the rules, so I won't go into detail. Now, let the challenge begin!"

"I'll go first!"

Upon hearing the word "start," and Obito Uchiha immediately ran to the center of the arena. Already seething with anger, he shouted, "I, Obito Uchiha, challenge Kakashi Hatake!"

"·····"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, no one knew who started it, but bursts of laughter and chatter arose, all mocking Obito Uchiha of his abilities. How could a loser like him dare to challenge a genius?

"Hey! Obito!" Anko Mitarashi said, "Your body is already like this, you shouldn't push yourself!"

"That's right, Obito!" Kurenai Yuhi chimed in, "You can't beat Kakashi, you should come back!"

"I······"

"Obito!" Rin Nohara shook her head helplessly and said, "Come back!"

"I... I don't want to!" Obito Uchiha gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "I will definitely defeat Kakashi, just you wait and see!"

"Hmph!" Kakashi Hatake's only reaction was, "Idiot, loser!"

"You bastard..."

"Obito!" Mitarai Luoshan suddenly spoke up; "If you keep babbling, I might just attack!"

"I don't need you, Luoshan!"

Shouting loudly, Obito Uchiha forward before Jiro Nakamura could even say "start."

"Hey! Luoshan!" Looking at the excited Mitarai Luoshan, Anko Mitarashi asked, "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly decide to challenge Kakashi?"

"This?!" Mitarai Luoshan stroked his chin with his finger and said, "Didn't Anko say that?"

"Me!" Anko Mitarashi exclaimed, pointing to herself, somewhat bewildered.

"A genius!" With a grin revealing a few sharp teeth, Mitarai Luoshan growled excitedly, "I'm very interested in fighting the genius you've described, Anko!"

"..." Anko Mitarashi.

While the two were talking, the outcome of the match was already decided. Unsurprisingly, Kakashi Hatake won again; his reputation as a genius was well-deserved.

Jiro Nakamura announced Kakashi Hatake's victory, and the two made a reconciliation seal. Although Obito Uchiha was still very unconvinced, he was not a sore loser. This only became his motivation, making him work harder. He was determined to defeat Kakashi Hatake next time, absolutely.

"So, who's next to take on the challenge...?"

Jiro Nakamura's voice had even finished, Mitarai Luoshan darted out, his target being Kakashi Hatake was walking back.

"Luoshan!"

"Mitarai Luoshan!!!"