Chunin Exams Team Battle

It was three in the afternoon.

The first match, the team battle, was about to begin.

After the teams were finally arranged, Rin, Kakashi, and Obito would face Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma Shiranui.

As for the rules, no one explained them. But since the Chunin Exams were held every year, everyone already knew the so-called rules by heart.

Even Long Ye, who had only been in Konoha for a year, knew clearly that in the Chunin Exams, successfully advancing to Chunin depended not on victory or defeat, but on whether one demonstrated enough ability during the matches to qualify as a Chunin.

In other words, even if someone ranked first in strength and could defeat every participant in single combat, they would find it difficult to gain recognition if they fought alone without cooperating during the team battle.

Conversely, some ninja might not be the strongest, perhaps even ranking in the middle or lower tiers, but if they possessed a strong sense of teamwork, they still had a chance to advance to Chunin.

That was also why the Chunin Exams placed the team battle first and the individual battle last.

"The team battle is about to begin, yet that idiot Obito still hasn't arrived. Once it officially starts, he'll lose his qualification to compete."

Kakashi was somewhat annoyed, cursing Obito inwardly for being hopelessly stuck in his old habit.

Rin comforted him from the side:

"Obito might have run into something unexpected. I'm sure he'll arrive at the last moment. After all, these are the Chunin Exams, the opportunity he's dreamed of to prove himself. No matter what, he won't miss them."

Although that was what she said, she thought back to early that morning.

To prevent Obito from being late, she had gone to his house first thing in the morning. To her surprise, Obito had not been home.

This shattered Rin's long-held assumption that Obito was always late because he had overslept.

"Only one minute left!"

Everyone, including Long Ye, wore anxious expressions.

Just then, a figure dashed toward the arena from outside, racing at full speed as if his life depended on it.

"Hurry up! You're about to lose your qualification!"

Kakashi shouted angrily.

Obito crossed the finish line at the last possible second and narrowly made it into the arena.

"That was close!"

Obito was drenched in sweat, and he even had a piece of candy in his mouth.

"What are you doing? How could you be late on such an important day?"

Long Ye came over to him and asked in a lowered voice.

Obito's chronic lateness left him baffled. He could not even find a reason to defend Obito in his heart.

"Sigh!"

Obito sighed.

"I was afraid I'd be late today, so I set out for here at the crack of dawn."

"What?" Long Ye was utterly perplexed.

"Then why did you only arrive now?" he asked, his face full of disbelief.

"Remember when I told you about the elderly woman with trouble walking? I ran into her again early this morning. She wanted to buy rainbow candy for her youngest grandson. I saw how difficult it was for her to walk and figured it wouldn't take long, so I decided to carry her there..."

Long Ye's expression turned strange. "And then?"

"Sigh~!"

Obito sighed again.

"Who would've thought that the kind of candy she wanted was something she had only seen before? Even she didn't know where it was sold. I was already committed, so I had no choice but to carry her around and search every shop in the entire Land of Fire. In the end, we finally found some..."

After speaking, Obito reached into his clothes, took out several candies, and handed one to Long Ye.

"The old lady insisted on stuffing these into my hands. I've got to say, they taste pretty good. Here, try one."

Seeing the "evidence," Long Ye had no choice but to believe that Obito's bizarre encounter was real. However, he did not take the candy, politely declining on the grounds that he did not like sweets.

Obito generously gave some to Rin afterward, but when he came before Kakashi, he hesitated.

"Kakashi, I was late just now. You must've been badmouthing me behind my back again, right?" Obito asked suspiciously.

"Late every time, with no surprises whatsoever. You truly live up to the name 'Obito,'" Kakashi sneered.

Obito's face darkened.

"All right, all right. Stop arguing, you two. It's almost our turn to enter the arena."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Rin quickly stopped them.

"Next match, Team 7 versus Team 2!"

A Konoha Jonin serving as an examiner suddenly shouted.

"Hahahaha! It's finally our turn. Today, everyone will witness the rise of me, Obito Uchiha!"

Obito laughed loudly and leaped into the arena first.

The two teams stood a hundred paces apart, three people to a side, facing one another with everyone on high alert.

Long Ye looked at Rin's opponents.

There was no need to say much about Might Guy. His taijutsu was absolutely master-level. He alone could fight Kakashi to a deadlock.

As for Might Guy's teammates, one was Ebisu, and the other was Genma Shiranui.

Although the two of them were a level below Guy and Kakashi, they would both become Jonin in the future, and their strength was not to be underestimated.

Rin and Obito, on the other hand, gained no advantage whatsoever against these two.

There was no need to say much about Obito. He had always been known as a dead last, and his strength was nothing special. His only trump card was the Sharingan he had awakened recently.

As for Rin, she was a medical ninja with great talent in medical ninjutsu. But in an intense battle, her strength could only be considered average.

"Obito, don't let your guard down!"

Long Ye shouted loudly.

He knew Obito was careless by nature, and one moment of inattention could easily leave him defeated in a gutter.

"Long Ye, don't worry. Today, I'll definitely prove myself! Everyone who laughed at me will shut up for good!"

Obito turned his grief and anger into strength, feeling as if his entire body were brimming with inexhaustible energy. He had never been in such peak condition.

The battle was about to erupt.

Might Guy moved first. He pushed off with one foot and shot forward with a whoosh.

Obito was the first to react. He stepped in front of Kakashi and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu..."

Obito had just been about to cast his ninjutsu, even completing the motion for blowing out the flames, when the candy in his mouth suddenly slipped into his throat and triggered a bout of dry coughing.

"Bang!!"

Might Guy charged forward in a flash. His powerful Leaf Hurricane sent Obito flying, kicking him into the wall and smashing a depression into it.

"Ah!!"

The entire arena fell into stunned silence.

Obito's defeat had come so quickly that no one had been prepared for it.

The three-on-three battle instantly became a three-on-two.

Kakashi's face turned livid, but before he could say anything, Guy's attack had already arrived.

"That boy Obito..."

Watching everything unfold, Minato Namikaze sighed helplessly.

At that moment, Long Ye had no time to worry about Obito's defeat. Rin, who had never possessed much talent for combat, was already facing Ebisu and Genma Shiranui alone.

Genma Shiranui unleashed his signature technique, Thousand Needles.

The "toothpick" he held in his mouth was suddenly spat out, transforming into a sky full of needle flashes. The indiscriminate attack instantly sealed off Rin's escape route.