Challenging Might Guy

By afternoon,

it was time for the school's weekly practical lesson.

All the kids stood on the school field, their faces bright with excitement.

Compared with sitting in a classroom listening to dry theory,

practical lessons were much more fun!

First came Shuriken practice.

The teacher brought several targets out of the storeroom.

Smiling, the teacher beckoned to Kakashi in the crowd.

"Kakashi, why don't you demonstrate for everyone?"

No matter the world,

top students were always the teacher's favorites.

(Of course, our Dead Last was adorable too.)

Kakashi nodded.

With his hands in his pockets, he walked out of the crowd and stopped before the targets.

A light breeze swept past.

His silver hair fluttered, and he moved.

The other kids could not even make out what he had done.

By the time they realized what had happened,

several Shuriken were buried deep in the targets' bull's-eyes.

After a moment of silence,

the girls burst into squeals.

"Ah! Kakashi is so handsome!"

"My darling Kakashi! I'd give birth to your—do your homework for the rest of my life!"

Amid the cries rising all around him, Obito did not hear Rin's voice.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

I knew it. Rin isn't that shallow.

Huh?

Where's my Rin?

Obito looked around for her.

Only then did he notice

that Rin had somehow made her way to Kakashi's side.

"Kakashi, are you tired? Have some warm water."

"...Damn it!"

Every boy in the class, Obito included, was furious.

A freckled boy said indignantly,

"That bastard Kakashi stole the whole show. How are the rest of us supposed to impress anyone?"

Obito nodded in wholehearted agreement.

"You're right, Nami Bro. Why don't you go beat him up for us?"

The boy snapped,

"Get lost. My name's Nagano Nami. Stop making up nicknames for me."

He thumped his chest and declared with absolute confidence,

"Just watch. I might not be as good as him with Shuriken,

but when the sparring starts, I'll show him what's what... That'll teach him to show off!"

Obito sighed to himself.

Kakashi had not even been showing off.

He was just better-looking than the rest of them...

Just then,

a dissenting voice rose from among the boys.

"But don't you think Kakashi really is handsome?"

"..."

Half a minute later,

a kid in green with Watermelon Head hair had been kicked out of the conversation for making everyone angry.

The teacher went down the roster, calling names one by one

and having each student come forward for the Shuriken test.

Kakashi had stunned everyone by hitting every target.

The rest of the class performed more or less as expected.

"Last one... Oh... Obito Uchiha." The teacher's tone said it all.

Hearing his name, Obito swaggered forward as though he owned the place.

He casually threw the Shuriken in his hand, then turned and walked away without looking back.

Because real men never looked back at explosions!

Laughter broke out in the crowd.

"Hahaha! That idiot missed every target again."

"And he keeps saying he'll become Naruto? The whole Uchiha Clan must be idiots!"

"Exactly! He's nowhere near Kakashi. If you ask me, Kakashi's the one who'll become Naruto!"

Obito picked at his ear, utterly unfazed by the mockery.

In Konoha, the Dead Last was always the strongest.

What the hell do you know?

Only people who can't learn a thing as kids get to unlock cheat powers when they grow up!

The second part of the lesson was sparring.

Quite a few boys were already rolling up their sleeves and eyeing Kakashi.

Kakashi was exceptionally strong, and no one had ever beaten him.

But he always held back when he sparred, stopping the moment he had won.

So nobody was particularly afraid of him.

The teacher stood in the middle of the field, smiling at the children nearby.

"Choose your own opponents. Who wants to go first?"

Before the teacher had even finished speaking, three options appeared before Obito's eyes.

[Option One: Challenge Kakashi and defeat him. We of the Uchiha Clan grow stronger against stronger foes. None can beat us at the same level!... Believe it or not~ Completion reward: First choice of romantic partner.]

[Option Two: Challenge Might Guy and last ten minutes without losing. Youth never slacks off! Have a blazing clash of youth with Guy! Completion reward: Taijutsu improvement (Genin level).]

[Option Three: Challenge Rin Nohara and beat her senseless. What's so impressive about fighting a man? If you've got guts, fight the girl you like! Completion reward: Ruthless Strike Aura.]

[Ruthless Strike Aura: The deeper the love, the harder the blow. Damage dealt to a loved one can increase without limit.]

Well, damn!

Seriously, what the hell?

The third option left Obito completely dumbfounded.

The Ruthless Strike Aura would be wasted on me.

...Better save it for my little brother Itachi!

Obito had no desire to enjoy beating his wife for a moment, only to spend the rest of his life trying to win her back.

As for option one...

What a joke. How am I supposed to beat Kakashi right now?

After weighing his choices,

option two was the only one he had a decent chance of completing.

So Obito hesitated no longer and said to the teacher,

"I'll go first. I want to challenge Might Guy."

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

Unlike Kakashi, who held back and knew exactly when to stop,

Might Guy always went all out once a fight began.

An ordinary person could hardly take a hit from him.

That was why no one had ever dared challenge Might Guy!

Since when was Obito this brave?!

The teacher hesitated.

This isn't going to turn into a serious accident, is it?

"Are you sure, Obito?"

Obito nodded firmly.

"I'm sure."

The teacher gave a slight nod.

"Everyone, step back and give Obito and Guy plenty of room."

A moment later,

in the middle of the open ground,

Obito and Guy stood facing each other.

As Guy advanced, Obito felt a mounting pressure.

"Um... Beast Bro, when we start, could you..."

Guy said earnestly,

"Don't worry, Obito. I'll give it everything I've got!"

Obito's eye twitched.

Bro, you've got it backward.

I was asking you to go easy on me!

Each of them raised a hand.

They pointed their index and middle fingers toward the sky and pressed the other three together, forming the Seal of Confrontation.

The seals were formed. The fight began!

The instant their arms dropped,

Guy shot toward Obito like a swallow, sending waves of air rolling in his wake.

He crossed the short distance in a single breath.

Oh, crap!

Obito's face changed, and he sprang backward.

But Guy was faster. One step brought him right in front of Obito.

Guy lowered his center of gravity, turned his hips, and whipped out a beautiful back kick.

Boom!

The kick slammed into Obito with a fierce rush of wind.

It knocked him flat, his face contorted as he bared his teeth in pain.

He opened his mouth and unleashed a string of curses nobody else could understand.

"&*@...%#%!"

Balanced on one leg in a flashy pose, Guy asked with genuine concern,

"Want to keep going, Obito?"

Obito struggled to his feet and nodded through gritted teeth.

"Keep going!"

Boom!

Obito went flying again.

He got up and brushed the dust off himself.

"Keep going!"

Boom!

"Keep going!"

Boom!

"..."

Guy's relentless attacks

struck Obito again and again, knocking him hard to the ground.

Yet Obito refused to give up.

Each time, he climbed back to his feet and called, "Keep going!"

The grins vanished from the faces of the children watching.

This boy kept getting knocked down, yet every time, he stood back up.

Was this really the same Dead Last who used to give up on everything halfway through?

Nagano Nami's expression was complicated.

"When did that Obito kid get so much grit?"

Rin's eyes were full of worry, and she instinctively clenched her hands.

Why wouldn't Obito give up?

If he kept this up, he'd hurt himself!