Not Wanting to Become a Chūnin

That afternoon.

After classes ended at the Ninja Academy.

Shisui stopped his teacher and asked expectantly.

"Kisuke-sensei, what kind of person is my cousin in your eyes?"

Kisuke answered without hesitation.

"Obito is a one-of-a-kind kid. He... stands out from the crowd!"

Kisuke still remembered.

The first day of school.

The moment Obito met him, the boy had said,

"Sensei, don't worry about where to seat me. I can chat with anyone."

Kisuke had been young and stubborn then. He refused to believe it and kept moving Obito around the classroom.

In the end.

He had seated Obito beside the quietest student in the class.

Surely they won't find anything to talk about now, he had thought.

Only later did he realize the joke was on him.

That quiet student's name was Nagano Nami...

Even now.

Kisuke had no idea where things had gone wrong.

Had Obito been a bad influence on Nagano Nami?

Or had Kisuke failed to teach him properly?

Or had Nagano Nami been a rebellious kid all along?

In any case, from then on.

Kisuke had mostly left Obito alone.

The kid needed watching every step of the way.

He had never met such an outrageous student!

But in front of the boy's cousin, he might as well keep his answer vague.

After all, Obito had gone on to make him proud!

"I see..."

Hearing Kisuke's assessment, Shisui felt he understood his cousin better.

Obito must be exceptional in both character and talent.

He leaves such a strong impression on everyone he meets.

Shisui quietly made up his mind.

I'll learn from Obito and work hard to become a ninja as outstanding as he is!

Warm sunlight spilled across the world.

Bright and gentle.

Like a young woman's delicate fingers brushing over everyone.

Obito leaned against the bridge railing, basking in the sun, and said lazily.

"What's with Minato-sensei? He called us here early, then showed up late himself."

Beside him, Kakashi gave him a flat look and snapped.

"Obito, you're one to talk."

Obito opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't think of a comeback.

So he settled for glaring at Kakashi.

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi glared right back.

"Obito!"

"Kakashi!"

"Obito!"

Rin smiled helplessly.

She stepped between them and put a hand on each boy.

"That's enough, you two!"

While the three of them were messing around.

A figure dropped from above. It was Minato.

He smiled and said.

"Sorry for the wait. Everyone's here."

Obito walked up to him and asked curiously.

"Minato-sensei, why did you jump down from so high up?"

"Do we have a new mission today, Sensei?"

"Uh..." Minato was momentarily at a loss.

Obito's interruption had made him forget what he was going to say.

After a moment.

Minato finally remembered his lines.

"No mission today. I have something else to tell you."

With that, he took three sheets of paper from inside his jacket.

Rin blinked her wide eyes and asked.

"What are those, Minato-sensei?"

Minato smiled and handed each of them a sheet.

"These are applications for the Chunin Ninja Exams. I've recommended you both for promotion to Chunin."

Chunin, huh...

Obito reluctantly took the application, looking thoroughly uninterested.

Minato couldn't make sense of it.

In his imagination.

Obito should have been thrilled to hear the news.

He might even have hugged Minato around the waist and shouted, "I love you, Sensei!"

Why wasn't the boy interested?

Minato racked his brain but couldn't figure it out.

He asked tentatively.

"Obito, you don't seem very excited. Do you not want to take the Chunin Ninja Exams?"

Kakashi and Rin both looked at Obito in surprise.

They clearly thought he was acting strangely too.

Under their gazes.

Obito fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"That's right, Minato-sensei."

If I stay a Genin.

Maybe I can keep my team out of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Besides.

Being a Konoha Genin sounds pretty good. Why bother becoming a Chunin?

The system, however, seemed to disagree.

With a ding, it presented Obito with a choice.

[Option 1: Agree to take the Chunin Ninja Exams and astonish everyone in the final test. Completion reward: Hashirama Cells modification.]

[Option 2: Agree to take the Chunin Ninja Exams and become a Chunin without standing out. Completion reward: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique.]

[Option 3: Refuse to take the Chunin Ninja Exams and preserve your prestigious status as a Genin. Completion reward: Genin Aura.]

[Genin Aura: When facing an enemy, shout "I'm a Genin!" to reduce their sanity by 1.]

Uh...

Obito scanned the options and found that, for once, all the rewards were pretty good.

Compared with the others, though, option one was the most tempting.

Of course.

It also looked harder to complete...

Well, I guess skipping the Chunin Ninja Exams is out.

Option one, then. One, one, one, one!

Seeing Obito standing there in a daze without explaining himself.

Minato asked again.

"Obito, can you tell me why you don't want to take the Chunin Ninja Exams?"

"Ah." Obito came back to his senses and grinned.

"Because I'm afraid I'll shine so brightly during the exams that everyone will get jealous."

Minato: "..."

Rin: "..."

Kakashi was speechless. He punched Obito.

"Minato-sensei, ignore him. Please go on!"

Minato sighed with a complicated expression, then nodded and continued.

"Kakashi, you're already a Chunin, but this exam includes a team-versus-team stage."

"So I'm sorry for the trouble, but I need you to take the exams again alongside Rin and Obito."

Kakashi nodded slightly.

"No problem, Minato-sensei."

Minato gave Kakashi an approving pat on the shoulder.

"Now, let me explain the rules of the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"Obito, Rin, make sure you listen carefully."

"The first stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams is the Theory Test..."

On the day of the Theory Test.

Obito handed in his paper early and strode out of the exam room, full of confidence.

"That's it? Those questions were so easy, anyone could do them!"

He had bragged far too loudly right outside the classroom door.

Quite a few candidates inside glared at him.

What the hell? Are you saying we can't?

Rin hurriedly pulled Obito away.

Once they were clear of the exam room, she asked with a smile.

"How do you think you did, Obito?"

Obito patted his chest and said confidently.

"No problem!"

For the him of his previous life, the written exam might have been the hardest part.

But now? Piece of cake.

And yet.

When the written exam results came out.

Obito stared at the posted scores and wiped the cold sweat from his temple.

"What the—? I filled in every answer and still barely passed. That was close..."

Beside him.

Kakashi folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Idiot!"

Obito snorted and said sourly.

"So you came in first. What's there to be so smug about?... Kakashi!"

"Obito!"

"Kakashi!"

"Obito!"