Challenging Kakashi

Boom!

Amid the Naruto-like roar of air being torn apart.

Guy lashed out with another whip kick, slamming it into Obito's stomach.

Obito hit the ground again.

This time, he really didn't want to get back up.

His whole body burned.

Every muscle ached fiercely.

Why is finishing a mission so hard...? he thought.

"D-don't stop... Keep going!" Obito groaned shakily.

Anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was... enjoying a massage.

Across from him, Guy lowered his fists and shook his head solemnly.

"Obito-kun, I admire your willpower. But our match ends here!"

Even their teacher was moved by Obito's spirit.

He had clearly misjudged the boy.

With perseverance like that, the boy had the makings of a Jonin!

The teacher spoke with an approving look.

"Obito, you've done well enough. Let's stop here."

Obito answered without hesitation.

"No!"

As someone who couldn't stand leaving anything unfinished,

he refused to let a failed mission go on his record.

He turned to Guy and declared passionately,

"Beast Bro, Youth allows no compromise."

"Keep beating me! Until my Youth burns out, I'll never give up!"

He glanced at his system panel and muttered,

"Hmm. My fire of Youth has at least six minutes and forty-seven seconds left."

Obito's speech about Youth

struck Guy right in the heart.

At that moment,

Guy felt as though he had found a kindred spirit. Tears streamed down his face.

"Obito-kun, this is Youth!"

"I'll keep giving it everything I've got. That's how I'll show you the respect you deserve!"

Guy wept uncontrollably

as he punched and kicked Obito on the ground.

The sight was so bizarre

that people couldn't help but laugh.

Someone was the first to let out a chuckle.

Then laughter broke out all around them. Even Rin laughed, though she felt bad for Obito.

Obito lay on the ground with his arms shielding his face, utterly defeated.

Guy was too damn earnest...

He was actually hitting harder than before!

Obito felt a pang of melancholy.

He hadn't expected his first beating after crossing over to be one he'd asked for himself.

Fate was like a girl. You never knew what she was thinking.

[Choice successful! Reward: Taijutsu improvement (Genin level)!]

The instant the system notification sounded,

Obito shouted,

"Stop, stop! I give up!"

Guy immediately pulled back his leg, crouched down, and helped Obito up.

"Are you all right, Obito-kun?"

Obito's legs trembled as he said bitterly,

"Do I look all right to you?"

Both his eyes were bruised, and blood ran from his nose.

His little face was so swollen it nearly looked like a pig's head.

"I'm sorry, Obito-kun..."

Guy scratched his head awkwardly, feeling guilty.

Seeing him like that,

Obito felt a little embarrassed instead.

After all, he was the one who had asked for that beating.

If Guy had done anything wrong, it was only that he'd been a little too sincere...

With that thought,

Obito held out his hand, extending his index and middle fingers toward Guy.

Guy froze for a moment.

Then he extended his own hand and hooked two fingers around Obito's.

The Seal of Reconciliation was complete!

Their teacher led the applause.

The children around them clapped wholeheartedly too.

Even Kakashi joined in.

After today's match, his opinion of Obito had changed.

When the applause died down,

their teacher treated Obito with Medical Ninjutsu while offering his assessment.

"Thank you, Obito and Guy, for an exciting match."

Obito felt a little lightheaded from the praise.

Then the teacher's next words brought him crashing back down.

"Obito's fundamentals are a complete mess. He's got a long way to go."

"But his refusal to admit defeat is something we can all learn from!"

"All right, who's up next?"

From the crowd,

a freckled boy stepped forward. It was Nagano Nami.

He rolled his neck and called out,

"I'm up. I want to challenge Kakashi!"

"Oh?"

Their teacher's eyes sharpened, and he nodded.

"Very well. In the second match, Nami will face Kakashi."

Kakashi stepped out of the crowd too.

The two took their places in the center of the clearing and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

"Good luck, Kakashi!"

"Oh my gosh, Kakashi looks so cool making the seal!"

"Just wait until he starts fighting. He'll look even cooler!"

The girls' one-sided cheers irritated Nagano Nami.

Before Kakashi could lower his hand,

Nami roared, drew a Kunai, and charged him.

The Kunai traced an arc through the air.

In a flash, it stabbed toward Kakashi's face.

But Kakashi lightly shifted his footing.

A slight turn of his body was enough to dodge the strike.

"Hmph!"

Nagano Nami snorted.

He pulled the Kunai back, turned the thrust into a slash, and swept it toward Kakashi again.

Cries of alarm rose from the crowd.

"Ah! Watch out, Kakashi!"

Kakashi's gaze remained calm.

It was as if he didn't care about the approaching Kunai at all.

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward and angled his arm.

With an easy flick of his palm, he struck Nagano Nami's wrist.

Clang!

Pain shot through Nagano Nami's wrist, and the Kunai fell to the ground.

"Tch. He really thought he could challenge Kakashi?"

"Right? What gave him the nerve?"

The jeers cut into Nagano Nami like knives.

His face darkened.

Damn it!

Nagano Nami growled,

"I was only going to play around with you. Now it looks like I'll have to use that move."

"You forced me... Taijutsu: Nagano Barrage!"

Nagano Nami suddenly sped up.

Punch after punch rained down on Kakashi in a furious flurry.

Their teacher's eyes lit up.

He nodded, then shook his head.

Nagano Nami's performance was impressive enough.

His father was a Chunin, after all.

That gave him an advantage many students lacked.

With the training he'd received at home,

few children his age could match him.

Unfortunately... this time, his opponent was Kakashi.

The talent and family background Nagano Nami took such pride in

meant nothing next to Kakashi's.

As for talent,

in over a decade of teaching, he had never seen a better student than Kakashi.

As for family background,

as long as the White Fang was around, the Hatake Clan stood among Konoha's foremost families.

It was just a pity...

Their teacher seemed to recall something and let out a long sigh.

The match continued.

Amid Nagano Nami's unrelenting attacks, Kakashi's figure drifted unpredictably.

He was like a small boat rising and falling on towering waves in a storm.

Yet no matter how the waves tossed it, the boat refused to capsize.

Wouldn't that drive anyone mad?

At every critical moment,

Kakashi dodged Nagano Nami's attacks by the narrowest margin.

The storm swept over him without a drop touching him.

Nagano Nami spent ages swinging wildly at empty air.

By the end of his barrage, he hadn't even brushed Kakashi's clothes.

All he'd accomplished was leaving himself breathless.

"Do you want to keep going?" Kakashi asked evenly.

One stood there at ease; the other fumed helplessly. The difference between them was plain.

The jeers around them grew louder.

Nagano Nami couldn't back down now.

To him, Kakashi's calm question

sounded like a taunt.

He said nothing.

Burning with shame and anger, he charged Kakashi again.

I'll make him pay!

That was the only thought in his mind.