Meet Me in the Grove Tonight

Obito made up his mind and chose option two.

22222222!

He looked at Minato with determination.

"Minato-sensei, I'll definitely become a Chunin this time."

A smile spread across Minato's face.

He took a sheet of paper from his coat and handed it to Obito.

"Good. I believe in you, Obito."

Obito took the paper.

It was an application for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

He said, touched, "Thank you, Minato-sensei."

Minato smiled and waved a hand.

Obito needn't make anything of it.

Kakashi glanced at Obito. "Take the exam seriously this time. Don't cause another incident."

Obito chuckled. "That sounded great. Don't say it again."

Kakashi: "..."

The last time he'd been this speechless was the last time.

Minato clapped his hands, cutting them off. "Obito, this year's Chunin Ninja Exams are a little unusual. I should tell you about them beforehand."

"The team competition has been canceled. Once you pass the written exam, you only need to pass the individual matches to become a Chunin."

Obito wasn't the only one taken aback. Rin and Kakashi felt a chill too.

The village had relaxed the requirements for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Was it expanding its forces?

Rin couldn't help asking, "Minato-sensei, is Konoha going to enter the war openly too?"

Ever since the Third Kazekage disappeared,

the Land of Lightning had taken advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Wind, igniting a conflict between major nations.

Since then, the Shinobi World had descended into chaos.

Minato lowered his gaze.

Rather than answer Rin directly, he ruffled her hair.

"That isn't something you need to worry about."

"Whatever happens, your teacher and the other seniors will protect you."

The three of them felt a weight settle over their hearts.

It seemed open war really wasn't far away...

Minato saw how worried the three youngsters looked

and gave a helpless smile.

"Come on, Obito. Focus on preparing for the Chunin Ninja Exams in a few days."

"We'll all come watch and cheer you on."

Obito nodded firmly.

"All right!"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Full of confidence, Obito headed to the exam venue.

The first round was the familiar written exam.

Perhaps it was his imagination,

but Obito felt

the questions were much easier than last time.

"Yeah, I'm definitely getting a decent score this time!"

When the exam ended,

Obito once again scraped through near the bottom of the rankings.

He let out a relieved breath.

"Phew. Next up is the combat exam..."

A week later,

at Konoha's training ground,

Obito looked around but saw only Rin.

He walked over to her, puzzled. "I know Minato-sensei is busy, but where's Kakashi? Didn't he say he'd come cheer me on?"

Rin gave an awkward smile.

"Guy dragged him off early this morning for a match at the training grounds."

Obito pouted.

"Hmph. I knew I couldn't count on him... You're the best, Rin!"

Seeing Obito sulk like a child,

Rin reached out to ruffle his hair.

Obito bent slightly and lowered his head for her.

"Heh."

Rin cheerfully tousled his hair a couple of times,

then smoothed it back into place.

"Good luck, Obito!"

Obito's cheeks reddened, and he nodded vigorously.

"Mm-hmm! Thanks, Rin!"

On the arena floor,

the examiner soon called Obito's name.

"Third match: Obito Uchiha versus Baki Hanma."

"That's me... I'll be back, Rin."

"Okay."

After telling Rin, Obito walked onto the arena floor.

His opponent, Baki Hanma, was a ninja from Takigakure.

His build, though, made him look more like a warrior.

Compact muscle covered his body, and his shoulders bulged.

His arms looked thicker than Obito's thighs.

"Begin!"

At the examiner's command,

Obito's hand settled on his short sword.

"Iaijutsu!"

Obito crossed nearly ten meters in an instant.

His fierce slash seemed capable of cutting through anything.

Baki Hanma met it without flinching, brass knuckles raised.

Clang!

Metal rang against metal.

Baki Hanma retreated three steps,

while Obito took only one.

Obito stamped his foot and charged again.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Sparks flew.

Under the short sword's relentless blows,

Baki Hanma barely managed to defend himself and was driven steadily back.

Obito sounded surprised. "You're strong. You can actually block my sword?"

Baki Hanma: "..."

I'm pretty sure he's showing off, but I can't prove it.

Obito swung again.

As Baki Hanma blocked, Obito sprang backward.

He formed hand seals, his throat tightening before he breathed out a blast of fire.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Baki Hanma's expression turned grim.

He pushed off with both legs and swiftly dodged the attack.

He was a ninja who specialized in Taijutsu, not Ninjutsu.

"Still can't hit anyone with it..." Obito muttered.

He formed another set of hand seals, and a second Obito appeared beside him.

He tossed his short sword to the Shadow Clone.

Then he drew two kunai, and together they charged Baki Hanma.

After a brief fight,

Obito defeated Baki Hanma with ease.

After all, Obito wasn't Itachi, and his opponent wasn't Uchiha Sasuke.

He had no reason to hold back, so he ended it quickly.

"The match is decided! The winner—Obito Uchiha!"

The examiner announced the result with some regret.

A few days earlier,

he'd heard that this year's Chunin candidates included

Obito Uchiha, who had stunned everyone last time.

He'd specifically requested to serve as an examiner.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't experienced that terrifying forbidden technique firsthand...

Obito straightened his clothes and stepped off the arena floor.

Rin hurried over, delighted. "You won! You were amazing, Obito!"

Obito scratched his head shyly.

"It was nothing, really..."

In front of the girl he liked, he was still that bashful boy.

After the two chatted for a while,

it was Obito's turn to fight again.

He won another match with ease.

Obito felt certain he would pass the Chunin Ninja Exams this time.

To be honest,

with his current skill at the level of a Special Jōnin,

entering the Chunin selection was hardly fair to the others.

Sure enough,

once all the matches were over,

Obito became a Chunin, just as he'd hoped.

He grinned to himself.

"Great! I'm one step closer to becoming Naruto!"

A notification sounded in his mind as the task was completed.

[Selection successful! Reward obtained: Kamui Limited Card!]

"Woohoo! My cheat's coming in too!"

Obito was secretly thrilled.

Just then,

Rin beckoned him over and said mysteriously, "Obito, come closer. I have something to tell you."

(՞•Ꙫ•՞)ﾉ???

Curious, Obito leaned in to listen.

Rin leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"In an hour, meet me in the little grove where we usually train."

Her soft breath brushed his ear.

It felt like the ends of her ponytail were tickling him, leaving him restless.

Obito felt his heart pounding and pounding.

He stammered out a question.

"It's so late. What are we going there to... to do?"

It was already dark outside.

In another hour,

it would probably be too dark to see anything out there.

Rin stuck out her tongue playfully.

"You'll find out when you get there. I'm off!"

With that,

she skipped away.

Obito could hardly stand the suspense.

He wished he could jump straight ahead an hour

and go to the grove to find out.

(He wished he could skip straight to the next chapter! Too bad there was only a yellow button~~)