Meet Me in the Small Grove Tonight

Obito made up his mind and chose option two.

22222222!

He looked at Minato, his gaze firm.

"Minato-sensei, I'm definitely going to become a Chunin this time."

A smile appeared on 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 form for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"I appreciate it, Minato-sensei," he said, touched.

Minato smiled and waved a hand.

Obito needn't make anything of it.

Kakashi glanced at Obito and said,

"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, interrupting them.

"Obito, this Chunin Ninja Exam is a little unusual. I need to tell you about it in advance."

"They've removed the team competition. Once you pass the written test, you only need to win your individual match to become a Chunin."

Obito wasn't the only one shaken. Rin and Kakashi felt it too.

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

Was it preparing to expand its forces?

Rin couldn't help asking,

"Minato-sensei, is Konoha going to enter the war directly?"

Ever since the Third Kazekage had disappeared,

the Land of Lightning had seized the chance to raid the Land of Wind, igniting conflict between the great nations.

The Shinobi World had been in chaos ever since.

Minato lowered his eyes.

He didn't answer Rin directly. Instead, he rubbed her head.

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

"No matter what happens, your teachers and the other veterans will keep you safe."

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

A full-scale war... really wasn't far off!

Minato saw how worried the three youngsters looked.

He smiled helplessly.

"All right, all right. Obito, focus on preparing for the Chunin Ninja Exams in a few days."

"When the time comes, I'll bring everyone to cheer you on."

Obito nodded hard.

"You got it!"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Full of confidence, Obito headed to the Chunin Ninja Exams venue.

The first round was the familiar written test.

Maybe it was his imagination,

but Obito felt

the questions were much easier than last time.

Yeah, I'm sure I'll get a decent score this time!

When the exam ended,

Obito once again scraped through the written test with a score near the bottom.

He let out a breath of relief.

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

A week later,

at Konoha's arena,

Obito looked around but spotted only Rin.

He walked over to her, puzzled.

"I get that Minato-sensei is busy, but where's Kakashi? Didn't he say he'd come cheer me on?"

Rin gave an awkward smile.

"I think Guy dragged him off to the Training Ground for a match first thing this morning."

Obito pouted.

"Hmph. I knew I couldn't count on him... Lin-chan, you're the best!"

Seeing Obito sulk like a child,

Rin reached out to ruffle his hair.

Obito bent slightly and lowered his head.

"Hehe."

Rin playfully ruffled Obito's hair a couple of times,

then smoothed it back into place.

"Do your best, Obito-kun!"

Obito's face reddened, and he nodded rapidly.

"Mm-hmm! I will, Lin-chan!"

Up on the stage,

the examiner soon called Obito's name.

"Third match: Obito Uchiha versus Baki Hanma."

"That's me... I'd better go, Lin-chan."

"Mm."

After a word to Rin, Obito walked onto the stage.

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

But the man was built 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 was already on his Short Sword.

"Iaijutsu!"

Obito crossed the nearly ten-meter gap in an instant.

His fierce slash looked ready to cleave through anything.

Baki Hanma didn't flinch. He met the attack with his Brass Knuckles.

Clang!

Metal rang against metal.

Baki Hanma staggered back three steps,

while Obito took only one.

Obito stamped a foot down and lunged at Baki Hanma again.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Sparks flew.

Under the Short Sword's relentless blows,

Baki Hanma barely managed to defend himself and kept giving ground.

Obito sounded surprised.

"You're pretty strong. You can actually block my sword?"

Baki Hanma: "..."

I'm pretty sure you're showing off, but I can't prove it.

Obito swung again.

As Baki Hanma blocked, Obito leaped backward.

His hands formed Hand Seals, his throat moved, and he breathed out a mouthful of fire.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Baki Hanma's expression turned grim.

He pushed off hard and quickly dodged the attack.

He specialized in Taijutsu, not Ninjutsu.

"Figures. That still can't hit anyone..." Obito muttered.

He formed more Hand Seals, and another Obito appeared beside him.

He tossed his Short Sword to the Shadow Clone,

drew two Kunai, and charged Baki Hanma alongside it.

After a brief fight,

Obito defeated Baki Hanma with ease.

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

There was no need to go easy on him, so the fight didn't drag on.

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

The examiner announced the result with some regret.

A few days earlier,

he had heard that this round of Chunin selection included

Obito Uchiha, who had stunned the entire crowd last time.

So he had specifically asked to serve as an examiner.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't gotten to witness that terrifying Forbidden Technique firsthand...

Obito straightened his clothes and stepped off the stage.

Rin hurried over, beaming.

"You won! You were amazing, Obito-kun!"

Obito scratched his head shyly.

"Oh, it was nothing..."

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

After the two chatted for a while,

it was Obito's turn again.

He won another match easily.

Obito figured he had the Chunin Ninja Exams in the bag.

To be honest,

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

entering a Chunin selection was rather unfair to everyone else.

Sure enough,

once all the matches were over,

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

He grinned and said to himself,

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

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

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

"Woohoo! My cheat's about to arrive too!"

Obito was delighted.

Just then,

Rin beckoned him closer and said mysteriously,

"Obito-kun, come closer. I have something to tell you."

(՞•Ꙫ•՞)ﾉ???

Obito leaned closer, curious, and offered her his ear.

Rin leaned in and whispered to him.

"In an hour, meet me at the Small Grove where we usually train."

Her soft breath brushed against his ear.

It felt like the ends of her ponytail tickling him, leaving him all fluttery inside.

Obito felt his heart pounding faster and faster.

He asked, stumbling over his words.

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

It was already dark outside.

In another hour,

he probably wouldn't be able to see a thing 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 was dying of curiosity.

He wished he could jump straight ahead an hour

and go to the grove to find out.

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