"Huh? Makoto, you're using regular Iron Body?" Obito froze. "Then won't you be unable to move?"
"Who said that?" Uchiha Makoto smiled. "Iron Body is a defensive technique, not a paralysis jutsu. Watch closely."
The two put some distance between them.
Obito took a deep breath and assumed his fighting stance. He decided to use Flowing Iron Block to harden both arms, though he hadn't perfected it yet.
"Begin!"
Obito charged forward, throwing a straight punch.
Uchiha Makoto neither dodged nor ducked. He instantly activated regular Iron Body, hardening his entire body.
The moment Obito's fist passed, he released it.
Thud!
Immediately afterward, Uchiha Makoto swung his left fist, landing it squarely on Obito's shoulder.
Smack!
The punch knocked Obito back two steps.
"Wait!" Obito shouted. "Makoto, just now... did you move?"
"I was moving the whole time," Uchiha Makoto said.
"No, I mean... you can still move when you use Iron Body?"
"Who decided you can't move when you use Iron Body?" Uchiha Makoto asked back.
"Iron Body hardens your muscles. It isn't a petrification spell. Isn't deciding when to harden your body and when to release it something you have to figure out for yourself?"
Obito was dumbfounded.
He had always thought that using Iron Body meant he couldn't move.
That was why he had trained so desperately in Flowing Iron Block, hoping to overcome that flaw.
But now Makoto was telling him that regular Iron Body wasn't a paralysis spell.
Obito realized that Iron Body wasn't too weak.
He was.
Five minutes later, Obito lay sprawled on the ground, raising a hand in surrender.
"I'm done, I'm done..." he panted. "Makoto, you're a total monster. You beat me this badly with just regular Iron Body."
Obito fell silent for a moment, then slowly sat up.
"Makoto."
"Hmm?"
"I've decided," Obito said. "I'm not practicing Flowing Iron Block anymore."
"Oh?"
"I'm going to master regular Iron Body first." Obito clenched his fists. "Like you said, finding the right path matters more than charging ahead blindly. I can't even use regular Iron Body properly yet, so why practice Flowing Iron Block? That's reaching beyond my abilities."
Uchiha Makoto looked at him and smiled.
Obito no longer had the inferiority complex that came with being the class's dead last. Instead, he had somehow gained a new confidence.
"From today on, I'm practicing regular Iron Body. I'll keep at it until I can switch it on and off as easily as you do."
"That might take a long time."
"I'm not afraid." Obito stood and brushed the dirt off himself. "I'm going to be Hokage. How could I do that without even this much perseverance?"
Uchiha Makoto stood too and patted his shoulder.
"That's the spirit."
Looking at the fire in Obito's eyes, he suddenly felt a little wistful.
Obito at this age really was... endearingly innocent.
If only he could stay this way forever.
But Uchiha Makoto knew that was impossible.
The gears of fate had already begun turning. Sooner or later, Obito would go through those events. Sooner or later, he would become the Masked Man.
All he could do was let this boy smile a little longer before those gears fully meshed.
Perhaps he could change those tragedies in the future, but that would have to wait until he was strong enough.
Class 1-A's first practical combat lesson was scheduled to take place at Training Ground Number Three, east of the school.
More than a dozen white squares had been marked out on the ground, each roughly ten meters across.
That was plenty of room for six-year-olds to run wild.
Their homeroom teacher, Teacher Nakamura, stood in the center of the grounds with the class roster in hand and pushed up his glasses.
"Everyone here?" He glanced over them. "This is your first practical combat lesson. The rules are simple. You'll draw lots to decide your opponents. Number one faces number two, number three faces number four, and so on. Come up and draw when I call your name."
The students lined up and went forward one at a time to pick slips of paper from the box.
Uchiha Makoto drew number seven. He glanced at his slip, then looked around-he didn't know who his opponent was yet.
It didn't matter, though.
At his current level, fighting these six-year-olds was about as difficult as playing whack-a-mole. He was more concerned about Obito.
Obito and Aoki walked up to Teacher Nakamura together.
"Teacher!" Obito raised his hand. "Can I be paired with Aoki?"
Aoki nodded beside him. "I'd like to be paired with Obito too."
Teacher Nakamura glanced at them, then at the roster in his hand.
Two Uchiha, huh!
"All right," he agreed readily. "Then you'll be numbers one and two. First match."
"Thank you, Teacher!" Obito grinned.
Aoki smiled too, but his was the sort of smile that said, I can finally beat you up fair and square.
They returned to the line, and Obito immediately moved over to Rin Nohara.
"Rin! I got number one!" His voice brimmed with excitement. "I'm in the first match!"
Rin Nohara looked at him, then at Aoki, who was sneering a short distance away. She said quietly, "Obito, be careful. Aoki is... pretty strong."
"I know." Obito nodded. "But I'm not weak either."
His eyes shone as he spoke, carrying a determination that said, I'm going to prove myself to all of you today.
Uchiha Makoto walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Believe in yourself," he said. "This past month of training wasn't for nothing."
Obito nodded firmly. "Right!"
A few nearby classmates overheard and exchanged glances.
"What's gotten into Obito today?" a boy with spiky hair whispered. "Doesn't he usually go out of his way to avoid Aoki?"
"Who knows?" A girl with glasses shrugged. "Maybe Makoto gave him some secret special training."
"Special training? How much can he improve in a month?" The spiky-haired boy curled his lip. "Aoki's dad is a Jonin. He's been giving him extra lessons since he was little. What about Obito? Both his parents are gone. Who's going to teach him?"
"That's not fair." The girl with glasses glanced at Uchiha Makoto. "Isn't Makoto also..."
"Makoto's a genius. How is that the same?"
They weren't speaking loudly, but Obito heard every word.
He clenched his fists and said nothing.
Over by Aoki, his two lackeys had sidled up to him too.
"Aoki, go easy on him later," one said with a grin. "Don't make Obito cry, or he'll go running to the teacher again."
"Running to the teacher?" The other snorted. "What good will that do? Isn't getting hurt normal in practical combat lessons?"
Aoki didn't reply. He simply watched Obito with a sneer on his lips.
He had waited a long time for this day.
Obito was a failure as an Uchiha. As a fellow Uchiha, Aoki had to make this loser understand exactly what he was and stop disgracing the Uchiha.
He arrived late to class, slacked off during training, and ranked dead last, yet always acted as though he was trying so hard.
Worst of all, the guy actually dared to talk back to him.
Today, his chance had finally come. A practical combat lesson meant he could beat him up openly.
Aoki had already decided: he would punch him again and again until he surrendered, until he cried, until he never dared to talk back to him again.
Before you continue