Obito's progress

"Obito," Aoki suddenly said. "If you can't hold out later, remember to surrender. I won't hit too hard."

He sounded very "considerate," but everyone could hear the mockery in his voice.

Obito turned to look at him.

"Same goes for you," Obito said. "If you can't hold out, surrender. I won't laugh at you."

"Pfft!" Someone nearby couldn't help laughing.

Aoki's expression darkened.

"All talk," he scoffed. "Let's see if you're still so cocky later."

Once the drawing of lots was over, Teacher Nakamura announced the start of the first match.

"Number one, Obito Uchiha. Number two, Aoki Uchiha. Enter the ring."

The two stepped into the white square and stood facing each other.

The other students gathered around the edge, some curious, some eager for a show, and others, like Rin Nohara, visibly worried.

Uchiha Makoto stood at the back of the crowd, his arms folded and his expression calm.

"Makoto." Rin Nohara had come up beside him at some point. "Will Obito... really be okay?"

"What do you think?" Uchiha Makoto asked in return.

"I don't know." Rin Nohara bit her lip. "Aoki's really good. His father's a Jonin, and he's been teaching him Taijutsu and Shuriken throwing since he was little. Obito..."

"Obito's worked hard this past month, too," Uchiha Makoto said. "Besides, people who work hard usually aren't too unlucky."

Rin Nohara glanced at him and said nothing more.

In the ring, Teacher Nakamura raised a hand.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation."

Obito and Aoki raised their hands at the same time, holding their index and middle fingers together to form the Seal of Confrontation.

"Begin!"

The moment the word left his mouth, Aoki moved.

He lunged like a cheetah, so fast that the watching students gasped.

"So fast!"

"That's Aoki for you!"

Obito didn't move.

He simply stood where he was, watching Aoki charge toward him.

Five meters.

Three meters.

One meter.

Aoki's fist reached his face.

Only then did Obito move. He turned sideways, raised his arm, and blocked Aoki's fist with his forearm.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out.

Aoki froze.

He had put seventy percent of his strength into that punch. It should have knocked Obito back, yet Obito merely swayed, his feet not budging an inch.

"Interesting." Aoki pulled back his fist with a sneer. "Looks like that month of training wasn't a complete waste."

"Same to you," Obito said.

The two clashed again.

This time, it was a true exchange of Taijutsu, fist against fist, leg against leg, so fast it was dizzying.

A constant series of thuds rang out as dust flew across the ring.

The watching students were dumbfounded.

"Is... is that Obito?" The spiky-haired boy rubbed his eyes. "Since when could he fight like that?"

"No idea." The girl with glasses looked just as bewildered. "Didn't he barely pass a lot of the basic classes before?"

"And look, Aoki doesn't seem to... have the upper hand?"

He really didn't.

Aoki attacked fiercely, his fists and feet whipping through the air, every strike aimed at a vital spot. But Obito's defense was solid. Though he occasionally took a hit, he always managed to block or soften the blow in time.

The two traded blows evenly.

"No," Teacher Nakamura murmured, adjusting his glasses. "Obito's Taijutsu... is still a little lacking."

The other teacher beside him watched closely, then nodded. "Yes. Aoki applies his strength more smoothly, and his rhythm is better. Obito's a little... stiff, as though he's only just learned it and hasn't developed muscle memory yet."

"But he's already doing very well," Teacher Nakamura said. "If they'd fought at the start of the term, he wouldn't have lasted three moves against Aoki."

In the ring, Aoki had noticed it, too.

Obito's Taijutsu had indeed improved greatly, but it wasn't enough. There were gaps between his movements, his power didn't flow smoothly, and...

"Is defending all you can do?" Aoki suddenly asked, driving a fist at Obito's face.

Obito raised his hand to block.

But Aoki abruptly changed his move, dropping his fist to strike straight at Obito's stomach.

Obito reacted a fraction too late and took the punch squarely.

"Gah!"

He grunted and stumbled back two steps.

"See?" Lackey Number One laughed from the sidelines. "Obito still doesn't have what it takes."

"Exactly," Number Two agreed. "It looked impressive earlier, but when it really matters, he shows his true colors."

Rin Nohara clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

"Obito..." she whispered.

In the ring, Obito rubbed his stomach and took a deep breath.

"That's it?" He looked at Aoki. "I thought you'd be stronger."

Aoki's expression darkened.

"All talk." He charged again, his attacks even fiercer this time.

Obito kept defending, but he was clearly losing ground. Aoki's fists rained down on him, and he could barely fend them off. Whenever he managed a counterattack or two, Aoki neutralized them with ease.

"It's over." The spiky-haired boy shook his head. "Obito's going to lose."

"He's done really well to last this long," the girl with glasses said. "His opponent is Aoki, after all."

"But a loss is a loss." Hearing the students nearby, Lackey Number One immediately declared smugly, "A dead last will always be a dead last."

In the ring, Aoki swept a roundhouse kick toward Obito's side.

Obito raised his arm to block, but the force of the kick drove him back another two steps.

A little distance opened between them.

Aoki didn't pursue him. Instead, he stood where he was and watched Obito.

"Surrender," he said. "You'll get hurt if we keep going."

Obito said nothing.

He simply stood there, steadying his breathing.

"Obito!" Rin Nohara couldn't help shouting. "Surrender! You've already done really well!"

Obito glanced at her and smiled.

Then he turned to Aoki.

"You know," Obito said, "Makoto taught me a lot this past month."

Aoki frowned. "So?"

"So..." Obito took a deep breath and lowered his body slightly. "I learned something."

"What?"

"Some fights can't be won just by dodging."

In the ring, Obito adopted a strange stance.

He spread his feet, crouched slightly, and drew his clenched fists back to his waist. He stood rooted to the ground like a nail driven into it, and even closed his eyes.

The watching students exchanged puzzled looks.

"What's he doing?" The spiky-haired boy scratched his head. "Meditating?"

"Maybe it's the opening stance of some secret Taijutsu technique?" the girl with glasses guessed. "Doesn't the Uchiha Clan have lots of family Taijutsu techniques?"

"Family Taijutsu?" Lackey Number One scoffed. "His parents are gone. Who's going to pass them down to him? Someone in his dreams?"

Aoki frowned at Obito's stance.

That stance... it looked strange no matter how he looked at it.

But he didn't dwell on it.

What could a month of special training change? His Taijutsu had gotten a little better, that was all.

Against a real gap in strength, that little improvement was like tossing a handful of salt into the sea-you couldn't even taste it.

"Quit putting on an act."

Aoki snorted, pushed off hard, and lunged forward.