You're a genius

The longer Aoki fought, the more alarmed he became.

His father had personally taught him Taijutsu.

Among kids his age, he considered himself pretty good at it.

But this Uchiha Makoto standing before him...

Fast. Too fast.

And every blow landed on a joint or a vulnerable spot, leaving him grimacing in pain.

Thud!

Another punch struck his stomach.

Aoki grunted and staggered back several steps, clutching his stomach as he doubled over.

"Still want to fight?" Makoto asked.

Aoki looked up, his eyes red.

"Yes!"

He gritted his teeth and charged again, putting everything he had into it this time.

Makoto sighed.

Why put yourself through this?

He sidestepped, dodged, caught Aoki's punching arm, pulled him forward with his own momentum, and tripped him.

Thump!

Aoki fell face-first onto the sandy ground, getting a mouthful of sand.

His two lackeys stared, dumbfounded. So did Obito.

Makoto stood where he was and dusted off his hands.

"Still want to fight?" he asked again.

Aoki lay on the ground without moving for a long while.

Only after some time did he push himself up, his face covered in dirt and sand, with a small scrape at the corner of his mouth.

"You... you..." He pointed at Makoto, his finger trembling.

"What about me?" Makoto walked over and crouched in front of him. "Had enough?"

Aoki gritted his teeth.

"If you haven't, come at me again." Makoto stood up. "We'll keep fighting until you have."

Aoki stared at Makoto for a few seconds, then finally lowered his head.

"...I've had enough."

His voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

Makoto nodded and turned toward Obito.

The two lackeys hurried over to help Aoki up. "Aoki, are you okay?"

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Aoki shook off their hands and stood up on his own, shooting Makoto a fierce glare.

"You win today," he said through gritted teeth. "But this isn't over!"

"Anytime." Makoto didn't even look back.

Aoki glared at Obito too, then limped away with his two lackeys.

The training ground fell quiet. Obito was still holding Makoto's schoolbag, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit an egg.

"Makoto... you..." he stammered. "You really beat Aoki..."

"That was amazing! How did you train? Teach me! Teach me!"

Seeing how excited he was, Makoto finally felt the last of his tension fade.

Good. I didn't blow it.

"Want to learn?" Makoto asked.

"Yes!" Obito nodded furiously.

"All right." Makoto slung his schoolbag over his shoulder. "Starting today, we'll train for two hours after school every day."

"No problem!"

"No complaining that you're tired."

"I won't!"

"No slacking off."

"I swear!"

Watching Obito strike a pose like a hot-blooded manga protagonist making a solemn vow, Makoto almost laughed.

But he held it in.

"Then let's go." He turned and headed out of the training ground. "We'll start with the basics today."

"The basics? What basics?"

"Conditioning." Makoto didn't look back. "Start with twenty laps."

"T-twenty laps?!" Obito's voice cracked.

On the afternoon of the second day of school, Makoto sat in his usual spot, by the window in the second-to-last row.

The king's throne!

He propped his chin on his hand, staring at the crooked tree outside the window while his mind worked through something else.

Although he'd only manifested a 25% strength boost yesterday, it had been enough to handle Aoki.

Obito believed yesterday's claim about "taking on three guys with one hand" by 50%. If I phrase it differently today, something like...

As he was thinking, a burst of laughter suddenly came from beside him.

Makoto turned his head. It was Aoki's group again.

They had gathered around Obito's seat, their voices loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"Obito, if Makoto hadn't helped you yesterday, would you really feel confident about becoming a ninja?" Aoki stood with his arms crossed, wearing a grin that begged to be punched.

Obito looked at the three of them and answered bluntly.

"I'm going to become a great ninja and become Hokage."

At Obito's words, the whole room burst out laughing.

Aoki and his two lackeys laughed especially hard.

"You, become Hokage? Stop embarrassing the Uchiha."

Obito clenched his fists.

Watching this, Makoto suddenly had an idea.

Here's my chance.

He stood up and walked over.

The classroom gradually quieted.

"Aoki." Makoto stopped beside them, his voice quiet but clear.

Aoki turned around. When he saw Makoto, his expression shifted.

"What, sticking your nose in again?"

"I'm not sticking my nose in," Makoto said. "I'm talking sense."

"What sense?"

"You called Obito a dead last." Makoto glanced at Obito. "I don't see it that way."

Aoki scoffed. "If he's not a dead last, who is?"

Makoto turned to face the class. "It's everyone's first day learning Ninjutsu. Who's to say who's better? Maybe Obito will be able to beat you tomorrow."

His words set off a wave of whispers in the classroom.

"That's true..."

"Aoki only knows the basic Ninjutsu because he learned them at home before coming to the Ninja Academy. Maybe Obito will surpass him after a while!"

Aoki was so furious he wanted to curse. They actually dared to say Obito Uchiha would be stronger than him someday.

But that was in the future, after all. Even if they said it now, there was no way to prove it.

Makoto ignored him and turned to Obito.

"Obito."

"Huh?" Obito raised his head, his eyes visibly a little red.

"Do you think you're a dead last?" Makoto asked.

Obito froze for a moment. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

Makoto waited three seconds. When Obito still didn't answer, he said, "I don't think you are."

Obito's eyes widened.

"I think," Makoto said, stressing each word, "you're a genius."