https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-156-Hinata-Hyuga-s-Astonishing-Performance-4k-/12558051/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-158-Kakashi-s-Impending-Recruitment/12558064/
Chapter 157: Steady Obito (4k)
Chapter 157: Steady Obito (4k)
"Examinee Number One, Haruno Rin, and Examinee Number Three, Might Guy, prepare for the exam," announced the proctor.
Mu Yue knew that Haruno Rin's practical exam was about to begin.
Rin would have a better chance against Obito, but against Might Guy, she would undoubtedly be mercilessly crushed.
Haruno Rin relied solely on her taijutsu in combat, and Might Guy was a master of taijutsu. It wouldn't be a fair fight.
"It looks like Haruno Rin won so easily against Uchiha Tekka. I wonder if she has a chance against Might Guy."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. Might Guy suddenly rose to prominence like this before. Maybe Haruno Rin will do the same this time."
Perhaps because of Haruno Rin's previous clean and crisp battle, the students of Class Four had high expectations for her.
"Rin, good luck!" Obito didn't say much, as he was aware of the gap in their abilities.
"Mmhmm," Haruno Rin nodded and stepped into the arena.
"Guy, please show me your full strength. I want to see the gap between us," Haruno Rin said seriously.
"Burning youth should give their all in every battle!" Might Guy gave Haruno Rin a thumbs-up before forming the standing tiger seal.
"Begin!"
Just as Haruno Rin was about to replicate her previous battle, she suddenly found Might Guy rushing towards her. His speed exceeded her own!
"Konoha Senpu!"
Might Guy unleashed a whirlwind kick towards Haruno Rin.
Whoosh!
In a crisis, Haruno Rin used the Extreme Speed Limit to dodge Might Guy's kick.
But before she could figure out her next move, Might Guy instantly appeared in front of her and threw a punch.
Haruno Rin had no choice but to compress her chakra in her hand and quickly counter-punch.
Boom!!
The powerful collision of their attacks created a gust of wind that blew Haruno Rin's brown hair.
The next moment, Haruno Rin could no longer hold her ground and stumbled back several meters.
"Such immense strength. I'm outclassed," Haruno Rin assessed, feeling the numbness in her arms.
She was astonished by the sheer physical power that Might Guy possessed.
Haruno Rin's strongest attacks were no match for Might Guy's Breathing Technique, sealing her defeat.
Might Guy continued his relentless assault, just as he had promised, with a rapid series of fierce attacks that left Haruno Rin helpless.
"How... She's been completely overwhelmed by Might Guy," the watching students muttered in dismay.
They had thought that Haruno Rin might break the duopoly of Obito and Might Guy, but she was clearly no match for them.
This led them to ponder: Was Uchiha Tekka not as strong as they had imagined, or was Might Guy even stronger than they had anticipated?
"Might Guy wins!" the proctor announced Might Guy's victory as Haruno Rin lost her ability to fight.
"Rin, are you alright?" Obito quickly rushed to her aid and asked with concern.
"I'm fine. But Guy is really strong. It looks like I still have a long way to go to catch up with you," Haruno Rin replied.
"If you keep this up, you'll definitely close the gap," Obito encouraged her.
He believed that under Mu Yue's guidance, Haruno Rin would eventually match their level, as he and Might Guy hadn't been very strong at the start either.
"What a shame. If she were in another class, this level of skill would definitely qualify for the grade-level practical exam," Ueda Aya commented, giving Haruno Rin a high score but expressing her regret.
In her opinion, with Might Guy and Uchiha Obito as obstacles, no one else stood a chance.
"I wonder what luck Chikaya has to keep producing exceptional students in his class," Ueda Aya grumbled inwardly.
She didn't attribute the improvements of Might Guy, Uchiha Obito, and Haruno Rin to Chikaya's skill as a teacher. If he had such ability, he would have received the Outstanding Teacher award long ago. She believed he had simply gotten lucky with a class full of potential.
As the second day of the class practical exams drew to a close, Might Guy and Obito finally faced each other in the last battle.
"Guy, I'm sorry, but I'll be taking this win. I'll avenge Rin!" Obito declared confidently.
Through his previous battles and observations of Might Guy's fight with Shijima, Obito was certain that his strength had surpassed Might Guy's by a considerable margin.
"Haha, bring it on! Let's burn our youth together!" Might Guy exclaimed, brimming with battle intent.
"Begin!"
"Rock Lee, Breathing Technique, Total Concentration Breathing!" Might Guy instantly altered his breathing rhythm, entering the Total Concentration Breathing state. He enhanced his overall abilities and charged towards Obito.
Seeing Might Guy's cautious movement, Obito shook his head regretfully. If Might Guy had dared to rush in from the side again, he would have immediately used the Phoenix Flower Claw.
Obito quickly switched from shuriken to kunai, throwing them at Might Guy as he ran.
However, with Might Guy's full power, Obito's kunai missed their mark, failing to hit their target.
In the first round of the clash, both sides expended some chakra and stamina, resulting in a temporary stalemate.
Due to their long history of training together, each was well aware of the other's capabilities and approached the fight with caution.
Might Guy, defending against Obito's Fire-style jutsu, was incredibly swift, while Obito guarded against Might Guy's powerful Rock-style techniques.
After a minute of deadlock, Might Guy sensed an opening in Obito's defense and burst forward with a sudden surge of speed.
"Katon: Phoenix Flower Claw!"
Obito quickly performed a one-handed seal before swiftly throwing a kunai imbued with fire.
However, Might Guy had anticipated this move and dodged with lightning speed, immediately countering with a spinning kick aimed at Obito.
Just as Might Guy thought he had won, he saw a smile spread across Obito's face.
"Breathing Technique, Total Concentration Breathing!" Obito calmly caught Might Guy's rapidly kicking leg and unleashed a torrent of flames from his palm.
Despite Might Guy's chakra-enhanced leg and the breathing technique's bodily enhancement, he still felt the searing pain of the intense heat.
"How did Obito's strength and speed suddenly increase so much?" Might Guy wondered inwardly. Obito shouldn't have been able to catch his kick just now.
At that moment, Obito felt incredibly proud. It was only after truly mastering the technique that he realized his previous attempts at Total Concentration Breathing had not been fully concentrated. This new level of concentration far exceeded his previous efforts, and the improvement was significant.
However, this heightened state also came at a cost—it was extremely taxing on both stamina and chakra. After using the perfected Total Concentration Breathing once, Obito knew he wouldn't be able to use it a second time; maintaining his normal breathing was already a strenuous task.
While the boost in power was substantial, Obito knew that based on Kakashi and Might Guy's fight, his strength, at best, would be comparable to Might Guy's, and he wouldn't be able to suppress him.
At most, their physical strength would be evenly matched, but the technique also drained his stamina at a faster rate. Additionally, his taijutsu experience was inferior to Might Guy's, so Obito didn't harbor any thoughts of defeating Might Guy purely through physical techniques.
However, he could use the enhanced strength from Total Concentration Breathing to catch Might Guy off guard. Obito had deliberately revealed an opening, luring Might Guy into launching a hasty offensive.
Obito ruthlessly seized the opportunity, unleashing a fiery onslaught. Despite Might Guy pushing his Rock-style technique to the limit, he couldn't withstand Obito's relentless assault and soon lost the fight.
Mu Yue nodded, as she had expected this outcome.
After all, Obito was far ahead in his breathing technique training, and there was only one reason he would lose to Might Guy: Obito would have to slack off, and Might Guy would have to perform exceptionally well.
"Uchiha Obito wins!" the proctor announced.
"I finally got first place in the class!" Obito exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement.
It was strange to think about it. He had already achieved first place in his grade, but this was his first time achieving first place in his class.
Obito felt a sense of relief, knowing that he had faced a slight disadvantage in his fight with Might Guy. Fire Style jutsu was extremely powerful, and one wrong move could lead to disaster. He always felt a bit constrained when using it.
"Tomorrow, I'll fight with the same steadiness and secure the double first place!" Obito silently vowed to himself.
During the previous exam, he had also been in a favorable position, but he had become careless during the class practical exam and lost to Might Guy, resulting in the awkward situation of being first in his grade but not in his class.
This time, Obito was determined to remain as calm and collected as Kakashi in battle, even if he had the upper hand. He would not underestimate his opponent and would secure victory.
"Obito, you performed very well this time. It was impressive," Sakura praised sincerely.
"Hehe, Sakura, you'll also become like me one day," Obito said, his face reddening slightly as he smiled.
"Indeed, you performed excellently. You didn't waste the breathing technique that you learned first," Mu Yue smiled and complimented him.
Obito felt like he was on top of the world, receiving praise from both Sakura and Mu Yue. Could life get any better?
After the exam, Mu Yue took her disciples back to the Southern Border Forest. She first treated Might Guy's injuries and then began teaching Obito a new jutsu.
"The next jutsu I'll be teaching you is the Dust Hide Technique. This technique is useful for both retreating and launching surprise attacks.
'Fire Style: Ash Concealing Technique!' Mu Yue gathered her chakra in her throat and exhaled a blast of scorching flames and hot ash toward the front.
Since there were large trees nearby, Mu Yue controlled the power of the ninjutsu, creating more ash than flames to avoid causing a forest fire.
Obito instantly disappeared from Mu Yue's sight, obscured by the thick cloud of ash that blocked his vision.
After a brief demonstration, Mu Yue canceled the technique.
'But how can I use this technique if I can't see anything either?' Obito scratched his head in confusion.
'There are two options,' Mu Yue explained. 'You can use it solely for retreating and then run, or you can undergo special training to develop sound-based spatial awareness, allowing you to launch surprise attacks even in the thickest of ash.'
Obito decided to learn the technique first and figure out how to use it effectively later. It seemed pretty powerful.
[You have taught your disciple the Fire Style: Ash Concealing Technique. Out of gratitude, your disciple rewards you with a Critical Hit, granting you the Fire Style: Grand Flame Technique (Proficiency Level).]
It was a small explosion, but the reward was rather average.
Mu Yue would never use this technique in a normal situation because it was a secret jutsu of the Sarutobi Clan, known and practiced only by their ninjas.
For the third day of the grade-level practical exams, Mu Yue chose the venue for the fourth-grade students.
There was nothing interesting about the first-grade students; Danzo was on a rampage, and Hino would easily take second place as long as she didn't encounter him.
There was still a chance for an upset in the fourth-grade matches, especially with Obito involved.
On the third day, Obito and Might Guy faced each other in the quarterfinals. Perhaps learning from his previous mistakes, Obito remained cautious even after his victory yesterday. He played it safe and solid, securing another win against Might Guy.
'It looks like Obito will definitely be in first place again,' the spectators among the student body commented, believing that this match was the final showdown.
The other quarterfinal winner was Hyuga Hinata, who had been easily defeated by Might Guy in the previous exam and was the former former former first place.
As many students had expected, Obito's match against Hinata was a breeze. The intensity of the fight didn't come close to that of the quarterfinals.
The current Obito could take on Hinata without using too many jutsu. All he needed was a well-placed Fireball Jutsu to force Hinata to reposition, followed by a Flame Breath attack to overwhelm him. Hinata couldn't hold his ground at all.
'The winner of the grade-level practical exam is Uchiha Obito!' the proctor announced Obito's victory, bringing the final exam to a close.
With the exams over, the students naturally looked forward to their holidays. However, the fourth-grade students wouldn't get to enjoy a long break. They would only have four days of rest before embarking on special training or internships.
Mu Yue also decided to give Obito, Might Guy, Rin, and the others a short break, allowing them to rest for a few days.
'Obito, Akimichi, and Rin, remember to gather at the training ground I mentioned next Monday. Everyone can take some time to relax during this period,' Mu Yue announced, granting everyone a well-deserved vacation.
'So, we start taking on missions from Monday, huh?' Obito said, a hint of anticipation in his voice.
'Today's only Wednesday. We have so many days of rest!' Ever since becoming Mu Yue's disciple, Rin had been training tirelessly, and these few days of vacation felt like an eternity to her.
'A burning youth should be training every day!' Might Guy had no intention of resting. He would continue his routine and head to the Southern Border Forest for training tomorrow.
'Teacher Mu Yue, will you still be in the forest these few days?' Kakashi asked.
'Mhm, if any of you can't sit still, you're welcome to come and find me,' Mu Yue replied with a gentle smile.
'I still feel like there are some aspects of the breathing technique that I don't fully understand. I'll trouble you for guidance later, Teacher Mu Yue,' Kakashi said.
When the students were on vacation, it meant the teachers were off-duty as well. Kakashi felt like he was intruding on Mu Yue's personal time, hence his use of the word 'trouble.'
'It's a teacher's duty to guide their students. There's no trouble at all. If you have any questions, be sure to ask me promptly,' Mu Yue assured with a warm smile.
'As a teacher, the most joyful thing is to see the growth of your students.'
With Kakashi and Might Guy's dedication to their training, Obito felt a little embarrassed. If he didn't show the same enthusiasm, it would seem like he was the laziest among Mu Yue's disciples.
'Obito, are you going to share the good news of your victory with Kakashi tonight?'
'To prepare for the upcoming ninja life, I must indeed engage in more training,' Obito said with a serious expression, though his true intentions were quite different.
(End of Chapter)
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