https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-276-Rewards-for-Battle-Striving-for-Advanced-Fire-Style/12558324/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-278-The-Prodigy-Among-Prodigies-Uchiha-Stop-Water/12558330/
Chapter 277: The Astonished Uchiha Clan
Chapter 277: The Astonished Uchiha Clan
"Then I challenge you." Obito issued a challenge to Uchiha Inabi.
He had been wondering how to obtain the reward, and Inabi's words instantly cleared his mind.
"I accept your challenge." Inabi looked at Obito with appreciative eyes, feeling that the boy's boldness in challenging a stronger opponent reflected well on his character.
"Just go all out, don't hold back," Inabi added.
Although Uchiha Tetsu had said that Obito possessed the strength to pass the Chunin Exams, Inabi didn't believe that a nine-year-old Obito could injure him. After all, he had passed the Chunin Exams last year, and he felt that Tetsu, being a recent graduate, might not fully grasp the exam's difficulty.
"Alright, I'll go all out," Obito nodded, thinking that Inabi was a battle maniac like Might Guy.
"Tetsu, why don't you be the referee for us?" Inabi suggested to Tetsu, who was standing beside him.
The Uchiha clan didn't usually have dedicated referees for their spars, often relying on friends or forgoing a referee altogether.
"No problem," Tetsu nodded. He was looking forward to receiving some guidance from Inabi after his match with Obito.
The group then moved to the vacant area in the courtyard, near a small pavilion where Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Hachiman had retired to drink tea.
As it was still early, no one else was sparring yet, making Obito and Inabi the first to begin.
"I'll count down from five, and then we'll start. Five, four..." Tetsu said as Obito and Inabi assumed their battle stances.
Fugaku and Hachiman, sipping their tea, noticed the group preparing for a fight.
"This Uchiha Obito is a promising young talent. He has good natural talent and isn't afraid to challenge others," Hachiman remarked, nodding in approval.
He had high hopes for Obito, believing that among the Uchiha of similar ages, only Itachi could be considered more of a genius.
"Indeed, Inabi is also impressive. Despite his young age, he handles his duties in the Police Force with maturity," Fugaku agreed, setting down his teacup.
"Two, one, begin!" Tetsu finished the countdown, quickly backing away as he shouted, "Start!" By then, he had reached the side of the house and was ready to observe the fight intently.
Tetsu predicted that Inabi would ultimately win, but it wouldn't be an easy victory; he expected a tough battle.
The sound of Tetsu's voice drew the attention of the Uchiha clan members inside the house.
"Someone's fighting already? Let's see who it is," one of them said.
"The fact that they're the first match suggests they're probably quite strong," another added.
Several curious Uchiha members stepped out to watch the spar.
"It's Inabi," one of them recognized. "That's no surprise, but who's he fighting? I don't think I've seen that person before, and they look quite young."
"Don't know. Don't recognize him," the others shook their heads.
"Probably a junior who's not good at socializing, which is why we haven't seen him much. This fight will likely be more of a teaching moment than a real contest," someone speculated.
A few Uchiha members returned inside, feeling that such a fight wasn't worth their time.
As soon as Tetsu finished the countdown, Obito altered his breathing pattern, entering the 'Fire-style Breathing' state while cautiously observing Inabi.
"Why isn't he moving? What kind of tactic is this?" Obito wondered, puzzled by Inabi's inaction.
In all his school battles and missions, he had never encountered an opponent who remained stationary, leaving themselves completely exposed.
Obito couldn't quite understand what Inabi was trying to do.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito swiftly formed the necessary hand seals, channeling chakra into his throat and altering its nature before exhaling a massive torrent of flames.
The flames converged into a colossal, tangerine-hued fireball nearly four meters in diameter, an impressive display of power.
Lacking information about Inabi's abilities and faced with his peculiar strategy, Obito opted for the versatile and powerful Fireball Jutsu as his opening move.
"He's already mastered the Fireball Jutsu at such a young age?" Inabi exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise as the massive fireball hurtled toward him.
His own Fireball Jutsu, when executed with full power, would result in a similar-sized fireball. And yet, Obito was only nine years old, four years younger than him.
"He must be a ninjutsu prodigy," Inabi thought.
He decided to shift the focus of his guidance to taijutsu, feeling that there wasn't much to instruct Obito on in the realm of fire-style ninjutsu, given the boy's proficiency.
"His name is Uchiha Obito, the same age as me, nine years old this year," Uchiha Tetsu corrected them.
"Uchiha Obito? I've heard that name before. Isn't he supposed to be the black sheep of the Uchiha clan?" wondered a Uchiha ninja three years older than Obito, vaguely recalling the name.
In his graduating year, he had heard rumors of a low-performing student in the lower grades named Uchiha Obito, dubbed the black sheep of the clan. While they shared a clan, he had no inclination to stand up for Obito. In his mind, if one lacked strength, they deserved the label of black sheep.
"Black sheep? How can you call someone who can use such an advanced Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu at nine years old a black sheep?"
Uchiha Tetsu felt a mix of emotions hearing their comments. Who would have thought that Obito would suddenly blossom in his graduating year, transforming from the bottom of the class to a top contender?
He could understand why these Uchiha clan members were unaware of Obito's recent improvements, as most graduates lost touch with school affairs. Moreover, it seemed that Obito didn't have many Uchiha friends aside from Itachi.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Uchiha Inabi swiftly formed the necessary hand seals, channeling a large amount of chakra to create a fireball similar in size to Obito's.
BOOM!!!
The two massive fireballs collided, creating a fierce explosion. The scorching flames charred the ground near the point of impact, and the deafening blast drew out all the Uchiha clan members from inside the house.
"This Uchiha Obito is more than just decent. He seems to have a strong affinity for fire-style ninjutsu," Uchiha Fugaku remarked, astonished.
He had intended to observe Itachi's performance, but Obito had unexpectedly given him a pleasant surprise.
"Indeed, such talent is rare even among our Uchiha clan," Uchiha Hachiman agreed, setting down his teacup. He himself had been unable to perform such a technique at Obito's age.
Uchiha Fugaku decided that at the end of the exchange, he would gift Obito a B-rank fire-style ninjutsu as a reward.
After countering Obito's fireball, Uchiha Inabi took the initiative and charged towards him, judging that taijutsu would be Obito's weakness.
Obito was only nine years old, and to have achieved such excellence in ninjutsu, he must have dedicated a significant amount of time to it, leaving little room for training in taijutsu.
"He's a bit slow. Is he planning some sort of tactic?" Obito wondered if Uchiha Inabi was feigning weakness.
Inabi's earlier demeanor of a senior guiding a junior led Obito to believe that he was strong, yet Inabi's current speed was only on par with his normal breathing technique.
"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Obito concentrated his breathing, further enhancing his physical abilities.
When faced with something he couldn't understand, he chose not to overthink it and instead went all out, ready to adapt as needed.
Whoosh!
Obito concentrated chakra into his feet and burst forward at incredible speed, rushing towards Uchiha Inabi and delivering a powerful spinning kick.
Obito had learned a bit of the Whirlwind series of taijutsu and, due to his frequent sparring with Might Guy, was quite proficient with it.
"So fast!" Uchiha Inabi could only see Obito's figure blur as he suddenly appeared beside him.
Bang!
Before Uchiha Inabi could react, he was sent flying by the kick, crashing to the ground four meters away.
Lying on the ground, Uchiha Inabi was completely dazed, his mind filled with questions: Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?
"Not only is his ninjutsu highly proficient, but his taijutsu is also so strong. Has he been training since the moment he was born?" Uchiha Inabi felt extremely dejected.
Not only was Uchiha Inabi stunned, but Obito himself was also bewildered.
"I haven't made much progress in taijutsu or breathing techniques lately, so how did he go down so easily?" Obito scratched his head as he looked at Uchiha Inabi, who was four meters away.
The watching Uchiha clan members were even more astonished. While they didn't know Obito, they were familiar with Uchiha Inabi.
Uchiha Inabi had been participating in these exchanges since he became a genin, never missing a year, and always challenging older Uchiha clan members. He was considered one of the young rising stars of the Uchiha clan.
"When did our clan produce such a genius? He looks to be around ten years old at most, yet he easily took down Inabi," they marveled.
"I think his name is Uchiha Obito."
"Uchiha Obito? Isn't that..."
Initially, the commotion drew their attention due to the noise caused by the colliding ninjutsu. As more people gathered and discussed the event, their voices grew louder, eventually attracting the attention of the entire house. By the end, they had all memorized the name Uchiha Obito and marked him as a genius.
"Maybe Inabi was careless. After all, this is his first time fighting against Obito," Tetsuhi consoled himself, then continued to watch the battle as Inabi got back on his feet.
Inabi shared similar thoughts with Tetsu; he acknowledged that Obito's taijutsu was indeed strong, but he attributed his defeat largely to his own underestimation of his opponent.
"I can't treat him as a junior anymore. I need to regard him as an equal," Inabi breathed, his expression turning cautious.
Inabi now viewed Obito as an opponent of the same caliber, while Obito, after two rounds of combat, concluded that Inabi's strength was significantly inferior to his own.
All those moves earlier weren't tactics; they were just plain raw and inexperienced.
Once Obito realized this, he charged forward, relying solely on the boost provided by his Total Concentration Breathing.
Inabi was extremely cautious this time, but it couldn't make up for the gap between their strengths.
Bang! He was knocked down by Obito once more.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" Realizing that his taijutsu was truly no match, Inabi switched to ninjutsu.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Scarlet Claw!"
The fireball infused with shuriken was more powerful than a regular Phoenix Fire Jutsu, and Inabi's attack was countered, leaving him with a burn from the high-temperature shuriken.
"He even mastered this technique!" Inabi exclaimed, realizing he had underestimated Obito once more. It wasn't just taijutsu where Obito excelled, but also ninjutsu.
Obito seized the opportunity and pinned Inabi to the ground, pressing a kunai against his neck.
"I guess this means I win?" Obito asked casually.
He felt that this advanced fire-style jutsu was quite manageable, and Inabi didn't even use the Sharingan. Earlier, he had wondered what he would do if Inabi used the Sharingan.
"Uchiha Obito wins," Tetsu finally announced the outcome of the battle. His expression was difficult to describe—a mix of surprise, sadness, and confusion.
Lying on the ground, Inabi's emotions were equally complex. Initially, he had approached the fight intending to guide his junior, only to be thoroughly schooled by the same junior.
"Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Obito asked with concern, offering his hand to Inabi.
He had a favorable impression of Inabi, who had helped him acquire an advanced fire-style jutsu with ease.
Inabi grabbed Obito's hand and stood up. "It's not that troublesome. It's just a minor scratch. I'll be fine after some rest."
With that, Inabi walked towards the house, needing some time alone to gather his thoughts.
"Inabi," Tetsu patted Inabi's shoulder. He understood that feeling all too well. Not long ago, he, too, had been defeated by Obito in front of his classmates, who looked on in disbelief.
Obito's performance in this fight exceeded the expectations of most, except for Danzo, who believed in his potential.
"I didn't expect his taijutsu to be so exceptional on top of his ninjutsu prowess," Uchiha Hachidai remarked in awe.
He had originally hoped for Obito to become the next Inabi, but now, Obito had surpassed Inabi in strength.
"We can allocate more resources to Uchiha Obito and cultivate his sense of family identity," Uchiha Fugaku suggested after some thought.
Fugaku now had high hopes for Obito, as his strength at nine years old surpassed his own at that age.
Hachidai nodded in agreement. A genius like Obito deserved every opportunity to grow and would become a reliable asset in a decade.
After defeating Inabi, some curious Uchiha members approached Obito, eager to exchange insights on training. However, their inquiries were limited to cultivation methods.
Obito answered their questions as best he could and, in the process, made several acquaintances among the younger Uchiha ninjas.
(End of Chapter)
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