https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-302-Uchiha-Madara-s-Understanding-of-Obito/12558373/
Chapter 301: Watchful Eyes in the Darkness
Chapter 301: Watchful Eyes in the Darkness
"Uncle Kawada, if we all become Chunin this time, will we be qualified to accept A-rank missions?" Obito asked curiously.
The ninja leading Obito and his teammates to their designated entrance was Kawada Kazuya, a familiar figure often spotted by Obito in the mission hall.
"Not quite," Kawada replied. "But you'll be free to take on any B-rank missions."
"Taking on A-rank missions depends on Jonin Kakashi's decision. He's the one with the authority to accept those," he added.
"But Jonin Kakashi is also part of our squad, so his authority is ours as well, right?" Obito said, confused by Kawada's explanation.
"Becoming a Chunin sets you apart from Genin. You won't need Jonin Kakashi to accept missions; you can do it on your own. Moreover, during times of war, Jonin responsibilities are immense. If he's occupied with other tasks, you'll have to handle missions independently," Kawada elaborated.
The ninja rankings were simple—Jonin, Chunin, and Genin—so Chunin status already qualified one to lead a team.
As they conversed, Kawada led them to the forty-fourth entrance.
Due to the participation of other hidden villages, the number of candidates for this Chunin exam was substantial. There were twenty-seven teams from Konoha and an additional seventeen teams combined from the other ninja villages.
Upon reaching the entrance, Kawada didn't immediately open the door. Glancing at his watch, he noted that it was already two o'clock, half an hour before the exam was scheduled to begin.
Kawada informed Obito and his teammates of the exam's start time and then closed his eyes to rest and prepare for the upcoming challenge.
"Since we can't enter yet, let's discuss our strategy for this exam," Kakashi suggested.
"What's there to discuss? Let's just find a team, take their scrolls, and head straight for the central tower, following the rules," Obito replied, feeling that adhering to the rules was the best course of action.
"How do you plan to find them? Should we wander around and hope for luck, head straight to the middle tower and lie in wait, or create a ruckus to attract attention?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.
While their goal was clear—to obtain the scrolls and reach the central tower—there were multiple approaches to consider.
"Kakashi seems quite reliable when it comes to this," Hinata remarked softly.
Obito made a mental note to brush up on his knowledge in this area and become a ninja with a strategic mindset.
With Hinata's support and Obito's tacit agreement, Kakashi shared his plan.
"On the first day, we'll search for enemies in the vicinity. If we manage to obtain both the Earth and Heaven scrolls, we'll head straight for the central tower. If we don't acquire them by the end of the first day, we'll spend the next two days seeking out other teams in areas with abundant food and water sources."
Kakashi knew that there were no shops within the Forest of Death, so each team had to fend for themselves when it came to logistics. Hence, he reasoned that places with ample food and water would likely attract other participants.
"If we still haven't encountered anyone by the end of the third day, we'll make our way to the vicinity of the central tower and ambush teams that have already obtained the Earth and Heaven scrolls," Kakashi continued after a brief pause.
"Unless you have other suggestions, we'll proceed with this plan," Kakashi concluded.
Hinata nodded in agreement with Kakashi's strategy, and Obito's silence was taken as tacit consent.
"You may enter now. Come on," Kawada said as he unlocked the iron door promptly at half-past two.
"Uncle Kawada, once the exam is over, please choose a good A-rank mission for us!" Obito called out with a broad smile as he stepped into the Forest of Death, turning back to wave at Kawada.
"Focus on passing the exam first. Be careful of the Kirigakure ninjas; this Chunin exam is particularly dangerous," Kawada replied as he locked the door behind them.
Kawada wasn't too concerned about Obito and his teammates facing off against ninjas from the smaller ninja villages, but the Kirigakure ninjas, hailing from a major ninja village like Konoha, posed a significant threat.
Once inside the Forest of Death, the trio began executing Kakashi's predetermined plan.
Kakashi and Obito took up positions on either side, with Hinata trailing two paces behind Kakashi, forming the rear. They moved swiftly, searching for other teams.
With a diameter of twenty kilometers, the Forest of Death was vast, and it would be highly improbable for over a hundred people to stumble upon each other by chance. However, for ninjas with their level of agility, the forest wasn't exceptionally large.
About an hour into their search, the trio encountered their first opponent—a team of three Konoha ninjas.
"Hand over your scrolls. Since we're all from Konoha, I won't make things difficult for you. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that your two teammates won't end up badly injured during the fight," said the tall, thin Konoha ninja at the forefront.
"I know you're much stronger than me, Kakashi, but even for you, a one-versus-three fight isn't necessarily a sure win. It might be wiser to conserve your strength and target teams from the smaller ninja villages," he continued.
He was four years older than Kakashi, but because Kakashi had graduated early without completing the third semester, his actual graduation was later than Kakashi's. Thus, he was well aware that Kakashi was a genius whose strength defied age.
However, he believed that even a genius like Kakashi might struggle against their trio. After all, they had each trained for four years longer than Kakashi, amounting to a cumulative twelve years of additional training.
As for Obito and Hinata, they were dismissed as newly graduated rookies, judging by their appearance.
"Hey, why are you acting like Kakashi is so strong? I'm even stronger than him!" Obito interjected, unable to hold his tongue.
He was exasperated by the notion that they lacked confidence in defeating Kakashi in a one-on-three fight and were now threatening to injure him, despite having the numerical advantage.
"Who are you?" The thin Konoha ninja signaled to his teammates and then directed his question at Obito.
His two companions began to slowly spread out, forming a triangular formation around Obito's team, preventing any attempt at escape.
"Uchiha Obito!" Obito replied proudly.
"Never heard of you," the thin ninja shrugged.
Obito's fists clenched tightly, his determination hardening.
"You should be the ones surrendering your scrolls. This guy, when it comes to individual combat strength, is indeed no weaker than me..."
He naturally didn't believe Kakashi's nonsense. How could it be possible that an innocent-looking genin like that had the same strength as Kakashi?
Without waiting for a response, the skinny Konoha ninja signaled to his teammates and lunged at Tobirama. His two companions immediately followed suit, launching their attack.
"Breath of Fire, Full Concentration!"
Tobirama took in a deep breath, maximizing his oxygen intake and amplifying his chakra.
Whoosh!
As the skinny Konoha ninja rushed toward Tobirama, he found that Tobirama's figure had disappeared right before his eyes.
"Could it be that Kakashi wasn't bluffing after all?" The skinny Konoha ninja's mind raced with this sudden realization.
Bang!
Tobirama, having unleashed his Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique, appeared behind the skinny ninja in an instant and delivered a powerful punch that sent him flying backward, crashing into a large tree along the way.
"So fast!" The skinny ninja was shocked by the incredible speed.
Bang! Bang!
Before the skinny ninja could gather his thoughts, he saw his two teammates suffer the same fate and get knocked away.
"Ugh." The skinny ninja stood up, feeling the pain all over his body, and couldn't help but hiss in pain.
"Damn, we've kicked a steel plate this time." The skinny ninja felt a sense of foreboding.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Tobirama seized the opportunity to perform the necessary hand seals and unleash a fire jutsu. With the enhancement of the Breath of Fire, he quickly formed a massive fireball, three meters in diameter.
Seeing that Tobirama had another powerful fire jutsu up his sleeve, the skinny ninja's initial intention to fight it out completely vanished. He hastily called out, "We concede! Take the scroll, and don't hit us anymore."
The exam had just started, and there would be plenty of other opportunities. If they got injured here, it would affect the rest of the exam.
Tobirama spat out the unfinished fireball to the side and proudly said, "I told you I'm stronger than Kakashi. Remember the name, Uchiha Obito."
"I would've remembered even if you didn't say it," the skinny ninja sighed. When he first saw Kakashi's team, he thought they were lucky, but he never expected that this seemingly harmless squad didn't have a single weak member.
"Here's the scroll." The skinny ninja took out the white scroll with the character for 'Heaven' on it and threw it to Tobirama.
Tobirama's excited expression immediately turned to disappointment upon realizing it was the Heaven scroll.
"All this fighting for nothing. It's the Heaven scroll," Tobirama sighed.
Having two of the same scrolls was useless for this exam; they needed to gather one 'Heaven' and one 'Earth' scroll.
Kakashi frowned slightly. Tobirama's lack of secrecy was a concern, as he had just directly revealed their scroll information to the other team.
"You have the Heaven scroll too, so it's useless for you as well. Why don't you give it back to us?" The skinny ninja's eyes lit up as he proposed a deal.
"Having two Heaven scrolls won't get you through the exam, but you can try to find other teams with extra Earth scrolls and trade with them," Kakashi replied, denying the skinny ninja's request.
Two scrolls were better than one, and even though they were from the same village, this was the Chunin Exam. Kakashi had no intention of returning the scrolls they had taken.
"I can offer information in exchange! I've gathered a lot of intelligence on the participants from our village. Even if it's not useful for the second exam, it might come in handy for the third one," the skinny ninja quickly added.
"Let's see if your information is worth it," Kakashi said, not agreeing immediately. Information was indeed valuable to a ninja.
The skinny ninja searched his body and produced two small cards, which he tossed to Kakashi.
"Nara Yoshinori, a member of the Nara clan, specializes in Shadow Imitation Technique, high IQ, remains calm in battle..."
"Inuzuka Midori, a member of the Inuzuka clan, excels in cooperative combat with ninja dogs, has a rash personality..."
Kakashi glanced at the skinny ninja with a sideways look, surprised to see that the cards even had small photos attached to them. He was curious as to how the skinny ninja had obtained them.
"It's a great deal to exchange the useless Heaven scroll for information," the skinny ninja said, taking advantage of Kakashi's apparent interest to push for the trade.
"I need to verify the accuracy of your information first," Kakashi said after a moment's thought. He recited the names of the two Konoha genin he had met during the first exam.
If this information was correct, it could be quite useful. However, if it turned out to be false, it would have a negative impact.
The skinny ninja quickly found the information cards for the two genin Kakashi mentioned and handed them over.
After inspecting the cards and finding no issues, Kakashi agreed to the trade.
Although the information was basic, it was well worth exchanging for the extra scroll.
"Thank you. If we don't get promoted this time, I'll provide you with information for free next time," the skinny ninja said with a smirk as he took back his scroll.
"Then we definitely won't need it because we will succeed," Tobirama replied, still looking through the information cards.
"In that case, good luck to you," the skinny ninja said, quickly ushering his teammates to leave.
He wanted to get away from there as soon as possible, as he was worried about encountering other teams. Their condition wasn't ideal at the moment, especially after Tobirama's powerful punch.
After organizing the information, Tobirama, Kakashi, and the others continued on their way, searching for their next opponent.
However, as they moved forward, they remained unaware that a figure, half-shrouded in darkness, was watching them from the shadows.
Today has been incredibly painful. You wouldn't want to know the feeling of eating spicy food and then having diarrhea afterward; all I can say is that it severely impacted my ability to write.
Also, I want to clarify a misconception about the Blood Mist. Some people assume that Obito was responsible for it, but that's not the case. In the manga, during Obito's flashback, a Kirigakure ninja says, "Don't underestimate us, the Blood Mist Village."
Obito, at most, inherited or furthered the Blood Mist policies but did not create them.
(End of Chapter)
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