Naruto: Teaching to Become Stronger, Changing Tragedies 39

Chapter 39: A Contest of Speed and Eyesight (Requesting Follows)

2025-01-18

Chapter 39: A Contest of Speed and Eyesight (Requesting Follows)

Obito felt agitated.

Without Kakashi’s participation, winning first place would be meaningless.

Obito wanted to defeat Kakashi in front of Rin Nohara, redeem himself, and take first place. Without Kakashi, winning wouldn’t feel satisfying.

His obsession with winning first place in the Junior Ninja Tournament was entirely Kakashi’s fault.

Years ago, in front of Rin Nohara, Kakashi had overwhelmingly won first place with a far higher score, making Obito’s victory speech sound like empty boasting.

Obito never forgot this, but he lacked the ability to win until now.

Now that he had the ability to win, he found his rival had already left the competition, which greatly frustrated him.

“No, I have to get Kakashi to participate!” Obito thought, increasingly convinced the competition wouldn’t be right without Kakashi.

“We could go find Kakashi after school and ask if he wants to join,” Rin Nohara suggested.

“I can go with you. We haven’t seen Kakashi in a while.”

Although the three were close friends, since Kakashi graduated, their opportunities to meet had decreased. She and Obito, as students, had to attend school every day, while Kakashi, as a ninja, had missions to attend to.

“Okay,” Obito nodded, thinking Rin’s idea was good.

Obito asked for a day off from his teacher, Mayuki, before school, deciding to skip his usual lesson with Mayuki and resolve the Kakashi issue first.

After school, Rin Nohara and Obito went directly to Kakashi’s house.

Kakashi’s house wasn’t in the main city center but in the suburbs nearby. While less bustling, it was less crowded than the main city.

Rin Nohara and Obito had been to Kakashi’s house before, even having dinner there.

Seeing the large, sloped-roof apartment building come into view, they knew they had arrived.

Their luck was good; Kakashi wasn’t on a mission today. When they arrived, he was practicing in the yard.

Kakashi held a silver Chakra short blade, severing a scarecrow’s head and limbs in two or three strokes.

Seeing his friends, Kakashi let out a light breath, sheathed his Chakra short blade, and asked:

“What brings you here?”

“We haven’t hung out in a long time, and we missed you, so we came to see you,” Rin Nohara said with a smile.

Obito wasn’t as polite as Rin Nohara, asking directly:

“Kakashi, the Junior Ninja Tournament is starting. Are you going to sign up?”

“The Junior Ninja Tournament?” Kakashi thought for a moment, realizing it was a civilian competition he’d participated in casually when he was still in school.

“No, not interested,” Kakashi replied indifferently.

He considered such competitions childish games, the first-place prize being merely a slightly more refined kunai. Even in ninja school, he’d only participated out of boredom, let alone now.

Obito’s face fell; Kakashi’s refusal was too abrupt.

“Why? Didn’t you participate before?” Obito asked persistently.

He genuinely wanted Kakashi to compete.

“Back then, I was still a ninja school student. Now, I’m a Middle-Ranked Ninja,” Kakashi pointed to his ninja forehead protector.

Obito felt Kakashi was hinting at something. He had been a student then, and he still was now…

“Being a Middle-Ranked Ninja or not doesn’t matter; there’s no age limit,” Obito continued.

“Must I explicitly say I’m not interested in this childish game?” Seeing Obito’s persistence, Kakashi said bluntly.

Obito’s face flushed. It was the Junior Ninja Tournament, not some childish game!

“I’ll be competing too, Kakashi! Are you afraid of losing to me?” Obito, growing impatient, became more aggressive.

“Lose to you? Have you ever won against me?” Kakashi said expressionlessly.

“I… I…” Obito frantically searched his memory, shockingly realizing he’d never actually won against Kakashi.

This frustrating fact made Obito’s face redden further.

“Don’t get cocky, Kakashi! I’m not the same as I used to be!” Obito, hands on his hips, declared his transformation.

Kakashi looked at Obito for a moment—tracksuit, protective goggles, a goofy smile, and hands on his hips; the sheer silliness was overwhelming.

Kakashi honestly replied, “I can’t see it.”

“Hidden Leaf curse word!” Obito couldn’t help but retort. (A common expression of frustration, similar to “Darn it!”)

“You two, even after all this time, you’re still the same,” Rin Nohara chuckled, covering her mouth.

This scene had played out countless times before Rin Nohara.

Obito loved to compete with Kakashi, but it was always Obito who came out on the losing end.

Obito took a deep breath, calming himself. He suddenly remembered his teacher, Mayuki.

“What would Teacher Mayuki do?” Obito pondered.

To make him train more seriously, Mayuki made him solve an extra math problem for every hit he took. While training was difficult, doing math problems was even more unpleasant, so he chose the lesser of two evils and trained more seriously to reduce the number of hits he took.

“The lesser of two evils…” Obito suddenly had an idea.

“Kakashi, you said I can’t beat you, so how about a bet?” Obito challenged with a smirk.

Kakashi’s expression remained unchanged. He calmly said:

“A bet on who gets first place in the tournament? You think I’d fall for such a clumsy provocation?”

Attending such a meaningless competition was less appealing than reading a book.

“Of course not! You think you’re so amazing; why don’t we test whether your eyesight is better than my speed?” Obito said.

“If you win, I won’t mention the tournament and I’ll buy you five bowls of ramen. If you lose, you just have to participate in the tournament.”

As long as Kakashi didn’t agree, he’d keep pestering him about the Junior Ninja Tournament until Kakashi would naturally agree to this simpler, quicker contest.

Kakashi didn’t immediately agree, asking, “How exactly will we compete?”

Obito picked a leaf from a tree near Kakashi’s house, placing it in his hand, and said:

“It’s simple. I’ll quickly switch the leaf between my hands, and you guess which hand it’s in. Simple, right?”

Kakashi considered this, thinking that Obito’s speed couldn’t possibly surpass his eyesight, so he agreed.

He knew Obito’s personality; he might pester him until nightfall.

It was better to use this simple contest to show Obito the gap between them.

Obito used his best speed, his hands moving frantically back and forth. After about five minutes, he stopped.

“Right hand,” Kakashi pointed directly at Obito’s right hand, where the leaf was hidden.

“I don’t know where you got the courage to challenge me to this.” Kakashi was somewhat disappointed.

He thought Obito’s speed would be much faster, but it wasn’t. The leaf never left his sight.

Hearing Kakashi’s words, Obito laughed, asking:

“Kakashi, are you sure it’s this hand? Once you’re certain, you can’t change your mind.”

“Trying to trick me? It’s the right hand. Open it up.” Kakashi didn’t change his mind because of Obito’s laughter; he just thought Obito was bluffing.

“Then I’ll open it.” Obito slowly opened his right hand.

(Today I have a funeral to attend to, so I wrote this in a hurry. If there are any problems, please let me know and I will revise it later.)

(End of Chapter)

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