"It's Kakashi and Rin! Oh my god! They're on the same team—how are they going to fight?
"Fight? No matter how she tries, Kakashi will win in the end! Even if we try to be considerate, Rin's still going to get beaten up."
"Poor Rin... She ended up facing the one person no candidate wanted to fight—the strongest, Kakashi."
"Yeah, Rin's just a medical ninja. How can she possibly match up to a genius like Kakashi? Luckily for us, she's the one who ran into him."
"Honestly, she should just surrender and avoid getting hurt. They're teammates anyway, so it doesn't matter who wins..."
"Exactly. Kakashi's a cold-blooded ninja, ruthless and sticks to the rules. He might not show mercy, even to a friend!"
"How can this be happening?!" Listening to the chatter around him, Obito's eyes reddened with frustration. He gripped the railing tightly, gritting his teeth.
Damn it—how did things end up like this?
Just the thought of Rin getting hurt—especially by Kakashi, his sworn rival—was enough to make Obito furious. "Kakashi, I don't care what you think! If you dare hurt Rin, I swear I'll never forgive you!"
"Instead of worrying about that, you'd better start thinking about how you're going to beat your own opponent," Kakashi replied coolly, leaping over the railing into the arena with a smack of his palm.
"Rin, even if you're my opponent, I won't go easy on you. That's the respect I give you—and my responsibility to the Chunin Exams."
"Damn it!" Hearing Kakashi's declaration from the arena, Obito's frustration boiled over. He turned desperately toward Rin, ready to urge her to surrender.
The idea of such a sweet girl being injured by that bastard Kakashi was unbearable—it was like his heart was being crushed.
"Obito, now's not the time for me to back down." Seeing his panicked expression, Rin took a deep breath and gave him a calm, confident smile.
"I know you're worried, but we're not kids anymore—we're independent shinobi now. Kakashi's right. Holding back would only mean he doesn't value me or the Chunin Exams." Before Obito could say a word, she turned and jumped into the arena to meet her opponent.
"Besides, I want to see the difference in strength between me and Kakashi!" Staring across the arena at him, Nohara Rin's pretty face was more resolute than ever.
The Kannabi Bridge mission was only a year away. There was no time for hesitation or retreat. If she wanted to change the tragic fate of Minato's team, she had to face reality and grow stronger—starting now.
Even if her opponent was the genius she'd admired since childhood, it couldn't be allowed to hold her back.
This was Nohara Rin's resolve!
"Rin..." Obito muttered, stunned as he watched her step forward. For the first time, this familiar girl seemed distant—almost like a stranger.
Not just Obito—even Kakashi across from her, and Minato Namikaze on the sidelines, were stunned.
When had Rin become so strong-willed? So confident? Confident enough to face Kakashi head-on, without flinching?
Was this… Rin's growth?
"It seems this child hasn't disappointed me after all. That determined gaze holds the Will of Fire. If she holds onto that strength, she won't be lost in the crowd..." Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted his Hokage hat, his expression soft with satisfaction.
Now, it was time to witness this girl's true strength.
"Begin!" The Chunin examiner didn't concern himself with the audience's feelings. After confirming the identity of the combatants, he immediately signaled the start.
"Rin, I'm ending this quickly." At the very instant the words left the examiner's mouth, Kakashi's eyes sharpened, and he lunged forward with a blade formed from his chakra.
There was no need for a warm-up between comrades who knew each other so well.
"A close-quarters fight?" Rin smirked. Without missing a beat, her right fist lit up with chakra as she launched a counterattack, drawing on her Chakra Enhanced Punch technique.
'The same trick as before? But I'm not Guy—that idiot.' Kakashi's eyes flashed, and just as he rushed toward Nohara Rin's outstretched fist, he pivoted on his foot like a falling meteor, slashing at the back of her neck with a high-speed palm blade.
It was clearly meant to be a decisive, single-strike finish!
'As expected of Kakashi. If it had been a surprise like this before, I wouldn't have been able to react in time. But now…' Nohara Rin's pupils shrank as chakra suddenly exploded from beneath her right foot, spinning her body swiftly as she launched a counterpunch.
Kakashi was caught off guard—he hadn't expected Rin to react with such speed. But a genius was still a genius. In a flash, chakra burst from Kakashi's feet as he leapt backward, quickly forming hand seals mid-air.
"Earth Style: Earth Wave…" The moment he widened the distance, Kakashi slammed one palm onto the ground.
Just as Rin prepared to face the technique head-on, she felt the terrain beneath her shift—waves rippled through the ground one after another, throwing off her balance!
"You won't be able to escape my next move. Surrender, Rin…" Watching her struggle to stabilize herself, Kakashi formed seals again and growled with conviction.
"That's the Tiger Seal—damn it, Kakashi's going to use a Fire Style jutsu on Rin!" In the stands, Obito's face twisted in alarm as he recognized the familiar hand sign.
Without hesitation, Obito turned and shouted in panic, "Rin, surrender! You won't be able to dodge a Fire Style jutsu like this!"
"It's true. With the ground unstable beneath me, I can't dodge either in the air or on the surface—Kakashi's Fire Style will definitely connect. But Kakashi… you're not the only one who knows ninjutsu." A confident smile tugged at Rin's lips as chakra surged beneath her feet. She launched into the air and began forming hand seals at lightning speed.
"Here it comes!" Seeing her movements, Kakashi smirked, raising an eyebrow as he shouted: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A roaring stream of fire twisted forward, expanding into a massive fireball nearly two meters wide as it blasted toward Rin in midair.
"Water Style: Water Wave!" Just as the fireball was about to engulf her, Rin shouted with all her strength.
With a sharp "puff," a jet of water burst from Rin's small mouth and slammed into the fireball! Fire clashed with water, and in the next instant, thick mist erupted, blanketing the arena and obscuring everyone's vision.
'Now—it's over!' The moment the steam rose, Kakashi's eyes narrowed fiercely. Without hesitation, he drew the short sword from his back and vanished.
This was the Hatake sword style, inherited from his father—the legendary White Fang of Konoha!
"Kakashi!" Obito shouted, enraged at the sight. He hadn't expected Kakashi to go so far as to use his ultimate swordsmanship—he was pulling no punches!
This was bad. In the dense mist, a blade could strike without warning. One wrong move and something irreversible could happen!
Damn it, Rin… please don't get hurt…
"Kakashi." Everything happened in a heartbeat. As Obito panicked in the stands, Rin noticed Kakashi reappear before her—his blade gleaming dangerously close.
There was no mistaking his intent. He was using his strongest attack to push her into surrendering! Otherwise, Kakashi, with his skill, would never choose to attack head-on at this range.
Her strength had indeed grown—but it still wasn't enough to match Kakashi at full force.
'So that's it… this is the gap between us. But even if I have to admit defeat, I'll let you see how much I've grown, Kakashi.' In the silence, Rin came to terms with her situation, her eyes filled with determination.
Then, just as Kakashi was about to pull back his short sword, Rin's right hand erupted with brilliant blue chakra, condensing into a swirling sphere!
"That is…!" Kakashi's pupils contracted violently. He froze in disbelief.
"Rasengan!!"
Rin's clear, powerful cry echoed through the entire arena, and under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the fruit of her hard training was finally unleashed for the first time.