Chapter 39: A Competition Between Hand Speed and Eyesight
Obito was a bit annoyed.
If Kakashi didn't participate, then taking first place would be meaningless.
He wanted to defeat Kakashi right in front of Rin to wash away his previous shame. Without Kakashi, even winning wouldn't make him happy.
His obsession with the Youth Ninjutsu Competition stemmed entirely from Kakashi.
Back then, in front of Rin, Kakashi had crushed him with a flawless victory, turning Obito's championship speech into a humiliating joke. That loss had stuck with him ever since.
But back then, he didn't have the power to win.
Now he did.
Yet his opponent had already moved on—and that made Obito even more frustrated.
"No. I have to make Kakashi participate in the competition!" The more he thought about it, the more he felt that a competition without Kakashi simply wasn't worth it.
"We can wait until after school and ask Kakashi if he wants to join," Rin suggested.
"I'll go with you. It's been a while since we've seen him."
Although the three of them were close, ever since Kakashi graduated, they rarely had the chance to meet.
She and Obito were still students who had to attend school every day, while Kakashi, as a ninja, was busy with missions.
"Alright," Obito nodded. Rin's suggestion made sense.
Obito asked Mugetsu for leave before the school day ended. He wouldn't go to Mugetsu's place today—Kakashi's matter came first.
After school, Rin and Obito went straight to Kakashi's house.
His home wasn't in the Main District, but in the suburbs nearby. It wasn't as busy, but also wasn't as crowded.
They had been there before, even shared meals together.
Seeing the large, flat-roofed, sloped house ahead, they knew they'd arrived.
Their luck was good—Kakashi wasn't out on a mission today. When they arrived, he was training in the yard.
Holding a silver chakra short blade, Kakashi struck down a scarecrow with a few clean moves, slicing off its head and limbs effortlessly.
Upon seeing them, Kakashi exhaled lightly, sheathed his blade behind his back, and asked,
"Why are you here?"
"It's been a while since we hung out. We missed you, so we came to visit," Rin said with a warm smile.
Obito, less polite than Rin, got straight to the point.
"Kakashi, the Youth Ninjutsu Competition is coming up. Are you signing up?"
"Youth Ninjutsu Competition?" Kakashi paused, recalling the civilian contest he'd joined during school just for fun.
"No. I'm not interested."
To him, that kind of event was just for kids. The first prize was nothing more than a slightly fancier kunai.
Even when he was still in the Academy, he'd only joined because he was bored—let alone now.
Obito's expression fell. Kakashi had rejected the idea too quickly.
"Why not? You've participated before!" he pressed, unwilling to give up.
"I was a student then. I'm a Chunin now," Kakashi said, tapping his headband.
Obito caught the unspoken implication. He had been a student back then... and still was.
"So what if you're a Chunin? There's no age limit anyway," Obito countered.
"Do I really have to spell it out? I'm not interested in that kind of kids' game," Kakashi replied coldly, not budging an inch.
Obito was getting heated. Kids' game? This was the Youth Ninjutsu Competition!
"I'm participating, Kakashi! Don't tell me you're just scared of losing to me?!" Obito blurted out in frustration.
"Lose to you? Have you ever beaten me?" Kakashi replied, deadpan.
"I... I..." Obito racked his brain but came up empty. Not once.
The realization hit hard, and a flush crept up his face.
"Kakashi, don't be so full of yourself! I'm not the same as I was before!" he declared, planting his fists on his hips with dramatic flair.
Kakashi stared at him: goggles, tracksuit, ridiculous pose, goofy grin. He looked just as silly as ever.
"Doesn't look that way to me," Kakashi said bluntly.
"Konoha foul language!" Obito snapped, unable to take the jab.
"You two are just like always," Rin said, giggling behind her hand.
This kind of back-and-forth was nothing new to her. Obito always tried to challenge Kakashi... and always lost.
Obito took a deep breath, calming himself. Then, he suddenly remembered Mugetsu.
If it were Mugetsu-sensei, how would he handle this?
To make Obito train harder, Mugetsu had set up a rule: every time he got hit, he had to solve another problem. Training was painful, but the written work was worse. So Obito had practiced harder just to avoid the punishment.
The lesser of two evils...
That gave Obito an idea.
"Kakashi, didn't you just say I can't beat you? Then how about a bet?" Obito smirked.
Kakashi didn't react. "Bet on who wins the competition? Do you really think I'd fall for that kind of bait?"
Wasting time on a pointless contest wasn't appealing. Reading a few more books sounded better.
"Not that," Obito said. "You think you're so great, right? Then why don't we test whether your eyesight is sharper or my hand speed is faster?"
"If you win, I won't bring up the competition again—and I'll treat you to ramen five times. But if you lose... you have to join the competition."
If Kakashi refused, Obito would just keep pestering him endlessly. So naturally, he'd agree to this simpler challenge.
Kakashi didn't answer right away. "How are we doing this?"
Obito plucked a leaf from a nearby tree and placed it on his palm.
"Simple. I'll switch the leaf between my hands as fast as I can. You just have to guess which hand it ends up in. Easy, right?"
Kakashi considered it. There was no way Obito's hand speed could outmatch his eyes.
"Fine."
He knew Obito's personality well. If he didn't agree now, Obito might bug him until midnight.
Better to crush his hopes quickly.
Obito focused, pushing his hand speed to the limit, shaking his hands left and right at full force. After five solid minutes, he finally stopped.
"Right hand," Kakashi said instantly, pointing without hesitation.
He'd tracked the leaf the entire time.
"I really don't know where you got the confidence to challenge me like this," Kakashi muttered.
He had expected a challenge, but this was too easy. The leaf had never left his sight.
But Obito just grinned.
"Kakashi, you sure it's this hand? Once you say it, you can't take it back."
"Trying to bluff me?" Kakashi scoffed. "It's in your right hand. Open it already."
"Alright then." Obito slowly opened his right hand—
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for Advanced Chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9