Early morning.Ninja Academy.
Yoshino Taiga stood on the platform, looking down at the excited, chattering students. He raised his voice and announced, "All right, get ready—today we begin live-combat training!"
Uchiha Obito slammed his hands on the desk and shouted, "Good! I want to fight Kakashi!"
Obito had been annoyed with Kakashi for a long time. More accurately, all the boys were annoyed with Kakashi—his cool demeanor and handsome appearance drew the attention of nearly every girl in the class.
Especially Rin, who kept sneaking glances at him.
Yoshino Taiga sighed internally. Obito always managed to surprise him, though not always in a good way.
"You'll fight whoever you draw," Taiga replied. "If you want to challenge Kakashi, then win your match."
He pulled out a cardboard box. "Everyone, come draw your lots."
The students came up one by one, unfolding their slips of paper to see their assigned opponents.
When everyone had finished, Taiga called out, "Now that the drawing is done, Contestant One—step forward."
His expression grew serious. He intended to carefully observe this new class of students, evaluating their potential for his next report to the Third Hokage.
And Contestant One was—Kakashi versus Uchiha Obito.
Obito held up his paper triumphantly, laughing with his hands on his hips. "Kakashi! I'll show you just how strong I am!"
Kakashi stared at Obito's gloating face, speechless.
"Both sides, form the Seal of Opposition," Yoshino Taiga reminded.
Kakashi and Obito formed the seal, then stepped back.
Obito glanced toward the crowd and spotted Nohara Rin—who, indeed, was sneaking looks at Kakashi again.
His irritation spiked instantly.
"Kakashi!" Obito barked. "I'm going to beat you today!"
He charged forward recklessly, kunai in hand. Kakashi saw his complete lack of defense and cursed inwardly—idiot!
Obito rushed straight at him, stabbing forward without hesitation.
And Kakashi didn't dodge.
Obito's eyes widened in horror. He tried to stop—but too late. The kunai plunged into Kakashi's torso.
Everything went silent.Obito froze, trembling, stunned.
"I… I killed Kakashi…" he whispered, collapsing to his knees.
But the Kakashi he stabbed burst into a puff of smoke and turned into a wooden log—Substitution Jutsu.
Kakashi was already behind Obito, kunai lightly touching the back of his neck. He looked downright confused by Obito's suicidal attack.
Yoshino Taiga stepped forward. "Kakashi wins. And Obito—he's fine."
Obito blinked, stared at the unharmed Kakashi, and relief washed over him—followed immediately by embarrassment as his face flushed bright red.
After several more battles, it was finally Aburame Shiki's turn.
The sixth match: Aburame Shiki versus Shiranui Genma.
The two formed the Seal of Opposition, then began.
A stream of parasitic insects poured from Shiki's body, quickly forming a dense black swarm rushing toward Genma.
Genma clicked his tongue. "Great… I don't even have large-scale ninjutsu yet. Guess I just have to push through."
He sprinted straight toward Shiki, weaving desperately left and right through the first wave of parasites—but not without taking several painful hits.And the swarm immediately circled back, chasing him from behind.
Shiki calmly watched Genma approach, showing almost no reaction.
Another thick wave of insects burst out, darkening the air as it swept forward. Genma's scalp tingled as the mass of parasites engulfed his vision.
He forced himself to push on, crashing forward with a desperate slash of his kunai, momentarily parting the swarm—
—and revealing Shiki directly in front of him.
Not good.
Cold dread jolted through Genma, alarms blaring in his instincts. His momentum was spent, and he had no time to recover.
Shiki did not hesitate. She stepped in and used Iron Mountain Lean, slamming Genma cleanly over her shoulder.
Genma hit the ground with a painful thud and lay there groaning before he managed to get up.
"Ow… seriously… couldn't you go a little easier?" he muttered, clutching his stomach.
Shiki's mouth twitched. Her classmates were full of strange comments today.
"Victory goes to Aburame Shiki," Yoshino Taiga declared.
Kakashi observed Shiki quietly and nodded to himself. Whether ninjutsu, taijutsu, or timing—she was exceptionally skilled.
The battles continued.
Kakashi eventually faced Might Guy; Guy's taijutsu gave Kakashi some trouble but not enough to stop him.
Shiki's next fight was much easier—against a girl who surrendered the moment Shiki released even a small cloud of insects.
As expected, the finals came down to Kakashi and Aburame Shiki.The boys cheered for Shiki; the girls cheered for Kakashi. The classroom felt unexpectedly united.
Taiga announced the final match. Kakashi and Shiki formed the Seal of Opposition, then the Seal of Reconciliation. Both stared seriously at each other.
Kakashi looked directly at Shiki's tinted Aburame glasses and said, with unusual intensity, "Shiki… I'm going to destroy you."
Shiki stared back, speechless. Why was Kakashi acting strange too?
Kakashi blurred—still one moment, accelerating like lightning the next. He reached his top speed almost instantly, silent and lethal as he rushed toward Shiki.
Shiki's eyes narrowed. Kakashi truly was a genius—quiet, fast, and powerful.
No wonder Hatake Sakumo is feared as a samurai-ninja hybrid, Shiki thought.
But Kakashi's approach was exactly what she expected.
She released one stream of parasites directly toward him, while a second group spread across the ground.
Kakashi didn't panic.I can see them. Shiki's insects are fast—but not too fast.
He infused chakra into his blade at the moment the swarm reached him, swinging horizontally to disrupt their formation.
He'd studied this carefully—once the Aburame bugs had their commands disrupted, they would fall into momentary disarray. During that short window, they couldn't attack or receive new orders.
In other words, the Aburame clan's technique had a built-in delay.
But—
When Kakashi slashed through the swarm, the insects only paused for the briefest instant, then surged forward again without hesitation.
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply.
This is bad.