Chapter 277: The Surprised Uchiha
"Then I challenge you," Obito said to Inaho.
He had just been wondering how to get the reward. After hearing Inaho's words, his thoughts instantly cleared up.
"I accept your challenge." Inaho looked at Obito with appreciation. Daring to challenge a stronger opponent was a big plus in his eyes.
"Just fight with everything you have later. Don't hold back," Inaho added.
Although Tekka had said Obito had the strength to pass the Chunin Exams, Inaho did not believe a nine year old could really hurt him.
First, he himself had passed the Chunin Exams last year. Second, he felt Tekka had just graduated and did not truly understand how hard the Chunin Exams were.
"Fight all out, got it." Obito nodded, feeling that Inaho was another battle maniac like Guy.
"Tekka, you be our referee," Inaho said to Tekka beside him.
The Uchiha did not have a fixed referee. They usually just asked a friend or simply went without one.
"No problem." Tekka nodded. After Inaho and Obito finished, he also wanted Inaho to give him some pointers.
The few of them walked together to the open space in the courtyard. There was a small pavilion nearby where Fugaku and Yashiro had gone to drink tea after finishing their discussion.
Since it was still the beginning, no one else was fighting yet. Obito and Inaho became the first pair.
"I will count down from five, then the match starts. Five, four..." Tekka said after Obito and Inaho took their stances.
Fugaku and Yashiro, who were drinking tea, noticed that a match was about to begin.
"This Obito boy is pretty good. He has talent and dares to challenge others," Yashiro said with a nod as he watched.
He had a good impression of Obito. Among the Uchiha around his age, aside from Shisui, who was on a different level as a genius, Obito was second in his eyes.
"Hmm. Inaho is also good. Even though he is still young, he has been very steady in the Police Force," Fugaku said, putting down his teacup and nodding.
"Two, one, begin!" Tekka finished the count as he quickly retreated. By the time he shouted "begin," he was already back near the house, then he focused on the courtyard, ready to enjoy the match.
Tekka felt Inaho would win in the end, but it would not be easy. It should be a hard fought battle.
Tekka's shout drew the attention of the Uchiha chatting inside.
"Someone is fighting already? Let's see who it is."
"Anyone who dares to go first should not be weak."
Some Uchiha walked out curiously to watch.
"Oh, it is Inaho. No wonder. But who is the one opposite him? I do not think I have seen that kid before, and he looks pretty young," one Uchiha asked curiously when he saw Obito.
"I do not know. I have no impression," the others around him shook their heads.
"He is probably some junior who is bad at socializing and rarely shows up. This is likely just a light sparring match."
A few Uchiha said that and went back inside, feeling that this kind of fight would not be interesting.
As soon as Tekka finished counting down, Obito adjusted his breathing rhythm, entering the Flame Breathing state, and stared cautiously at Inaho.
"He is not moving at all. What kind of tactic is that?" Obito wondered as he watched the motionless Inaho.
In every fight he had seen at school, and in battles during missions, he had never seen an opponent just stand still like this. It was as if Inaho was full of openings from head to toe.
Obito had no idea what Inaho was planning.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito quickly formed hand seals, gathered chakra in his throat, performed Nature Transformation, and then exhaled a huge wave of flames.
The flames piled together, forming a giant orange red fireball nearly four meters across. It looked extremely imposing.
Because he did not know anything about Inaho and his tactics were so strange, Obito chose the most versatile opening Ninjutsu, the Great Fireball.
"He has actually mastered the Great Fireball Technique to this degree at such a young age."
Inaho's eyes widened slightly as he watched the enormous fireball roar toward him.
Even when he used his Great Fireball at full power, it was only about this level. And Obito was only nine, while he was already thirteen.
"It seems he is a Ninjutsu genius," Inaho thought.
He decided that when he guided Obito later, he would focus more on taijutsu. There was not much he could say about Fire Release. Being able to unleash such a Great Fireball at this age was already impressive.
"Does anyone know who he is? To use the Great Fireball Technique like that at his age..."
It was not only Inaho who found Obito's Great Fireball surprising.
Some even suspected that Obito was actually twelve or thirteen, just shorter than average.
"His name is Uchiha Obito, and he is the same age as me. We are both nine this year," Tekka stepped up to correct them.
"Uchiha Obito? I have heard that name. Wasn't he called the dead last of the Uchiha?"
An Uchiha who had been three grades above Obito remembered something when he heard the name.
Back in his own graduation year, he had heard that a lower grade student called Obito had terrible grades and was known as the clan's dead last. Although they were from the same clan, he had no intention of defending Obito. In his mind, if you were not strong enough, you deserved the title.
"Dead last? You call a nine year old who can use such a Great Fireball a dead last?"
Tekka's mood was complicated as he listened. Who would have thought Obito would explode in his graduation year, going from last to one of the strongest in their grade?
He also understood that these Uchiha simply did not know. Once they graduated, they would not pay attention to Academy matters. Besides, Obito did not seem to have any other Uchiha friends except Shisui and usually hung out with people from other clans.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Inaho also formed hand seals, gathered a huge amount of chakra, and exhaled a Great Fireball about the same size as Obito's.
Boom!
The two enormous fireballs collided and exploded with a violent blast. Scorching flames charred the ground around the impact point, and the sound of the explosion drew out even more Uchiha from inside.
"This Obito is not just good. His talent in Fire Release is very strong," Fugaku said in surprise.
He had originally planned to mainly observe Shisui's performance, but Obito had given him an unexpected surprise instead.
"Indeed. Even in our Uchiha clan, this level of Fire Release talent at his age is rare," Yashiro agreed. He himself had not been able to use such a Great Fireball when he was nine.
Fugaku decided on the spot to give Obito a B rank Fire Release Ninjutsu as a reward after the exchange.
After using his Great Fireball to cancel out Obito's, Inaho took the initiative and rushed toward him. Based on his judgment, taijutsu should be Obito's weak point.
Obito was only nine. If his Ninjutsu was this good, he must have spent a lot of time on it and would have had less time for taijutsu training.
"His speed is a bit slow. Is this also some kind of tactic?"
Obito felt that Inaho might be holding back on purpose.
From Inaho's earlier calm attitude, like a senior guiding a junior, Obito had thought he would be very strong. Yet right now, Inaho's speed was only about the same as Obito's normal speed without using special breathing.
"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!"
Obito focused his breathing, further boosting his physical abilities.
If he could not figure it out, he would simply stop thinking and go all out.
Whoosh!
Obito gathered chakra into his feet, burst forward at high speed toward Inaho, and then swept out with a whirlwind kick.
He had also learned some of the Leaf Whirlwind style techniques, and with all his sparring against Guy, he had become very used to them.
"Such speed!"
Inaho only saw Obito's figure flash, and then he was already at his side.
Bang!
Caught off guard, Inaho was kicked flying more than four meters and slammed heavily into the ground.
Lying there, he was completely stunned. His mind was full of questions: "Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"
"His Ninjutsu is that good, and his taijutsu is this strong too. Did he start training from the moment he was born?"
Inaho felt extremely depressed.
Not only Inaho, but Obito was also stunned.
"My taijutsu and Breathing Technique have not improved that much recently, so how did he go down so easily?" Obito scratched his head, looking at Inaho lying four meters away.
The surrounding Uchiha were even more shocked. Even if they did not know Obito, they all knew Inaho very well.
Inaho had come to every exchange ever since becoming a Genin, never missing a year, and he always challenged older Uchiha at these events. He was regarded as a famous young expert of the new generation.
"When did such a genius appear in the clan? He looks at most ten, and he dropped Inaho just like that."
"His name should be Obito."
"Obito... isn't that..."
At first, it was just the explosion from the Ninjutsu that drew people out. Then, as more and more voices discussed him, all the Uchiha inside eventually came out. They all firmly remembered the name Obito and marked him down as a genius.
"His strength is actually above Inaho's. Has he gotten even stronger again?"
Tekka was having trouble accepting the result of that taijutsu exchange.
Inaho had been the person he chased after and admired.
"Maybe Inaho was careless. It is still his first time fighting Obito," Tekka comforted himself, then continued to watch. By now, Inaho had already gotten back up.
Inaho's thoughts were similar to Tekka's. He admitted Obito's taijutsu was strong, but he believed being knocked down so easily was mainly because he had underestimated his opponent.
"I cannot treat him as a junior anymore. I need to face him as an opponent of the same level."
Inaho took a deep breath and his expression became serious.
Inaho regarded Obito as someone on his level. Obito, on the other hand, after clashing twice, had already decided that Inaho's strength was clearly below his own.
None of the earlier moves had been some sort of tactic. He was just simply weaker.
Having figured that out, Obito charged forward again, relying on the boost from Total Concentration Breathing to pressure Inaho in close combat.
This time, Inaho gave everything he had and stayed on high alert, but that still could not cover the gap in strength between them.
With another heavy impact, he was knocked away by Obito once more.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Realizing he really could not match Obito in taijutsu, Inaho switched to Ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!"
The fireballs wrapped around Shuriken had much greater power than the normal Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Inaho's Phoenix Sage Fire was broken apart, and he was cut by the high temperature Shuriken.
"He has mastered this technique too!"
Inaho realized he had still underestimated Obito. It was not just taijutsu. Obito was stronger than him in both Ninjutsu and taijutsu.
Obito did not let the chance slip by. He rushed in, knocked Inaho down, pinned him, and pressed a Kunai to his neck.
"This should count as my win, right?" Obito asked casually.
He felt that getting this advanced Fire Release had been pretty easy. Inaho did not even have a Sharingan. He had been wondering what he would do if Inaho activated his Sharingan.
"Obito wins," Tekka finally announced. At that moment, his expression was hard to describe. There was surprise, sadness, and confusion all mixed together.
Inaho, still on the ground, felt just as complicated. He had come wanting to guide a junior, but ended up being thoroughly taught a lesson instead.
"Are you alright? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Obito reached out a hand to him, face full of concern.
He had a very good impression of Inaho, who had so straightforwardly helped him get an advanced Fire Release.
Inaho took his hand, stood up, and said, "No need. It is just a scratch. I will be fine after some rest."
With that, he turned and walked back toward the house. He needed some quiet.
"Inaho nii," Tekka said softly, patting his shoulder. He understood that feeling very well. He too had once been defeated by Obito in front of a crowd of stunned classmates.
Obito's performance had gone far beyond most people's expectations. Other than Shisui, no one had really thought he could defeat Inaho.
"I did not expect him to be this strong in taijutsu as well as Ninjutsu," Yashiro sighed.
He had originally wanted Obito to grow into the next Inaho. Now it seemed Obito already had strength well above Inaho's.
"We can focus more resources on Obito, and at the same time nurture his sense of loyalty to the clan," Fugaku said after thinking for a moment.
He now had a very high opinion of Obito. Back when he himself had been nine, he had not had this kind of strength.
Yashiro nodded. A genius like Obito naturally had to be raised carefully. In ten years, he would become a dependable fighting force.
Because he had defeated Inaho, some Uchiha approached Obito with curiosity to talk, but they mainly asked him questions about training.
Obito answered whatever he could, and in the process, got to know many of the young Ninja of the Uchiha clan.
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