Chapter 441: The Transparent World and the White Eyes
After Obito's injuries fully healed, he threw himself into training like his life depended on it. Every day, he trained from the moment he woke up until he ate and slept.
He had been rattled by Guy.
When Guy forcibly opened the Sixth Gate and then entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, Obito could feel it instantly. The aura rolling off Guy made it painfully obvious that the gap between them had widened again.
Even if that power only came out because Guy was pushed to the brink, Obito understood Guy better than anyone. With that kind of obsession, Guy would not treat it as a one time miracle. He would grind it into something stable, something he could call on normally, and it would not take long, usually just a few months.
Obito felt a chill in his chest.
Even if he broke through again during those months, he still probably would not reach the level of Sixth Gate stacked with Rock Breathing Chakra Mode. The Sixth Gate alone already exploded a person's strength, and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode boosted the body even further. Stacked together, Guy's body became terrifying, almost inhuman.
So Obito pushed harder.
He did not want to be left too far behind. At the very least, he had to beat Kakashi in their internal competition.
As for Guy, Obito decided to let him keep the title of strongest disciple for one year. After a year, who would stand at the top was still up for debate.
That self imposed hell ended sooner than Obito wanted.
Kakashi's injuries also fully recovered, and the two of them were scheduled to take the jonin examination together.
Obito was caught off guard. He had assumed they would wait until Guy recovered too, then the three of them would take it at the same time.
After the exam staff led them to a designated training ground, Obito scanned the area and noticed two other ninja taking the exam alongside him and Kakashi.
He did not recognize either of them, but one was obvious at a glance.
White eyes.
A Hyuga.
Obito also spotted a Hyuga among the examiners.
A man with a calm, controlled presence stepped forward.
"Every official Konoha jonin must possess both strength and wisdom," Hiashi said evenly. "The jonin examination has two main evaluations. First, proficiency in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Second, theoretical knowledge. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu will be evaluated in the morning. The written theory exam will be in the afternoon."
Hiashi was the practical combat examiner, responsible for evaluating how the chunin candidates applied ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu in real combat.
However, he only had the authority to score and evaluate. He could not decide who became a jonin.
In name and in law, only one person in Konoha could appoint jonin.
The Hokage.
Even Special Jonin promotions required the Hokage's signature and seal.
"What?" Obito's face instantly soured. "To become a jonin, I have to take a theory test too? Don't tell me it's a written exam."
"It is," Hiashi replied, nodding without hesitation.
Obito's heart dropped straight through the ground.
He glanced at the other candidates and saw that they looked completely calm, as if a written test was the most natural thing in the world.
Their composure steadied him a little.
"Even if the questions are hard and I cannot answer them, I can still use my Sharingan to cheat," Obito told himself. "If I cannot do it, I just copy."
Hiashi continued, explaining the scoring rules.
"The ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu evaluation will be conducted through simulated combat," he said. "You may use any method you wish to attack the examiner. As long as it does not reduce your combat power, you should try to demonstrate ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu respectively. The more balanced your performance, the higher your final evaluation."
Konoha valued comprehensive jonin.
Mastering multiple chakra nature transformations was a major bonus. Balanced development across ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu also carried weight.
On the other hand, being too specialized could hold someone back. Even if a candidate performed well against the examiner, it did not guarantee promotion.
Of course, exceptions existed.
For example, the Hyuga Clan possessed a special bloodline limit. They could ignore most of those rules. As long as they performed exceptionally well in practical combat, they could pass the practical evaluation.
After all, asking the Hyuga to abandon the taijutsu honed for a thousand years, and perfectly matched to their eyes, just to force themselves into standard ninjutsu balance was unrealistic.
A jonin acting as referee stepped forward.
"Next, when I call your name, step forward and prepare," he announced. "Each combat assessment is fifteen minutes. If you lose combat capability before time is up, your score will be reduced."
"Hyuga Hisui."
The Hyuga candidate immediately stepped into the combat area and bowed respectfully toward Hiashi.
"Clan head."
Hiashi gave a slight nod.
He knew Hisui. A branch family ninja with excellent talent, and a very high level of Byakugan purity.
"Begin!"
Hisui activated chakra in his eyes. The veins beside them bulged sharply as the Byakugan opened.
Then he condensed chakra into his palms and fists and charged straight at Hiashi.
Hiashi had already activated his Byakugan as well, meeting him head on in a Gentle Fist exchange.
"Gentle Fist really is a nasty kind of taijutsu," Obito muttered as he watched.
Their physical collisions did not look explosive. It almost seemed like there was not much force behind them.
But Obito knew better.
Getting struck by Gentle Fist was no kinder than taking a punch from Guy.
Back in the first semester of fourth grade, Homura's Gentle Fist gave Obito a mountain of trouble. He would never underestimate it again.
Because this was an examination, Hiashi did not use his full strength. Instead, he relied on refined technique and experience, testing Hisui's control, accuracy, and understanding.
When fifteen minutes passed, the referee called the end.
Hisui did not leave. He stayed to watch the remaining fights.
Even though candidates did not fight each other, Hisui was very interested in Kakashi and Obito. Their names had been ringing through Konoha lately, and he wanted to see their performance with his own eyes.
"Sakata Genji," the referee called.
As Genji stepped forward, another jonin from the examiner team moved in and replaced Hiashi.
"Oh, so it is not one examiner for everyone," Obito realized.
He had been wondering why there was no halftime break. If an examiner ran into someone like Guy, would the next person just win by default from exhaustion?
As Obito watched Genji's fight, his interest faded fast.
"Does not look very strong," he thought.
He was not even specifically judging Genji. The examiner and the examinee both felt ordinary.
Obito did not understand Gentle Fist deeply, but he knew Fire Release well, and the jonin examiner's Fire Release did not even feel as strong as Obito's.
"Combat ends. Twenty minute break," the referee announced precisely at the fifteen minute mark.
Because of the war, there were not many jonin remaining inside the village. Most were tied to defense duties. There were only three jonin assigned to this exam. The referee was a Special Jonin, not qualified to serve as the practical combat examiner, so the examiners had to rotate.
During the break, Obito leaned toward Kakashi and spoke in a low voice.
"Kakashi, do you not think the examiners are kind of weak?"
Kakashi glanced at him.
"Which one are you talking about, Hiashi, or Jonin Mimurabe?"
Obito blinked, surprised.
"You know both of them?"
"How do you not know?" Kakashi replied, sounding genuinely exhausted. "The Byakugan is a bloodline limit on the same level as the Sharingan. And Mimurabe is a somewhat famous jonin in Konoha. He has even been featured in the Leaf Newspaper."
Kakashi was not some walking information bureau, but Obito really was too simple sometimes.
As for jonin from other villages, Kakashi only knew the ones with real fame, like Sunagakure's hero Pakura or the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
But jonin from their own village were different. A village did not have that many official jonin. Learning their names was not difficult if someone paid even a little attention.
Obito gave an awkward grin.
If it was not someone he personally cared about, reading the newspaper felt painfully boring.
"I mean Mimurabe," Obito continued. "I feel like his Fire Release is not even as strong as mine."
"Two reasons," Kakashi said calmly. "First, Jonin Mimurabe is evaluating. He is not using his full strength."
Kakashi paused, then added the second reason like a knife twisting in slow motion.
"Second, you do not actually think your Fire Release is weak, do you?"
Obito often lost badly in their internal competition, but that did not mean his Fire Release lacked power. It just meant others had stronger overall kits.
Kakashi believed that if Obito included the boost from Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, very few people in Konoha could surpass him in raw Fire Release output.
Of course, that was only measuring maximum power. It did not mean Obito was already among the top Fire Release combatants in the village.
Because when Obito fully unleashed Fire Release while in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he burned through stamina quickly.
"Heh," Obito said, a smug smile spreading across his face. "So you are saying my Fire Release is strong even among jonin?"
It was not easy to get a compliment from Kakashi. Obito tried to remember even one time Kakashi praised him and came up blank.
That made the praise feel even better.
If even Kakashi admitted it, then Obito's Fire Release really was strong.
Kakashi immediately poured ice water on it.
"It is because Mugetsu sensei taught you well," he said flatly. "If it were not for Mugetsu sensei's Flame Breathing, how could your Fire Release have that kind of power?"
"Of course I know that," Obito answered without hesitation. "That is why I am grateful to Mugetsu sensei."
Before Mugetsu appeared, Obito was the dead last embarrassment of the Uchiha. After becoming Mugetsu's disciple, he slowly turned into the genius he was now.
Kakashi was not done.
"And your Fire Release is strong, but your brain holds it back," he added. "Otherwise, your overall strength would be higher, and you would not have lost so many times."
Obito's smile froze.
His cheeks began turning red, like some invisible alarm was blaring in his skull.
Obito could brush off insults about talent. But calling him stupid was different.
If he were not in the middle of a jonin examination, he would have condensed chakra and planted a Flame Fist on Kakashi's face right there.
That last line was too vicious. It mocked his intelligence, reminded him of losing internal battles, and dragged him right back to the horror of written exams.
It was the complete package of suffering.
The referee's voice cut in.
"Break is over. Kakashi, prepare to fight."
Kakashi stepped into the combat area without wasting motion.
Hiashi also stepped forward from the examiner team.
Kakashi met those pure white eyes and felt a spark of curiosity rise.
"I wonder how the Transparent World compares to the Byakugan," he thought.
The Byakugan could see through things. The Transparent World could also see through things.
But both had other special effects too. At best, only parts of their abilities overlapped.
Hisui and Genji both fixed their attention on the field, eyes sharp with anticipation.
They wanted to see how Kakashi, the young White Fang, would perform.
"Begin!"
The moment the referee called it, Kakashi steadied his breathing and entered the Transparent World.
In truth, the jonin exam rules were slightly disadvantageous for someone like Kakashi.
He and his peers excelled at fast paced combat, using explosive bursts to end fights before an enemy could adjust. Fifteen minutes was long.
But Kakashi also understood the point of simulated combat.
He did not need to choose the fastest and most efficient way to kill.
He needed to show everything he could do.
Kakashi's high consumption was also different from Obito's. Obito's problem was that Flame Breathing Chakra Mode devoured chakra too quickly. Kakashi's problem was that Lightning Release chakra activation itself demanded a lot of chakra.
The Transparent World was not what drained him.
If Kakashi unleashed the ultimate Thunderclap Flash, he still had enough chakra to do it.
Hiashi did not activate the Byakugan immediately.
Kakashi was not a Hyuga, and Hiashi did not consider it necessary at the start.
But after exchanging two blows, Hiashi's expression shifted slightly.
A strange feeling rose in his chest.
Normally, he saw through an opponent's attacks, made them miss, then countered in the opening.
Just now, it was the opposite.
Hiashi's chopping palm missed.
Kakashi's fist landed cleanly.
It made no sense.
Was it possible that Kakashi, a ten year old child, had more taijutsu experience than him?
Hiashi did not believe it. He tried again without activating the Byakugan, determined to confirm it.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Kakashi's kick snapped up without mercy.
Hiashi stumbled backward three meters.
Silence fell over the training ground.
Hisui stared at the scene, eyes wide, watching as the clan head was forced back by a ten year old.
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