Noon the next day.
Uchiha Sogetsu strolled toward the rear-mountain training grounds of Konoha. Obito had shown up the previous night—clearly spooked by rumors Minato passed along about the "new" Chūnin Exams—and begged for special training.
Sogetsu's first instinct had been to refuse. One: he didn't much like Obito. Two: time spent "training" Obito was time not spent at the hospital picking up patients for his system's tasks.
But Obito had begged and badgered until Sogetsu relented.
Train them? No. Beat them.
If Obito wanted "intensity," then Sogetsu would limber up.
Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and a bandage-browed Kakashi Hatake were already waiting when he arrived.
"You're late, Sogetsu-nii!" Obito complained, glowering. "We said morning. Morning!"
"Sorry, Obito—got held up." Sogetsu smiled, with not a shred of apology in his eyes. "Besides, you don't need morning for my training."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Obito bristled, especially with his crush standing right there. "Don't underestimate us!"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Sogetsu's gaze drifted over their faces. "Before we start, one reminder. Obito asked me to train you—but I don't really do instruction. I can only give you one thing."
His eyes lidded, the hint of a curve at the corner of his mouth. "My training is… different. I hope you can endure it."
Where had Kakashi seen that look before? His brow twitched beneath the gauze; a bad premonition pooled in his gut.
Obito's shoulders hunched as if a draft hit him. Weird. It's not even cold.
"Don't worry, Sogetsu-sensei!" Rin chirped, earnest as ever. "We won't let you down. No matter what kind of training it is, we'll stick it out!"
"Good." Sogetsu nodded, genuinely pleased. "I like brave kids."
The dread got worse. Kakashi suddenly regretted letting Obito drag him here. Too late to bow out now.
"The regimen is simple. One rule." Sogetsu raised a finger. "Before the sun sets, leave one mark on me—by any means necessary."
Obito barked a laugh. "That's all? You're underestimating m—"
Thud.
He pinwheeled like a fired shell, smacked flat against a tree, stuck there like a mural, and slid down in a heap.
The ambush scrambled his brain; only when pain bloomed through his spine did his thoughts reconnect—just in time to nearly vomit bile and breakfast.
"Oh. Right—I forgot something," Sogetsu said, leg still extended. He turned a mild smile on the stunned Rin and Kakashi. "Training… begins."
Kakashi's soles flared with chakra. He yanked a dazed Rin and vanished into the tree-line.
"A smart choice," Sogetsu murmured, pushing his glasses. "When you know you can't win head-on, you hide your presence and hunt for openings. As expected of a 'genius' chunin."
"Guh— ngh— hurts…" Obito clutched his stomach, face twisted. "Sogetsu-nii… we're training! Why sucker-punch me?!"
"Sucker-punch?" Sogetsu walked toward him. "You think shinobi battles are games? It's kill or be killed. If you can't stomach that, quit now."
"I don't need you to— tch!" Obito spat blood, yanked a kunai free. "Fine. Enemy it is!"
He blasted forward, dust shearing underfoot.
"Charging me head-on?" Sogetsu's face didn't move. He waited to see the trick.
Ten meters shy, Obito skidded, popped a smoke bomb, and vanished in yellow fog.
Whirrrrr—
Shuriken spun out of the haze.
Sogetsu didn't look, just flicked out a matching fan of steel. The stars collided mid-air.
Then—the smoke pulsed. A cluster of fiery buds burst from within and streaked toward him.
"Smoke to mask the jutsu—good thought. But…" Sogetsu's lips tilted. "You just told me where you are."
Phoenix Flower Jutsu bloomed—a direct hit.
The "Sogetsu" that took it poofed into smoke.
"Shadow Clone!" Kakashi's pupil shrank in the brush.
Cold crawled up Obito's spine. He shifted—too late.
Crack.
A fist erased the world from his face. He whiplashed, skull slamming the packed earth, consciousness sloshing.
Sogetsu didn't stop. He cocked an arm again, smile thin. "Let's make sure your body remembers."
Crack.
Another piston—no mercy—drove Obito half an inch into the ground. Dust gusted in a ring; boughs trembled, leaves drizzling down.
"Obito!" Rin couldn't help herself. She broke cover. "Sogetsu-sensei, p-please—"
Her eyes met his.
"Found you."
Gone was the usual warmth. Only killing intent remained.
"Ah—!" Rin froze.
Sogetsu's heel gouged the earth; violent chakra buckled the turf. He flashed—a beast dragging an afterimage—and reached the girl in a blink.
Obito's foggy brain snapped clear the instant Sogetsu's fist cracked across Rin's cheek.
Kra-kak!
The sound carried even to Obito's ears, a clean fracture.
Sogetsu twisted at the waist and laced a Leaf Strong Whirlwind into her midsection.
Boom.
Pain detonated in Rin's core; her mind blanked as the blow hurled her like a cannon round, carving a half-meter furrow across the training lawn.
In the shadows, Kakashi caught a nauseating déjà vu.
Yes. Exactly like that day—same stance, same rhythm, same brutality.
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