13 Chapter 13

"You two are truly... remarkable when you need."

Filled with admiration, Obito caught up with Kyomu, who was walking ahead alongside Kakashi. "How did you two manage this?"

Kakashi remained silent; he didn't want to discourage Obito.

Kyomu also wanted to stay silent, but Obito persisted, "Come on, share it, friends. You don't have to be so stingy."

"Obito, it's not about the method," Kyomu shook his head. "Observing more, learning more, thinking more can indeed make your grades passable or even excellent. But to go further, you need talent, something you can't learn."

"Hmph, I can do it too." Obito was stubborn. "Don't forget, I am an Uchiha. Everything will change once I awaken my eyes."

"Instead of relying all your hopes on the Sharingan, it's better to seek breakthroughs in other aspects," Kakashi took over the conversation. "The Sharingan is powerful, but it's not everything, nor the only thing. At least, before awakening, you need to have a certain level of strength to survive until that moment."

Kakashi was not wrong, but Kyomu remained reserved.

Obito belonged to the Uchiha, a clan favored by fate. "Remarkable when silent" seemed more suitable for him. In comparison, genius and cheats seemed somewhat insignificant.

Well, in this era, who didn't have a few cheats? Kyomu was not worried about his future.

However, Obito didn't agree with Kakashi's words. Given his situation, the only thing that could turn the tide for him was his Sharingan. Everything else was hopeless.

"Hmph, by next year... no, this year, when I awaken my eyes, everything will be different. I will definitely catch up to you guys!"

Seeing Obito bring up the Sharingan again, Kakashi opened his mouth, but in the end, swallowed the words stuck in his throat.

It was the innate advantage of the Uchiha clan. No one could compare or interfere with it.

Glancing at Obito one last time, Kakashi ignored him. Kyomu did the same. It wasn't isolating Obito; it was just that they started from different starting lines. How could they support each other?

For example, when you talked about hard work to Uchiha, he would mention the Sharingan. When you brought up talent, he would still talk about the Sharingan. Even if you mentioned ability, he would stick to the Sharingan.

There was no way around it.

After a moment of silence, Kyomu and the others finally arrived at the wide training ground under the guidance of their ninja teacher, Torii Shuzo.

There were relaxation facilities like slides and swings, fitness equipment like parallel bars and pull-up bars, as well as training tools like dummies and targets.

Commanding the students to form a long line, Shuzo pointed to the targets in the distance, announcing the content of the second round of the exam.

The exam was quite simple. Each student had five kunai and five shuriken. Hitting the bullseye earned ten points, hitting the outer circle earned nine points, and so on. After throwing all kunai and shuriken, the total score was calculated.

"Hanada Kappa," Shuzo called out the first student. "Come forward to receive your kunai and shuriken."

Hanada Kappa eagerly nodded, took the kunai handed by Shuzo, and stood outside the pre-drawn white lines. After careful aim, he successively threw the kunai and shuriken in his hands.

"Seventy-nine points, pass," Shuzo wrote down a score on his notebook. "Next, Asami Ikki."

Thud, thud, thud.

"One shuriken missed the target, scored 63 points, pass."

Nobumitsu continued to call names, and as the students took turns, the bad mood from the written exam seemed to dissipate.

Although these students struggled with academic subjects, most of them did well in practical courses. Even Uchiha Obito and Might Guy, who scored low in the first exam, performed excellently in the second round.

Especially Might Guy, achieving a perfect score by hitting the bullseye with all ten throws. Shuzo looked at him with newfound respect, realizing Guy's exceptional talent in physical skills.

Due to Might Guy's outstanding performance, the mocking glances from the surroundings decreased significantly.

Even though Might Guy proved himself, Kyomu and Kakashi were also here. Suddenly, all eyes were on them again.

Not that they wished ill for others, but Kyomu and Kakashi's previous behavior in school couldn't support the classmates' expectation for outstanding performance.

Why should they get a perfect score when they were slacking off at the school gate every day? It was unfair!

"Kakashi, come forward to receive your kunai and shuriken."

Finally, the moment arrived.

The atmosphere became lively again. The students craned their necks, eager to see Kakashi's performance.

Kakashi didn't keep them waiting for even a second. Taking the kunai and shuriken from Nobumitsu, he threw them all at once with a skillful and swift motion.

Thud, thud, thud...

Before Nobumitsu could announce the results, the surrounding students couldn't remain calm.

Especially those girls who were enthusiastic about Kakashi on the first day but gradually lost interest over the past month. Now, they were excitedly dancing around, as if Kakashi's performance was their own achievement.

"Perfect score!"

"Kakashi threw them all at once and got a perfect score, completely different from the previous high-difficulty ones!"

"Indeed, without any surprises, Kakashi should be the first in the second round."

"Did you forget about Kyomu?"

"Him? He looks like he hasn't slept for days, impossible to be better than Kakashi."

One person disdainfully shook their head while pulling others aside, whispering, "Let me tell you, Kakashi is the son of Konoha White Fang. Although he skips class, he..."

Finally, someone uncovered the truth about Kakashi skipping class. With such information at hand, the rumors about Kakashi quickly dissipated, replaced by praise for his talents.

"Kyomu, come forward to receive your kunai and shuriken."

Finally, it was Kyomu's turn. Though not the last, he was towards the end of the line.

Similar to Kakashi, the students eagerly watched Kyomu, expecting to see his performance.

Kyomu took the kunai and shuriken, preparing to go all out.

Swish, swish, swish.

Kyomu threw the weapons, and the trajectories of the kunai and shuriken were a bit disorderly, resembling a dance of falling flowers.

"Ha..."

Laughter erupted as Kyomu's weapons flew in random directions. However, before anyone could fully enjoy the moment, the kunai and shuriken that had crossed the bullseye unexpectedly changed their trajectories after a series of collisions, forming a large arc and returning, hitting the bullseye once more.

Obito and Kakashi exclaimed simultaneously, "Uchiha Flow Throwing Technique?!"

Seeing this, Kyomu and Kakashi both said, "How is it possible? Kyomu has never learned this!"

"It's not the Uchiha Flow Throwing Technique," Kyomu shook his head. "The technique is similar, but compared to the real Uchiha Flow Throwing Technique, it lacks three points of complexity and seven points of unpredictable lethality."

Obito tried to recall the scenes from the Uchiha clan's ninja training but realized that, as Kyomu said, his throwing technique, while impressive, didn't reach the level of insanity with the assistance of the Sharingan.

Thinking about this, Obito sighed in relief, but his confidence took another hit. Even someone like Kyomu, who didn't possess Uchiha eyes, could perform such high-level techniques.

Squeezing his fist, Obito's self-confidence was once again shaken, and he couldn't help lowering his head.

Would he never be able to erase the shame of the Uchiha?

"Alright, continue the exam," Shuzo told Kyomu to step aside and started calling out the names of the remaining students.

However, after Kyomu's explosive performance, the mental states of the following students were inevitably affected, and their performances became somewhat abnormal.

In the third round, Kyomu undoubtedly outperformed Kakashi, once again securing the first place.

"Kyomu, you've hidden it well."

During the break before the third round, Kakashi found Kyomu. "But no matter how you hide, during the third round, I'm confident I can figure out all your secrets."

"Be my welcome."

Kyomu smiled. "Kakashi, I want to see how much you've grown with your sunburned face."

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi turned away, not wanting to engage with Kyomu. Arguing with him was truly futile.

So annoying!

(End of this chapter)