"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Anko gathered a massive amount of Chakra in her throat, then used Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Changes to spit out a large flame, forming a fireball that was hurled towards Mokgetsu.
Meanwhile, from another direction, Shizune threw a flurry of shuriken at Mokgetsu, blocking his position.
Unfortunately, the fireball missed, and the shuriken were casually deflected by Mokgetsu.
Seizing the opportunity, Shisui, hidden in the shadows, used Instant Body Jutsu to dart towards Mokgetsu and attack.
Mokgetsu seemed to have foreseen Shisui's attack, effortlessly dodging it with a back step.
At this moment, Anko and Shizune closed in for close combat, looking for an opportunity.
Even though it was two hands against six, the difference in strength allowed Mokgetsu to easily knock down Anko and Shizune, with only the cautious Shisui remaining unharmed.
As if determined to make one final desperate attempt, Shisui no longer used his favored Instant Body Jutsu to evade, instead charging at Mokgetsu head-on.
Bang!
The Shisui in front of Mokgetsu turned into smoke and dispersed, while the real Shisui, Chakra surging, attacked from behind Mokgetsu, reaching for his waist.
"Still a bit too slow." Mokgetsu quickly turned around, grabbing Shisui's outstretched hand with a smile.
Thump!
Mokgetsu tossed Shisui aside, landing him next to Anko and Shizune, making them lie neatly together.
"So difficult, even after five attempts, only Shisui has succeeded once," Anko sighed, sprawled on the ground, gazing up at the sky.
The bell-stealing exercise every three weeks was Anko's most anticipated training. She always hoped to grab a bell and have Mokgetsu teach her amazing ninja techniques like a mentor from ninja novels.
After five attempts, not only had she not succeeded, she hadn't even gotten a close look at the bell. Whenever she got near, she ended up on the ground.
Seeing Shisui succeed on the third attempt filled Anko with envy, although Shisui hadn't used it yet.
"Training is for improvement. If it's too easy, then it's meaningless. If you can beat Shisui, I'll give you a bell directly," Mokgetsu suggested to Anko as a quick way to get a bell.
Mokgetsu designed the bell-stealing exercise to help students break through faster. Let alone winning, if Anko could withstand Shisui's full effort for three minutes without falling, Mokgetsu would give a bell directly, which would already be a significant breakthrough.
"Winning against Shisui, is that even possible?" Anko sat up, scratching her head with a perplexed look.
In combat, she was no match; in academics, she was even more overwhelmed. Anko didn't know how she could possibly defeat Shisui.
Maybe she'd just have to get lucky in a game of ninja poker with a great hand to win once.
"If you could become as strong as Kakashi, then you might beat me," Shisui said calmly.
Despite improving somewhat over these three months of intense training, Shisui was still not confident he could defeat Kakashi.
If he were to replace his past self in a fight against Kakashi now, he might have a chance, but Kakashi surely would have improved as well in that time, rather than stayed stagnant.
"I'll just lie down for a while longer," Anko said, choosing to lay back down after hearing Shisui's words.
What kind of person was Kakashi? A genius who, even years after graduation, still had a legendary reputation at the Ninja Academy.
Anko remembered teachers comparing Shisui to Kakashi before, so in her view, Kakashi was just a bigger Shisui, and even if she trained 24/7, she couldn't catch up.
"Shisui, you're overrating Kakashi. He may be showing off now, but once our Sharingan evolves into the Three Tomoe, we'll beat him easily."
Just as Kakashi and Obito finished a mission in the Southern Border Forest, they overheard Shisui and Anko's conversation.
Overhearing someone praising Kakashi, Obito, a constant critic of Kakashi, couldn't help but appear, telling Shisui not to underestimate and diminish the Uchiha clan's prestige.
"What if you don't win?" Kakashi asked calmly.
"If we don't win, then…" Obito was momentarily at a loss; he was only bluffing, having no idea if the Three Tomoe Sharingan could defeat Kakashi.
"I haven't considered that because losing is not an option," Obito asserted firmly.
Nohara Rin was right there, as were some Ninja Academy juniors, so Obito naturally had to sound confident.
"Is that so? If you lose, how about running a lap around the Main Konoha District, shouting that Obito is inferior to Kakashi?" Kakashi smirked, looking at Obito.
Sweat appeared on Obito's forehead and back; the wager was far too vicious. If he really did that, he might have to move out of Konoha overnight with his grandmother.
"Either way, you won't lose, Obito, so what happens if you lose doesn't matter," Kakashi emphasized that Obito wouldn't lose.
Obito was dumbfounded, realizing that refusing would mean admitting he'd just been bragging.
"You… you just need to know that three-tomoe Sharingan is really… really powerful," Obito said, outwardly composed but sweating profusely inside.
In his mind, he resolved that if he became the Three Tomoe Sharingan and still couldn't defeat Kakashi, he'd refrain from using the Sharingan for a while to avoid being found out.
Meanwhile, Obito decided to undergo some intense training, to boost his strength because deception wouldn't work long-term; victory was the only true reassurance.
"What if you lose, Kakashi-senpai?" Anko asked curiously.