Watching Kakashi walk over with a smile, Yamato felt a bit uneasy.
He would rather it have been Kakashi with a blank expression walking over.
Though Kakashi's face was half-covered by a mask, you could still see a smile through his eyes.
Yamato somewhat wanted to switch opponents, but he worried about hurting Kakashi's feelings, especially since Kakashi had treated him to a meal before.
In the end, Yamato, after some internal struggle, took a combat stance.
"The battle begins," announced Mokgetsu, starting the training.
As soon as Mokgetsu finished speaking, Kakashi concentrated his breathing to the extreme, entering the Transparent World state. The world unfolded anew in his eyes.
It felt a bit like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito, but Kakashi believed in the saying that using full strength is a way of respecting one's opponent, so he respected Yamato, the future Anbu Squad Captain.
Whoosh!
Yamato only sensed an arc of electricity, then Kakashi mysteriously disappeared. As Yamato tried to find him, a sinister hand descended upon his head.
Bam!
Kakashi's hand knife landed precisely on Yamato's head, momentarily halting his thoughts for a tenth of a second.
No time to think, Yamato gritted his teeth and quickly condensed Chakra in his feet, launching a spinning kick.
But it felt as though Kakashi had mind-reading abilities; he completely anticipated the attack, casually catching Yamato's leg and throwing him away.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu!"
As Yamato was thrown, his hands quickly formed seals, unleashing a water dragon towards Kakashi.
Sizzle!!
Kakashi gathered Chakra in his hand, extending it through the White Fang Short Blade, creating an electric blade that extended from its tip. With a nonchalant wave, he cut the water dragon apart with a Lightning Release slash.
The current Yamato was far weaker than the Anbu Squad Captain of Loulan; he wouldn't even be a match for an ordinary Jonin in a real fight, let alone a Kakashi in Transparent World mode.
"Water Release..."
Yamato intended to use Great Waterfall Jutsu to create a favorable environment for himself, but the lightning Kunai thrown by Kakashi forced him to reposition.
However, Kakashi gave no opportunity, explosively closing the distance to land a powerful elbow strike, knocking Yamato to the ground.
"Kakashi-senpai is anything but gentle, super strict," muttered Yamato, a bit frustrated after the beating.
Seeing this, Mokgetsu paused the fight to let Yamato rest.
"If you want to battle different types of ninja, you can also choose someone else as your opponent," Mokgetsu suggested.
Yamato's eyes brightened; he thought Obito might be a better choice, seeming easier to get along with than Kakashi.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, let me train with Obito-senpai," Yamato decided to swap Kakashi for Obito.
Mokgetsu nodded and called for Obito.
"Me? Alright then," Obito replied, clenching his fists eagerly.
Truth be told, Obito hadn't enjoyed the thrill of an easy fight in a while.
Mokgetsu didn't have many students, and aside from Nohara Rin, Obito wasn't confident he'd easily win against the others.
But there was no way Obito would compete against Nohara Rin; Rin was a Medical Ninja and someone he liked—he couldn't possibly fight someone he had feelings for.
Besides, Yamato wasn't just anyone; he was the future Anbu Squad Captain. Beating Yamato would be almost like defeating a captain.
After resting for a while, Yamato began sparring with Obito.
"Breath of Flame, Full Concentration!"
At the fight's start, Obito concentrated his breathing enough to enter the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, enhancing his Fire Release abilities.
He knew that Yamato's Wood Release wasn't to be underestimated; ordinary Fire Release wouldn't work well.
"Earth Release: Rock Spike!"
Yamato quickly made seals to create three stone spikes from the ground, driving them towards Obito.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
A large amount of Chakra gathered in Obito's throat, transforming into flames that he spat out.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Raging fire blazed around Obito, reducing the stone spikes heading towards him to rubble in the face of the intense heat.
Obito continuously poured out Chakra, enlarging the flames into a massive, fierce sea of fire.
Yamato: …
How on earth was he supposed to fight this? Yamato felt more constrained than when he was up against Kakashi.
Yamato attempted to use Water Release to extinguish Obito's Fire Release.
But compared to Obito's fire enhanced by the Breath of Flame, Yamato's current Water Release was mediocre, wholly ineffectual against Obito's fire, with his water streams evaporating under the flames.
Facing three flame dragons splitting from the sea of fire, Yamato had no choice but to surrender.
"So much for Anbu Squad Captain," Obito puffed up proudly, pleased with defeating a future captain.
"Obito-senpai is also strict in battle…" Yamato felt even more dejected.
This fight, though he didn't get physically beaten, caused him some mental anguish.
He had used Water Release, which should counter Fire Release, yet was overpowered; it was quite disheartening.
"The seniors have more years of cultivation than me, the difference in raw power is too vast," Yamato consoled himself.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, maybe let Shisui-senpai give it a try," Yamato wanted to switch opponents again.
Not knowing Shisui's exact age, but assuming he seemed younger than Kakashi and Obito, Yamato thought he wouldn't be much stronger, perhaps just a year or two older.
"Alright," Mokgetsu nodded and called for Shisui.
"Shisui-senpai," Yamato greeted politely.