'Flamethrower!'
Charizard opened its large mouth, unleashing a massive surge of chakra, spewing out the most powerful flames of its dragon life.
"Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
In the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, Obito was extremely sensitive to fire. Instantly sensing danger, he immediately concentrated chakra again, spewing out a sea of fire that formed a solid fire column.
Boom!
The two formidable fire columns collided.
Around the columns, rolling waves of heat and flying sparks filled the air, the fierce flames causing the surrounding air to distort, as if one could see the ripples of air undulating in the sea of fire.
Even Kakashi and Shisui, who were watching, could feel the stifling heat in the air, as if the wind was suppressed by this wave of heat, becoming weak and feeble.
The two fire columns exhausted their last spark, finally fading into nothingness together.
This time, Charizard's full-force Flamethrower and Obito's Fire Dragon Flame Bomb ended in a draw.
"It's not a big deal; the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb isn't my strongest Fire Release Ninjutsu." Obito consoled himself.
Whoosh!!
Charizard grinned, and once again spewed a thick fire column at Obito.
Blocked one, but what about the second?
It can unleash the Flamethrower five more times, but how many more Fire Dragon Flame Bombs can you, Obito, release?
Obito wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, his body flashing as he swiftly dodged.
The previous battle had already consumed a lot of his chakra, and if he released another Fire Dragon Flame Bomb, he might be forced to exit the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode.
'Hot Wind!'
Facing the fleeing Obito, Charizard took a huge breath of air and spat out a fire-sparked whirlwind.
Then quickly swung out a Wind Blade to lock Obito's dodging space.
With nowhere to hide, Obito had to face the flames spewed by Charizard head-on.
The two flames collided once more, Charizard's fire swiftly overpowering Obito's flames, surging toward him.
Obito, meanwhile, gathered chakra around him, preparing to defend.
If direct confrontation doesn't work, then find a way to reduce the damage.
When Charizard's flames had mostly suppressed Obito's, Charizard withdrew some of its power, leaving only a small portion that hit Obito's protective barrier, after being offset by Obito's flames.
Although not injured, Obito was already exhausted, sitting on the ground under the impact of the flames.
"Roar."
Finally, Charizard stood before the exhausted Obito, crossing its arms and snorting hot air, letting out a disdainful roar.
"Competing with me in flames, you still have a lot to learn; that's what it says," Zorua translated.
Obito looked at Charizard with exasperation; wasn't that what he said in the morning? It learned too quickly.
"If you could conserve chakra in the beginning stages, you might have a chance to win," Kakashi commented.
In terms of output limit, Obito now exceeds Charizard, evident from Obito dominating Charizard in his prime.
"Maybe if I conserved chakra in the beginning, there wouldn't be a later," Obito retorted unhappily.
Kakashi was simply speaking from a position of ease. If Charizard were so aggressive, without activating Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, wouldn't he get a severe beating?
Mokgetsu and Nohara Rin were both watching. Didn't Obito care about his dignity?
"Kakashi, you only have Ash," Obito thought smugly.
He was playing a long game; Charizard was feeling good tonight, and by tomorrow afternoon, it would put in effort to help him claim first place.
By then, he would be the champion of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, while Kakashi would be a mere top eight—completely different levels of ninjas.
Moreover, the first-place prize was the Fire Dragon Dance, known as the strongest Fire Release. Once he mastered it, his solo combat strength would surpass Kakashi's.
Obito seemed to see a wide road appearing before him, just waiting for him to step onto it.
When Obito was about to discuss tomorrow's tactics with Charizard, he found that Charizard was nowhere to be seen.
Obito looked around, only to find Charizard had somehow gone over to Milotic.
Obito was speechless; he was the contractor, but it looked like Milotic and Charizard were Nohara Rin's Summoning Beasts.
"Obito, let me heal you a bit. Although you look fine, you have a match tomorrow, so take good care," Nohara Rin gently said, walking up to Obito.
"Hehe, thanks, Rin,"
Obito chuckled awkwardly, not going to find Charizard, but cooperating with Nohara Rin for treatment, while finding topics to chat with her.
"Just do your best in the competition, Obito. Don't overthink it, and make sure you protect yourself," Nohara Rin advised.
Although Charizard was strong, Nagato's current performance was too dominant. Nohara Rin felt it would be difficult for Obito and Charizard together to win.
She was worried Obito would push himself too hard for first place and end up seriously injured, which is why she was giving a reminder.
Nohara Rin knew Obito was someone who liked to show off. Although Mokgetsu's teachings had made him more rational now, avoiding meaningless risk-taking, it's always better to be cautious.
"Don't worry, Rin, I'll take care of myself," Obito nodded.
After all, this was just a competition, not a life-or-death battle with an enemy; Obito certainly wouldn't go to extremes.
Of course, he would still do his best to defeat Nagato, not only for the rank and reward but also to avenge Might Guy.
Might Guy had opened six gates and got injured to help him fight for the first-place reward; how could he disregard such camaraderie?
...
The next afternoon, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament finals kicked off on time.
Hanzo showed a relieved expression, although he hadn't seen Nagato's defeat or Sosuke being distressed, but at least the tournament was about to end, and he was finally free from facing Sosuke and Kakuzu.
Sosuke gave him mental pressure, while Kakuzu provided verbal pressure, leaving him sleepless for days, haunted by nightmares of Sosuke calling on him in lectures or Kakuzu ridiculing him.
In the contestants' lounge, there were only Nagato and Obito.
Obito stared at Nagato, recalling information about him.
At this moment, he wasn't alone but part of a small team in battle. Kakashi and Might Guy had shared all the information they had collected about Nagato with Obito.
"Although Repulsive Force Ninjutsu can be instant-cast without hand seals, it has a cooldown time, equal to or less than eight seconds..."
Most of Nagato's intel had been exposed at this point. All disciples believed Almighty Push's cooldown was the most crucial aspect.
While Heavenly Attraction was quite mysterious, its effect wasn't as significant as Almighty Push.
For example, in a battle with Might Guy, if Nagato dared to use Heavenly Attraction to pull Guy in, Guy would show Nagato the power beyond stone-crushing muscles.
Although Nagato appeared not to be looking at Obito, he was actually observing him from the corner of his eye. He was curious about what kind of ninjas Mokgetsu's other disciples were.
"Youth Martial Arts Tournament Finals, Nagato vs. Uchiha Obito!" the referee's voice boomed into the lounge.
PS: This chapter is a merge, totaling 7k.
Tomorrow, the tournament arc will conclude.
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