"So in the end, it's a fight between Obito and me? That's quite the tricky ability."
Kakashi watched Obito win and instinctively started thinking about how to counter the Void Kamui.
But no matter how much Kakashi thought, he couldn't figure out a good way.
Kamui is indeed a very powerful ability, the kind that's hard to deal with even if you know about it.
"Obito won. I have a feeling your final battle will be very exciting," Nohara Rin said with a smile, intertwining her ten fingers.
She had witnessed the efforts of both Obito and Kakashi daily, and no matter who won, she would be happy for them.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it!" Yamato nodded.
Having spent several months in school, getting used to the rookie fights of the students, watching the ninja fights of Kakashi, Might Guy, and others at such a level was simply enjoyable.
"Don't get your hopes up, or else it'll be awkward if I lose badly," Kakashi sighed slightly.
"Uh, actually, I'm not looking forward to it at all," Yamato immediately corrected.
"None at all? That's heartbreaking. Maybe you don't really see me as your senior," Kakashi sighed heavily.
Yamato: ...
So what should he say?
"It's such nice weather, it feels like a great day for some ramen. If someone were to treat me to a bowl, maybe my mood would improve," Kakashi mused, looking up at the sky.
"I'll treat you later," Yamato said with a pained expression.
Since he wasn't a ninja, Yamato couldn't earn money by completing missions.
His only source of income now was the living allowance Mokgetsu gave him.
Actually, Mokgetsu gave quite a bit, but Yamato didn't feel right taking it all, so he only accepted a portion.
That portion was enough for him to live on, and with some thrift, he could buy a little snack too.
For the sake of his senior's good mood, he could forgo the snacks.
Kakashi's eyes lit up instantly, and he patted Yamato on the shoulder, smiling: "You really are my most adorable junior, Yamato."
This time it was Yamato's turn to look troubled, hoping Kakashi would choose a more ordinary ramen shop.
Nohara Rin looked at Yamato with some sympathy. What a pure child.
It's probably just the way of karma. In the future, Yamato will bully Kakashi, and then Kakashi will bully the present Yamato, and when grown-up Yamato travels back to bully young Kakashi.
Seeing Mokgetsu complete the treatment on Obito, Nohara Rin walked over to him, bending her knees slightly with a smile, and extended a hand to him saying:
"Congratulations, you're one step closer to your goal."
At this moment, Obito was still immersed in the excitement of the recent battle. Hearing Nohara Rin's voice, he instinctively looked up, meeting her gaze, and was momentarily taken aback.
He saw the slight upward curve at the corner of her eyes, the long eyelashes trembling like the wings of a butterfly, and those lively, shimmering eyes like pools of spring water.
"Obito, what's wrong, are you okay?" Nohara Rin shook her arm in query.
"Very warm," Obito instinctively responded.
The sunlight filtering through the treetops danced on Nohara Rin, especially on her shoulder, as if she was glowing with warm light.
It made Obito feel warm all over, even a bit hot.
Seeing Nohara Rin's confusion growing on her face, Obito realized what he had said, blushing as he quickly grasped her hand and stood up.
"I mean, I'm fine," Obito corrected.
"Don't push yourself. If you're not feeling well, you must say so," Nohara Rin said seriously.
"Mm-hmm." Obito nodded, walking quickly to sit beside Kakashi.
"We'll stop here for today. The final match will be tomorrow," Mokgetsu said.
Under his protection, none of the disciples were seriously injured, but they had indeed expended a lot of energy and needed time to recover.
Obito and the others didn't have much else to do, so there was no rush to finish the ranking battle.
Kakashi and Obito nodded in agreement.
Obito wanted to defeat Kakashi in peak condition, feeling that it would be more rewarding.
Kakashi didn't mind having more time to think about tactics either.
The ranking battle was temporarily over, but no one left the Southern Border Forest.
Those who were in condition began cultivation, while those who weren't chatted or asked Mokgetsu about cultivation issues.
It wasn't until noon when Mokgetsu had something to attend to that the disciples, also needing lunch, were dismissed.
"Let's go with this one."
Kakashi randomly picked a ramen shop on the shopping street that looked decent and walked in with Yamato.
The first thing Yamato did upon entering was look at the menu posted on the wall.
"Vegetable ramen 65 ryō, pork bone ramen 60 ryō..." Yamato breathed a sigh of relief; this price was still manageable for him.
"Maybe Senior Kakashi has been here before and knows that the prices are reasonable."
Feeling a bit touched inside, Yamato smiled slightly.
"I'll have the large special miso pork ramen," Kakashi called out to the owner.
Yamato's expression froze; this was the most expensive dish on their menu at 80 ryō per serving.
"Oh, right, add an egg for me," Kakashi added.
The small feeling of appreciation in Yamato's heart cracked; the extra egg cost an additional 5 ryō.
"What are you having, Yamato?" Kakashi turned to ask him.
Yamato glanced at the plain rice, which was only 15 ryō, but ultimately answered, "I'll have chow mein."
Having just plain rice for lunch seemed a bit odd, and though chow mein was more expensive at 25 ryō, it was still appropriate for lunch.
After eating, Yamato tremblingly took 125 ryō from his small wallet and paid the ramen shop owner.