"Obito, it's your turn," Nohara Rin reminded him.
Obito nodded and quickly walked onto the stage.
"Good luck, Obito!" Rin clenched her fists and cheered him on.
"Obito, this time you'll be the one fighting Kakashi. Show everyone the results of all your hard work," Might Guy encouraged him as well.
They had trained together under Teacher Makoto, and Guy had personally seen how hard Obito had worked.
"Don't lose before it's even my turn," Kakashi Hatake said calmly, encouraging Obito in his own way.
Kakashi's words worked instantly.
Obito turned around and declared,
"Impossible! Just watch!"
"Another young member of the Uchiha Clan," the host said with a sigh of admiration.
"It's rare to see even one, yet today we have two. Let's see what kind of exciting performance Uchiha Obito will bring us!"
"So Obito is competing too… That's unfortunate for him," Asuma Sarutobi said.
"The previous Uchiha just performed so well. The comparison will be awkward."
He had known Obito for over three years and understood his abilities well.
Although Obito had learned the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, his mastery had always been fairly average.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Tekka frowned when he saw Obito step onto the stage.
"Obito is participating too?"
Suddenly, the 8,000 ryō prize didn't feel completely secure.
"But the judges probably don't understand how impressive the Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique is," Tekka thought.
Although the Dragon Flame Technique was a B-rank Fire Release ninjutsu and more difficult than the Great Fireball—
In terms of visual spectacle, it wasn't as flashy.
"Contestant Uchiha Obito, which ninjutsu will you be demonstrating?" the host asked.
"I will perform Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique," Obito replied confidently.
"Another Great Fireball Technique! Do all young members of the Uchiha Clan master this jutsu? Truly worthy of such a prestigious clan!"
The host stepped back while speaking.
Techniques like the Great Fireball covered a large area, so maintaining distance was safer.
"Could it be that he has mastered both the Dragon Flame Technique and the Great Fireball Technique?" Tekka wondered.
It sounded unrealistic.
If it were Shisui, Tekka would believe it without hesitation.
But Obito?
He used to be called the dead last of the Uchiha Clan.
Standing on the stage, Obito looked out at the crowd below.
From this position he could see everyone clearly.
Rin was smiling warmly and cheering for him.
Guy flashed his brilliant white teeth and gave him a thumbs-up.
Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the stage.
Shisui seemed to be silently encouraging him.
Asuma looked like he already felt sorry for him.
And then—
Makoto.
"Eh? Teacher Makoto!"
Obito's face instantly lit up with surprise.
His only regret today had been that Makoto couldn't come because he had tutoring work.
Obito felt deeply grateful toward him.
Makoto had helped him shed the label of "dead last of the Uchiha."
He had defeated Uchiha Tekka and risen to second place in the class.
Even his previously failing theory exams had finally passed.
The reason he could stand here with such confidence today—
was closely tied to Makoto.
During these twenty days of special training, Obito wasn't the only one who had worked hard.
Makoto had done everything possible to strengthen him.
He had even modified Obito's ninjutsu.
If Makoto couldn't witness the moment he won first place—
that would have been a huge regret.
Noticing Obito's gaze, Makoto smiled and waved.
"I can't disappoint the people cheering for me."
Obito took a deep breath.
For the first time, he entered an extremely focused state.
The defeat from that year still haunted him.
This time—
he wanted to win.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito quickly formed the hand seals.
A massive amount of chakra gathered in his throat.
He converted it all through Chakra Nature Transformation—
and released it in one breath.
WHOOSH—!!
A torrent of blazing flames burst from Obito's mouth.
The flames condensed into an enormous orange-red fireball, which rapidly expanded.
By the time it stabilized—
it stood four meters tall, nearly three times Obito's height.
"That… that can't possibly be a fire technique used by a Ninja Academy student!" one judge exclaimed in disbelief.
Another judge rubbed his eyes, equally stunned.
"Contestant Uchiha Obito's Great Fireball Technique is far beyond ordinary levels—even the judges are shocked!" the host exclaimed.
In his five years of hosting this competition, he had never seen a Great Fireball of this magnitude—
especially from a Ninja Academy student.
"How is that possible?!" Tekka stared in disbelief.
For a moment he wondered if he had fallen into genjutsu.
He would rather believe that than accept that Obito could perform such an incredible Great Fireball.
If Obito had used a technique like this in their previous battle—
Tekka knew he would have lost instantly in a direct clash.
"This… this is Obito's Great Fireball?" Asuma rubbed his eyes.
"Teacher… hit me. I think I'm caught in genjutsu."
Makoto calmly fulfilled his request and tapped Asuma's head with two fingers.
"Ow!"
Asuma stared at the enormous fireball on stage, completely stunned.
Being defeated by Shisui Uchiha was understandable.
Shisui was a prodigy who might even surpass Kakashi.
But Obito?
Obito was his old friend.
He knew exactly how strong Obito used to be.
"So Obito has this kind of strength now…"
"Does that mean I'm actually the weak one?"
Asuma began questioning his entire life.
If he didn't work harder—
forget surpassing the Third Hokage.
He might not even measure up among his friends.
"With a Great Fireball of this level… no wonder he was so confident earlier," Kakashi said.
Even Kakashi could clearly see how much Obito had improved.
The improvement was so dramatic that it puzzled him.
Obito hadn't even graduated yet.
Normally, ninja experienced their rapid growth period after graduation.
"Ten points! Ten points! Ten points!"
"Contestant Uchiha Obito receives a total score of 30 points!"
"A perfect score!"
"He has already secured first place!"
The host shouted excitedly.
Every judge had awarded Obito the maximum score.
Such a situation was extremely rare.
"Hmph… he used some clever trick."
Hyūga Homon, who had activated his Byakugan, had already seen through the truth.
The fireball looked terrifying—
but internally it wasn't nearly as powerful as it appeared.
Homon had accompanied a friend to watch the competition.
Now it seemed clear that Obito would win first place.
But Homon wasn't worried.
During the next final exam, he wouldn't even give Obito the chance to perform a ninjutsu.
"The host said you already secured first place! Obito, you're amazing!" Rin praised happily as Obito stepped down from the stage.
"Hehe…" Obito couldn't stop grinning foolishly.
"Don't celebrate too early," Kakashi said.
"When it's my turn, the judges might break the rules and give me an even higher score."
Just as he finished speaking—
"Next, please welcome Contestant No.5 — Kakashi Hatake!"
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