With a flash, Kakashi Hatake appeared on the stage.
"Good luck, Kakashi!" Nohara Rin cheered.
Seeing Kakashi use the Body Flicker Technique just to step onto the stage, Obito Uchiha felt that Kakashi was showing off again.
I need to learn the Body Flicker Technique someday too, he thought.
"Contestant Hatake Kakashi is no ordinary participant," the host announced enthusiastically.
"He's a famous prodigy in Konohagakure. If I remember correctly, this is your second time participating in this competition, right?"
"Mm," Kakashi replied calmly, maintaining his usual cool demeanor.
"So, what ninjutsu will you be demonstrating today?" the host asked.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall," Kakashi answered.
Once the host retreated to a safe distance, Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals as chakra surged through his body.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground trembled slightly.
A massive thick earthen wall slowly rose behind Kakashi.
The judges stared at it in silence.
"This level of Earth Release…"
The wall was extremely thick and stretched impressively long.
Under normal circumstances, the judge would have immediately given a perfect score.
But—
There was already one perfect score earlier.
If another contestant also received a perfect score, wouldn't that mean two first places?
After thinking for a moment, the judge finally raised a 10-point sign.
Let the organizers deal with that problem.
"That guy is still as ridiculous as ever," Asuma Sarutobi muttered.
He wasn't surprised by Kakashi's strength.
"If I want to defeat Kakashi when he's using ninjutsu, I'll need to train even harder."
Might Guy recalled the time Kakashi fought seriously.
It had been almost a complete one-sided defeat.
Aside from one surprise Leaf Whirlwind, Guy had barely been able to fight back.
Meanwhile, Obito felt uneasy when he saw one judge give Kakashi a 10.
If Kakashi also got a perfect score—
who would take first place?
"Ten points! Ten points! Ten points!"
"Contestant Hatake Kakashi receives a total score of 30 points!"
"Amazing! This is the second perfect score of the competition!"
"And the first time in this tournament's history that two perfect scores have appeared!"
The host exclaimed in astonishment.
The overall level of contestants this year was unusually high.
Even someone like Uchiha Tekka, who scored very well, would have easily taken first place in previous competitions.
"My luck is terrible," Tekka muttered bitterly.
He had thought first place was guaranteed.
Instead, he had been pushed down to third place.
But he accepted the result.
Both Kakashi and Obito had demonstrated truly powerful techniques.
"If you had participated, Shisui, you would definitely have gotten a perfect score too," Tekka said.
He had full confidence in Shisui Uchiha.
Even though Tekka was two years older, he knew he wasn't Shisui's opponent.
Shisui simply smiled without replying.
He had never been interested in this competition.
And since Obito wanted first place so badly, Shisui had even less reason to participate.
"So, are you satisfied now?" Kakashi said to Obito after stepping down from the stage.
"If you want to defeat me, try training for a few more years."
"What are you so proud of?" Obito shot back.
"We both scored 30 points. And technically I got it first, so by that logic I should be the winner!"
"You scored 30 because 30 is the highest score available," Kakashi replied calmly.
"I scored 30 because the maximum is only 30."
"You—!"
Obito's face turned red as he failed to find a comeback.
"Alright, alright," Rin said with a helpless smile as she stepped between them.
"You're both amazing. There's no need to argue."
Nearby, the event organizers—a group of shop owners—began discussing the situation.
"How are we supposed to rank them if there are two perfect scores?"
"What if we hold a tie-breaker round and ask them to perform another ninjutsu?" one merchant suggested.
"That would determine a clear winner, but it might not be fair," another merchant replied.
"One of them is still a student. Mastering even one powerful Fire Release technique is already impressive."
"Why can't they simply share first place?"
A voice suddenly joined the discussion.
The merchants turned around.
A blond ninja wearing a shinobi forehead protector had appeared beside them without them noticing.
"We could even promote the event by celebrating two first-place winners," the man suggested with a smile.
"Offer discounts and attract more shoppers."
The merchants' eyes lit up.
"That's a great idea!"
The entire purpose of the competition was to increase traffic in the commercial street.
If more people came to shop, that would be even better.
After all, the first-place prize was only 8,000 ryō.
Even a small increase in customers would easily cover that cost.
"Sir, have you considered opening a shop here?" one shop owner asked.
"You seem to have a good head for business."
"No," the man replied with a smile.
"I'm just an ordinary chūnin passing by."
"Your competition is excellent. It encourages the village's youth to train harder."
After praising the event, Makoto quietly left.
If Obito and Kakashi had to compete again—
Obito would definitely lose.
To secure Obito's first-place finish, Makoto had truly gone to great lengths.
He had done everything he could.
Now he could only hope the reward would be worth it.
No contestant afterward surpassed Obito or Kakashi.
In fact, no one even scored higher than Uchiha Tekka.
The next highest score was only 23 points.
Finally, after all contestants finished—
it was time to announce the results.
"First Place — Uchiha Obito!"
"First Place — Hatake Kakashi!"
"Second Place — Uchiha Tekka!"
The host announced the rankings.
Makoto's suggestion had worked.
Obito and Kakashi shared first place, ending in a tie.
"You just got lucky this time," Obito said triumphantly.
"Next time, I'll definitely beat you."
"When your strength becomes as tough as your mouth, maybe that'll happen," Kakashi replied dryly.
Kakashi's sharp tongue was still far beyond Obito's level.
Fortunately, Obito held the first-place prize in his hands—
a beautiful silver-plated kunai and 8,000 ryō.
Even though he couldn't out-argue Kakashi, the reward made him extremely happy.
At the exact moment the rankings were announced—
Obito's training mission was completed.
[Disciple Uchiha Obito's Training Mission Completed]
Rewards obtained:
Chakra +800
Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll
Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient)
Seeing the rewards appear, Makoto revealed a satisfied smile.
Such generous rewards made the twenty days of effort completely worthwhile.
800 chakra alone was extremely valuable.
If he had to earn that through teaching evaluations, it would require around forty B-rank evaluations.
The Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll was also incredibly useful.
It could instantly raise any learned ninjutsu to Proficient level.
But the reward Makoto valued most was—
Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation.
He was even happier about it than the 800 chakra.
The two special chakra natures—Yin Release and Yang Release—were notoriously difficult to train.
The moment he received the reward, countless memories and experiences of training Yin Release chakra suddenly appeared in Makoto's mind.
Makoto opened his system panel.
It was time to check his updated stats.
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