"I'm not the Uchiha loser, I ranked third in the last practical ranking!"
Obito noticed that Kakashi's impression of him was still stuck on the time before he learned from Mokgetsu, so he directly revealed the results of his last exam.
"If third place counts as a loser, then there must be only two people in the entire grade who aren't losers. Plus, last time I was careless; next time, I'll definitely be first!" Obito replied defiantly.
Kakashi was slightly stunned for a moment. Being ranked third in the grade certainly doesn't count as a loser, and considering Obito's performance in the youth Ninjutsu competition, he thought third place was quite normal.
However, Kakashi couldn't stand Obito's arrogance, so he said:
"I don't really know if third place counts as a loser, because I've always been first, so I don't know what being third feels like."
Obito opened his mouth but found himself unable to refute, as it was the truth: Kakashi had absolute dominance in school back then and was always first.
"By the way, were you third in the theoretical exam? I was also first in the theoretical exam," Kakashi added.
Obito felt like an arrow had struck his heart. Theory had always been his Achilles' heel; not to mention third place, he only barely passed thanks to Mokgetsu's tutoring.
Even though his theoretical performance was really lacking, Obito wouldn't admit it in front of Kakashi, so he stubbornly said, "
"I didn't sleep well the night before the theory exam, so it was slightly worse than the practical one, but this time will surely be different!"
"How slightly worse is slightly worse? Wasn't it that you just barely passed?" Kakashi, who knew Obito well, intentionally asked.
As expected, soon enough, Obito blurted out himself.
"Not at all, I just passed!" Obito retorted, this was his first time passing.
"Just barely passing is a bit different from being third, that 'bit' is quite big," Kakashi couldn't help but smile.
Obito fell silent. If he could become Hokage, he'd definitely issue an order to abolish theoretical exams at the Ninja Academy, as they were too torturous.
"Obito has been working really hard lately; I've seen him studying every day. Perhaps his final exam results will take a leap forward," Nohara Rin spoke up for Obito.
Feeling downcast initially, Obito instantly recovered, feeling like the world was so wonderful.
Even looking at the gradually departing backs of Might Guy and Shisui felt a few degrees cuter.
"Wait, Guy and Shisui are training while I'm here wasting time arguing with Kakashi?" Obito suddenly thought of a question.
With their progress, Might Guy will definitely become stronger than him, leaving him with more questions to solve and even less time to spend playing with Nohara Rin.
"Playing with Rin means doing more tasks, doing more tasks means less time to play with Rin, so playing with Rin means no time to play with Rin," Obito's mind came up with this rather strange logic chain.
Obito didn't quite understand why Might Guy and Shisui would train together at night.
Both of them were either his clansmen or classmates, making him feel like an outsider.
Obito recalled for a moment and realized they did invite him, but he declined because he wanted to play with Rin.
Feeling quite conflicted, Obito pondered how to solve this dilemma, and then he saw Kakashi, and a thought sprouted.
No matter how much he refused to admit it, deep down, Obito couldn't deny that Kakashi was really amazing.
Graduating at five, becoming Chunin at six, while they were still in second grade at the Ninja Academy, Kakashi had already risen to Chunin, on the same level as the school teachers.
If he could learn a little from Kakashi, he might gain an advantage in battles with Might Guy.
"Kakashi, if your opponent is faster and stronger than you, how would you cope?" Obito asked Kakashi.
"Create distance and then use Ninjutsu," Kakashi replied.
"Only using Taijutsu," Obito added a condition.
"Why wouldn't I use Ninjutsu if I know it?" Kakashi refused to answer.
Obito scratched his head in frustration, inwardly cursing the annoying Kakashi.
"Because by then Chakra is almost depleted and can't use Ninjutsu," Obito thought for a moment and said.
"Then go head-to-head with them."
"Why? With both power and speed being disadvantages, how could direct confrontation possibly work?" Obito was very puzzled.
"At least you can die heroically; don't you think Taijutsu requires Chakra?" Kakashi replied bluntly.
Obito was nearly driven mad; this annoying Kakashi completely disregards logic.
Feeling he'd talked enough, Kakashi finally said:
"Since your power and speed are inferior to the enemy, you need to focus on body technique and skill."
"Combat is simply trying to hit the enemy while avoiding being hit yourself. Body technique will help you evade enemy attacks to prevent injuries, while stronger skills can compensate for power inadequacies during offense."
Obito felt what Kakashi said made sense, yet he felt as if nothing was said at all.
Upon further thought, he realized that similar words were already heard from Mokgetsu's side.
"Are you entering some competition where only Taijutsu is allowed, and someone is better than you?" Kakashi speculated.
"It's not a competition; it's a practical exam where both of my rivals are skilled in Taijutsu," Obito didn't disclose the truth to Kakashi.
He felt if Kakashi knew it was a fight punished by tasks, he might not help him and instead watch and laugh while he completed the tasks.
"If you genuinely want to improve your Taijutsu, I don't mind helping out, just worried you can't handle the hardship," Kakashi said.
"I, Uchiha Obito, fear nothing more than hardship."
Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Obito chuckled; what hardship could compare to completing a hundred tasks after a fight? My suffering surpasses yours, Kakashi.
Then Kakashi led the two to a nearby training ground.
"Next, I'll fight you without using Ninjutsu, but I won't hold back. Are you sure you want my help training?" Kakashi asked for a final confirmation.
"Go ahead, use all your strength," Obito said indifferently.
He was eager to test Kakashi's capabilities.
Undoubtedly, Kakashi was more proficient in Ninjutsu, so Obito believed a pure Taijutsu match wouldn't be that different.
"Very well, I'll start now," Kakashi saw Obito's resolve and decided to fulfill his wish.
In the next instant, Kakashi used Instant Body Jutsu to appear right in front of Obito, kicking the unsuspecting Obito flying.
Obito, who was just chatting with Nohara Rin, was bewildered, patting the dust off and saying, "
"I was careless and didn't dodge, let's continue."
A minute later, Obito was covered in dust, with several footprints on his body.
With Nohara Rin watching, even though he fell multiple times within a minute, Obito managed to stand up pretending to be relaxed and urged to continue.
Nohara Rin watched the two as they got into the zone, feeling somewhat at a loss for words since she seemed a bit redundant here.
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