Hoshigaki Homen once cornered Kakashi and the others into a desperate situation during the Chunin Exam's Forest of Death segment, and since he reported his name, Might Guy remembered him.
"Are you talking about Hoshigaki Kisame?" Kakashi was stunned by Might Guy's mention of Hoshigaki Homen and had to think back carefully to recall the true name.
"Ah, wasn't it Hoshigaki Homen? I should be remembering correctly. I remember we exchanged a sentence during the third exam." Might Guy recalled again, feeling he hadn't been mistaken.
Might Guy's confident demeanor made Kakashi feel a bit unsure. Could it be that he remembered the name wrong?
"The Hidden Mist are here to compete too, huh? It'll be just like the battlefield. Let's beat them hard once again." Obito spotted the Hidden Mist Ninja who had once luckily defeated him during the Chunin Exam.
Although he had completed his revenge in the third stage of the Chunin Exam, winning once more would better prove his strength.
"Such strong Chakra, which Ninja Village's ninja is this?" Kakashi, who had activated the Transparent World, suddenly sensed a powerful Chakra.
He only thought that since so many competitors gathered here, there might be strong opponents, but once activating the Transparent World, he indeed found a master he didn't recognize.
Kakashi quietly changed his position and closed the Transparent World, only to find the ninja with strong Chakra didn't have a forehead protector.
"Without a forehead protector, is he a non-Ninja Village ninja?" Kakashi speculated.
There are indeed strong individuals among non-Ninja Village ninjas, but they are very rare. Adding the factor of being under eighteen makes them even rarer.
"Lighting Fang Kakashi, the Green Beast Might Guy, Shisui of the Body Flicker, all the geniuses of Konoha are here." A ninja noticed the arrival of Kakashi and the others.
While Kakashi and they weren't known throughout the entire Ninja World yet, they had some reputation with the surrounding countries.
Obito looked around, trying to find the person speaking. They mentioned Kakashi and others but not him, did they look down on him?
Unfortunately, there were indeed a lot of ninjas here, many engaged in chatting, and after a tough search, Obito couldn't figure out who was speaking.
Terumi Mei and the group of Hozuki Mangetsu turned to look upon hearing those familiar names.
"It's really them. The pressure from competition is huge." Terumi Mei slightly frowned.
Except for Obito, whom she slightly suppressed, Terumi Mei felt she was bound to lose against Kakashi, Might Guy, and Shisui.
"Might Guy." Hoshigaki Kisame glared at Might Guy.
The crushing defeat Might Guy dealt him during the Chunin Exam was something Hoshigaki Kisame found hard to forget.
"Those geniuses of Konoha who once drove back the Seven-Swords Ninja, huh?" Hozuki Mangetsu showed an interested expression.
He believed if Hidden Mist still had Ninja Blades, he could directly become one of the Seven-Swords Ninja, hence he regarded Obito and the others as equals.
"It's Maki from The Hidden Sand Village."
At this time, a ninja from a Small Ninja Village recognized the sand hidden amongst the walking Hidden Sand team.
"So many genius ninjas from a Great Ninja Village." A ninja from a Small Ninja Village started thinking about retreating.
Originally considering that during wartime perhaps few would participate and thinking of seizing the chance, upon second thought, sending a few young ninja teams couldn't possibly affect any situation.
Though not intending to compete, carrying the thought that since they're here, the non-competing ninjas decided to watch the matches before leaving.
...
On June 25th, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament began its preliminary matches.
The preliminaries aren't open for spectation; for the audience, the elimination matches after the preliminaries mark the official start of the competition.
Due to the number of competing ninjas exceeding two hundred, Mokgetsu evenly divided the ninjas into eight divisions, with four spots in each division for the elimination matches; the preliminary match is counted as finished only when there are four contenders left fighting round after round.
After drawing lots, Obito and the others gathered to communicate.
"I'm number one in division two, how about you guys?" Obito said, waving the number in his hand first.
"I'm number fifteen in division eight!" Might Guy showed a bright white smile.
Everyone else sighed in relief. If they were in the same division as Might Guy, it somewhat depended on luck.
"I'm number one in division one." Kakashi responded next.
"I'm number ten in division five." declared Shisui.
"I'm in division four; everyone is in different divisions." Nohara Rin smiled and said.
According to the rules of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, being in different divisions is advantageous; otherwise, if you meet in the first match of the same division, one of you cannot enter the elimination round.
But Nohara Rin's worry is unnecessary as the division set by Mokgetsu's hand is deliberate.
The purpose of the preliminaries is to ensure an exciting elimination round; Mokgetsu separated the stronger ninjas to ensure the geniuses wouldn't miss out due to luck.
"Kakashi and Obito, you guys should quickly go to the battle arena in division two. You're both in the first match," Nohara Rin gently reminded.
All eight divisions' matches proceed simultaneously, rather than finishing one division at a time in sequence.
"Alright, little Rin, you must cheer up. I'll come to support you during your battle," Obito encouraged Nohara Rin before leaving.
"Obito, same with you, never underestimate your opponents, even if they aren't as strong as you, give it your all." Nohara Rin nodded seriously and said.
"After the battle, we can gather intelligence on other ninjas." Leaving this remark, Kakashi headed to the battle arena in division one.