"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Rin Nohara?"
Kiyoshi counter-questioned, gathering his belongings into his cloth bag and slinging it over his shoulder, then walking to the doorway.
Looking out, he could see Kakashi already walking far away.
Obito was near the school gate, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Didn't we agree that I would teach you ninjutsu, Kiyoshi?" Rin Nohara said.
"I see."
Kiyoshi nodded slightly.
He was indifferent as to whether Rin Nohara stayed because of a promise, or if Kakashi had left due to an early commitment, forcing her to stay.
The love triangle between Rin Nohara, Obito, and Kakashi was quite the melodrama.
The fact that Rin Nohara gave Kakashi a unique medical pouch, complete with a hand-stitched charm inside, clearly showed that Rin Nohara liked Kakashi.
But Obito liked Rin Nohara, and Kakashi and Obito were best friends.
"Then let's go."
"Okay."
Rin Nohara nodded and followed Kiyoshi outside.
Kakashi, already far away, was completely out of sight, blending into the bustling crowd.
"Rin, you're not really going to teach this guy ninjutsu, are you?" Obito asked.
He really didn't want Rin Nohara and Kiyoshi to be alone. This kind of excellent opportunity should be reserved for him.
"Kiyoshi came to the Hidden Leaf Village alone. We should help each other," Rin Nohara said.
"Fine."
Seeing Rin's insistence, Obito couldn't say much more.
He shamelessly followed behind the two of them to a training ground.
The Hidden Leaf Village has over fifty training grounds for ninjas to practice and accumulate experience. Each one varies in shape and size.
They are sometimes used as examination sites, for example, suitable locations are chosen from these training grounds for every Chunin Exam.
They were currently not ninjas but academy students, yet they still had the right to use these facilities.
The moment they registered their names at the Ninja Academy, they were essentially provisional ninjas.
Even with the system of repeating a grade, one could eventually pass and become a Genin just by being able to perform the three basic jutsu, even if it took several attempts.
Training Ground 3.
"It's great that there's no one here."
Rin Nohara looked around and noticed no one else had come here.
She lightly coughed, then said:
"Obito, you need to listen carefully too. At this rate, you won't pass the graduation exam."
"Hehe, I know, Rin," Obito scratched his head and laughed.
His skill level with the three basic jutsu was indeed poor, which was why he had a reputation as the Dead-Last.
"But I'm definitely better than this guy."
Obito pointed at Kiyoshi.
He was full of self-confidence. No matter how much of a dead-last he was, he had received systematic education.
Kiyoshi, who came from an untrained background and was a semi-illiterate who only knew rough chakra refinement, couldn't possibly be better than him!
He was from the Uchiha clan and had heard a lot about Uchiha Kiyoshi from his grandmother.
Right now, countless eyes throughout the entire clan were watching Kiyoshi.
The impression of the Land of Lightning was not good.
The Second Hokage died at the hands of Cloud ninja, and the war with the Land of Lightning had only ended a few years ago, the hatred had not yet subsided. Furthermore, Obito's parents had also died on the battlefield.
Besides his own family, many clan members were in a similar situation.
The ninja profession was never a noble one, it was about dancing on a razor's edge, a kind of "mercenary" where no one knew if they would see tomorrow.
"Obito."
Rin Nohara frowned slightly. It was not right to speak about a classmate like that.
"It's fine. Please begin the explanation, Rin Nohara."
Kiyoshi spoke, ignoring Obito.
It was unknown whether Obito had been secretly targeted by Madara Uchiha yet.
Kiyoshi didn't want to take the risk. He wanted to keep his distance and buy time for himself to grow stronger.
As long as he carried the Uchiha name in the Hidden Leaf Village, he carried original sin.
Itachi's Night of the Massacre and Danzo's coveting of the Sharingan were problems Kiyoshi had to face.
And he didn't have much time left. After graduating from the Ninja Academy, the Third Great Ninja War would break out soon after.
This war was the most devastating in history, so much so that even children a few years old had to take up kunai and fight.
"Alright, to learn ninjutsu, the first step is the Tree Climbing training."
Rin Nohara began to explain the secrets behind it to Kiyoshi.
In the original manga's Land of Waves Arc, Kakashi also explained this to Team 7, but his explanation was far less detailed than Rin Nohara's.
Kiyoshi listened, occasionally asking Rin Nohara about points he didn't understand.
"Gather a suitable amount... and extract the chakra onto the soles of your feet to create an adhesive force on the soles of your feet."
To illustrate, Rin Nohara took off her shoes, revealing her feet.
She told Kiyoshi exactly where to gather the chakra to achieve adhesion with the minimum amount of chakra.
Then she put her shoes back on, formed the Hand Seal of the Tiger by stretching her thumbs straight and overlapping them with her left thumb on top, and stepped onto a thick tree trunk, walking as if on flat ground.
Kiyoshi looked up. Rin Nohara walked to a point near the treetop, waved down, and signaled for the two below to give it a try.
"This is simple!"
Obito immediately imitated Rin Nohara's movements, forming the hand seal. He had already learned this in school.
After refining a stream of chakra, Obito felt it was enough, guided the chakra to the soles of his feet, and tentatively took a step.
Finding that he didn't fall, he gained confidence and began stepping onto the trunk with his other foot, then walking upward.
"It's a good thing I learned this," Obito thought to himself.
Then he turned his head, wanting to see Kiyoshi's distressed look, embarrassing himself in front of Rin Nohara.
The next second, he fell down.
"Don't lose focus when controlling your chakra."
Rin Nohara shook her head.
Obito rubbed his back where he landed, wincing in pain.
He endured the pain, stood up, and said:
"It's Kiyoshi's turn now."
"Alright."
Kiyoshi nodded.
He started practicing.
The first time, he fell down just like Obito.
He only walked a meter, far from the treetop.
Then Kiyoshi started his second attempt.
Obito saw this and immediately began practicing too.
He now understood the saying, "regret when knowledge is needed," and wished he had paid more attention to chakra control techniques in class.
Soon, two hours passed.
The twilight glow spilled into the forest. Through the leaves, there were many dappled, golden shafts of light.
Rin Nohara's expression gradually turned to surprise.
She found that Kiyoshi was learning very quickly.
If Kiyoshi had been alone, it wouldn't have been obvious, but the comparison with Obito immediately showed the difference between the two.
In the beginning, Obito could walk two meters, but now, he could only walk a maximum of three and a half meters.
But what about Kiyoshi?
He had reached the five-meter mark, only a few steps away from the treetop!
Kiyoshi silently listened as the Trait Panel announced the completion of an achievement.
[You have comprehended the Trait: Muscle Memory (White)].