Training Ground 16. Luke Mugetsu stood with his clipboard, conducting the pre-exam roll call.
Since the entire school was testing simultaneously, the Academy's central courtyard was far too small to accommodate the crowds and the high-impact nature of live combat. The classes had been distributed across the village's various training grounds.
Once the students were accounted for, Luke and Sam Kimura announced the drawing of lots.
The rules were simple: students were called up according to the class roster to draw a numbered slip. The numbers determined their opponents—No. 1 would face No. 2, No. 3 against No. 4, and so on.
"I'm Number One! Rin, what's your number?" As soon as he pulled his slip, Obito rushed over to Rin Nohara.
"I'm Number Ten. That means you're in the very first match, Obito," Rin replied, her eyes scanning the crowd for No. 2.
"It doesn't matter when I go. I'm going to win regardless," Obito said with a grin. He was brimming with a newfound, quiet confidence. He knew that after a month of training under Luke, he had left his old self miles behind in the dust.
After checking on Rin, Obito turned to find Might Guy. "What's your slot?"
"Forty," Guy answered, showing his slip.
"The literal opposite of me, huh? I guess we won't run into each other until the finals," Obito mused.
"Don't lose before you get there, Obito!" Guy shouted, giving him a thumbs-up.
"I should be telling you that! I'm an Uchiha!" Obito barked back. He couldn't tell if Guy was being encouraging or if that was a subtle jab at his reputation, but it fired him up nonetheless.
"Where do you two get your confidence?" a classmate nearby muttered, rolling his eyes. "The two 'Dead Lasts' talking about a showdown in the finals? Get real."
"The first match is about to begin," Luke announced, checking his pocket watch. "Participant No. 1, Uchiha Obito, and Participant No. 2, Uchiha Tekka, please step into the ring."
Obito didn't waste time arguing with his detractors. He walked calmly into the center of the square clearing marked by white chalk lines.
Uchiha Tekka followed suit, meeting Obito's gaze with a cold, neutral stare.
The two were of the same clan, the same age, and the same class, but they had rarely spoken. There was no grand rivalry between them—they simply moved in different worlds. To Tekka, Obito was a clumsy, unreliable "disgrace" to the Uchiha name who couldn't even show up to class on time. To Obito, Tekka was just another arrogant, cold-hearted elite who looked down on everyone.
"Two Uchihas in the first round? Now this is going to be fun," one spectator whispered, leaning in. In a clan-based village, seeing two members of the same family fight was always a highlight. Someone was going to lose, and in the Uchiha clan, losing to a "loser" was the ultimate embarrassment.
"Fun? It'll be over in ten seconds," another student countered. "Tekka has been the Class Ace every year since Kakashi graduated. He's top in theory and combat."
"And Obito? The guy has never passed a written test in his life. His combat is mediocre at best. There's no way he touches Tekka."
The general consensus was clear: Tekka was the "Standard Uchiha"—excellent in every category. Expecting Obito to win was like expecting a house cat to take down a tiger.
"Obito... be careful," Rin whispered, her hands clasped nervously.
She worried for him. Tekka was a brutal opponent who didn't hold back. She didn't want Obito to get hurt trying to prove a point in a match he clearly couldn't win.
"Almost everyone counts him out," Might Guy said, a wide, sun-drenched smile on his face. "But that just makes the victory even more explosive! I believe in him."
The commotion at Grade 4, Class 2 attracted the attention of other classes testing nearby. Several students and teachers wandered over to watch the "Uchiha Civil War." However, once they saw it was Tekka versus Obito, many lost interest. They already knew how this ended. Only a few stayed to see how much more dominant Tekka had become.
The two boys stood opposite each other. Following the formal protocol of the Academy, they both raised their hands and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
It was a sign of respect, an acknowledgment that the battle was official. Once it was over, they would be required to form the Seal of Reconciliation to signify that there was no lingering animosity.
"Begin!" Luke shouted.
The moment the word left his lips, Tekka's hand blurred to his tool pouch. He launched three shuriken in a single, fluid motion, targeting Obito's head, torso, and feet simultaneously. Without waiting to see if they hit, Tekka lunged forward, closing the distance at high speed.
Clang-clang-clang!
In a display of reflexes that shocked the onlookers, Obito drew three shuriken of his own and intercepted Tekka's projectiles in mid-air. The six pieces of metal collided with a shower of sparks and fell harmlessly into the dirt.
"Uchiha shurikenjutsu truly is on another level," Sam Kimura noted, impressed. "Even a 'mediocre' student like Obito has the precision to intercept a master's throw."
Because the ring was small, Tekka was on Obito in a heartbeat. He threw a sharp right hook, aiming for Obito's jaw.
Obito didn't flinch. He parried the strike and countered with a punch of his own. The two entered a high-intensity Taijutsu exchange, their movements kicking up a cloud of dust as they traded blows.
"Wait... Obito is... holding his own?" The spectators were stunned.
The "Dead Last" was currently standing toe-to-toe with the Class Ace. They were trading strikes with a rhythm and power that suggested Obito wasn't just "getting lucky"—he was actually this fast.
"He's grown so much," Rin gasped, her hand over her mouth. She had thought he was just bragging about his "secret training," but the boy in the ring was a different person entirely.
"Obito is still slightly behind," Sam Kimura said, his experienced eyes seeing what the students missed. "His form is slightly looser, his reactions a fraction slower."
"In pure Taijutsu, yes," Luke nodded.
A month wasn't enough to rewrite Obito's entire physical foundation. Luke had focused Obito's curriculum on his natural affinity: Fire Release.
As Sam predicted, Tekka slowly began to overwhelm Obito, forcing him back toward the chalk line with a series of heavy kicks.
"See? I told you," the student who had mocked Obito earlier said, letting out a breath of relief. "Obito is putting up a fight, sure, but he's still not on Tekka's level."
Obito, sensing he was losing the physical struggle, waited for a specific opening. He blocked a heavy punch from Tekka and used the momentum of the impact to propel himself backward, creating a ten-foot gap between them.
His hands began to move. Fast.
He hadn't spent hours in the woods for nothing. He wasn't here to win a boxing match. He was here to burn.