Chapter 157: Steady Obito

"Exam candidates number one, Nohara Rin, and number three, Might Guy, get ready for the exam," the proctor sensei announced.

Mutsuki knew right away that Rin's practical exam was already over.

Rin might have had an easier time against Obito, but facing Guy, she would surely be completely overwhelmed.

Currently, Rin relies solely on Taijutsu for combat, and Guy excels in Taijutsu, leaving her no chance.

"It feels like Rin defeating Uchiha Tekka was too effortless. Could she possibly have a chance against Guy?"

"Now that you mention it, it's quite possible. After all, Guy also rose suddenly in the past. Maybe Rin will do the same this time."

Perhaps it was because Rin's previous battle was so clean and efficient that the students of Team Four have great expectations for her.

"Rin-chan, come on!" Obito didn't say much; he knew the difference in their abilities.

"Mm." Rin nodded as she entered the arena.

"Guy, you must show your full strength. I want to see the gap between us," Rin said earnestly.

"The burning youth should give their all in every battle!" Before forming the Seal of Confrontation, Guy gave Rin a thumbs-up.

"The battle begins!"

Just as Rin was about to replicate her previous fight, she suddenly realized that Guy was already charging towards her, his speed faster than hers!

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Guy swiftly kicked out a Whirlwind Kick towards Rin.

Swish!

At the critical moment, Rin used Soru to narrowly evade Guy's kicking technique.

But before Rin could plan her next move, Guy instantly appeared in front of her and punched out.

Rin had no choice but to compress Chakra in her hands, then quickly threw a punch.

Boom!!

The wind generated from the collision of their immense strength blew Rin's brown short hair upwards.

In the next moment, Rin couldn't support herself and staggered back several meters in succession.

"Such great strength, I'm not a match." Rin, sensing her numb arms, judged.

She was greatly surprised; she hadn't expected Guy's purely physical strength to be so exaggerated.

Even Rin's strongest power couldn't compete with Guy's Breathing Technique, sealing her defeat.

Then, as Guy had promised, he went all out, a series of rapid attacks leaving Rin completely powerless to retaliate.

"To be... suppressed like this by Guy." The students watching from below were frustrated.

They had thought Rin could break the dominance of Obito and Guy in the top two spots, but she was completely outmatched.

This made them ponder whether Uchiha Tekka wasn't as strong as imagined or if Guy was even stronger than they had anticipated.

"Guy wins!" When Rin lost her ability to fight, the proctor sensei announced Guy's victory.

"Rin-chan, are you okay?" Obito quickly helped Rin off the field, asking with concern.

"I'm fine, but Guy is really strong. It seems I still have a long way to go to catch up with you guys," Rin replied.

"If you keep going like this, you'll definitely catch up," Obito encouraged.

He believed that under Mutsuki's guidance, Rin would eventually catch up to them. After all, he and Guy weren't strong at the beginning either.

"What a pity. If it were in other classes, this level of strength would definitely qualify for grade-level practical combat," Ueda Aya praised Rin and then expressed regret.

In her view, with the presence of Guy and Uchiha Obito, others simply wouldn't have a chance.

"I wonder what luck Chitani has had. How come excellent students keep emerging in the class?" Ueda Aya muttered to herself.

She didn't believe that the improvement of individuals like Guy, Obito, and Rin was due to Chitani Isamu's efforts. If Chitani Isamu had such capabilities, he would have become an excellent teacher long before. It's impossible for him to end up like this.

She only thought that Chitani Isamu was lucky to take over a class with great potential.

As the class practical combat on the second day neared its end, Guy and Obito finally met in the last battle.

"Guy, no need to apologize. I'll take this victory, and I'll avenge Rin-chan!" Obito said confidently.

Through their previous battles and observing Guy fight Shisui, Obito was convinced that his strength had surpassed Guy by quite a margin.

"Haha, bring it on! Let's burn with youthful spirit together!" Guy was brimming with fighting spirit.

"The battle begins!"

"Stone Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Guy instantly changed his breathing rhythm, entering directly into Total Concentration Breathing state, enhancing his entire body's abilities, and charging straight towards Obito.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Obito also changed his breathing rhythm and swiftly retreated, forming seals before spewing out a huge fireball.

Although the Great Fireball was a C-rank Fire Release, its power was considerable. Guy didn't dare to take it head-on and dodged to the side.

Seeing Guy being so cautious, Obito shook his head regretfully. If Guy had dared to rush aggressively from the side, he would have immediately used Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson.

Obito quickly switched from Kunai to Shuriken and threw them towards Guy, who was running.

However, despite Obito's full effort, none of his Shuriken hit, all flying wide.

In the first round of the clash, both sides depleted some chakra and stamina, temporarily reaching a stalemate.

Due to their long-term training together, both of them knew each other's capabilities well and were cautious.

Guy swiftly countered Obito's Flame Breathing with his powerful Taijutsu, while Obito guarded against the immense strength of Guy's Stone Breathing.

Stalemate lasted for a minute, and Guy felt he had caught Obito off guard, bursting forward in an instant.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"

Obito swiftly completed one-handed seals and swiftly hurled fire-laced Kunai.

But Guy had anticipated this, dodging at extreme speed, then suddenly kicking out a Whirlwind Kick towards Obito.

Just when Guy thought he was about to win, he saw Obito smile.

"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Obito firmly caught the leg kicked by Guy at extreme speed, then spewed out a large amount of flames from his palm.

Although his legs were infused with Chakra and his body strengthened by the Breathing Technique, Guy still felt the pain from the high temperature.

"Why did Obito's strength and speed suddenly increase?" Guy wondered. Obito shouldn't have been able to catch him just now.

At this moment, Obito was extremely pleased. Only after becoming a Beginner did he realize that his previous Total Concentration Breathing wasn't focused enough. The Total Concentration Breathing after becoming a Beginner was the true Total Concentration Breathing, with a much greater improvement than before.

The increase in power also resulted in terrifying consumption of stamina and chakra. After becoming a Beginner, using his full-powered Total Concentration Breathing once would render it impossible for Obito to use it a second time. Just maintaining normal breathing would already exhaust him.

Although the enhancement was significant, based on Obito's observation of Guy and Shisui's battle, at most, with Beginner Total Concentration Breathing, his strength could match Guy's, but he couldn't overpower him.

Even though their strengths might be evenly matched at best, the consumption was even greater, and Obito's Taijutsu experience was not as good as Guy's. So Obito never considered relying on the Breathing Technique to win against Guy in Taijutsu.

However, he could catch Guy off guard with the power of Total Concentration Breathing. Just now, Obito intentionally exposed a vulnerability to make Guy rush into attacking him anxiously.

Seizing the opportunity, Obito mercilessly launched a fierce flame attack. Despite Guy pushing Stone Breathing to its limits, he couldn't withstand Obito's assault and quickly lost the battle.

Mutsuki nodded; this was within his expectations.

After all, with Obito's Breathing Technique being so far ahead, losing to Guy could only have one outcome: Obito slipping up himself, coupled with an exceptional performance from Guy.

"Uchiha Obito wins!" the proctor sensei announced.

"I finally got first place in the class!" Obito couldn't help but fist pump in celebration.

It's strange to say, he had already gotten first place in the grade once, but it was his first time getting first place in the class.

Obito only felt that it wasn't easy. He always had to be a little disadvantaged when fighting against Guy because Fire Release Ninjutsu had considerable power. One moment of carelessness could lead to trouble, and he would feel somewhat constrained during the fight.

"Tomorrow's battle should be handled steadily like this, securing both first places!" Obito thought to himself.

Last time, he had the advantage, but during the class practical combat, he slipped up and was defeated by Guy, leading to the embarrassing situation of being first in the grade but not in the class.

This time, Obito decided he must fight as calmly as Shisui, never being careless even with the advantage, and securing the victory steadily.

"Obito, you did really well this time, very impressive," Rin praised earnestly.

"Hehe, Rin-chan, you'll eventually become as good as me," Obito replied with a slightly flushed face, chuckling.

"Indeed, you performed excellently, not wasting the Breathing Technique you learned first," Mutsuki smiled and successfully praised.

Obito felt the world was so beautiful. Getting praised by both Rin and Mutsuki, was there anything happier in the world?

After the exam ended, Mutsuki led the disciples back to the Southern Forest. First, he helped treat Guy, then began teaching Obito a new Ninjutsu.

"The next technique I'm going to teach you is the Hiding in Ash and Dust Jutsu. It's effective for both retreat and ambush," Mutsuki introduced to Obito.

With Obito having mastered four offensive Fire Release techniques by now, Mutsuki chose to teach him a functional Fire Release technique.

"Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Jutsu!" Mutsuki condensed chakra in his throat and then expelled high-temperature flames along with scorching dust.

As the area nearby was covered with large trees, Mutsuki controlled the power of the ninjutsu, not generating too much fire, mainly focusing on the dust.

Obito instantly lost sight of Mutsuki, unable to see anything within the thick dust.

After giving Obito a simple demonstration, Mutsuki canceled the ninjutsu.

"But what if I can't see anything when I use this ninjutsu myself?" Obito scratched his head and asked.

"You have two options. One is to use it only for retreat; once used, just run. The second is to undergo special training to learn to discern location by sound, enabling you to launch surprise attacks in dense dust," Mutsuki explained.

Obito decided to learn first and think later; this ninjutsu seemed quite powerful.

[You taught the disciple Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Jutsu. Due to the disciple's immense gratitude, you are rewarded with a critical hit, gaining Ninjutsu Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu (Proficient level).]

He got a small reward, but it was somewhat average.

Mutsuki would never use this ninjutsu in a normal situation because this Fire Release is a Secret Jutsu of the Sarutobi Clan, a Fire Release Secret Jutsu only mastered by ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan.

On the third day of the grade-level practical combat, Mutsuki chose the grounds for the fourth graders.

There wasn't much to see in the first grade; Shisui was completely chaotic, and as long as Anko didn't run into Shisui, she would be quite stable in second place.

For the fourth grade, there was still a chance of Obito messing up, after all, he was Obito.

On the third day, Obito and Guy met in the round of sixteen. Obito didn't know if he had learned from past lessons, but even after winning yesterday, he didn't become complacent. He steadily fought and won the battle, defeating Guy once again.

"Now Obito is definitely in first place again," the onlookers believed that this match was like the finals starting early.

Because in the other round of sixteen, the winner was Hyuga Kamon, who was easily defeated by Guy in the previous exam, the previous, previous, previous first place.

As many students expected, Obito defeated Hyuga Kamon quite easily, and the intensity of the battle was nowhere near that of the round of sixteen.

Nowadays, Obito didn't need to use too much ninjutsu against Hyuga Kamon; just forcing him back with a Great Fireball and then rushing in with Flame Breathing was enough, and Hyuga Kamon couldn't resist at all.

"The first place in the grade-level practical combat of this final exam goes to Uchiha Obito!" the proctor sensei announced Obito's victory, marking the end of this final exam.

With the exam over, for the students, it was naturally vacation time. However, the fourth-grade students couldn't enjoy too long of a break; they had to rest for only four days before participating in special training or internships.

Mutsuki also decided to give Obito, Guy, Rin, and the others a short break, allowing them to rest for a few days.

"Obito and Guy, remember to gather at the training ground I mentioned next Monday. Everyone can take a good rest during this period," Mutsuki announced a holiday for all.

"We are going to start doing commission missions on Monday," Obito said with some anticipation.

"It's only Wednesday today; we have so much rest time," Rin, who had been practicing every day since becoming Mutsuki's disciple, felt like these vacation days were so long.

"The fervor of youth demands exercise every day!" Guy wasn't planning to rest; he would continue training in the Southern Forest as usual tomorrow.

"Yumi-sensei, will you still be at the forest these days?" Shisui asked.

"Yes, if any of you can't sit still, you can come find me," Mutsuki replied with a gentle smile.

"I still feel there are some aspects of the Breathing Technique that I don't quite understand. I might trouble you for that, Yumi-sensei," Shisui said.

For students on vacation, it meant sensei was on vacation too. Shisui felt like he was taking up Mutsuki's holiday, hence his use of the word "trouble."

"It's the duty of a sensei to clear students' doubts. There's no trouble. If you have any questions, make sure to ask me promptly," Mutsuki said, showing a warm smile.

"For sensei, the most joyous thing is seeing students improve their skills."

Both Shisui and Guy were going to continue training, which made Obito feel a bit embarrassed; if he didn't join, wouldn't it imply he was the laziest of Mutsuki's disciples?

"Obito, do you plan to share the good news of your victory with Kakashi tonight?"

"To prepare for the upcoming ninja life, it's indeed necessary to engage in more training," Obito said with a serious expression.

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