Early morning.
As the first ray of sunlight fell upon the Hidden Leaf Village.
Obito collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
An entire night of training had left him spent.
"The Genin exam should be today."
"I need to hurry to school."
With that, Obito pushed himself up from the ground.
Picking up his sunglasses, he sprinted towards the school.
"There's only one test to become a Genin."
"It's the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Those who can do it will receive the Leaf Village forehead protector."
In the classroom hallway.
The teacher was explaining the exam content to the lining students.
At that moment, Obito came running up the stairs in a panic.
He stumbled and fell.
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone immediately burst into laughter.
The proctor frowned at Obito, "Why are you always the last one here?"
"Because he's a bona fide dead last! Hahaha!"
A student in the line suddenly scoffed.
The crowd erupted in laughter again.
"Hmph, today I'll make you all see me in a new light!"
Obito got up, brushed the dust off himself, and then walked behind Kakashi.
Suddenly, Rin poked her head out from in front of Kakashi, "You look unwell. Did you not rest well last night?"
Caught off guard by Rin's concern, Obito's face instantly flushed red. "N-no."
"I have an extra bento box here. Eat it before the exam starts." Rin handed him the lunchbox.
So much time had passed since Rin was gone.
Returning to his childhood and being cared for by Rin again, tears streamed down Obito's face.
That was the softest spot in his heart, a place only Rin could inhabit.
"Huh? Crying from being touched?"
"I have one here too. Do you want it?"
Kakashi turned his head, his voice languid, holding out a bento box identical to Obito's.
Obito was instantly dumbfounded.
"Hehe, I specifically brought these for the two of you today, one for each."
Rin said with a sly smile.
Obito's shoulders slumped in disappointment, having thought Rin had made it just for him.
"Next examinee, Nohara Rin!"
"Here!"
Rin quickly walked towards the examination area.
"Rin!"
Obito suddenly called out.
Rin stopped and looked at Obito with confusion.
"...Good luck!"
After a few seconds of silence, Obito gave Rin a thumbs-up.
Rin responded with a sweet smile.
Obito was instantly smitten.
As a result, Rin successfully obtained the forehead protector and was promoted to Genin.
As was Kakashi.
When Obito entered the examination room.
The proctors wore amused smiles.
Everyone in the academy knew that Uchiha Obito was the dead last.
He was the last in academics, the last in physical fitness, and couldn't even throw a shuriken accurately.
"Uchiha Obito, please begin your performance."
The first proctor could barely contain his laughter.
Obito clenched his fists slightly. "Stop looking down on me, Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
*Poof!*
*Poof!*
*Poof!*
White smoke erupted around Uchiha Obito.
The three proctors' jaws dropped in shock.
"Five at once?!"
Obito's lips curved into a slight smile.
He had almost reached the Six Paths level before.
He was very proficient with the hand seals for various jutsu.
Although his current chakra reserves were not strong.
But for a low-level ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone, he wouldn't be embarrassed again.
"Full marks! Full marks!"
Obito proudly walked out of the examination room, holding his forehead protector.
The shocked voices of the proctors could be heard from inside.
Kakashi and Rin outside wore expressions of disbelief.
"Were you faking it all along?" Kakashi mused, stroking his chin.
"No, it was just good luck," Obito replied humbly.
"Tch, already puffing your chest out." Kakashi looked dejected and turned to leave.
In the following days, Obito trained diligently.
Kakashi, however, was still promoted to Chunin first and even began undertaking missions.
While helping an old lady carry her luggage, Obito overheard two ninjas discussing Kakashi.
He stopped and asked them, "Is the Kakashi you're talking about, Hatake Kakashi?"
"Oh? Who are you?"
The lead ninja asked, annoyed.
"I'm Kakashi's classmate at the academy," Obito replied.
"Are you... friends?"
Obito scratched his head awkwardly. "No... we're not that close."
"That guy is quite unlikeable, isn't he?" the ninja beside him said indifferently. "It's impossible to complete missions with someone like him in the same squad."
"Did something happen?" Obito pressed.
Both of them nodded. "That kid, even if his teammates are injured or surrounded by enemies."
"He'll prioritize the mission as if nothing's happening. Who would want to be teammates with such a person?"
"A word of advice, be careful if you're assigned to a team with him."
With that, the two ninjas turned and left.
In the evening, while walking along the path by the stream.
Obito saw Kakashi sitting alone on a rock.
"I never truly understood Kakashi's pain before."
"It must have been because of his father's death that he made this choice."
Due to Kakashi's strained relationship with his teammates, he had withdrawn from the mission team early and returned to the academy.
Thus, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi were assigned to the same team.
Obito finally met his sensei, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Recalling his past guilt towards Minato, Obito lowered his head sadly.
He didn't even dare to meet Minato's eyes, feeling that he was responsible for the deaths of his sensei and his sensei's wife.
Obito's progress was rapid. The day after joining Minato's team, he passed the Chunin examination.
This feat finally made Kakashi start to take Obito seriously.
"Obito, your taijutsu seems to have improved remarkably recently."
"Let's spar, Kakashi. This way, you both have room for improvement," Minato said gently to Obito in the Konoha forest.
"Forget it, I might kill him," Kakashi glanced at Obito, then turned to throw a shuriken ahead to practice.
Obito was instantly provoked. "What did you say! Come and try me if you dare! I'll beat you so badly you'll beg for mercy!"
Minato scratched his head awkwardly. "You two, stop arguing. It's just a spar, don't let emotions get involved."
"Fine, let's do it!"
Kakashi dropped his shuriken and stepped in front of Obito.
Obito, not to be outdone, drew a kunai from his waist.
"Alright, be careful and don't hurt each other," Minato said, standing between them. He slowly raised his arm. "Begin!"
They both attacked simultaneously.
However, this time, Obito's attacks were more ferocious.
Even with Kakashi's superior intellect and wisdom.
Compared to Obito, who had battled against Kage-level opponents, it was not worth mentioning.
Obito grabbed Kakashi's wrist with his right hand and, following the curve, thrust his kunai fiercely towards Kakashi's face.
Kakashi was greatly surprised, shaking off Obito's arm and rapidly retreating.
But Obito wouldn't let him escape. He spun his kunai and pursued relentlessly. At this moment, images of his past battles with Kakashi in the Kamui dimension flashed through his mind.
For some reason, Obito felt a loss of control, his methods becoming increasingly brutal, nearly striking Kakashi's vital points several times.
Minato seemed to sense something was wrong with Obito. Suddenly, Obito knocked the kunai from Kakashi's hand.
The next second, just as Obito was about to strike Kakashi, Minato grabbed Obito's wrist.
*Clang.*
The kunai dropped from his grasp. Obito stood frozen.
He was completely drenched in sweat.