Chapter 43: Competition Begins

In the evening, at the Uchiha clan grounds.

"Obito, don't eat so fast, you might choke."

Hearing his grandmother's words, Obito slowed down his eating speed a little and explained:

"Grandma, a friend invited me to go out and play."

"Which friend? Is it Rin?" Obito's grandmother asked with a smile as she looked at Obito.

Since Rin often came to play with Obito, Obito's grandmother knew her too.

"Yeah, but there are some other people as well." Obito replied while eating.

The Youth Ninjutsu Tournament was starting tomorrow, and today he had trained seriously all day, which had worn him out.

Probably because he and Kakashi were going to be rivals again tomorrow, Rin had invited them both to come out tonight to relax.

Because Kakashi would be there too, Obito also called Might Guy to join them.

"I'm done eating." After finishing his meal, Obito wiped his mouth and rushed to leave in a flurry.

Obito's grandmother followed him to the entrance and said cheerfully, "Do your best, Obito. I still want to see great-grandchildren."

Obito nearly tripped and fell, then turned around and shouted with a red face, "Grandma, I'm still in school!"

Although he did have feelings in his heart, he was still way too young for that.

Everyone had agreed to meet on the southern street in the main city district.

When Obito arrived, he found that the other three were already there; he was the last one.

"I ran into an old lady who needed help on the way, so I was a little late." Obito explained.

"You sure run into old ladies a lot. Every single time it's like this." Kakashi thought it was somewhat ridiculous.

"I don't know either, but when I see an old lady who needs help, I can't just ignore her, can I?" Obito felt a bit wronged, because he really had helped an old lady on the street.

"Alright, it's fine. It's probably just that Obito is too kind and has an eye for finding people who need help." Rin smiled gently, standing between the two with her hands behind her back.

With that little incident settled, the four of them walked down the street together.

"There are so many people! Hey Kakashi, want to have a race to see who can weave through the crowd faster?" Might Guy couldn't help asking, looking at the dense crowds on the street.

"I must decline." Kakashi refused outright, leaving Might Guy with no hope—such a challenge was too stupid.

"There's an event happening on this street today, so a lot of people showed up." Rin explained.

Then Rin led the three of them to the event location. The entire street was lined with vendors, brightly lit, and people were walking together wearing yukata.

"Look, this goldfish is so cute!" Rin spotted a goldfish scooping stall and waved to the others with a smile.

"Little lady, want to give it a try? Only ten ryo for one net." The stall owner tempted them.

"Ten ryo, huh..." Rin looked thoughtful. Ten ryo wasn't much, but one net might not be enough—these paper nets tear too easily.

"Let me try." Obito volunteered, stepped forward, and handed the owner the money for one net.

Obito immediately set his sights on the most active and prettiest fish, but after two or three scoops, he didn't catch the fish and instead broke the net.

"Again!" Obito was not discouraged and tried again, but still failed.

By the ninth attempt, Rin directly stopped Obito and said, "Let's just forget it and go check out other places."

Eighty ryo could already buy a bowl of ramen.

"But I've already tried so many times and I'm more skilled than before. Wouldn't it be a waste to stop now?" Obito said hesitantly.

"Let me have a go too." Might Guy, who had never played before, rolled up his sleeves, ready to use full force to catch the fish in one go.

*Snap* — the stick holding the paper net broke straight off.

"Let me do it." Kakashi said calmly, handed ten ryo to the owner, and with a single scoop caught a goldfish.

"Here you go." Kakashi handed the fish, already bagged by the stall owner, to Rin.

Rin smiled happily. "Thank you, Kakashi."

Then she added, "And thank you, Obito and Guy."

Obito, who had been frowning, instantly broke into a goofy grin.

Next, the four of them went around playing together—throwing shuriken at targets, identifying clones from the real body, and so on.

They played until the streets gradually emptied, then decided to buy some octopus balls before heading home.

"Kakashi, just wait and see tomorrow—this time I'll definitely be first." Obito took a bite of his octopus ball and didn't forget to trash-talk.

"If you want the first-place prize, I can give it to you after I win it." Kakashi was showing off his sharp competitive spirit.

Their back-and-forth taunts got Might Guy all fired up—if there were a youth taijutsu tournament, he'd definitely challenge Kakashi to a real match.

…

The next day, since it was Sunday, there was no school.

The competition started in the afternoon; Obito went for some last-minute training in the morning.

The Youth Ninjutsu Tournament was held on a commercial street in the main district of Konoha.

Obito heard that it was originally started by an old ninja shop owner to encourage students at the Ninja Academy, and later, seeing how it drew crowds, everyone chipped in to host it every year.

"Obito, which ninjutsu are you planning to use for the tournament this time?" Rin Nohara asked.

"Fireball Jutsu." Obito didn't keep it a secret and told Rin directly.

"Aren't you going to use the Great Fire Dragon Jutsu you used in the practical exam last time?" Rin was a bit puzzled.

The last time Obito lost to Kakashi, he had used Fireball Jutsu—out of a full score of thirty, he was nine points behind Kakashi.

"This time is different—my Fireball Jutsu is really strong now!" Obito looked confident, believing his Fireball would definitely stun the whole audience.

"Mm, then I'll look forward to your performance." Rin smiled gently.

"Obito, give it your all. As my rival, that guy isn't so easy to beat." Might Guy crossed his arms and spoke with a deeply profound expression.

"Should I leave?" Kakashi, who had been silent, spoke up.

They were already discussing how to beat him right in front of him.

"Kakashi, what ninjutsu are you planning to use?" Rin immediately asked with a smile.

"Haven't decided yet—I'll just use something on the spot, maybe Earth Flow Wall." Kakashi thought for a moment and said.

This wasn't bragging, because he knew quite a few ninjutsu, and for this kind of tournament he could really use whatever he wanted.

Obito looked around and spotted several familiar faces from the Ninja Academy, as well as two ninja wearing forehead protectors.

"There are a lot more people this time than last time." Obito recalled the previous tournament and remarked.

"It's probably because the prize has been increased. This year's first prize includes a fine silver-plated kunai and a cash prize of 8,000 ryo." Rin said.

"8,000 ryo!" Obito's eyes widened, and he became even more determined to take first place.

That was 8,000 ryo—enough to treat Rin to a meal or buy her a gift without any worry.

"The tournament begins. Contestant number one, please come up and perform."