Chapter 606: Number One

sjwx

Sunday morning.

When the time reached seven o'clock, Obito's biological clock woke him up naturally.

Obito quickly changed his clothes and prepared to wash up.

"Owww." The Charizard, awakened by Obito, let out an unhappy cry.

You could at least be a little quieter this early in the morning.

"All you do is sleep all day, no wonder you can't win Milotic's favor," Obito teased.

The Charizard's drowsiness vanished in an instant. If they had been outside instead of inside the house, it would have already launched a Flamethrower at him.

"Owww!"

The Charizard's eyes blazed with ferocity as it glared at Obito with a vicious expression.

"Want to train with me?" Obito cracked his knuckles with ill intent.

The Charizard couldn't help recalling a few days ago.

Obito had suddenly said he wanted to train with it, only to beat it up badly.

That evil little Uchiha kid had somehow gotten a lot stronger, and now it couldn't beat him at all.

"Ow." The Charizard snorted coldly and went back to sleep.

Endure!

It was going to secretly work hard to become stronger than Obito, and then help Obito "train."

Having riled up his rebellious dragon, Obito was in a good mood. Humming an unknown tune, he walked into the bathroom to wash up.

"Breakfast is ready and on the table," his grandma reminded him when she heard him washing up.

"I know, Grandma," Obito replied.

After washing up, Obito sat at the dining table to eat breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of a piece of grilled salmon, a tamagoyaki, and a steaming bowl of miso soup.

Since Obito's biological clock was now very precise, Grandma was used to preparing breakfast for him at this time.

As for Grandma herself, she got up at six, so she ate much earlier.

"Goodbye, Grandma. I'm going to train."

Obito waved goodbye to his grandma, then met up with Shisui, and finally walked toward the Southern Border Forest with an excited look.

For him, today was an extraordinary day.

Because he might very well achieve his first breakthrough today and become the strongest disciple in nearly half a year.

The morning forest was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, and sunlight streamed through the treetops, dappling the damp soil and green ferns.

Whether because he was in a good mood or the morning scenery was truly nice, Obito took out his camera and snapped a photo.

"Shisui, do you think I can win today?" Obito put away his camera and turned to ask.

"Analyzing from various abilities, your probability of winning is higher," Shisui replied after thinking for a moment.

In terms of pure strength, Obito was stronger than Kakashi—that was beyond doubt.

But whether he could actually win in the end was hard to say, because real combat also depended on on-the-spot performance and combat skills.

"Heh, that's true, but I can't underestimate Kakashi either," Obito said with a smile, then turned serious.

This battle was crucial to him, so no matter what, he would not take his opponent lightly.

Then the two met up with Kakashi and a few other disciples on the road, and together they headed to the training ground.

"Get ready, and we'll start," Muyue called out Obito and Kakashi.

Both of them nodded, checked their equipment, and did some warm-up exercises.

Even when they finally faced each other in fighting stances, they hadn't exchanged a single word.

Might Guy has dominated the ranking battles for too long. Both Kakashi and Obito want to take first place this time.

"Fight start!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Obito quickly performed hand seals, transforming the accumulated chakra into fire-nature chakra and exhaling it in one breath.

A large amount of blazing orange-red flames rapidly formed a giant fireball over four meters in diameter.

The Fireball consumes little chakra but has strong power. It really is the perfect opening technique.

Even though Obito now knows many powerful fire techniques, he still likes to use the Fireball.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

Kakashi, expressionless, quickly performed hand seals. With a rumbling sound, a thick wall engraved with a dog-head statue rapidly rose.

Boom!!

The giant fireball slammed into the thick wall, causing a violent explosion. Mud, rock, and flames flew everywhere.

As the dust and smoke cleared, an earth wall with slight damage came into Obito's view.

Obito was not surprised by this.

Kakashi's Earth Style is not weak; a single Fireball cannot destroy Kakashi's Mud Wall.

"Going to use the same trick again?" Obito gathered chakra and activated his Sharingan, cautiously observing his surroundings.

He had fought Kakashi many times. Often, losing to Kakashi was not due to a gap in strength, but due to losing to Kakashi's Shadow Clone tactics.

Obito had to admit that in the past, he really couldn't outplay Kakashi in tactics.

But now he was not the same as before. Now he was Obito with a firm Hokage's resolve.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

A figure with white hair leaped out from behind the Mud Wall, throwing a large number of shuriken at Obito while running toward him.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Obito focused Flame Breathing into the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode to enhance his Fire Style, then transformed a large amount of accumulated chakra into fire-nature chakra and exhaled it.

Whoosh whoosh!!

Vast swaths of high-temperature flames turned the area around Obito into a sea of fire, burning nearby trees to ashes and scorching the ground black.

At that moment, another Kakashi emerged from the ground near the running Kakashi.

Obito showed an expression of "just as I thought." There must be a Shadow Clone or the real body underground.

When an enemy disappears from sight and then reappears, one must be doubly careful—this was a lesson Obito learned from fighting Kakashi.

Obito continued to spew large amounts of flame, then began to control the flames, splitting them into three streams that surged toward the two Kakashis from the front, left, and right.

The shuriken thrown by Kakashi were also blocked by Obito's flame control.

"Yang Seal: Release!"

Kakashi drew the Enma from his back, focused Lightning Breathing into the Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, and then released the Yang Seal.

The lightning mark on Kakashi's forehead shone brilliantly. A large amount of chakra surged from the seal, pushing the enhancement of Lightning Breathing to its limit.

Zzzap!!

The powerful lightning-nature chakra caused arcs of electricity to flicker across Kakashi's body.

"Flash!"

Kakashi gripped Enma tightly, burst his chakra, and turned into a bolt of lightning that cut through the flames and charged out.

The Shadow Clone, lacking the strength of the original, eventually dissipated under the siege of flames from three sides.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Pressing his advantage, Obito continued to gather chakra and spat out a large number of fireballs at Kakashi.

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

Kakashi, not to be outdone, spat out a sharp lightning great spear, which not only blew up the incoming fireball but also retained some power to continue shooting toward Obito.

Against Obito, Kakashi didn't intend to use the highly exhausting Thoughtless Slash, because Obito's Kamui intangibility made it easy for a single slash to only cut through air.

Obito burst his chakra and suddenly dodged diagonally forward, both evading the attack and closing the distance with Kakashi.

In theory, he should stay farther from Kakashi, a burst-type ninja, but times had changed.

His Mangekyo Sharingan could see through Kakashi's movements, and his Kamui intangibility could perfectly evade Kakashi's powerful slashes.

That being the case, why not engage Kakashi in close combat and look cool doing it?

"Fire Release: Flame Fist!"

Obito condensed a large amount of Fire Release chakra into his fist and charged fiercely at Kakashi.

Enhanced by the Fire Breathing Chakra Mode and a massive amount of chakra, Obito's mere punch created a gust of wind.

When the flames ignited on his fist, the air around him distorted from the high heat, further highlighting the punch's extraordinary power.

"Flash: Godspeed!"

Kakashi gripped Enma tightly, stepped forward with his left foot and back with his right in a sprinting stance, then explosively released a large amount of Lightning Release chakra to strengthen his body.

BOOM!!

A thunderclap like a lightning strike rang out as Kakashi shot forward.

His figure was like a golden flash of lightning, tracing a dazzling trajectory through the forest.

"So fast!" Yamato's eyes widened as he tried to track Kakashi's body, only to find himself completely unable to do so.

Kakashi was far too fast! Yamato could only see a golden afterimage flickering in the air.

But in Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, Kakashi's movements were still traceable.

He kept his punching motion unchanged, not using the Body Flicker Technique to evade, as if intending to clash head-on with Kakashi.

Once he got a bit closer to Obito, Kakashi abruptly increased his speed another level.

Before Obito's fist could hit Kakashi, the arc-slinging blade tore through the air and slashed toward Obito's body.

The blade seemed to strike a phantom, meeting no resistance as it passed straight through Obito's body and continued slashing sideways.

Obito's flame fist struck Kakashi's body, which was covered in Armament Haki.

ZZZZ!!

Crackle! Pop!

Suddenly, powerful lightning burst from Kakashi, spreading in all directions, yet it too passed through Obito's body as if hitting a phantom.

"Haha, Kakashi, you really had ill intentions!" Obito laughed wildly in his heart.

The moment his fist made contact with Kakashi, he immediately activated Kamui's intangibility.

Kakashi knew the information about Kamui; an undisguised slash was meaningless against Kamui, and since Kakashi had entered Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, it wasn't hard to guess his counterattack method.

Kakashi frowned slightly and flashed back.

Originally, he thought that with Transparent World and Armament Haki defense, he could make Obito lose more than he gained, but he still underestimated the speed at which Obito could activate Kamui's intangibility.

"This is going to be tough." Kakashi frantically thought of countermeasures in his mind.

The Lightning Release just now had a crucial role.

If the lightning hit Obito, his body would inevitably be paralyzed to some extent, affecting his speed and making it easier for Kakashi to catch a flaw.

Now that the Lightning Release had missed, Kakashi's battle plan was disrupted.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Obito deactivated Kamui intangibility, gathered chakra, and spat out a series of small fireballs toward Kakashi.

In Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, Kakashi moved too fast; a large-scale Fire Release might not even hit him, so it was better to use a high-frequency attack like Phoenix Sage Fire.

At least it would prevent Kakashi from dodging so easily.

Kakashi threw a special smoke bomb while running.

Where there is demand, there is a market. The specially made smoke bombs cannot be seen through by dojutsu bloodline limits, effectively blocking vision.

"Here we go again." Obito saw Kakashi disappear from his field of vision and his expression became wary.

Before Obito could think too much, two Kakashis rushed out of the smoke together.

"Susanoo!"

For safety, Obito directly burst out his chakra and summoned a simplified skeletal Susanoo, with only a few ribs and one thick arm.

While spewing Fire Release, Obito controlled the skeletal Susanoo's arm to launch an attack.

Zzt! Zzt!

The two Kakashis quickly couldn't withstand Obito's full strength, were dissipated by the attack, then turned into lightning that struck at Obito, but most was blocked by the Susanoo's ribs, with only a small wisp of lightning hitting Obito's body.

At the instant one Lightning Clone was about to disappear and turn into lightning, it threw an ordinary kunai at Obito. Before Obito could react, the kunai turned into Kakashi, who suddenly swung an Enma covered in lightning, slashing at Obito.

Crack!

The dazzling lightning slash struck the Susanoo's ribs, causing cracks to instantly appear, and in a blink, they shattered and dissipated.

But much to Kakashi's regret, his Enma still passed through Obito's body as if hitting an illusion.

This was his backup plan.

The Lightning Clone was a jutsu Kakashi had never used before in his battles with Obito.

Compared to a normal Shadow Clone, a Lightning Clone has a special effect: when it dissipates, it turns into lightning that attacks the enemy and causes paralysis.

Kakashi intended for the clone to paralyze Obito, then the original would seize the opportunity to attack.

But he didn't expect Obito to use Susanoo at such a moment, causing the Lightning Clone to fail in its intended effect.

Obito's incomparably heavy fist once again slammed into Kakashi.

Even with Armament Haki defense, Kakashi still staggered back several steps.

He had to use most of his chakra on offense, so naturally his Armament Haki defense was not very strong.

Although this punch did not render Kakashi unable to fight, it could still be considered the blow that secured victory.

Kakashi, having consumed a large amount of chakra and being injured, how could he engage in a prolonged struggle with Obito? With one side weakening and the other strengthening, Kakashi quickly fell under Obito's fists.

"Obito wins!" Muyue announced the result of the battle.

Obito suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, but couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up.

Although he desperately told himself in his heart, "Keeping your composure after a win looks cooler" and "Being too happy makes it look like you've never won before," Obito couldn't help but reveal a hugely delighted smile on his face.

What could he do? He had won. He was first in the ranking battle.

And not only that, he defeated Kakashi to get first place, and he got it under Rin Nohara's watchful eyes—how could he not be happy?

So many years had passed, from the early days of Shisui's dominance, to the middle period where everyone had their strengths, to the later days of Might Guy's dominance, and now it was finally his turn, Uchiha Obito, to sit on the throne of first place.

From today onward, Muyue's strongest disciple is Uchiha Obito!: sjwx→