Chapter 145: Triggering Mission
Just as Obito was celebrating his supposed victory in his mind, something unexpected happened.
Kakashi, who had been caught in the aftershock of the Fire Release explosion, suddenly burst into smoke with a sharp bang—and vanished.
"It was a Shadow Clone!" Obito realized instantly. But the moment he relaxed, a sudden chill of danger ran down his spine. It was already too late.
From beneath the ground, Kakashi struck without hesitation.
"Konoha Secret Taijutsu Ultimate Art: One Thousand Years of Death!"
Forming the Tiger Seal, Kakashi burst out from underground and jabbed at Obito's most vulnerable spot.
"Ahhh!" Obito's face twisted in agony, the sharp pain making him leap several meters into the air. Even after hitting the ground, he clutched at the injured area in vain.
He lay there with his rear awkwardly raised, letting out a roar of pure frustration.
"Kakashi, you despicable bastard!"
"You were too careless," Kakashi said calmly as he walked forward. "When your opponent disappears from sight, and you rush in without checking… if I were a real enemy, you'd already be dead several times over."
"Damn it…" Obito couldn't argue. He had indeed lost—not to some overwhelming ninjutsu, but to a simple Shadow Clone tactic.
If it had been a ninjutsu clash, he could have accepted defeat. But this was a pure, crushing loss in combat experience.
Unlike him, still just a student, Kakashi had been a shinobi for more than three years and had experienced real life-and-death battles.
"Talk less big, Obito. If you want to defeat me, you'll need to train for a few more years," Kakashi said evenly.
But inwardly, he was far less composed.
From their fight, he had judged that Obito now possessed the same level of strength Kakashi himself had at six years old—which meant he could likely pass the Chunin Exams, even if he wasn't eligible yet.
This shocked Kakashi. Just months ago, Obito might not even have been able to beat his five-year-old self, yet now his progress was this dramatic.
If it weren't for his overwhelming advantage in battle experience, Kakashi admitted he would have had to work harder to win.
In truth, though more than two years had passed since becoming a Chunin, Kakashi's own strength hadn't grown drastically. He had neglected training for over a year due to… certain events.
Why has he improved so fast? And without even using the Sharingan… Kakashi wondered. If Obito had activated his Sharingan, rapid progress would be expected—but he hadn't, and that was puzzling.
"Damn it, if only I had the Sharingan… if only my Flame Breathing was perfected…" Obito winced as another wave of pain shot from his injury, pounding the ground in frustration.
If he had Mugetsu-sensei's mastery of the Breathing Technique, how could Kakashi have made him look so pitiful?
"Kakashi, I was careless just now. Once I heal, prepare for defeat," Obito growled. He had learned from this failure—and next time, he would win.
"At your current level, even if you challenged me ten thousand times, you wouldn't win," Kakashi replied without a change in tone.
"You just wait and see," Obito shot back, feeling underestimated, and hobbled toward the door, still supporting his injured rear.
"Uh… are we here at a bad time?"
"Perhaps," one of Kakashi's teammates answered dryly. "Hatake, sensei said to meet at the Hokage Building later. We've got a mission today."
Kakashi stood there, calm as ever, while Obito—humiliated and unwilling—walked away without looking back.
"What bad time? Our battle's over. He's free now," Obito muttered, then left.
"Let's go," Kakashi said coolly, glancing at Obito's retreating back.
"There's still some time. You can prepare—sensei said this mission will be difficult," a teammate reminded him.
"As a shinobi, I'm always ready for a mission." Kakashi headed toward the Hokage Building. His teammates exchanged glances, then followed.
---
Because the injury was in such an awkward spot, Obito took a while to recover before going to find Mugetsu. He wanted his teacher to review the fight before challenging Kakashi again.
After all, Kakashi was heading out on a mission. If it was a long one, he might be gone for a week—or even half a month—giving Obito time to get stronger before their next match.
"You used Total Concentration Breathing too early," Mugetsu said, shaking his head after hearing the details. "With your current stamina and chakra reserves, you can't maintain it for long. You should save it for the critical moment—to deliver the final, decisive blow."
Even without witnessing the fight, Mugetsu could hear the flaws from the account alone.
"I see… I did feel a bit tired after using it," Obito admitted, listening carefully.
"Still, that's already impressive," Mugetsu said with a smile. "Your opponent is that genius Kakashi. Even a new teacher like me hears the legends he left behind at the Academy."
"A mere Kakashi… I'll beat him sooner or later," Obito muttered. He wanted to be known by Mugetsu too—to make his teacher proud.
"I believe you will, Obito," Mugetsu said warmly. "But for now, it'll be difficult. You need to train harder."
He then gave Obito a rough comparison of their strengths. In chakra, Obito currently had about 1,100, while Kakashi, just a few months ago, had over 2,500. In that regard, Obito was completely outmatched.
Mugetsu didn't know Kakashi's exact ninjutsu stats—he hadn't used the upgraded Appraisal Technique on him—but judging from the Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall alone, his level was certainly no worse than Obito's, and likely higher.
From Obito's description, Kakashi could also recover quickly from an initial disadvantage and counterattack—clear proof that his taijutsu and combat experience surpassed Obito's.
Looking at the full picture, aside from his not-yet-mastered Breathing Technique, Mugetsu didn't see a clear winning angle for Obito.
"So Kakashi really is that strong…" Obito murmured, realizing he had underestimated his rival.
"Good thing I came to Mugetsu-sensei," he thought with relief. If he had to suffer that technique again, it would truly be unbearable.
Just as Obito was thinking how his teacher was indeed the best, Mugetsu received a notification.
[Mission Triggered]
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