After a moment, Obito glanced at Gai and asked, "Gai… you weren't listening to us this whole time, were you?"
Gai struck a dramatic pose, thumb pointed at himself.
"I prefer to call it listening to the winds of destiny! Just the thought of training with my eternal rival Kakashi and Obito makes my youth boil!"
Kakashi muttered under his breath, "There it is again… the damned youth."
Either Gai didn't hear him, or he chose not to. His eyes lit up as he continued, "Tomorrow, I shall bring special training jumpsuits for the both of you! Bright green! To mark the beginning of our youthful journey together!"
"No need," Obito said immediately. "I already have a training outfit."
Gai turned to Kakashi, eyes full of expectation. "And you, my rival?"
"Me too," Kakashi replied without missing a beat.
Gai looked disappointed for half a second, then burst right back into enthusiasm. "Then it's settled! We meet at dawn! Where shall our youthful training begin?"
"Behind my house," Obito explained to both of them. "Training Ground Three. Six in the morning."
Gai pumped both fists into the air. "Splendid! Then, to fully express my youthful spirit, I shall return home walking on my hands today!"
Obito blinked. "Wait—"
But Gai was already gone, sprinting down the hall while shouting something about Youth and destiny.
Kakashi let out a quiet sigh. "You shouldn't have agreed to let him join."
Obito grinned. "With Gai around, our training will have a spark of youth."
Kakashi gave him a disgusted side glance.
Then they walked out of the classroom. At the academy gate, Kakashi gave a casual wave before heading in the opposite direction.
Obito stood there for a moment, watching his back disappear around the corner. Only then did he adjust the strap of his bag and make his way to his house.
Outside, the late afternoon sun had settled low, casting long shadows across the bustling streets of Konoha.
As he walked, a smile couldn't help but creep onto his face. The moment he knew Kakashi's purpose, he had begun schem—no, planning—to use it to get him to agree to be his training partner. With his skills almost reaching genin level, Kakashi was definitely the best fit for the job.
Moreover, Kakashi had really injured Obito, so squeezing him a bit didn't make him feel guilty.
Gai's appearance was a big surprise. But not a bad one. In fact, Obito was more than pleased with it. He had always somewhat admired Gai, the king of hard work and youth.
His classmates often said he and Gai were the same—loud, reckless, and hopeless in most subjects. And maybe that was true in theory.
But one thing was undeniable: when it came to taijutsu, Gai was in a league of his own. In their entire class, only a handful could match him. Even fewer could defeat him.
"With their help, my taijutsu and combat awareness will definitely improve faster. Maybe even catch up to those clan kids sooner than I thought."
...
By the time he reached his house, the sun had already dipped below the rooftops. A faint orange glow lingered at the edges of the sky, fading into the quiet blue of evening.
As Obito stepped inside, the smell of warm rice drifted from the kitchen. When he peeked in, he saw his grandmother moving between pots and bowls unhurriedly, her small frame bent slightly with age,
She turned at the sound of his footsteps, surprise flickering in her eyes. "Obito, you're back so early today."
"Class ended a bit sooner, Grandma," he said, slipping off his sandals.
She smiled and said gently. "Alright then. Go wash up. Lunch is ready."
He did as she said, washing his hands quickly before sitting down at the low table.
The meal was simple—rice, pickled vegetables, and grilled mackerel. His grandmother never cooked anything fancy, but her food always tasted good in a way he couldn't explain.
If she were on Earth, she would undoubtedly be considered a top-class chef.
He ate quietly, savoring each bite. When he finished eating, he picked up his ninja tool pouch.
"I'll be in the training ground," he said.
"Don't stay out too late," she called back from the sink.
"I won't."
He slid the door open and stepped out. The air was cool, carrying the soft smell of damp soil. The sky had darkened into a deeper shade of blue, traces of daylight fading from the edges.
A large old tree stood in the corner, its roots twisting through the ground like quiet sentinels. Obito walked over, picked up a leaf at random, and sat cross-legged beneath the tree.
He had finished reading his father's notebook last night. There were many things he didn't fully understand—probably because he lacked the proper theoretical foundation of chakra theory. But what he did understand opened an entirely new world to him.
Most of his knowledge about chakra nature transformation came from the original series, when Naruto trained in wind chakra nature change, adding it to his Rasengan. But that only scratched the surface.
His father's notes went a lot deeper, giving shape to concepts Obito had never even considered.
Apart from notes on fire chakra nature change, the notebook also detailed chakra control principles and personal logs of the Uchiha Signature techniques like Great Fireball, Phoenix Sage Fire, and Dragon Fire Technique.
The last two were a surprise to him as he didn't have their scroll yet!
Obito could tell his father had poured years of training into the book's pages as each line felt like a fragment of the man's life.
According to him, fire chakra mainly possessed two characteristics.
The first was heat—the characteristic most Uchiha, or rather most shinobi with fire chakra affinity, focused on. Its use was also quite simple. Just increasing the temperature of the flames.
His father described a simple exercise to train that: the water-boiling exercise.
One dipped their hand into a pot of water and tried to increase its temperature using their chakra. The higher the temperature achieved, the greater their mastery of the heat characteristic.
In theory, the upper limit was bringing the water to its boiling point and even evaporating it completely.
The second characteristic was explosion. Almost no one trained in it—not because it was weak, but because it was too unstable.
Fire chakra became explosive when compressed and released in a burst. That instability made it powerful, but also dangerous. Most villages only used this property in explosive tags, where sealing formulas kept it under control.
His father had been proficient in the heat characteristic and had wanted to explore explosion, but he died before he could make much progress. The final pages contained some of his theories on it—ideas he never had the chance to test.
For Obito, none of this mattered yet, because even heating water with his chakra was beyond him.
He had tried it out of curiosity last night, but without hand seals, releasing chakra outside his body felt like trying to hold dry sand—most of it slipped away before he could shape it.
So he realized he had to start from the basics.
The leaf sticking exercise was precisely that—the most basic form of chakra control. Even first-year academy students learned it. It was even a part of their monthly assessments.
He pressed the leaf to his forehead and closed his eyes.
He slowed his breathing, guiding a small, controlled stream of chakra upward, letting it gather beneath the skin. When he removed his hand, it clung to his forehead.
Seeing this, Obito felt a spark of excitement. But five seconds later, the leaf slid down into his lap.
He clicked his tongue softly, adjusted his breathing, and tried again. He let the chakra flow slowly, forming a thin, even layer beneath the leaf.
It held. Five seconds. Seven. Ten.
A small, involuntary smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—just before the leaf slipped off again, dropping into his lap.
Obito groaned under his breath and rubbed his forehead. "This is going to take a while…"
But he wasn't discouraged. If anything, he felt more focused.
He placed the leaf back onto his forehead. This time, he paid close attention—not simply releasing chakra, but feeling it. His father's notes had also emphasized this. Knowing what the chakra was doing was just as important as controlling it.
The chakra gathered again at the center of his forehead, a faint, wavering pulse. Obito worked to smooth it out, easing the tiny fluctuations, flattening the uneven bursts. Each flicker made the leaf tremble.
A small breeze blew through the yard, rustling the leaves overhead.
Three seconds. Four. Five. Ten. Fifteen.
Then a tiny quiver—barely noticeable—and the leaf dropped again.
Obito exhaled, adjusted his posture, and placed the leaf back on his forehead.
Again.
And again.
Each attempt lasted a little longer. Slowly, he began to understand the principle. The exercise wasn't just about output—it was about consistency.
If he released too little chakra, the leaf fell. If he released too much, it popped off. If the flow fluctuated even slightly, the balance vanished instantly.
It was like trying to hold a cup of water steady while walking. Any tilt, any shake, and it would spill.
About an hour later, Obito wiped the sweat from his brow. He took a deep breath and channeled chakra again—this time, a lot thinner than his first try. He imagined it forming a small film across his forehead, holding the leaf like invisible glue.
Seconds passed. Five. Ten. Fifteen.
The leaf remained firmly in place.
Obito stayed completely still. Even the smallest distraction could ruin the flow. His forehead tingled. A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
Thirty seconds.
Still there.
Forty seconds.
The chakra wavered—just a twitch—but he steadied it immediately, breathing evenly to keep his focus.
Almost a full minute!
Then—softly—the leaf loosened and drifted into his lap.
Obito wiped the sweat off his face and leaned back against the tree. With a thought, a shimmering display flickered into existence.
Chakra Control: Beginner (20/100) —> Beginner (29/100)
Looking at his progress, a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. His exhaustion vanished into thin air, and he once again reached out for the leaf and put it on his forehead.
"Again."
He still had plenty of chakra left.
Obito was prepared to grind it out today!