Weekends always seemed to pass far too quickly.
"All students of First-Year Class A, gather up! Report over here so I can divide you into groups."
On the training field, Sarutobi Ichinori stood with the notebook that never seemed to leave his hands and called out loudly.
The students had already eaten lunch. The moment they heard him, they immediately crowded around with expectant expressions.
After all... the afternoon lesson was practical combat!
"Looks like you're all excited for this. In that case, our fifth practical combat lesson officially begins! Everyone whose name I call, be ready. First group, Uchiha... ah, Obito Uchiha against Might Guy. Second group, Rin Nohara against..."
Seeing their eager faces, Ichinori smiled and began reading from his notebook, arranging the matchups one by one.
"All right. Everyone move back and give Obito and Guy enough room."
Once the pairings were set, Ichinori clapped his hands and had the class spread out.
A short while later, in the center of the open field, Obito Uchiha stood facing Might Guy with his arms crossed.
"Hey, Youth Guy. Don't start begging for mercy later, all right? I've mastered an incredible Fire Style ninjutsu."
Obito spoke with complete confidence.
"Don't worry, Obibean! I'll absolutely give it everything I have!"
Guy stared at him with a serious expression.
"...Hey! You bastard! How can you still get my name wrong?!"
Obito immediately lost it.
"Huh? Did I say it wrong? Don't worry, Obita! Give it everything you've got! A clash of youth permits no holding back!"
Guy's clear shout rang through the entire training ground.
Before he had even finished speaking, his body vanished from where he stood.
There were no hand seals and no buildup.
Pure physical speed smashed through the air, kicking up a violent wave of wind as sand exploded beneath his feet.
Obito's pupils contracted.
He rapidly stepped backward while his hands blurred through seals. Scorching chakra surged into his mouth, his throat swelling slightly before he roared.
"You bastard! Sensei hasn't even said start yet! And my name isn't Obita! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A blazing crimson fireball burst from his mouth.
It expanded rapidly in midair until it became a torrent of flame nearly half a person's height, rolling straight toward the charging Guy with enough heat to scorch everything in its path.
The air twisted from the temperature. Tender grass at the edge of the training field blackened and caught fire from the residual heat alone.
Yet Guy remained perfectly calm before the oncoming inferno.
"Leaf... Fist-Bone Cutter."
With a low murmur, Guy transformed his fist into a knife-hand while sprinting forward.
His fingers pressed tightly together and plunged straight into the fireball.
Hiss!
The flames split in two and exploded apart in midair.
Watching from the crowd, Gen remained expressionless.
Mm. Catching a Fire Style ninjutsu with your bare hand.
Perfectly normal.
Seeing his fireball shattered, Obito's face changed and he immediately leaped backward.
Guy was faster.
He had already closed the distance.
Lowering his center of gravity, Guy twisted his hips and unleashed a beautiful spinning back kick.
"Leaf... Whirlwind!"
Boom!
The kick slammed into...
A wooden log that had suddenly appeared in front of him?!
Wood chips exploded in every direction as Obito's voice rang out behind Guy.
"Substitution Jutsu! No idea why, but it only took me a day or two to learn it. Ahaha~ Maybe that's what being a genius feels like."
In this shinobi world, the Substitution Jutsu—one of the Three Basic Techniques—could only be learned after mastering the Summoning Jutsu.
Its effect was already close to a pseudo space-time ninjutsu.
Unfortunately, while Obito was busy showing off, Guy twisted his body and the momentum of his kick reversed in an instant.
"Leaf... Whirlwind, Second Stage!"
The second kick was even faster.
Wrapped in a violent gust, it smashed directly into Obito.
The force sent him crashing to the ground, grimacing in pain with his face twisted into an ugly expression.
After kicking Obito away, Guy balanced on one leg and struck a cool pose.
"Do you want to continue, Obika?"
Obito struggled upright through clenched teeth.
"Of course! You bastard, you actually ambushed—oh, crap!"
The moment Obito said he wanted to continue, Guy took that as confirmation that the battle was still on and immediately attacked again.
This time, his speed was even greater than before.
His body shot through the dust cloud like a streak of green lightning.
The instant he closed in, the muscles of his right leg tightened and swelled. Gathering the force of his entire body, Guy unleashed a brutal roundhouse kick toward Obito's chest.
The wind pressure alone whipped Obito's hair wildly.
Obito reacted quickly, stomping hard and retreating just enough to barely avoid the kick.
The violent leg wind brushed past his ear and slammed into the ground beside him as he raised both arms defensively.
Mm. Kicking hard enough to create damaging wind blades.
Normal.
Obito landed and stabilized himself, his expression finally turning serious.
He no longer underestimated Guy.
His hands began forming seals—and his speed increased sharply.
"Fire Style: Flame Stream Song!"
This time, the flames did not form a massive sphere.
Instead, they condensed into several slender fire serpents, faster and more penetrating than before. They whistled through the air toward Guy's chest while simultaneously sealing off every angle of escape.
Guy did not dodge.
His eyes sharpened, every muscle in his body tightening as he crossed both arms over his chest.
The blazing fire serpents crashed into him.
Flames swallowed his body at once.
Using the impact itself, Guy flipped backward to bleed off most of the force. The instant he landed, he stomped forward and burst through the firelight.
Only a few parts of his training suit had been singed black, and his skin showed little more than minor burns.
"Hahahaha! This is youth!"
Ignoring the burns completely, Guy roared and charged again.
Before his shout even finished echoing, he was already directly in front of Obito.
Then a relentless chain of taijutsu attacks erupted.