Obito's whole body went stiff. He spun around.
Down the street ahead, a small girl with short brown hair was waving in their direction, a bright and radiant smile spread across her face.
She wore a light green short-sleeved top and brown shorts.
Her large eyes shone like stars, and her whole presence radiated a warm, sunny energy.
Obito's eyes lit up in an instant. His cheeks turned red at a visible rate.
"Rin, Rin!"
He called out in a stumbling voice, then dashed toward her like an eager puppy.
Chiya stayed where he was and watched the scene with an amused interest.
The girl was Nohara Rin, Obito's close friend.
Obito ran up to Rin and fumbled frantically trying to hide the goggles behind his back, but could not bring himself to let go. He ended up just clutching them awkwardly against his chest.
He grinned and said.
"What, what are you doing here?"
Rin smiled at him warmly.
"Grandfather has been coughing lately. I just came back from buying some medicine at the hospital. I had no idea I would run into you."
Her gaze then drifted to the goggles in Obito's arms, and her eyes brightened.
"Whoa! Brand new goggles? They look so cool!"
Obito's face went even redder. He said with some fumbling.
"They, they were a gift from the Clan Head."
"The Clan Head?"
Rin paused, and only then noticed Chiya standing not far away.
The moment her gaze touched Chiya, her pupils widened slightly.
Chiya's distinctly Uchiha good looks, that sharp and handsome face paired with the ease of his expression, drew out an instinctive admiration from the small girl. The whole of him radiated a composed and powerful presence.
Rin froze for a moment. A blush crept across her cheeks without her realizing it.
"That, that handsome older brother is the Uchiha Clan Head?"
She asked in a small voice, a note of disbelief in her tone.
Obito nodded hard.
"Yes! That is Clan Head Chiya!"
Rin quickly straightened her clothes, trotted a few steps over to Chiya, and bowed deeply.
"Hello, Uchiha Clan Head, sir. I am Nohara Rin. I am Obito's best friend."
Chiya smiled slightly and said in an easy tone.
"No need to be so formal."
Rin looked up, and seeing Chiya's smile at close range, her heart beat a little faster without meaning to.
"The Clan Head is so handsome."
She murmured it under her breath out of reflex, then immediately realized what she had said and clapped both hands over her mouth. Even the tips of her ears went red.
"How do you two know each other?"
Obito's mouth might as well have been glued shut at this point. He kept sneaking glances at Rin, all his attention fixed entirely on her, and had not heard a word Chiya said.
Rin laughed and answered.
"Obito's grandmother and my grandmother were good friends before, so we have known each other since we were little."
Chiya nodded.
"Obito is earnest and straightforward. I will leave it to you, Rin, to look out for him in everyday life from now on."
Rin immediately stood up straight and nodded with complete seriousness.
"Yes, Clan Head! I will definitely take good care of Obito."
"I have always thought of Obito as my little brother."
She patted her chest with the full confidence of a big sister, which left Obito feeling touched and a little indignant at the same time.
"I do not need looking after."
He muttered under his breath, but the corners of his mouth kept curling up no matter what.
He was clearly quite pleased by what Rin had said.
Chiya watched the two of them going back and forth and shook his head quietly to himself.
'Little Obito, you are not going to win over any girl like this.'
Chiya looked up at the blazing sun overhead. The weather kept getting hotter.
"Come on. Let me take you two to get something."
"Ah?"
Obito and Rin both startled at the same moment.
"Clan Head, we really could not."
Obito waved his hands quickly. The Clan Head had already personally bought him goggles.
He did not dare ask for anything more.
Rin shook her head repeatedly as well.
"No, no, it is fine really."
Chiya looked at the two of them and said with a smile.
"Think of it as a gift for meeting."
With that, he walked straight toward one of the shops along the street. The two exchanged a glance and had no choice but to follow.
Inside the shop, rows of toys and ninja tools and beginner's reference books dazzled Obito and Rin with their variety.
"Take whatever you like."
Chiya said from the side.
Obito hesitated for a moment, then settled on a ninja figurine.
Rin picked out a beginner's handbook on medical ninjutsu.
"Thank you so much, Clan Head."
Rin hugged the handbook, her eyes sparkling.
Chiya's gaze passed briefly over the book in her hands. 'She has not even started at the ninja academy yet, and she is already beginning to study on her own?'
Suddenly, a cool, faintly childish voice came from the doorway of the shop.
"Uchiha Clan Head."
All three turned. A silver-haired small boy in a mask was standing at the entrance, looking at them with flat, expressionless dead-fish eyes.
It was Hatake Kakashi.
Obito's expression froze instantly. Rin's eyes lit up in the same moment.
"Kakashi!"
She called out with delighted surprise.
Kakashi glanced at her and gave a slight nod as a greeting, then let his gaze return to Chiya.
"Father asked me to come and request your guidance on training."
He said it straight out without preamble.
Chiya raised an eyebrow.
During the last drinking visit at Hatake Sakumo's home, caught up in the mood of the evening, he had casually agreed to give Kakashi some guidance when he had the time.
He had not expected this kid to show up this quickly.
"Right now?"
Kakashi nodded, completely composed.
"If it is convenient for you."
Obito heard this and immediately got anxious. He stepped in front of Chiya and glared at Kakashi.
"The Clan Head is very busy! Where would he find the time to guide your training?"
Kakashi's gaze moved slowly over to Obito. Not a ripple showed in his dead-fish eyes.
"Who are you?"
Obito choked, his face going red.
"I, I am Uchiha Obito!"
Kakashi said "oh," then looked away. He clearly had no interest in the name.
Obito clenched his fists in frustration and looked reflexively over at Rin.
Sure enough, Rin was staring at Kakashi without blinking, a glimmer of admiration in her eyes.
The sight of it sent a sour feeling through Obito's chest, and his competitive spirit toward Kakashi shot through the roof in an instant.
"Clan Head! I, I can also train under your guidance!"
He spun around and said to Chiya at full volume.
Chiya watched this unfold in front of him and felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
'This little brat is jealous.'
Kakashi remained expressionless, but added evenly.
"Father said you made a promise."
Chiya pressed his fingers to his temples and let out a sigh.
"Fine. Nothing pressing today anyway."
'Drinking really does lead to trouble.'
'Well. One sheep to herd or three sheep to herd, it is all the same.'
'Consider it a contribution to Konoha's future.'
Chiya looked at the three small figures in front of him. None of them had even enrolled in the ninja academy yet. What was the point of starting now?
He looked at Obito and Rin.
"Do you two want to come along?"
Obito nodded so fast his head was practically a blur.
"Yes!"
Rin raised her hand with excitement.
"Can I come too?"
Chiya smiled.
"Of course."
Kakashi went still.
'How did personal instruction turn into a group class?'
A faint trace of resignation flickered in his dead-fish eyes.
On the training grounds, Chiya stood in the center. The three children lined up in a row facing him.
Obito's face was full of burning determination. Rin was brimming with anticipation. And Kakashi was, as always, expressionless.
"Today we will start by testing your basics."
"Kakashi, you go first."
Kakashi stepped forward and his hands began to form seals.
"Hold on."
Kakashi stopped. He looked at Chiya with a puzzled expression.
"As the saying goes, the body is the foundation of everything. A strong body is what matters most."
Hearing that, Kakashi immediately had a bad feeling.
"What are you going to do?"
Chiya ignored the question and said with complete seriousness.
"All three of you, starting from here, run ten laps around the training grounds to warm up."
"Warm up?"
Obito stood there blankly.
Ten laps around a training ground this size?
And that was just to warm up?
Kakashi rolled his dead-fish eyes. He too was clearly not happy about it.
In this kind of heat, ten laps just for warming up was going to push even someone who had already been training properly.
Kakashi looked at Chiya.
"Chiya, are you doing this on purpose?"
The words had barely left his mouth when the world in front of him blurred.
The next thing he knew, a fist had knocked him in the head.
Kakashi clutched his head and looked up at Chiya with indignation.
"Disrespectful little brat. You call me Chiya-uncle or Uchiha Clan Head."
"But taijutsu and all that is just the most useless."
Chiya raised his hand and knocked Kakashi in the head a second time.
"So you look down on taijutsu?"
These were still times when ninjutsu and genjutsu were considered the superior arts.
In Konoha right now, there was only one taijutsu practitioner worth mentioning by name, and he was far from famous. That was Sensei Chen, known as the "Konoha Dragon."
After all, there was not yet a record of a career genin burning through his youth to kick four elite Kirigakure jonin to death.
On top of that, taijutsu took a very long time to train, and the results came slowly. Many people dropped it halfway through.
Taijutsu was not taken seriously.
So in the understanding of most people in Konoha, ninjutsu and genjutsu were still the mainstream.
Of the three, Obito was the most visibly delighted watching Kakashi take two hits in a row.
"Wipe that grin off your face. You listen too."
"Taijutsu, once trained, will significantly boost your combat ability. That is beyond question. It shows itself especially in the form of remarkable speed and strength in battle. People who train taijutsu regularly become healthier and build greater endurance and recovery. Even if you end up on the battlefield someday, every extra bit of strength means one more chance at winning."
Chiya looked at all three of them with a serious expression, paused for a moment, then continued.
"Of course, I am not saying to give up on ninjutsu and genjutsu. I am saying to treat them equally. Taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu. They are all ways of making yourself stronger. The more you know, the better your chances of surviving a dangerous mission when it comes."
Chiya looked at Kakashi, who had fallen into thought, and patted him on the head.
"Your problem is not taijutsu or ninjutsu. It is your mindset."
Kakashi's eyes shifted slightly. He clearly had not expected Chiya to say that.
Chiya clapped his hands.
"Laps first today."
"Next time I have the time, I will put together a dedicated training plan based on where each of you stands."
All three nodded together.
"Go!"
Kakashi, even having acknowledged what Chiya said, turned his head to the side, lifted his feet, and broke into a run across the training grounds.
Sweat began to fall across the training grounds from all three of them. Chiya sat in the shade and kept them moving.
"This is your youth. Run faster! Three more laps! Obito, pick up your legs and keep up!"
Obito sped up while managing to sneak a glance at Rin beside him.
When he saw that her eyes were still drifting occasionally toward Kakashi running ahead, a pang hit his chest. But it was immediately replaced by a surge of determination.
'I will become stronger than Kakashi.'
The thought sent a burst of energy straight to his legs.
His face flushed red.
He charged forward.
This was youth.
I am definitely going to surpass Kakashi!!