Obito felt a bit irritated.
If Kakashi didn't participate, then getting first place wouldn't mean much.
What Obito desired was to defeat Kakashi under Nohara Rin's gaze, avenging his past humiliation and taking the top spot. Without Kakashi, getting first place wouldn't bring him much joy.
His obsession with winning the youth Ninjutsu tournament was entirely sparked by Kakashi.
Back then, in front of Nohara Rin, Kakashi crushed him with his scores and took first place, turning Obito's victory speech into empty words.
This matter had always stayed with Obito, but he never had the ability to win.
Now, with the power to defeat everyone, he found that his rival had already left, which made Obito quite upset.
"I have to make Kakashi join the competition!" Obito thought. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that a competition without Kakashi was incomplete.
"We can go find Kakashi after school and ask if he's interested in participating," Nohara Rin suggested.
"I can go with you. It's been a while since we last saw Kakashi."
Although the three had a good relationship, they hadn't seen much of each other since Kakashi graduated.
As students, she and Obito needed to attend school daily, and as a ninja, Kakashi also had missions to complete.
"Okay." Obito nodded, feeling that Rin's idea was a good one.
Before school ended, Obito took a day off from Teacher Mokgetsu, deciding not to visit Mokgetsu after school today and to settle the matter concerning Kakashi first.
After school, Nohara Rin and Obito went directly to Kakashi's house.
Kakashi's home wasn't in the central city; it was in the suburbs next to the main area. Although not bustling, it was less crowded than the central part.
Rin and Obito had visited Kakashi's house before and were even invited inside for a meal.
Seeing the flat-roofed house with a slanted top come into view, they knew they had arrived.
Their luck was good; today, Kakashi didn't have any missions, and when they arrived, he was training in his yard.
Kakashi, holding a silver-white Chakra Short Blade, easily chopped off the head and limbs of a straw man with two or three swift strikes.
Seeing friends arrive, Kakashi exhaled lightly, sheathed the Chakra Short Blade on his back, and asked:
"What brings you two here?"
"It's been a while since we hung out, and we missed you, so we decided to come over," Nohara Rin said with a smile.
Obito wasn't as polite as Rin and straightforwardly asked:
"Kakashi, the youth Ninjutsu tournament is starting soon. Are you signing up?"
"Youth Ninjutsu tournament?" Kakashi thought for a moment, recalling it was a private competition he joined out of boredom while still in school.
"Not joining, not interested," Kakashi replied lightly.
He viewed such tournaments as games for kids, and the first prize was merely a more exquisite Kunai.
Even when he participated during his time at the Ninja Academy, it was out of boredom—let alone now.
Obito's face fell; Kakashi's refusal was too resolute.
"Why? Didn't you participate before?" Obito asked, unwilling to give up.
He truly wanted Kakashi to join the competition.
"Back then, I was a Ninja School student, and now I'm already a Chunin," Kakashi pointed to the Ninja Headband on his forehead.
Obito felt that Kakashi was implying something—he was once a student, and he's still a student now...
"Chunin or not, what's the difference? There's no age limit," Obito continued.
"Do I really need to directly say I'm not interested in such children's games?" Seeing Obito's insistence, Kakashi said mercilessly.
Obito blushed a bit; what children's game? It was clearly the youth Ninjutsu tournament!
"I'm entering as well. Kakashi, aren't you afraid you'll lose to me?" Feeling a bit anxious, Obito's words turned more aggressive.
"Lose to you? Have you ever defeated me?" Kakashi said expressionlessly.
"I... I..." Obito frantically searched his memories, only to find, astonishingly, that he had never beaten Kakashi.
Realizing this frustrating truth made Obito's face flush even more.
"Kakashi, don't get cocky. I'm different from before now." Obito placed his hands on his hips to emphasize he's changed.
Kakashi gave Obito a two-second glance: Goggles, sportswear, with a silly grin and hands on hips—the foolish aura was too prominent.
Kakashi honestly remarked, "I don't see it."
"Konoha derogatory!" Obito couldn't hold it any longer.
"You two, even when you finally meet, it's still the same as before," Nohara Rin watched this scene, covering her mouth with a soft laugh.
The scene in front of her had played out countless times before her eyes.
Obito loved to spar with Kakashi, but he was always at a disadvantage in the end.
Obito took a deep breath, calming himself temporarily, and suddenly remembered his teacher, Mokgetsu.
"If it were Teacher Mokgetsu, what method would he use?" Obito pondered.
To make him practice more seriously, Mokgetsu made him do extra problems every time he was hit. Though practice was hard, doing problems was even harder, so he chose the lesser hardship and trained more seriously to reduce the number of hits.
"Choose the lesser of two evils..." Suddenly, inspiration struck Obito, and he thought of a way.
"Kakashi, didn't you say I couldn't beat you? Dare to make a bet with me?" Obito challenged with a smile.
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Bet who gets first in the tournament? Do you think I'll fall for such a stupid goad?"
Participating in such a meaningless competition was less worthwhile than reading more books.
"Of course not. Don't you consider yourself excellent? Want to compare your eyesight versus my hand speed?" Obito proposed.
"If you win, I won't mention the tournament and will treat you to ramen five times. If you lose, you only need to participate in the competition."
As long as Kakashi didn't agree, he'd keep pestering him for the youth Ninjutsu tournament. Eventually, Kakashi would agree to this simpler, quicker challenge.
Kakashi didn't rush to answer but instead asked, "How do we compete specifically?"
Obito picked a leaf from a nearby tree and placed it on his palm, saying, "It's simple. I'll quickly switch the leaf between my hands, and you guess which hand holds it. Easy, right?"
Kakashi thought about it; no way Obito's hand speed could surpass his vision, so he agreed.
He knew Obito's character; he might pester him till nightfall.
Better to use this simple challenge to show Obito the gap between them.
Obito displayed extreme hand speed, crazily switching hands, and after about five minutes, he stopped.
"Right hand," Kakashi pointed directly to Obito's leaf-hiding right hand.
"I don't know where you got the courage to challenge me with this," Kakashi said, somewhat disappointed.
He had thought Obito's speed would be impressive, but this—he never lost sight of the leaf.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Obito burst into laughter, asking, "Kakashi, are you sure it's this hand? Once confirmed, you can't change it."
"Trying to bluff me? It's the right hand; go on, open it." Kakashi didn't change his mind due to Obito's laugh, thinking it was merely bravado.
"Then I'll open it," Obito slowly opened his right hand.