"Damn it, I don't want to do these questions!"
"But if I don't, my score will be too low, and that'll be embarrassing later..."
In the evening, Obito looked at the two sets of test papers on the table, feeling a headache coming on.
There were fifty-five questions in total; if he wanted to finish them in three days, he'd need to tackle at least eighteen questions each day.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In the end, Obito formed the hand seals and split into two shadow clones, saying, "You two play rock-paper-scissors, the loser picks a test paper."
After speaking, Obito picked up a test paper and a pen, pretending to work on the questions.
For Obito, having his shadow clones do the questions or doing them himself was equally painful. Doing them himself meant continuous suffering, while for the shadow clones, it was intense pain felt all at once. Obito opted for the short-term pain.
Worried that the shadow clones might not cooperate, Obito created an extra clone for competition and pretended to be working on the questions himself.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu does have some merits," Obito thought, doodling a chibi Nohara Rin on the scratch paper.
"Who wants to play rock-paper-scissors; just keep the test papers for yourself. I'm not going to do the questions." One of Obito's shadow clones straightforwardly refused.
Just as Obito was pondering which step went wrong, the other shadow clone spoke up:
"You think I don't know your thoughts? Remember, I'm also Uchiha Obito."
Obito was speechless; these two clones were actually planning to slack off together. He couldn't help but say:
"Since you guys are also me, hurry up and help with the test papers."
"But right now I'm just a shadow clone; embarrassing results don't affect me." The shadow clone said indifferently.
The situation became unbearable for Obito. Not only were the two shadow clones not helping with the questions, they were reading his novels and eating his snacks while he was working on the test papers.
He couldn't help but activate Full Concentration Breathing to snatch away the novels and snacks from them.
"What are you doing? The novel is just getting interesting!" The novel-reading shadow clone yelled angrily.
"You wanna fight?" The snack-eating shadow clone said, irritated, charging at Obito.
The novel-reading shadow clone joined in, eager for a fight.
Obito punched and kicked, dispersing the two shadow clones. Since they were meant for doing test papers, he hadn't given them much chakra, leaving them with no combat capability.
Although beating them up was satisfying, Obito quickly realized that shadow clones have memory feedback. The memories of punches to the face and whirlwind kicks to the chest instantly flowed back to him.
"Damn Shadow Clone Jutsu, it's not useful at all," Obito complained, sprawled on the bed.
"I don't want to do these test papers!" Twisting restlessly on the bed for a while, Obito finally got up and sat at the desk to tackle the questions.
Enough with the fun and games, he still had to finish Teacher Mokgetsu's questions.
...
The next day, Obito routinely went to the Southern Border Forest for cultivation.
First was the Armament Aura training session. He practiced for two and a half hours before taking a break, followed by training in Constant Breathing Technique.
"You guys haven't forgotten the rules, have you? Same as last time," Mokgetsu asked with a smile.
"Haven't forgotten." Obito replied with a serious nod.
Getting hit once means having to do two extra questions, and the most annoying part is an additional ten percent for not dodging once successfully.
"Today's training can't be like last time, otherwise installment plans are inevitable," Obito secretly resolved in his heart.
He noticed Shisui also hadn't dodged successfully, but had fewer questions to do, showing he still had plenty of room for improvement.
If he managed to dodge successfully a few times, he might only need to do about thirty questions.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, what if I don't get hit and dodge every attack?" Obito asked curiously.
"Then according to the rules, the unanswered questions can be offset, or offset against potential future questions." Mokgetsu thought for a bit and replied.
This was like dangling a carrot, since it's very hard to achieve this outcome in reality. Mokgetsu increases the intensity based on time, and unless there's a huge improvement in a short time, it's almost impossible to dodge all attacks.
Hearing that questions could be offset, Obito's eyes lit up. If he could manage a few rounds like this, it'd be like having a get-out-of-jail-free card for the question training.
"Begin!" Mokgetsu ordered, and two shadow clones sprang into action.
Shisui and Obito immediately entered a Full Concentration Breathing state and started sprinting.
With lessons learned from last time, Obito didn't try to stand his ground against Mokgetsu's shadow clones but instead maneuvered around them, only attempting to dodge on the spot when absolutely necessary.
"Always just a little bit off, damn it! Can't I go any faster?" Obito shouted internally.
Though he put in all effort to dodge, Mokgetsu still managed to land hits perfectly.
Time quickly approached the easy-to-get-hit fifty-five-minute mark.
Having highly concentrated his Breathing Technique for five minutes, Obito's Breathing Technique sort of maintained Full Concentration Breathing but wasn't as focused as at the beginning.
Noticing Mokgetsu's figure getting closer, Obito knew another attack was coming.
With his Sharingan, Obito could see Mokgetsu's fingers speeding toward him. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed he couldn't avoid getting hit.
"Body, move quickly!" Obito roared internally.
The tap couldn't harm his body, but it sure dealt a heavy blow to his spirit.
"No way I'll settle for this level of skill! Breath of Flame, Full Concentration Breathing!" Obito concentrated his breathing over and over again, instantly gaining stronger physical abilities, narrowly dodging Mokgetsu's tap.