Just as Obito began to celebrate his victory in his mind, something unexpected happened.
Kakashi, hit by the aftermath of the Fire Release explosion, vanished with a bang, turning into smoke.
Obito naturally didn't think he had killed Kakashi; the body hit by the Fire Release explosion should still be there.
"It's actually a Shadow Clone!" Obito felt uneasy all of a sudden, but it was too late. Just as Obito relaxed, Kakashi, hidden in the ground, decisively struck.
"Konoha's Secret Taijutsu·One Thousand Years of Death!"
Kakashi formed tiger hand seals and burst out of the ground, attacking Obito's weak spot.
"Ahhhh!" Obito's face instantly changed drastically as the intense pain from the unexpected attack made him jump several meters high. Even after falling to the ground, Obito's hands still protected his severely injured weak point, but it was of no use.
Obito fell to the ground, his buttocks sticking out, and let out an indignant roar: "Kakashi, you despicable bastard!"
"You were too careless," Kakashi calmly approached and said.
"The enemy disappeared from your sight, and when you saw them again, you charged without carefully observing. If I were the enemy, you would have died several times already," Kakashi said bluntly.
"Damn it..." Obito couldn't argue because he had indeed lost, not to a powerful Ninjutsu, but to a Shadow Clone.
If he had lost in a Ninjutsu confrontation, Obito wouldn't have been so unwilling. This was purely his combat experience being overwhelmed.
Unlike him, Kakashi had been a ninja for over three years and had experienced real life-and-death battles.
"Stop talking big. If you want to dream of defeating me, you'll need to train for several more years," Kakashi said nonchalantly.
However, Kakashi's inner thoughts weren't as calm as his outward appearance, he was even quite surprised.
Due to the recent battle, Kakashi judged that Obito now possessed the strength he had when he was six years old, meaning Obito now had the ability to pass the Chunin exams, but he temporarily lacked the qualifications to take the test.
This greatly surprised Kakashi. Just a few months ago, Obito couldn't even defeat him when he was five years old. Now, he had the strength he had at six years old. This improvement was too significant.
If it weren't for Kakashi's overwhelming combat experience, he would have had to put in some effort to deal with Obito.
Although it had been over two years since he became a Chunin, Kakashi's strength hadn't undergone a qualitative increase compared to when he was six years old. This was because Kakashi had neglected his training for over a year due to certain circumstances.
"Why did his strength suddenly improve so much, and without activating the Sharingan..." Kakashi felt puzzled.
If Obito had activated the Sharingan, rapid progress would have been normal. But Obito hadn't used the Sharingan just now, which was very strange.
"Damn it, if only I had the Sharingan, if only I succeeded in Flame Breathing..." Feeling the waves of pain from his vulnerable spot, Obito angrily pounded the ground.
If Mutsuki-sensei's Breathing Technique level were as high as that, how could mere Kakashi have made him so miserable?
"Damn you, Kakashi, I was careless just now. Wait until I'm healed, and you'll be ready to welcome failure," Obito felt that he could learn from this failure and might succeed next time.
"With your current level, even if you challenge me ten thousand times, you won't win," Kakashi said calmly.
Obito's current strength was decent, but thinking he could beat Kakashi was wishful thinking.
"Just you wait," Obito felt underestimated as he walked towards the door, holding his buttocks.
"Um, is it a bad time for us to come?"
"Perhaps, Hatake. Sensei said to gather at the Hokage Tower later. We have a mission today."
Kakashi's teammates happened to arrive and witnessed this bizarre scene.
Kakashi stood calmly in place, while Obito, wearing an expression of humiliation and unwillingness, slowly left, clutching his injured area.
"What do you mean 'bad time'? We've already finished the battle, he's free now," Obito said, then left without turning back.
"Let's go," Kakashi said coldly after glancing at Obito's back.
"We still have some time, we can prepare. Sensei said this mission will be quite difficult," a teammate reminded.
"As a ninja, I'm always ready for a mission," Kakashi said, heading directly towards the Hokage Tower.
Since Kakashi had spoken, his two teammates naturally had nothing to say and followed him.
...
Because the injured area was rather awkward, Obito took quite a while before going to see Mutsuki. He wanted Mutsuki to help him analyze the fight with Kakashi before challenging him again.
After all, Kakashi was going on a mission. If he delayed, it might take a week or even longer for him to return. Obito could use this time to get stronger before facing him again.
"You used Total Concentration Breathing too early," Mutsuki shook his head after listening to Obito's and Kakashi's fight details.
"With your current stamina and Chakra, you can't sustain the Breathing Technique for too long. It's crucial to save the explosive Total Concentration Breathing for a critical moment to deal a fatal blow to the enemy."
Although he hadn't witnessed their fight firsthand, Mutsuki could pick up on all the flaws from just listening.
"I see. It does feel a bit tiring after using Total Concentration Breathing," Obito listened attentively to Mutsuki's analysis.
"But it's still impressive. Your opponent is that genius Kakashi. Even I, as a new sensei, occasionally hear stories about him from the Academy," Mutsuki smiled.
"Just a Kakashi. Sooner or later, I'll defeat him," Obito said. He hoped that one day, he would also gain recognition and make Mutsuki proud.
"I believe one day you'll defeat Kakashi, Obito," Mutsuki said warmly.
"But for now, it's difficult. It will require more diligent training," Mutsuki and Obito roughly described Kakashi's current strength.
In terms of Chakra, Obito currently only has 1,100 points, while Mutsuki saw Kakashi a few months ago with 2,500 points. In terms of Chakra alone, Obito is completely outclassed.
Regarding Ninjutsu, Mutsuki doesn't know Kakashi's specific data. He hasn't used the upgraded Identification Jutsu to observe Kakashi, but judging from Kakashi's previous Earth-Style Wall, his level is definitely not inferior to Obito's, most likely stronger.
Furthermore, from Obito's description, it's evident that Kakashi excels in Taijutsu and has combat experience superior to Obito's.
After analyzing everything, except for the Breathing Technique that Obito hasn't fully mastered, Mutsuki doesn't know where Obito's winning point lies.
"So Kakashi is actually this strong!" Obito listened to Mutsuki's analysis sentence by sentence, realizing that he had underestimated Kakashi's strength.
"Thank goodness I came to see Yumi-sensei," Obito thought thankfully. If he had to endure One Thousand Years of Death again, it would truly be a nightmare.
Just as the thought of needing Yumi-sensei crossed Obito's mind, Mutsuki also received a notification.
---
Don't forget to check out my patreon where you can read up to 50 advanced chapters https://www.patreon.com/CrazyNinja