On the way to the infirmary, while carrying an unconscious Obito on his back, Kakashi kept asking himself:
He did win the sparring match, but... was it really worth it?
The answer... was clearly no.
To be honest, if he could go back to the moment before the sparring match with Obito, he would have chosen to surrender immediately…
Because, at the end of the sparring match, although he managed to unleash his potential at a critical moment and struck Obito's left rib with his White Fang short sword, which was still sheathed...
But...
He was ultimately a step too slow and failed to completely stop Obito from executing that insane technique...
Even though it only grazed the surface and didn't penetrate…
It still caused great harm to Kakashi's young mind.
Moreover, this was the outcome after that teacher, Natsuhiko-sensei, created a strange white barrier at the last moment to buffer Obito's attack! Otherwise, if Kakashi had been hit by the full force of Obito's attack, the result would have been unimaginable!
What left Kakashi speechless was that, according to Natsuhiko-sensei, he could have blocked entirely Obito's attack.
But he had to focus most of his attention on creating another barrier to block Kakashi's final, astonishing strike…
After all, while Obito's move might have inflicted mental and physical trauma, Kakashi's strike at that moment could have been fatal.
So, even though Natsuhiko-sensei gave his final strike high praise, Kakashi wasn't happy at all…
Fortunately, it seemed that because Obito had been knocked unconscious by the residual force of Kakashi's strike and crashed into a crooked tree, he had forgotten entirely the memory of the moment before he lost consciousness.
So, for now, he didn't have to worry about Obito mocking him for this incident.
The only ones who knew about this unspeakable secret were himself and Natsuhiko-sensei.
But as a teacher, Natsuhiko-sensei shouldn't go around telling everyone about this sort of thing...
Kakashi could only hope so.
There was no choice; he couldn't fight him.
And Obito, who had just asked casually, didn't notice Kakashi's odd behaviour and continued to ask, "By the way, Kakashi, where is Natsuhiko-sensei?"
Seeing that Obito didn't pursue the matter further, Kakashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"He asked me to take you to the infirmary, and then he left."
"I see…"
Obito responded weakly, seeming a bit downcast, thinking to himself:
I wonder if Natsuhiko-sensei is disappointed in me...
After all, the teacher spent so much time and effort giving me special training, and in the end, I still lost to Kakashi…
It's only average for the teacher to feel disappointed.
However, back then, I made an unequal treaty with the teacher to get his guidance.
But now, Obito knows very well that compared to what he received, what he gave was insignificant!
To be honest, he's now somewhat afraid to see Natsuhiko-sensei and the other members of the research team, fearful of seeing their disappointed expressions…
But for now, Obito suppressed this thought because he suddenly thought of a critical issue.
"—Wait, Kakashi, why are you still here!?"
He suddenly exclaimed, "What about the graduation exam?"
Kakashi was startled by his loud voice, a bit speechless, and said:
"Of course, it already started a long time ago."
"Nani? Then why are you still here?"
Obito's eyes widened, and he began to wriggle like an eel, trying to get down.
"Kakashi, you don't have to worry about me; hurry up and go take the exam!"
"Since I lost, I can't delay you from taking the graduation exam!"
"If you go now, you might still make it!"
"Don't give up the exam because of me—"
Obito's squirming caused Kakashi, who was carrying him below, to tug at a specific wound, his face twisting in pain.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask and had his back to Obito, so it wasn't noticed.
But he quickly explained in exasperation:
"How could I possibly give up the exam because of an idiot like you?"
"Before I took you to the infirmary, I had already sent a shadow clone to take the exam!"
"Uh…"
(⊙o⊙)
Obito, who had been struggling, suddenly stopped, looking dazed.
He didn't expect this kind of move…
Thinking about his actions just now, even Obito, who was usually thick-skinned, couldn't help but blush.
Kakashi didn't dare provoke Obito any further, worried he might start acting crazy again.
For a moment, the air between them became awkward.
Both were thinking:
Why haven't we reached the infirmary yet?
…
After a while, Obito's mood gradually calmed down.
But just thinking about Kakashi's shadow clone taking the exam made him feel inexplicably empty inside.
Because even if it was just a shadow clone, with Kakashi's abilities, passing the exam was a certainty.
This meant that from today onward, Kakashi would officially become a Konoha Genin.
And it also meant that starting tomorrow, he would leave the Ninja Academy, making it hard to see him around anymore…
Thinking of this, Obito felt a real sense of loss:
He had really lost to Kakashi…
In the end, he couldn't stop him from leaving.
After a moment of silence, Obito suddenly spoke:
"Kakashi…"
"What is it now?"
"Congratulations on becoming a Genin."
His words slightly took aback Kakashi, then gently replied, "Thanks."
Perhaps feeling that those words didn't quite match his style, Obito raised his voice and added:
"—But don't get too cocky, Kakashi."
"This time, as a student of the Ninja Academy, I indeed lost to you in our sparring match."
"But don't worry. I will catch up with you soon and become a Genin too!"
"Then we'll have another duel as Genin, and I definitely won't lose to you!"
"That's not a bad proposal…"
Kakashi replied calmly, "But by the time you graduate and become a Genin, I'll probably be a Chunin…"
"…"
Obito was at a loss for words.
And then he realised that Kakashi's words were quite likely, making it hard to refute.
So he could only say grudgingly:
"Then I'll also quickly become a Chunin, and then…"
Kakashi interrupted, "By then, I might be a Jonin."
"Damn it, how could that be!?"
Obito glared at the back of Kakashi's head and growled,
"If that's the case, then I'll become Hokage and assign you to guard the restroom."
Kakashi replied indifferently, "Heh, an idiot like you could never become Hokage."
"Damn it, who says an idiot can't become Hokage?"
"Wait, shouldn't you be denying that you're an idiot first…?"
The two of them, one carrying the other, bickered as they continued their way to the infirmary.
It was as if time had gone back to the carefree days when they first entered school…
However, there might not be many chances like this in the future.
Realising this, Kakashi decided to keep going and vent all the stored-up remarks he had about Obito.
But just then, a warm droplet fell on the back of his neck, scattering the words he had carefully organised.
He didn't turn his head; he hesitantly asked:
"Obito… are you crying?"
"Idiot Kakashi, as if!"
Obito instinctively denied it, only to realise that, at some point, his eyes had become blurry with tears.
He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, but the more he wiped, the more the tears flowed.
Yet Obito didn't even know why he was crying.
Was it because he didn't want this bastard Kakashi to leave?
Or was it because he felt guilty for letting everyone down after they had all helped and supported him?
Or maybe it was because, for the first time, he had put his all into something, only to end up failing?
Or perhaps it was for all these reasons?
Stunned for a moment, another tear fell on the back of Kakashi's neck.
Kakashi still didn't turn around; he simply made another comment:
"You sure have overactive tear glands."
Obito kept denying: "I already told you, it's not tears!"
"—It's just snot!"
Kakashi replied in a somewhat threatening tone:
"I'll give you one more chance to say that again."
"Uh… alright, actually it's raining!"
Raining?
Kakashi was speechless. He instinctively looked up at the sky.
And then he saw a cloudless sky as clear as a blue sapphire.
Kakashi felt a bit dizzy.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he last looked at the blue sky like this.
It felt like…
Today's sky was so blue…
Kakashi wanted to marvel at the beauty of the sky, but hearing the suppressed sobs from the person on his back, the words that came out of his mouth were:
"Indeed, it's raining heavily today…"
(End of this chapter)
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