No matter which shinobi village it was, training grounds for ninja cultivation seemed to be everywhere. At the very least, based on Kyoichi's own experience, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Konohagakure were all like this. After leaving Konoha Hospital and walking only a short distance, turning a couple of corners, they arrived at a training ground surrounded by towering, ancient trees.
"Obito, Koeda Kyoichi, I'll serve as the referee for the two of you."
Kushina Uzumaki called out loudly.
"I have no objections."
Kyoichi answered readily.
Who served as the referee, or even whether there was a referee at all, was not important.
This was not some formal competition. It was merely a private spar between two people. Generally speaking, there was no real need for a referee to arbitrate anything. This was different from competitions judged by scores. In a fight like this, the outcome was something the two combatants themselves understood best.
Of course, having a referee did not change anything either.
In any case,
Kyoichi was not worried about the referee showing favoritism.
Besides,
Kushina Uzumaki did not seem like the sort of person who would do such a thing.
"Sensei… you're still pregnant!"
Obito hesitated a little. The fact that Kushina was expecting was something all of them disciples knew. For Obito, childbirth was a completely unfamiliar yet sacred domain, something that instinctively inspired awe and caution.
"Haha! Don't worry! It's only been a few months."
Kushina laughed cheerfully. "It's not at the stage where I need to be that careful yet. Besides, I'm just acting as your referee. I'm not going to fight personally."
She clearly enjoyed seeing Obito look so cautious and concerned.
"…Rin?"
Left with no choice, Obito cast a pleading look toward Nohara Rin.
However—
"It's fine, Obito. Kushina-sensei just had her body checked. She's super healthy!"
Rin reassured him. "Being your referee is completely fine."
At this point,
Obito was completely out of options.
He could only turn his gaze toward Kyoichi.
The two of them walked into the field together and stopped at opposite ends of the training ground.
"Looks like… both sides are ready!"
Kushina Uzumaki observed them, her clear, ringing voice echoing throughout the standard-sized training ground. Kyoichi and Obito stood solemnly in place, neither raising any objections. Rin, Ringo Ameyuri, and Momochi Zabuza stood at the edge of the field, quietly watching.
"Then—begin!"
With that command, the spar officially began.
Kyoichi did not rush to attack immediately. Instead, his hands formed seals at high speed.
"Earth Release: Earth Clone!"
He exhaled sharply.
In an instant, the refined Earth Release chakra he spat out turned into sticky clay, shaping itself into humanoid forms in midair. When they landed, they were unmistakably copies of Kyoichi. There were five in total. One of the earth clones rushed forward first, its hands dyed pitch-black as it activated Earth Release: Earth Spear.
Wielding hands as hard as steel, it knocked away the shuriken Obito had thrown.
However,
in the very next moment,
another attack from Obito followed close behind.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The roaring fireball was incredibly fast. While Kyoichi's earth clone was still fending off the shuriken, the flames were already upon it, engulfing the clone completely. Even though the clone had hardened its entire body with Earth Release: Earth Spear in time, a clone was still just a clone.
Under such a violent impact, the balance of its chakra circulation was shattered. Its form collapsed instantly, crumbling into clods of earth and mud that scattered across the ground.
"First one!"
Uchiha Obito's eyes burned crimson, the black tomoe within them spinning rapidly.
He drew a short blade.
Crackling lightning wrapped around the edge of the sword.
Then he charged head-on toward the remaining four earth clones that were closing in around him.
"Sensei… can Obito win?"
At the edge of the training ground, Rin stared intently at the battle. Seeing Obito alone and surrounded by four of Kyoichi's earth clones, she grew tense, instinctively seeking reassurance from Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina did not answer immediately.
Instead, she carefully examined the fight. After a few seconds, seeing Obito cut down yet another of Kyoichi's earth clones, she finally spoke slowly.
"Don't worry too much. Those earth clones alone won't be enough to deal with Obito. He's awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, after all. He won't be taken down so easily by a few clones."
That statement,
was actually only half the truth.
She could tell that Obito would not lose to these earth clones. But that was only with regard to the clones. Against Koeda Kyoichi's true body… the outcome was hard to say, especially since Kyoichi had not moved at all from the beginning, looking as if he were preparing some major move.
Moreover,
watching Kyoichi stand there unmoving, Kushina felt a strangely familiar sensation.
"Phew! That's good. That's good!"
Rin did not realize that Kushina had only spoken half the truth. Seeing Obito bravely defeat yet another earth clone, her tension finally eased a little. She clasped her hands tightly to her chest, silently cheering for Obito in her heart.
Five meters away,
Ringo Ameyuri and Momochi Zabuza were also watching the duel without blinking.
But unlike Rin's anxious concern,
they remained completely unshaken.
From the very beginning, they had never worried about the possibility of Kyoichi losing. On the ship to the Land of Fire and later at the Konoha embassy, they had sparred with Kyoichi nearly a hundred times—and lost nearly a hundred times—yet they had never once managed to fathom the depth of his strength.
Uchiha Obito might have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, but so what?
Indeed, there was a saying in the shinobi world that to face an awakened Uchiha, one needed at least two experts of the same tier to even attempt the fight. But Obito and Kyoichi were not on the same level at all. The real point of interest in this duel was how many of Kyoichi's hidden cards Obito could force out, and how Kyoichi would choose to end the fight.
Two minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
All five of Kyoichi's earth clones were eliminated by Uchiha Obito.
After cutting down the last earth clone, Obito took a breath. Riding the momentum he had built up by defeating the clones, he lunged fiercely toward Kyoichi's true body, which had not moved an inch since the beginning. Blinding lightning flared once more along the short blade in his hand.
He swung it straight toward Kyoichi's neck.
Earlier, it was precisely this sharp Lightning Release chakra transformation that had shattered one earth clone after another.
After his crushing defeat in the Land of Grass,
Obito had awakened the Sharingan. Upon returning to the village, he had deliberately begun training in Lightning Release, all for the sake of reclaiming his pride when he encountered Kyoichi again one day. And today, the fruits of that less-than-half-a-year of harsh training were finally being put to use.
However—
this seemingly unstoppable blade met its first major setback at this very moment.