Chapter 23 — Individual Battle: Obuya vs. Hyūga
Rin was instantly cornered into a desperate situation.
If she had faced just one of her opponents, she might have been able to hold her own for a while, and defeat would not have come so quickly.
But now, facing both of them at once, two fists could not match four hands. She had no room to resist.
On the other side, Kakashi was entangled with Might Guy, and victory was far from easy. Helping Rin was out of the question—he simply didn't have the means.
From the moment Obito was kicked away and temporarily incapacitated, the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
Everyone in the second-level stands saw this clearly.
As expected, Rin was defeated without the slightest surprise under the double assault.
With her loss, Kakashi, who had been holding his own against Guy, now faced a three-on-one situation and completely lost any meaningful chance of continuing the fight.
But Kakashi wasn't one to give up easily. He held out for several more minutes before finally being forced to concede, leaving the match.
---
"Team Two wins!"
The referee's declaration was met with a loud roar from the audience.
Many glared at Obito, whispering and pointing fingers at him.
At this moment, Obito, disheveled, head down and face flushed, walked to the second-level waiting area.
"Obito, don't be discouraged. This was only the first match. Next up is the individual battle. You still have a chance to prove yourself."
Seeing Obito looking dejected, ashamed, and frustrated, Obuya stepped forward to comfort him.
Rin nodded repeatedly. "Obuya is right. You shouldn't feel guilty. In the team battle, our victory or defeat doesn't affect whether Kakashi or I will be promoted to Chūnin…"
"If we perform well, even if the team loses, we can still advance. If we perform poorly, even if the team wins, it won't help at all."
Their words improved Obito's expression slightly.
"Fail where you fell, and rise from there. In the next individual battle, do your best—you still have a chance to become a Chūnin."
Minato Namikaze patted his shoulder.
Kakashi, unusually, didn't mock Obito. For him, silence was the best encouragement right now.
---
The class battles continued in an orderly manner.
An hour later, all team matches were complete.
The second round, the "Individual Battle," began.
"Next, we will proceed with the individual battles. This round is a bit special, because in addition to the participants who have already appeared, several others have been recommended by elite jōnin. I will introduce them now…"
"The first, recommended by elite jōnin Minato Namikaze, is Obuya!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, low murmurs spread through the second-level waiting area.
"Obuya… that newcomer who just recently joined Konoha?"
"I heard he has a rare kekkei genkai. The most widely spread story is that he severely defeated Uchiha Kirito, twisting his limbs to the point where he couldn't care for himself recently."
"This person just became a Konoha genin and is already participating in the Chūnin Exam. Ambitious, isn't he?"
"Ambitious? I'd call it overestimating himself. Witnesses said Kirito's defeat was due to Obuya's sneak attack. Before this, no one knew he had a kekkei genkai, so everyone was caught off guard. Now he thinks he can defeat anyone here? Not a chance…"
"Some of that makes sense. Obuya used to be a well-known useless ninja—ninjutsu, taijutsu, nothing. Now with a kekkei genkai awakened, he has some skill, but unless it's as powerful as the Sharingan, with his taijutsu and ninjutsu still weak, what can he possibly do?"
Obuya ignored the surrounding doubts.
But Rin, standing beside him, felt her face darken at each disparaging remark. She wanted to argue, but there were too many voices, and one person alone couldn't silence the crowd.
"Damn it! Don't they realize… Obuya, you captured the Iwa ninja jōnin alive?" Rin muttered under her breath.
Obuya also suspected that the news of his capture of Tōki had been deliberately suppressed, likely to prevent it from reaching the Land of Earth.
Through this, he could also guess that Konoha's higher-ups had probably extracted some valuable information from Tōki—otherwise, they wouldn't be so cautious.
---
The referee continued to introduce the second recommended participant.
"The second, recommended by elite jōnin Uchiha Fugaku, is Uchiha Shisui."
"What… Uchiha… Shisui?!"
Murmurs and swallowed breaths spread everywhere. The name alone seemed to weigh heavily on everyone.
"It's him!!"
Obuya's eyes narrowed sharply.
In the entire Land of Fire, almost no one didn't know this name.
There had even been a saying:
"If you want to name the representative genius of the past ten years, it has to be Uchiha Shisui."
For Obuya, who understood the history of the ninja world, this name was that of a figure who had left a stunning mark in history—even though his life was short.
"This person's Sharingan is said to surpass even the future Uchiha Itachi. His Kotoamatsukami is reputed as the strongest genjutsu. If the Uchiha clan had not rebelled, he would never have died. A single pair of Sharingan would have allowed him to stand at the pinnacle of the ninja world…"
Obito's mood, which had just lifted slightly, grew complicated hearing this name.
He had been called the Uchiha disgrace, while the other was the Uchiha pride. From the same clan, yet entirely opposite extremes.
---
Following this, the referee announced two more names, but none caused the shock and awe that "Obuya" and "Shisui" did.
"Now, the first matches are among the four recommended participants. As per tradition, victory or defeat in these matches will not determine your promotion to Chūnin. The standard comes from your performance…"
"First match: Obuya versus Hyūga Tokuma."
"Second match: Uchiha Shisui versus Aburame Muta."
"Now, we will begin the first match."
Hearing that Obuya would face Hyūga Tokuma and not Uchiha Shisui, Rin visibly relaxed.
"Obuya, your opponent is from the Hyūga clan. Their Byakugan is formidable, and they have the strongest taijutsu style, the Gentle Fist. You must be extremely careful."
Rin was tense.
She feared Obuya's lack of understanding of this clan and wished she could pour all the knowledge she had directly into his head.
"Don't worry! I'll be careful."
Obuya leapt down into the arena.
Opposite him stood a boy with eyes as pale as forest ice.
The instant Obuya saw his eyes, he felt as if all his secrets were laid bare to the other.
"As expected of the Byakugan, one of the three great dōjutsu of the ninja world. Truly extraordinary," Obuya murmured to himself.
Knowing it was a kekkei genkai granting a full 360-degree field of vision, he couldn't hide his curiosity.