Chapter 127: Duel and Interference
"…Can you tell me your reason?"
Seeing how serious Obito was, Kakashi did not brush him off as he used to. He met Obito's gaze head on.
"And if you are just yelling about beating me like before," he added calmly, "I am not going to fight you."
"I want to see how big the gap is between you and me."
"…Obito?"
Rin, still standing between them, stared in surprise at the two boys.
They had been together since they were small, but in all of Rin's memories, Obito had only shown this level of seriousness once before, back when she told him she would watch over him as he chased Hokage.
This time, Obito did not immediately scramble to please her or back down the moment she spoke. He stared stubbornly at Kakashi, the childhood friend he had not seen for three years, as if he were looking at a familiar figure that still shone painfully bright.
Rin did not know what was going on in his heart. She only felt that the noisy, clingy boy in front of her had changed a little. Not much, but enough that she could feel it. Right after finally reuniting with Kakashi, Obito seemed to have taken a step forward into something more grown up.
"You want to see the difference between us, seriously?"
Kakashi sighed, a hint of regret in his eyes.
"With only that, there is no way I can take this seriously. To be blunt, the gap is too big."
"Then let me see what you are like when you are serious."
"Why?"
"Because once I know the gap, I will know how to catch up."
Obito clenched his fists.
Watching Kakashi stay composed even when Rin threw herself into his arms, Obito felt a mess of emotions twisting inside him.
On one hand, he was relieved. Kakashi had not shown any romantic response when Rin hugged him. No flustered reaction, no greedy clinging, just a light pat on her head before gently telling her to let go.
That was also what irritated him.
His most precious treasure could throw her arms around Kakashi so easily, and Kakashi did not even seem to care that much. Obito himself could not sort out how that made him feel. Sometimes he wished his life could be simpler, but whenever he looked at Rin's smile, he felt like the path of his life was always being led by her back.
Even now, knowing Rin was hopelessly in love with Kakashi, knowing Kakashi did not feel the same, knowing Kakashi knew he liked Rin, Obito still felt he had to move. He did not want to start all this on the very day they reunited, but he could not stop himself.
If he could quietly accept everything and do nothing, he would not be Obito Uchiha.
As if to relieve his own tension, Obito forced a loud laugh, thumped his chest, and said:
"And it is fine. No matter how strong you are, you cannot be stronger than the current Fourth Hokage. He is the strongest in history."
"The Hokage is the strongest? You mean Minato? Did he say he is the strongest?"
"Hey, even if you are Kakashi, show some respect to the Hokage." Obito bristled. "He is one of the strongest shinobi in the world, maybe the very strongest."
He jabbed a finger at Kakashi.
"With space time ninjutsu like that, I doubt there is anyone alive who could beat him. Everyone says he is the strongest Hokage ever. You should respect those stronger than you."
"…Huh? Strongest Hokage ever?" Kakashi tilted his head. "Could he even beat Tobirama? We would have to handicap Tobirama by tying up one arm at least."
"What are you talking about? Did Lord Tobirama not die a long time ago?"
"No. He is alive. In Las Noches."
Seeing Obito's skeptical look, Kakashi explained in a flat tone:
"And not only is he alive, he is one of the numbered members above me. You know about the Espada of Las Noches, right? He is one of them. The one whose self introduction is always, 'My hobby is developing forbidden techniques.'"
"…You are serious?"
"Anyone of some standing in the village should know this. It is an open secret." Kakashi gave him a sidelong look. "Do you never read the gossip board? It spells everything out pretty clearly."
"No. I usually just chat with Rin. If we are not chatting, we are fighting matches against each other. I have never beaten her, but I am going to keep trying to get stronger."
"…Really?"
If he remembered right, Rin was a medical ninja. How did you lose over and over to a medic?
Kakashi rubbed his forehead and thought back to the New Year gathering a few years ago, when he had seen Rin and Obito spar by accident. He finally let out a quiet sigh.
He already knew that he was drifting away from his childhood friends, maybe even to the point they would stand on opposite sides in the future. But right now, Obito and Rin did not carry any murderous intent toward him at all.
Expecting Kakashi to coldly tell a girl who liked him, "We cannot be together," was excessive. Emotionally, he was still clumsy. He did not know what kind of distance would keep his feelings from spilling out.
So if it was as Obito said, then they would just use strength and action to show the difference between them. If the gap stayed obvious for long enough, maybe feelings would fade on their own.
"Hey, can we not fight?" Rin protested, still between them, unwilling. "We finally got to see each other again. Is fighting really what we should be doing right now?"
The two boys had already sat down regardless, heads lowered as they slipped a portion of their consciousness into the chakra network.
The dreamscape built from the chakra of countless shinobi was not a dream in itself so much as a dream realm, a space where information and knowledge flowed. There were always people there deliberately stirring up conflict, baiting angry shinobi with secret techniques into revealing bits of ninjutsu, then collecting the newest and sharpest data.
Children could not see the ugliness playing out behind the scenes.
Obito and Kakashi logged in, then entered a virtual arena using their friend IDs as the base for their avatars.
The moment they opened their eyes in that illusionary space, mechanical voices rang out.
[Belonging to Las Noches, Operation No. 11, "Future Return," Kakashi.]
[Belonging to Konoha Village, Operation Number 24751, Uchiha Obito.]
The difference was brutal.
Just looking at those numbers made it clear how far apart they were.
On one side, Hueco Mundo, eleventh in the sequence. On the other side, Konoha, number twenty four thousand seven hundred fifty one. No matter how you tried to dress it up, that gap was enough to crush a person's confidence.
Obito felt his stomach sink.
At that moment, Kakashi's eye twitched. A new notification flashed before him.
[Konoha Village, Operation No. 114, requesting to infiltrate.]
"…?"
Number one hundred fourteen. That had to be a pretty strong Jonin, right? Who was it?
Kakashi did not hesitate and tapped "accept." He was confident that there were few in Konoha who could beat him anyway.
The chakra network shifted.
Space warped, and a figure in a brown short sleeved top appeared, accompanied by a crisp and familiar shout.
"Scattered beast bones, towered spires, red crystal, spinning steel, wind in motion and void in stillness. The sound of spears rings through the sky. Path of Destruction, Number Sixty Three, Thunder Roar Cannon."
A fully chanted Thunder Roar Cannon.
Kakashi's eyes widened and he reflexively raised a hexagonal crystal shield in front of himself.
The next second, thunder flooded the arena.
Bolts of lightning crashed down, erupting against the crystal barrier. The shock waves howled as they tore through the virtual space, leaving smoking craters and jagged scars before they faded.
Even blocked, the attack made Kakashi's hair prickle slightly from lingering static heat. A full chant Thunder Roar Cannon with that level of force was rare even in Las Noches.
Then he recalled that voice.
Kakashi lowered the crystal shield and stared, stunned, at the person standing protectively in front of Obito, hand still extended from the cast.
"…Rin? Since when did you join the Kido corps?"
And not just any recruit. To cast a fully chanted Thunder Roar Cannon, ranked Sixty Three of the destructive arts, meant she was near the top of the Kido specialists on the network. That number probably meant she could handle even higher level spells.
Both Kakashi and Obito gaped.
The girl with the faint purple patches on her cheeks, whose smile had always been as gentle as a warm breeze, now stood there like a seasoned battle mage.
To rank within the top one hundred operations in Konoha was no small thing. Among all ninjas connected to the network, this seemingly ordinary girl, whose only "talent" was a gentle heart, was likely within the top five hundred globally. And within Kido, she was one of its monsters.
She might not quite match Kakashi yet, but she definitely deserved the title of rising star. In terms of pure Kido talent, she was likely on par with some of the Army Without Borders prodigies.
Rin smiled brightly under their stunned gazes.
"Didn't I say," she tilted her head slightly, "that I do not like fighting?"
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