"Umino-sensei, can you arrange more practical sparring? We're ninjas, not running away!"
Many students complained.
Compared to the simple physical training, they preferred individual sparring.
At least then, they could get cheers from others.
"Yo, Kakashi, it's my favorite part again!"
Might Guy flashed his polished white teeth and gave a thumbs up.
"Want to have a fiery youthful duel?"
"..."
Kakashi, wearing a scarf, glanced at Might Guy's green bodysuit.
Seeing Might Guy making strange gestures from time to time, he just wanted to wash his eyes.
He didn't understand why his father, Hatake Sakumo, had warned him that Might Guy would be a formidable opponent in the future; he just found it absurd.
"If you don't run, you'll fall behind."
Kakashi started running.
"Kakashi, I'm coming!"
Might Guy immediately caught up with Kakashi.
"Kakashi, as handsome as ever."
Many girls were watching Kakashi run, feeling less tired just watching him.
Nohara Rin also secretly glanced at Kakashi, trying to keep up with his pace.
"Can you keep up?"
Kakashi asked casually.
"I can,"Rin nodded.
Obito, at the back, seeing Rin and Kakashi chatting as if no one else was around, gritted his teeth, ran a few steps ahead, and blocked Rin's view.
"Kakashi, you're running too slowly,"
Obito said with a relaxed expression.
"Idiot."
Kakashi thought Obito was foolish. They'd only run a few laps, and Obito had already disrupted his own rhythm to match everyone else's.
He'd inevitably run out of energy later.
He shook his head and continued running.
"That's... Uchiha Kiyoshi."
Kakashi's gaze sharpened.
While chatting with the others, he turned around and suddenly realized Kiyoshi was already among the leading runners.
Kakashi wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Kiyoshi seemed to be running with increasing ease.
For the next few laps, Kakashi observed Kiyoshi.
As it turned out, Kiyoshi hadn't broken a sweat at all by the end.
While the others were panting and resting, Kiyoshi pulled out a small booklet and was looking at something.
This caught the attention of their instructor, Umino.
He then thought about Kiyoshi's background.
"The Land of Lightning,"he recalled the Cloud Village ninjas renowned for their ninjutsu and taijutsu.
It was normal for Kiyoshi's stamina to be better than the others.
Neither the Senju nor the Uzumaki clans were as famous for their ninjutsu and taijutsu as the ninjas from the Land of Lightning.
"Aren't you tired?"
Kakashi asked, approaching him.
He was curious how Kiyoshi, despite his slender appearance, could possess such excellent long-distance running ability.
"It's alright,"Kiyoshi said, taking a sip from the water bottle he had prepared beforehand. With chakra, ninjas were far stronger than ordinary people, and this applied to long-distance running as well.
After taking a sip, Kiyoshi looked at Kakashi.
This was a prodigy who had developed the S-rank ninjutsu, Lightning Blade, at the age of twelve.
The Sharingan that Obito gave Kakashi had actually hindered his growth.
In the official novel, *Kakashi's Secret Story - The Lightning of Ice and Sky*, Kakashi Hatake, after losing his Sharingan, quickly developed a new type of lightning ninjutsu that didn't rely on the Sharingan and could be activated without hand seals.
That was "Purple Lightning," a substitute for Lightning Blade.
"Kakashi-kun, weren't you performing even better?"
Kakashi was the top student in his grade overall, so naturally, he had no weaknesses in physical ability.
"Kiyoshi, so you're also a part of burning youth!"
Might Guy ran over, his watermelon-head hairstyle swaying in the wind.
"No, I'm just training."
Kiyoshi pointed to his thin body, paused, and said,"To become a ninja, this alone won't do."
"That's true."
Might Guy nodded in agreement.
Under his bodysuit, Might Guy had already developed a strong physique.
Kiyoshi definitely needed to train.
"Kiyoshi-kun, you're really working hard."
Nohara Rin wiped her sweat and walked over.
Thin traces of sweat floated on Nohara Rin's fair skin, adding a touch of smoothness.
"My posture should be cool enough, right?" Obito, who had disrupted his rhythm by blocking Kakashi in front of Nohara Rin, was exhausted after the last few laps.
Everyone else had finished running, leaving only him.
He strode weakly and finally finished the last lap.
He looked around to see where Nohara Rin was.
As long as Nohara Rin could see his hard work, the fatigue was worth it.
"Rin…"
Obito saw Nohara Rin's back to his left. He ran a few steps, intending to go and greet her, but then noticed several people ahead of her.
He automatically ignored Might Guy.
His rival Kakashi was there.
And that annoying guy from the Land of Lightning.
"Nohara Rin-san, could you please continue teaching me ninjutsu today? I've already gained a basic understanding of tree-climbing training, and I want to learn an E-rank ninjutsu as soon as possible."
Kakashi looked at Nohara Rin with a puzzled expression.
His father had asked him to come home yesterday, so he left earlier than usual.
So Nohara Rin had taught this transfer student how to climb trees yesterday?
Kakashi thought to himself.
"Of course, that way Kiyoshi-san can adapt to studying here as soon as possible."
Nohara Rin nodded.
In front of Kakashi, she naturally had to show her gentle and kind side.
Their conversation reached Obito's ears.
"Why is it that guy again?"
Obito stopped and clenched his fists.
He hadn't spent much time with Rin; most of the time it was just Kakashi, Rin, and himself together.
Yesterday, he shamelessly went up to her.
If he hadn't gone up, wouldn't they have been alone together?
His grandmother said his parents died on the battlefield a long time ago.
And at that time, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire were at war.
This guy is from the Land of Lightning.
And he's always hanging around Rin. Obito
could tolerate other things, but he couldn't tolerate Nohara Rin's behavior.
He somewhat acknowledged Kakashi's strength, treating him as a rival and a good classmate.
But why would a newcomer attract Rin's attention like this?
"What's wrong, Obito?"
Sarutobi Asuma, smoking a lollipop, noticed Obito's pale face.
"Nothing,"Obito waved his hand.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Asuma didn't press the matter.
His relationship with Obito was so-so, so he just asked casually.
"Oh, it's Rin."
Sarutobi Asuma followed Obito's gaze and immediately understood why Obito was acting this way.
Obito was always so attentive to Rin, and the classmates could all see what was going on.
"Tsk."
Sarutobi Asuma didn't think much of Obito's sycophantic behavior; how could a grown man be so pathetic?
He walked in another direction, smiled, and said,
"Kurenai, are you tired? I have some candy here..."
(End of Chapter)