Chapter 530: Brainstorming

“Number Twenty-Five, Mei Terumī, versus Number Thirty, Uchiha Obito!”

As the referee’s voice echoed into the resting room, Mei Terumī and Obito swiftly walked to the combat arena.

“Currently, I am the best-performing Mist Ninja among all of them. I shouldn’t disappoint the Elder, but I still need to try my best to reach the Four Finals. Only the top four in this match will receive rewards,” Mei Terumī thought to herself.

Even the worst, fourth-place reward, was a Chakra Blade worth tens of millions of Ryo.

Mei Terumī wouldn’t even need to resell it; the money she’d get would be more than enough to commission the collection of every flavor of ice cream in the Ninja World.

“I absolutely cannot lose. There’s still one punishment slot left,” Obito thought with a serious expression.

The rule they had set was that the first two disciples eliminated would receive the same punishment as losing an internal battle. Since Rin Nohara wasn’t participating, another disciple needed to be eliminated before Obito could be spared the suffering of doing exercises.

For his wonderful life, he absolutely could not fall here. No matter what, he had to advance to the Four Finals!

Thinking of this, Obito looked at Mei Terumī, and Mei Terumī happened to be looking at him as well. Both saw intense fighting spirit in each other’s eyes, understanding that the other had a reason they absolutely had to win.

“Mei Terumī’s Water Release is so strong, and her Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique can block the Sharingan’s vision. It feels like a strong counter to Obito,” Rin Nohara on the spectator stands worried slightly about Obito’s upcoming battle.

“This is the intensity of battle that the top eight should have. Before, he was lucky that his opponents were too weak,” Kakashi Hatake said.

Reaching the stage of the top eight into the Four Finals, it could be said that there were no weak Ninja. Even Asuma, purely in terms of individual strength, could be considered a decent Jonin, but everyone else was even more monstrous.

Obito had truly drawn an excellent lot this time; his first and second-round opponents were at the bottom tier of the knockout rounds, and even in the top eight into the Four Finals, it wasn’t much different.

Among the eight contestants in the top eight, Mei Terumī’s strength was on the lower side, but due to the counter relationship, it was a level harder for Obito.

However, compared to opponents like Nagato and Might Guy, Mei Terumī, even with an elemental counter, was still easier to deal with.

“Achoo.” Obito’s nose suddenly tickled, and he sneezed, looking around suspiciously.

He always felt like Kakashi was badmouthing him behind his back.

“Right, Kakashi has also been eliminated now. Maybe he’s watching the battle with Rin and deliberately belittling me!” Obito thought of a very bad possibility.

Obito cursed the hateful white-haired bastard under his breath, his expression becoming solemn. Now, he not only had to win, but he also had to win beautifully, so Kakashi couldn’t find fault with him.

“Begin!”

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Although his opponent was someone he had defeated before, this was a battle he couldn’t lose, so Obito was exceptionally steady. He didn’t immediately enter Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and unleash a powerful attack like he did in the first and second rounds; instead, he used the classic Uchiha opening move, Fire Release.

The Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique wasn’t necessarily the best choice, but it was almost always a good one.

“Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!”

Mei Terumī swiftly made hand signs and exhaled a thick mist. In a few breaths, the combat arena was enveloped in dense fog.

Her failure in the Chunin Exams and Obito’s performance in the knockout rounds had allowed Mei Terumī to understand Obito’s fighting style.

In fact, Obito was very similar to Mei Terumī most of the time; both were cannon-type Ninja, but Obito used Fire Release while Mei Terumī used Water Release.

Theoretically, with both being cannon-type Ninja, the Water Release user, Mei Terumī, should have the advantage.

But Mei Terumī could only be a cannon-type Ninja, while Obito also had impressive Taijutsu, which was very lethal for Mei Terumī.

So, Mei Terumī’s strategy for this battle was to use Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique to prevent Obito from getting close, and then use Water Release’s wide-range attacks for long-range strikes against Obito.

Mei Terumī also had no vision within the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique, but Mist Ninja had undergone special training and could stealthily move and locate opponents by sound in thick fog.

“I don’t like this Ninjutsu,” the Lord Daimyo of Fire Country couldn’t help but complain, looking at the arena engulfed in thick mist.

Even the Sharingan couldn’t see through the mist, let alone an ordinary person like him.

“Me too, it’s not refreshing at all,” the Rain Country Daimyo nodded in agreement.

The other officials chimed in.

Kakuzu on the high platform was considering whether to prohibit the use of wide-area vision-obscuring Ninjutsu in future Martial Arts Tournaments. What was there even to watch?

“It’s that annoying Ninjutsu again.” Seeing Mei Terumī disappear enveloped in thick mist, Obito sighed slightly.

He found that not only was Fire Release the lowest of the low, but the Sharingan also seemed to be of little use. Ordinary people couldn’t see through the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn’t see through it either.

“Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!”

After dodging the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Mei Terumī quietly appeared on Obito’s right side and unleashed a huge water sphere, smashing it towards Obito.

Whoosh!

Although Mei Terumī could stealth, the huge sound of this wide-range Water Release didn’t escape Obito. He used Body Flicker Technique in advance to dodge the incoming torrent of water.

“Sigh, if Charmeleon were a dog, that would be great,” Obito thought of his Nin-Beast, realizing it was useless.

If it were a Rockruff, it could still use its sense of smell to pinpoint Mei Terumī in the thick mist.

But Charmeleon didn’t have a nose as sensitive as a dog’s, and coupled with the fact that Charmeleon only knew Fire Release and was countered by Mei Terumī’s Water Release, summoning it would only make Charmeleon suffer alongside him.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

Mei Terumī didn’t care that her attack missed. She continued to use Water Release to attack in Obito’s direction.

Her Chakra reserves were decent; she wouldn’t run out after just a few Ninjutsu.

“What should I do now?” Obito thought while dodging.

His long career of doing exercises had taught him that constant complaining was useless; no matter how much he complained, the problems on the test paper wouldn’t complete themselves. Releasing some emotions was enough.

Obito thought of Muzuki. He wondered how Muzuki would solve the situation if he were in it.

“He’d definitely use a powerful Wind Release to disperse all the mist, right?”

Obito shook his head. He was too far from the almighty Muzuki-sensei. The methods Muzuki-sensei could use, he couldn’t.

After realizing that emulating Muzuki was a dead end, Obito switched to another person: his most understood opponent, Kakashi Hatake.

Based on Obito’s understanding of Kakashi, Kakashi definitely wouldn’t be able to disperse the thick mist. The Transparent World probably wouldn’t be much better than the Sharingan against Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.

“Although I can’t see the enemy, the enemy can’t see me either.” Obito’s mind raced, and he quickly thought of what Ninjutsu he should use at this moment.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Boom!!

White smoke flashed, and twelve Shadow Clones appeared around Obito. Half ran in the direction from which the Water Dragon had just come, while the other half ran towards other parts of the combat arena.

A large number of Shadow Clones could not only interfere with Mei Terumī’s ability to pinpoint Obito’s main body through sound detection by creating footstep noise.

Furthermore, because this was a competition, the combat arena was limited. With thirteen Obitos searching together, unless Mei Terumī submerged herself in water or flew into the sky, she would definitely be found by a Shadow Clone within a minute.

Mei Terumī had intended to continue making hand signs to use Water Release Ninjutsu, but suddenly the footsteps became chaotic.

“Did he use Shadow Clone Technique?” Mei Terumī paused for a moment, then continued to make hand signs and gather Water Release.

Since she didn’t know which one was the main body, she would just deal with all the Obitos.

“Found him, over here!” One Obito Shadow Clone was excellent; after only ten seconds of running, he saw Mei Terumī’s figure and immediately shouted loudly.

“Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

Because of what the Obito Shadow Clone said, Mei Terumī determined that it wasn’t the main body. She didn’t choose to retreat but continued to release a Water Dragon to disperse the Obito Shadow Clone.

Immediately after, Mei Terumī wanted to stealth to another location to continue attacking, but every Obito knew that the opportunity was rare and charged towards Mei Terumī’s direction with all their might.

This gave Mei Terumī a headache. She couldn’t determine which one was Obito’s main body, so she didn’t dare to stop.

If they got too close, she could easily be caught by Obito and eliminated.

“Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!”

Mei Terumī wanted to slip away, but too many Obitos were surrounding her. Mei Terumī had no choice but to use Ninjutsu to attack, otherwise Obito would attack her.

The highly corrosive acid of Lava Release was very powerful. The Shadow Clones it touched quickly dissipated, but the returning memories successfully helped Obito pinpoint Mei Terumī’s location.

Obito concentrated his Flame Breathing to the extreme, entering Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, then burst forth with unprecedented speed, charging towards Mei Terumī.

“Blaze Impact!”

Obito, covered in blazing flames, was like a fireball speeding through the mist.

Mei Terumī’s expression changed. Realizing she couldn’t dodge in time, she immediately used Water Release at her fastest speed.

Hiss hiss!!

Water pillars washed over Obito’s body, extinguishing some of his flames, but they couldn’t stop Obito’s forward momentum.

Bang!!

A dull thud sounded, and Mei Terumī flew backward like a broken kite, crashing six meters away.

“It hurts so much. Why can they balance Ninjutsu and physical strength?” Mei Terumī struggled to endure the pain, barely stopping herself from wailing.

She didn’t understand how Obito and Kakashi, these Konoha Ninja, trained.

Did their days have forty-eight hours? Even with various chores, they could train for ten hours of Ninjutsu and then ten hours of physical strength.

Among Ninja of her age in Hidden Mist Village, her Taijutsu wasn’t outstanding, but it wasn’t bad either. However, compared to Kakashi and the others, it was lacking.

As Mei Terumī was unable to maintain the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique, the thick mist rapidly faded, revealing Mei Terumī and Obito’s figures.

“Uchiha Obito wins!” the referee announced after confirming Mei Terumī had lost her ability to fight.

Obito puffed out his chest and looked towards the spectator stands. This time, he hadn’t relied on the overwhelming Fire Release of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode; this time, it was a victory of his intelligent strategy!

“Kakashi, you can’t say I don’t use my brain now, can you?” Obito couldn’t help but laugh loudly, thinking of his brilliant performance in the battle.

“Wait, with such thick mist just now, Kakashi and the others shouldn’t have been able to see either,” Obito’s lingering battle thoughts reminded him of a very serious matter.

Although he had successfully used his wisdom and courage to defeat his opponent in this battle, because Mei Terumī had used Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique to shroud the combat arena throughout, no one could see his battle process.

Obito really wanted to communicate with the Shinobi Sect staff, asking them to let him personally go to the spectator stands and explain the entire battle process and his mental journey to Rin Nohara and Kakashi.

This was a battle where both his element and Bloodline Limit were countered. How could the process of such a meaningful battle go unknown?

But Obito was already walking towards the resting room, and he was walking towards the resting room with the posture of a victor.

How could he turn back like this?

Ultimately, Obito still chose to maintain his cool all the way into the resting room.

“Indeed, a Ninja’s life is never easy,” Obito sighed with emotion.

Turning back would ruin his cool aura, but not turning back meant he couldn’t show off to Rin Nohara and Kakashi immediately.

Shisui looked at Obito with a questioning expression. How did fighting a match lead to an epiphany about life philosophy?

In the spectator stands, Rin Nohara smiled in relief and said, “Although I don’t know the process, seeing Obito slowly walk back to the resting room, it must have been a tough battle.”

“Walking slowly doesn’t necessarily mean he’s tired. Maybe he’s thinking about strange things, like how to make his victory sound even more impressive,” Kakashi thought for a moment and said.

Based on his understanding of Obito, Obito would definitely come to explain the process of his battle with Mei Terumī to them later if he had time.

Listening to Kakashi, Rin Nohara covered her mouth and chuckled, “It feels like you two have a really good relationship. You can guess so much just from a back view.”

“Rin, don’t misunderstand. It’s just that Obito is too silly and easy to read,” Kakashi denied.

…

At 3:20 PM, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament Four Finals were about to begin.

The contestants were already waiting in the resting room for the matches to start.

“It’s finally about to begin,” Might Guy twisted his neck, his eyes filled with fighting spirit as he stared at Nagato.

At the stage of the top four into the top two, the strength of all contestants was basically transparent. Even Might Guy had given his all when he defeated Kakashi.

Among the remaining four opponents, the one who made Might Guy most eager to fight was, of course, Nagato, who was the strongest apart from himself.

At noon, Kakashi had analyzed various pieces of information about Nagato with him in detail.

The terrifyingly immense Chakra within Nagato’s body allowed Nagato to use various Ninjutsu without restraint, and Nagato’s Ninjutsu was also very strong. Even Might Guy in Rock Breathing Chakra Mode dared not withstand it with his bare body.

However, what made Might Guy most wary was Nagato’s ability to control repulsive and attractive forces. These two abilities were also simple, crude, but very powerful.

Might Guy wasn’t sure if he could defeat Nagato, but precisely because of this, he found the battle even more interesting, as exploring the unknown was a very interesting thing.

“Guy, go for it! It’s all up to you,” Obito cheered on Might Guy in his heart.

Currently, three of the Four Finals contestants were Muzuki’s disciples, and among Muzuki’s disciples, Might Guy was currently the strongest. If Might Guy lost, then first place might be out of their reach.

PS: One more chapter to come.