Chapter 38: Chapter 39: A Contest of Speed and Perception
Tobirama was feeling a little frustrated.
If Kakashi wasn't going to participate, then winning first place wouldn't mean anything to him.
What Tobirama wanted was to defeat Kakashi in front of Rin, to avenge the humiliation from before and take first place. Without Kakashi, winning first place wouldn't bring him much joy.
His obsession with taking first in the Chūnin Exam was entirely caused by Kakashi.
Back when Rin was watching, Kakashi had easily taken first place with crushing scores, turning Tobirama's boast of winning into an empty promise.
Tobirama had always remembered this, but he had never had the strength to win until now.
Now that he had the ability to win, he realized his opponent had already backed out, which annoyed him.
"No, I have to make sure Kakashi participates!" The more Tobirama thought about it, the more he felt the competition would be pointless without Kakashi.
"We can go find Kakashi after school and ask him if he plans to participate," Rin suggested.
"I can go with you; it's been a while since we saw Kakashi anyway."
Although the three of them were close, ever since Kakashi graduated, they had seen him less and less. Tobirama and Rin, as students, still went to school every day, while Kakashi, now a ninja, was busy with missions.
"Alright," Tobirama nodded, thinking Rin's idea was good.
After school, Tobirama took the day off from training with Muyu and decided to address the Kakashi issue first. He and Rin went straight to Kakashi's house.
Kakashi's house was not in the downtown area but rather in a suburb nearby. Although the area wasn't as bustling as the city center, it was quieter.
Tobirama and Rin had been to Kakashi's house before, and they had even been invited inside for a meal.
Looking at the flat-roofed house that came into view, they knew they had arrived.
They were lucky—Kakashi wasn't on a mission today. When they arrived, he was in the yard training.
Kakashi was wielding a silver chakra short blade, effortlessly slicing off the head and limbs of a straw target with just a few swift strikes.
Seeing his friends arrive, Kakashi exhaled lightly, sheathed the short blade behind his back, and asked, "What brings you here?"
"We haven't hung out in a while. We missed you, so we came to visit," Rin said with a smile.
Tobirama wasn't as polite as Rin, and asked directly, "Kakashi, the Chūnin Exam is coming up. Are you going to sign up?"
"The Chūnin Exam?" Kakashi thought for a moment, recalling that it was a trivial, civilian competition he'd participated in when he was still in school.
"I'm not interested. I'm not participating," Kakashi replied nonchalantly.
To him, such competitions were just for children. The prize for first place was just a fancy kunai, and he had only participated in the past out of boredom. Now that he was a Chūnin, it seemed even more meaningless.
Tobirama's face fell. Kakashi's refusal had been so decisive.
"Why not? You used to participate," Tobirama asked, unwilling to give up.
He really wanted Kakashi to enter the competition.
"Back then, I was still a student. Now, I'm a Chūnin." Kakashi pointed to the ninja headband on his forehead.
Tobirama sensed that Kakashi was implying something. After all, he was also a student back then, and he still was now...
"So what if you're a Chūnin? There's no age limit," Tobirama continued.
"Do you want me to just say it outright? I have no interest in this children's game?" Kakashi asked, unbothered by Tobirama's persistence.
Tobirama's face flushed with embarrassment. A children's game? This was the Chūnin Exam, not just a game!
"I'll participate. Kakashi, don't tell me you're afraid of losing to me?" Tobirama's words became sharper as his frustration grew.
"Lose to you? Have you ever beaten me?" Kakashi said with a blank expression.
"I... I..." Tobirama's mind raced, but he couldn't recall a single instance where he had won against Kakashi.
Realizing this humiliating fact, Tobirama's face turned even redder.
"Kakashi, don't get cocky. I'm not the same as before," Tobirama said, standing with his hands on his hips to emphasize his new confidence.
Kakashi glanced at him. With his goggles, sportswear, and goofy smile, standing there with his hands on his hips, he looked as foolish as ever.
Kakashi responded honestly, "I didn't notice."
"Damn you, Konoha brat!" Tobirama snapped, trying to hold back his irritation.
"You guys are something else. After all this time, you're still exactly the same," Rin said, covering her mouth to suppress a laugh.
This scene had played out countless times in front of Rin.
Tobirama had always loved challenging Kakashi, but he was the one who ended up losing.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Tobirama suddenly thought of his teacher, Muyu.
"If it were Muyu-sensei, how would he handle this?" Tobirama pondered.
To make him focus more seriously on training, Muyu had made him do extra work every time he was struck by an attack. Though training was hard, doing the extra work was worse, so Tobirama chose to train harder to avoid getting hit.
"Choose the lesser evil..." Tobirama had an idea.
"Kakashi, you said I can't beat you, right? How about a bet?" Tobirama smirked provocatively.
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged, and he replied flatly, "A bet on who gets first place in the competition? You think I'll fall for such a childish challenge?"
Entering such a meaningless competition was far less interesting than reading a book.
"Of course not. You think you're so great, right? How about we test who's better—your perception or my hand speed?" Tobirama suggested.
"If I win, I'll stop asking about the competition, and I'll treat you to ramen five times. If you lose, you just have to sign up for the competition."
Tobirama figured if Kakashi didn't agree, he'd keep bothering him until Kakashi finally gave in to the simpler bet.
Kakashi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "How do we do this?"
Tobirama picked a leaf from a tree next to Kakashi's house and placed it on his palm. "It's simple. I'll switch the leaf between my left and right hands. You just have to guess which hand I'm holding it in. Easy, right?"
Kakashi thought for a moment. He knew Tobirama's hand speed couldn't possibly beat his perception, so he agreed.
He understood Tobirama's personality and knew he might keep bothering him until nightfall. It would be better to settle this quickly with a simple contest, and show him their difference in skill.
Tobirama put his hand speed to the test, rapidly switching the leaf between his hands. He continued for about five minutes before stopping.
"Right hand," Kakashi said, pointing at the hand where he thought the leaf was.
"Seriously? You think I'd lose in something so simple?" Kakashi said, somewhat disappointed.
He had expected Tobirama to be faster, but the leaf hadn't left his sight at all.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Tobirama smiled and asked, "Kakashi, are you sure it's the right hand? You can't change your mind now."
"Trying to trick me? It's the right hand. Open it up," Kakashi said, unaffected by Tobirama's grin. He thought Tobirama was just bluffing.
"Alright, I'll open it." Tobirama slowly opened his right hand.
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