I am not skilled at fighting.

A group of people, holding their entry passes, filed into the examination building in single file.

The first stage of the exam was set in Lecture Hall 401, which had yet to open its doors. All the genin from the various villages had gathered in the corridor, bustling and crowded, reminiscent of students waiting to take the college entrance exam.

As the host of this event, the Hidden Leaf had not only invited the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist but also neighboring minor villages such as Hot Water, Waterfall, and Grass. Altogether, there were over a hundred participants, making for a lively scene.

Kisame led the Hidden Mist group to the corridor, walking at the forefront. At a glance, he spotted a cluster of ninjas by the classroom door—tall, dark-skinned, and exuding an aura of fierce combativeness. They looked anything but easy to deal with.

They were the genin from the Hidden Cloud Village.

When the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Mist ninjas caught sight of each other, they exchanged hostile looks, and an undercurrent of tension instantly thickened the air. One side was brimming with martial spirit; the other hailed from the Village of the Bloody Mist—neither party was known for having a gentle temperament.

Just then—

“Kisame, big brother!”

A familiar voice called out from the crowd. Kisame followed the sound and found Might Guy, along with his teammates Genma Shiranui and Ebisu. It appeared they had been waiting there for some time.

Kisame nodded in greeting to Guy. After all, the two belonged to different factions, and it was unwise to get too close in this setting.

Among the Leaf Village crowd, he also recognized several familiar faces from the original story: Ibiki Morino, Shiranui’s teammate Tsubaki, Shizune, and others.

Yet, it felt as if someone was missing.

A moment later—

Whoosh.

A figure burst out from the stairwell at such speed that, unable to stop in time, he landed squarely on the corridor floor with a thud.

“Phew, at least I’m not late, hehe.”

The boy sheepishly rubbed his head and grinned foolishly.

Goggles, tracksuit, short black hair.

His name was Obito Uchiha.

“Obito, you really need to be more careful next time.”

A girl hurried after him, crouching beside him with a look of concern as she checked to see if he was hurt.

She had short brown hair and a pair of purple markings on her cheeks, giving her a cute appearance.

Rin Nohara.

Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Kakashi Hatake had been classmates at the ninja academy and, as genin, were assigned to the same squad under the tutelage of Jonin Minato Namikaze.

If one were to sum up their relationship in a single, straightforward sentence, it would be this:

Obito harbored a secret crush on Rin, while Rin liked Kakashi.

Since the era of the three legendary Sannin, Leaf Village genin squads had typically followed the classic configuration of two boys and one girl—hardly surprising that love triangles would naturally arise.

“Kakashi became a chunin early and started ignoring everyone. What’s so great about that? I’m about to become a chunin too; let’s see if he still dares to look down on me.”

Obito, helped to his feet by Rin, kept muttering under his breath. Then, after dusting off his clothes, he did something rather audacious.

“Listen up, all of you!”

Standing with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at everyone present, Obito loudly declared, “I, Obito Uchiha, will take first place in this Chunin Exam!”

He finished with a confident grin.

His personality was uncannily similar to Naruto Uzumaki’s.

Rin stifled a giggle behind her hand, her smile sweet as honey.

The others in the corridor reacted in various ways—some were fired up, some dismissive, others simply regarding Obito as a fool.

“Oh? You say you’ll take first place? Well, I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am not convinced. Dare to have a match with me?”

Kisame suddenly challenged him.

He didn’t like Obito. After all, in his previous life, it was this guy who tricked him into joining the Akatsuki, working like a dog, only to later betray his ideals and turn coat.

Truly a scoundrel among men.

The exam hadn’t started yet, and with nothing better to do, why not toy with this guy a little and vent some frustration?

Obito turned to face him, clenching his fists with renewed confidence. If he dared to boast so publicly, he was prepared to face any challenger at any time.

But before Obito could accept, Might Guy kindly interjected, “Obito! Kisame just defeated Kakashi yesterday—you can’t possibly beat him.”

At these words, the corridor fell silent. Without exception, everyone wore looks of shock.

Regardless of which village they hailed from, all the participants had heard of Kakashi’s genius.

To think that Kakashi had been defeated by a Hidden Mist genin—this was explosive news.

“Is that true?”

Obito’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But he quickly recovered, staring at Kisame with eager anticipation and replying to Guy without looking back:

“So, if I defeat this guy, that means I’m even stronger than Kakashi, right?”

“You could put it that way,” Kisame replied with a slight smile.

“In that case, bring it on! Let me show you what I’m made of!”

Obito immediately struck a fighting stance, beckoning to Kisame with a provocative gesture, full of fighting spirit.

His similarities to Naruto extended beyond personality—even their nicknames matched; both had been called “the dead last.”

Yet, in Obito’s case, playing dead last was relative to a prodigy like Kakashi, combined with his own little flaws—crying, daydreaming, being late, and a tendency to show off.

In truth, among his peers, Obito’s abilities had always been at the top—aside from monsters like Kakashi who had graduated early.

After all, he was an Uchiha, a direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. How could he possibly be weak?

“Hold on.”

As Obito prepared to attack, Kisame made a gesture and took a step back, his demeanor suddenly less aggressive.

“To be honest, I’m not much of a fighter. The only reason I beat Kakashi was because he wasn’t feeling well—I just took advantage of that. You can ask Guy if you don’t believe me.”

Kisame put on a humble face and continued, “Besides, this corridor is too narrow and crowded. If we really started fighting, there wouldn’t be enough space to move. Don’t you agree?”

“So, how do you want to compete?” Obito paused, realizing Kisame had a point. For example, his signature Fireball Jutsu wouldn’t be feasible here.

“How about this,” Kisame suggested, his eyes glinting with mischief, “I have a special skill—my horse stance is incredibly solid. I’ll stand here in horse stance, and if you can push me over, you win.”

“That’s it?” Obito scoffed, thinking Kisame was underestimating him, and immediately rolled up his sleeves. “Fine, let’s do it!”

Most of the other participants thought Kisame was digging his own grave. He might look big and sturdy, but at most he weighed around two hundred pounds.

After all, during training for the Chunin Exams, hadn’t every ninja pushed around boulders weighing several hundred pounds? Who was he trying to fool?

Only Might Guy felt a foreboding sense of doom and silently offered a prayer for Obito.

Because he knew—

Big brother Kisame was about to start tormenting people again.