The time for free practice passed quickly.
The Chunin instructor clapped his hands, signaling everyone to stop.
“Alright, now in order, come up and test one by one.
Each person gets five shuriken and five Kunai, for a total of ten throws.”
“Hitting the bullseye counts for two points, hitting the target body counts for one point, and missing the target is zero.”
He pointed to the row of brand-new wooden stake targets at the edge of the training ground.
“The maximum score is twenty points.”
The first one called was Kakashi.
Kakashi quickly took out five shuriken from the distributed Ninja tool pouch.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
The five shuriken flew out almost simultaneously, the sound of them piercing the bullseye ringing out in a continuous stream.
Before everyone could react, Kakashi pulled out a kunai with his left hand.
Another five muffled thuds followed.
All the Ninja tools hit the bullseye.
“Full marks.”
The Chunin instructor wrote down the score on the clipboard, a look of satisfaction on his face.
The White Fang’s son is truly strong.
Thinking of Sakumo Hatake’s heroic figure, the Chunin instructor felt it was only natural for Kakashi to achieve such results.
“Well done, Kakashi.”
Kakashi just nodded slightly and stepped aside.
“Next.”
The Chunin instructor prepared to call out the next name.
“My turn, my turn!”
Obito raised his hand impatiently, almost jumping up.
He was most enthusiastic about things where he could show off.
The Chunin instructor nodded, signaling him to come forward.
Obito puffed out his chest and deliberately glanced in the direction of Rin Nohara, only to find that Rin was turned to the side, seemingly talking to Sosuke.
His heart skipped a beat, but there was no time to think; the test had already begun.
Obito took a deep breath and drew five shuriken.
The first one, a bullseye.
Great!
Obito was delighted and quickened his hand movements.
Unfortunately, the next four attempts were consecutive misses.
Sweat began to form on Obito’s forehead.
The subsequent Kunai throws were no better; of the five Kunai, only two stuck to the target, and the other three missed completely.
The Chunin instructor glanced at the target.
It was one hit on the bullseye and two on the target body.
He wrote down a score on the clipboard.
“Four points.
Obito froze for a moment, then scratched the back of his head and chuckled foolishly.
“That’s only natural; I am from the Uchiha Clan!”
He turned around triumphantly, ready to receive the attention of Rin’s admiring gaze.
Then he saw that Rin was still turned to the side, earnestly talking to Sosuke about something.
She wasn’t looking at him at all.
Obito’s smile froze on his face.
In that instant, he felt as if something he cherished most had been secretly taken away, leaving him with a sense of desolation.
…
In fact, Rin Nohara really hadn’t noticed Obito’s spectacular performance.
She was talking to Sosuke.
“Sosuke, are you interested in Medical Ninjutsu?”
Hearing this question, Sosuke was somewhat surprised and turned his head to look at her.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because Lady Tsunade is very famous.”
Rin Nohara blinked, her tone filled with admiration.
“She is Konoha’s top Medical Ninja.
Since you live with Lady Tsunade, you must have been influenced by her to some extent, right?”
Sosuke rubbed his chin, not answering immediately.
She is top-tier, alright.
I suppose that’s how outsiders view Tsunade.
But as for being influenced…
Sosuke thought not of the image of Tsunade working miracles at a patient’s bedside, but rather the daily routine of Tsunade sprawled on the sofa with her legs propped up, gambling slips and empty sake bottles scattered on the coffee table, occasionally bossing him and Shizune around.
If we’re talking about influence, what he probably learned more of was gambling.
In fact, Sosuke’s gambling skills were quite good.
Perhaps seeing Tsunade’s miserable state of losing in casinos gave him a negative example, or perhaps luck was on his side; regardless, he picked it up quickly, even winning quite a bit once when he played on Tsunade’s behalf.
Of course, he didn’t intend to tell Rin Nohara about that.
Another thought emerged in his mind.
Although Rin Nohara appeared to be a civilian Ninja, she possessed terrifyingly high talent in medical arts.
In the original plot, she had no Bloodline Limit, no secret Ninja scrolls passed down from a clan, and, solely relying on the basic education of the Ninja Academy and training from Konoha Hospital, she later mastered the A-rank Medical Ninjutsu “Mystical Palm Technique”.
How valuable was that?
For comparison, Sakura Haruno studied under Tsunade for a full three years before learning the “Mystical Palm Technique”.
And Sakura herself was already a Ninja evaluated by Tsunade as having “extremely outstanding talent for Chakra control”.
Rin Nohara’s medical talent was only stronger, not weaker.
If Kakashi was an all-around talented player, then Rin Nohara was definitely a specialized talented player in the field of medicine.
The trait “Talented Player” might be dropped from one of these two.
As for the others…
Sosuke glanced over; people like Uchiha Tekka, Asuma Sarutobi, Hyuga One, Hyuga Two, and the like, while decent, were still far from being “talented players”.
Thinking of this, Sosuke spoke up.
“Actually, I am indeed very interested in Medical Ninjutsu.”
Because he was indeed interested.
This thing was a life-saving divine skill; in a crisis, he could even heal himself.
In high-level matches, the ability to recover from injuries was almost a must-have for everyone.
Rin Nohara’s eyes lit up.
“Because every war causes many Ninjas to die.
If possible, I want to save those who are injured on the battlefield.
This is my dream.”
Sosuke spoke.
These words were actually Rin Nohara’s dream, only now spoken through his mouth.
Hearing Sosuke’s words, Rin Nohara felt she had found a kindred spirit.
Even Sosuke’s handsome face looked a few degrees more handsome to her.
Because among the people she knew around her, she was the only one who thought this way, all alone.
Neither Kakashi nor Obito had any intention of this sort, which left Rin Nohara not knowing who to discuss these things with.
Now it seemed, Sosuke actually thought the same way.
In an instant, she felt as if her loneliness had been washed away.
“Then, Sosuke, have you already learned Medical Ninjutsu?”
“I know some.”
Sosuke nodded.
“That’s amazing.”
Rin Nohara exclaimed softly.
You have to know, Medical Ninjutsu is much harder than ordinary Ninjutsu.
“If Rin is interested, we can exchange ideas.”
Sosuke said.
The best way to get close to someone is to start from their interests.
Interacting more with Rin Nohara, as well as helping her understand more knowledge in advance, all had the probability of increasing acquisition of traits.
“That would be great, Sosuke.”
Rin Nohara nodded.
“Next, Sosuke.”
The Chunin instructor’s voice interrupted Rin Nohara.
Sosuke stood up, nodded slightly at her, and then walked towards the testing area.
Obito stood to the side, watching Sosuke pass by him, the sour feeling in his heart growing even stronger.
“Rin, if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.”
Obito said.
Although he didn’t know what exactly Rin and Sosuke were talking about, Obito still had that confidence; at worst, he could just go back and study more.
Backed by a great clan like the Uchiha, Obito actually had many resources.
“No, Obito, you don’t understand.”
Rin Nohara shook her head.
Obito’s expression stiffened.