Chapter 169: The Danger of Ninjas

"Hmph, even Kakashi wants to surpass me in missions. I'll make sure he regrets it," Obito, walking on the path to find the cat, was in a very good mood.

He felt confident he would win because among the five tasks Mutsuki accepted, one was to find a cat and the other was to search for lost items. He was certain he would complete these two tasks first, and then he could easily win by finishing another one.

Against him, who possessed the power of old grandmas and grandpas, Kakashi stood no chance.

With the help of many kind-hearted elderly people, Obito gradually learned the whereabouts of the lost pet cat.

But something unexpected happened. When he arrived at the destination, he actually saw Kakashi, who had already caught the pet cat.

"Why are you here, Kakashi?" Obito asked, puzzled.

"Obviously, I'm here to complete the mission," Kakashi replied calmly.

Obito scratched his head. Of course, he knew Kakashi was here to do the mission. He was wondering why Kakashi arrived before him.

"You got lucky this time. I'll show you the power of the Konoha Mission King later," Obito decided not to waste time with Kakashi and quickly moved on to the next task.

"Let's see about that," Kakashi replied calmly. This time, Obito was bound to lose.

Because Kakashi was now ahead by one task, Obito acted much faster. He didn't want to make big claims and then end up losing.

With the advantage of connections, Obito chose the task of finding lost items.

"Thank you, sir, for your information."

"No need for cookies, thank you, ma'am, for your help."

Obito thanked them all the way to the location of the lost item.

But something unexpected happened. Kakashi was once again faster than him, arriving at the location first and finding the lost item.

"Kakashi, why is it you again?" Obito felt uneasy.

Kakashi had already completed two tasks while he hadn't completed any yet.

"Why can't it be me? Does this task have to be completed by you first?" Kakashi retorted.

Obito had nothing to say. He quickly ran to the next task location.

When he arrived at the garbage cleanup site, he found that the garbage had already been cleaned up by Kakashi's Shadow Clone.

"Darn it, this task is completed too!" Obito felt extremely uneasy. In the first round, he was completely at a disadvantage. Kakashi had already completed three tasks.

"Guy is doing the task of moving things and is about to finish. There's only the task of cleaning up the trap area garbage left. If you go quickly, you might be able to finish before Guy," Mutsuki appeared in time to remind him.

"Thank goodness we have you, Yumi-sensei," Obito thanked Mutsuki and quickly headed towards the trap area.

If he didn't complete any tasks in the first round, the pressure for the second round would be too much. He needed to complete at least four tasks to have a chance of winning; otherwise, it would be difficult. But how did Kakashi and Guy manage to complete so many tasks? They weren't helpless.

The reward for cleaning up garbage in the trap area was much higher than for ordinary D-rank missions because the difficulty was slightly higher. Ignoring triggered traps would be troublesome.

When everyone finished their tasks, Mutsuki announced the completion status of the disciples' tasks.

"Kakashi is currently in the lead with three tasks completed. Guy and Obito are tied with one task each."

"It looks like I'll be the winner this time," Kakashi said calmly, as if he had done something insignificant.

"Don't be too arrogant, Kakashi. We still have tasks to complete. The winner isn't decided yet," Obito refused to give up.

"Yeah, until the last moment, there's still hope for victory!" Guy laughed heartily, giving a thumbs-up.

Seeing the disciples so spirited, Mutsuki smiled and nodded. The speed at which his chakra was increasing was much faster than in class.

After completing five tasks, Kakashi's chakra increase granted him over two hundred. Even a full day of attending classes would only yield around eighty chakra.

Taking on another five tasks, Obito didn't stroll leisurely humming a tune this time. As soon as he received a task, he checked if there were any tasks suited to his strengths.

However, among these five tasks, only one was related to searching, while the others were various manual labor tasks.

But Obito had no choice. Something was better than nothing. After quickly reading through the task descriptions, he dashed off to search.

When Obito finally arrived at the final location after enduring many hardships, he saw the person he least wanted to see.

"Why is it still you, Kakashi!" Obito couldn't hold back. Kakashi had once again completed the task just ahead of him.

"Task completed," Kakashi replied as before.

"Something's wrong, very wrong," Obito sensed that something was amiss.

It could be said that Kakashi leading by coincidence once was lucky, but leading three times in a row was too coincidental. If Kakashi had this ability before, how could he have lost to him three times in a row?

"Finally figured it out?" Kakashi was somewhat surprised. Given Obito's intelligence, he thought Obito would realize the truth a bit later.

"Kakashi, did you buy insider information with money to beat me?" Obito said, looking as though he had seen through everything.

"You've been a ninja for several years, so you must have saved up quite a bit of money. I didn't expect you to go this far," 

Kakashi:...

He really didn't understand Obito's thought process. Shouldn't he suspect being followed? What's the deal with buying insider information with money?

"Why do you think that?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't it like that in novels? The antagonist characters use money to surpass the hardworking protagonists," Obito said matter-of-factly.

Kakashi was speechless. So, in Obito's eyes, he was the antagonist, and Obito himself was the protagonist.

Because Obito's answer was too far-fetched, Kakashi directly said, "There's no insider information in D-rank missions, and no one would spend money to complete them. The reason I was faster than you is because I tracked you and then found the mission target at a faster pace than you."

"What if I don't have intel? Then I'll eavesdrop on others' intel," Kakashi just took advantage of Obito's information and then sent Shadow Clones to do the grunt work tasks to get ahead by so much.

"Tracking? How despicable!" Obito was stunned. He didn't expect Kakashi to be ahead of him for this reason. It was like stealing his labor.

"There's nothing despicable about it. You could track me too if you had the ability," Kakashi taunted.

"Scouting and counter-surveillance are basic skills for ninja. If you could detect me in time, this wouldn't have happened."

"Darn it! If I had Sharingan, I could definitely spot you!" Obito was very unwilling. He recalled his memory of searching for things but didn't notice he was being tracked at all.

"Let's save that talk for when you have Sharingan. The world of ninja is cruel. If the one tracking you is an enemy, guess what fate awaits you," Kakashi said, then turned and left to continue with the mission.

Thanks to Obito, they still had four tasks to complete. Kakashi's words sent Obito's blood pressure soaring. He wished he could have a real-life showdown with Kakashi right away. Being mocked after having victory stolen from him? If his Breathing Technique reached the Constant realm, could he endure this anger?

Obito transformed his anger into motivation and began to swiftly complete tasks. He didn't want to lose too embarrassingly.

In the second round, Kakashi completed two tasks alone, while Guy and Obito each completed one individually and one together.

"Kakashi completed five tasks alone, securing first place. Obito and Guy are tied for second," Mutsuki announced the final results.

"Haha, he truly is my archenemy! Progressing so quickly, completing half the tasks all by himself!" Guy laughed heartily.

Initially, Guy intended to showcase his Taijutsu expertise, so he chose labor-intensive tasks. Unexpectedly, those tasks proved more challenging than anticipated, leaving Guy to complete only two and a half tasks.

"Fortunately, I only surpassed someone who talks big," Kakashi said calmly.

Although names weren't mentioned, it was practically like reciting Obito's internship certificate number.

"I did three more tasks than you yesterday. With those three, I completed five and a half tasks, surpassing you!" Obito chose to dredge up old grievances.

"If we count previous tasks, just my C-rank tasks alone outnumber your D-rank tasks," Kakashi replied calmly.

"Everyone worked hard today. After delivering the tasks, I'll treat you all to dinner at my place," Mutsuki intervened with a gentle smile, putting an end to their dispute.

"Mutsuki-sensei, you won't receive any tasks for now. You've nearly completed all the miscellaneous tasks in just one afternoon, completing ten tasks. Your efficiency is too high," the registering ninja reminded as he delivered the tasks.

"What! No tasks left?" Obito couldn't help but ask. He was still planning on being cautious tomorrow and defeating Kakashi again. Without tasks, how could he redeem himself?

"You're too fast. You've completed twenty tasks in just two days. Some classes can't even do that many tasks in a month," the registering ninja said helplessly.

"D-rank tasks are unavailable. Are there any other tasks available?" Obito couldn't swallow his pride today.

"Forget it. As interns, you can only take D-rank tasks for now," the registering ninja replied.

"Don't underestimate me. Even though I'm still in school, I'm the top of my class at the Academy and have defeated official ninjas," Obito persisted.

"No means no," the registering ninja's tone was firm.

Regardless of whether Obito's words were true or not, he didn't want to break the rules. There was no benefit, and if something went wrong, he'd be the first one in trouble.

"What's going on here?" Hiruzen, who was leaving work, happened to witness the scene. Seeing Mutsuki and Kakashi, he approached and inquired.

"Sarutobi-sama," the registering ninja respectfully addressed him.

"Well, you see, in their team..." The registering ninja quickly briefed Sarutobi Hiruzen on what had happened.

"Twenty tasks in two days," Hiruzen was also surprised.

"In that case..."

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