Chapter 302: Madara’s Understanding of Obito

"Why choose Uchiha Obito? That Uchiha Shisui seems to have better talent," Black Zetsu asked Madara with a puzzled expression in a dimly lit cave.

Shisui was two years younger than Obito but had always been ahead in terms of strength.

"That's because you don't understand the Uchiha," Madara said, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his wrinkled face due to age. "You only see their apparent difference in talent and haven't noticed the love within them. Uchiha Obito is a very special Uchiha. Ordinary Uchiha's love is hidden deep within their hearts, while Uchiha Obito's love is so abundant that it overflows and is given to everyone in need of help. As long as this immense love is awakened, he can gain a corresponding powerful strength."

Madara believes that the Uchiha who awaken their love are the true Uchiha, and the fully realized Obito's talent will definitely not be inferior to Shisui's.

"Moreover, Obito's personality is also easier to train," which is another reason why Madara chose Obito. Someone who believes everything they are told is really easy to manipulate.

"As expected of Madara-sama," Black Zetsu said with a cryptic smile.

Madara paid no attention to Black Zetsu's expression, as Black Zetsu's face was not one that looked capable of smiling properly. He began to discuss his plan with Black Zetsu.

...

"Obito and his team have done very well in their Taijutsu training," Hiruzen commented, observing the situation becoming advantageous for them on the monitor.

This was the first time the Chunin Exams were being jointly hosted with the Hidden Mist Village. Hiruzen paid considerable attention to it. The Hidden Mist Village rarely intervened in the affairs of the four major ninja villages on the continent. If they could make the Mist Village an ally, Konoha would have more leverage to deal with the current chaotic situation.

"They train very seriously. I wasn't as good as them at their age," Minato remarked in the monitoring room.

Obito and Kakashi gave Minato the impression of being both talented and hardworking.

Obito, at a young age, had already awakened the Uchiha Sharingan and reached the level of two Tomoe.

Kakashi was highly proficient in Ninjutsu and possessed extraordinary speed.

Originally, Rin was considered an excellent student, but compared to Obito and Kakashi, she seemed quite ordinary.

"Teaching students who surpass you is a true testament to your teaching skills. This shows that Minato, you have great potential in teaching," Hiruzen said with a smile.

"If we're talking about it, it's also because Mutsuki taught them well," Minato said, shaking his head.

He knew that while Obito's current strength was related to him, it was more closely related to Mutsuki because Obito and his team had demonstrated their ability to work together to defeat Jonin when they were competing for the bell.

"Minato, don't belittle yourself. Obito and the others have praised you quite a bit," Mutsuki said with a smile, engaging in a bit of mutual flattery.

"Don't be modest. Everyone deserves credit," Hiruzen said with a smile, stroking his mustache. When he looked back at the monitors, he noticed an interesting team.

"This Mist Village team is quite bold. Are they trying to attract all the surrounding teams?"

Mutsuki looked at the screen, where Zabuza and Kisame's team was shown. They had found a large open space, piled up many trees, and set them on fire, creating a blazing inferno with thick black smoke rising upwards.

Mutsuki was not particularly surprised. Previously, that Kurosawa had openly revealed his scroll's information, practically asking for trouble, so doing something like this in the Forest of Death was quite normal.

After all, their team's combat power was truly excessive. Besides Kisame with his 7,000 Chakra, Zabuza and Kurosawa were also not to be underestimated, with strength far exceeding that of ordinary Chunin.

Mutsuki could tell that this team was specifically sent by the Mist Village to cause trouble. While Zabuza was relatively young, Kisame and Kurosawa clearly should not be Genin.

"Let Kakashi hold off Kisame, and have Obito deal with Zabuza or Kurosawa. The chances of winning are very high," Mutsuki glanced at the positions of the two teams, noting their likely encounter and briefly analyzed the combat strength of both sides.

In a one-on-one battle, neither Obito nor Kakashi could likely defeat Kisame. Obito's Fire Release is countered by Kisame's Water Release, and Kakashi is somewhat weaker in terms of raw strength. Rin is not a key factor in determining the outcome, and is considered to merely hold off one of the enemies.

In terms of overall team strength, Minato's team is the best in this Chunin Exam. While Guy and Kisame are both very strong, their teammates are not on the same level as them.

Although Obito can defeat Kakashi, their strengths are actually not vastly different, and Rin, who can both heal and fight, is also a valuable asset.

Due to the frequent unexpected events in the original Chunin Exam, the cautious Mutsuki had used his appraisal abilities to check all the students' panels while explaining the exam rules, ensuring that no powerful individuals were disguised as examinees. Therefore, Mutsuki also knew the information of all the students in the field.

Mutsuki continued to watch the screen as a team of Grass Ninja and a team of Konoha Ninja approached Kisame's team one after another.

"Really lucky. It's that team with the Earth Scroll. If we defeat them, we pass the exam," the Grass Ninja team members showed joy upon seeing the team that had previously exposed their scroll information.

Kurosawa showed a look of disappointment upon seeing that the newcomers were only Grass Ninja.

"Just Grass Ninja from a small village? This doesn't prove anything about our strength," Kurosawa sighed.

Hearing this blatant village discrimination, the three Grass Ninja's faces turned angry.

"Bastard, don't underestimate us Grass Ninja Village. We're just lacking some top-tier experts compared to your big ninja villages," the Grass Ninja shouted defiantly as they drew their weapons.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three Grass Ninja threw shuriken at Kurosawa with all their might.

Anticipating their attack, Kurosawa immediately dodged, causing their attacks to miss. At the same time, Kurosawa threw shuriken back at the three in retaliation.

"If this is all you've got, don't blame others for underestimating you," Zabuza said as he drew his long sword from his back and charged at the three Grass Ninja.

Swish!

Zabuza timed his attack perfectly, and one of the panicked Grass Ninja had an arm severed by his strike.

"Yoshimura!" The two surviving teammates screamed in rage upon seeing this.

However, Kisame did not give him much time to worry about his teammates. With a burst of Chakra in his feet, he charged directly at the two.

"What kind of power is this? Is this guy really human?"

As their fists and feet collided, the two Grass Ninja felt Kisame's immense strength and their expressions changed dramatically.

Even though it was one against two, Kisame easily suppressed the two with his Taijutsu, while Kurosawa took the opportunity to stab one of the Grass Ninja with a short blade.

The Grass Ninja with the severed arm obviously couldn't fight Zabuza with just one arm and was quickly killed.

In less than three minutes after encountering Kisame's team, the entire Grass Ninja team was annihilated.

"So strong! Luckily, Ensui, you were cautious and had us observe first," Inuzuka Midori said, astonished at how easily the Mist Ninja team dispatched the Grass Ninja.

"These guys wouldn't be so arrogant if they didn't have some skill. Arrogant people without skill generally don't live long," Nara Ensui said calmly.

Since they were also in the exam, Inuzuka Midori wanted to rush in to grab the scroll, but was stopped by the cautious Nara Ensui.

"Take a detour and retreat. We have plenty of time; it's only the first day. There's no need to rush to gather all the scrolls. We have Naoya's intel, so there's no need to take risks," Nara Ensui decided to lead his team on a detour.

Aburame Naoya had arranged insects in the cabin where the scrolls were collected, so they obtained most of the teams' scroll information.

"Only daring to hide and watch from the shadows? You're even less courageous than those Grass Ninja from earlier. At least they had some guts."

At this moment, Zabuza spoke towards the area where Nara Ensui and his team were hiding.

"Not good, we've been spotted," Nara Ensui said, frowning as he glanced at Kisame and his team's positions.

He noticed that Kisame's team had subtly blocked some of their retreat routes after the battle, which he initially thought was to prevent other teams from arriving. However, given the current situation, it seemed they might have detected them while they were still fighting.

"Retreat!" Nara Ensui immediately alerted his teammates and dashed back.

"If you're here, then don't rush to leave," Kurosawa said as he threw several kunai at Nara Ensui's team and then burst forth with Chakra to chase them.

Kisame and Zabuza quickly closed in to block Nara Ensui's team from escaping.

Nara Ensui was originally slow, and he knew he would be caught eventually, so he decided to stop in a densely wooded area.

"You've already gathered the Heaven and Earth scrolls. You can head directly to the central tower to complete the exam. Fighting us is pointless. Are you sure you want to take risks for something meaningless?" Nara Ensui said solemnly.

He was prepared for a fight, but he would prefer to avoid it if possible, as he didn't have much confidence.

"That's right. Midori isn't to be underestimated. If you keep chasing us, Shiromaru will bite you," Inuzuka Midori added.

"Woof woof!" Shiromaru, the small white dog on Inuzuka Midori's shoulder, barked aggressively.

Aburame Naoya didn't speak but silently released his insects, showing his determination to fight.

"Meaningless? An exam is all about proving that you're better than others. If we defeat all of you, then we are the best," Kurosawa said with a cruel smile.

Nara Ensui's approach would usually be fine, but they were not here to simply take the exam, so they were not in a hurry to complete it.

"Konoha Ninja should be a bit stronger than those Grass Ninja," Zabuza said, pointing his still-bloodied sword at Nara Ensui.

At this point, Nara Ensui knew that avoiding this battle was no longer possible.

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