Rewind

Kakashi entered the hospital room a few hours later. Obito was lying on his side, clearly upset. Rin and Minato were sitting in their respective chairs, both looking worried as well.  

"Kakashi," Rin looked at him with concern. "It's all my fault." She lowered her head.  

"It wasn't," Kakashi shrugged it off. Apparently, something Obito didn’t like had been said, or maybe there had been a conversation about it, because Obito sat up pretty quickly.  

"So you're saying it's all my fault?!" he asked angrily.  

"I didn’t," Kakashi replied coldly, before sighing. "It's no one's fault. You've been paired with this guy. It wasn’t your fault. However, things are not looking good for your arm. What did the doctors say?" he asked, looking at Minato.

"He can't take part in the last round of the Chunin Exams," Minato explained.

"Which isn't fair! That guy should have been excluded from them as well!" Obito growled.

"He said he was sorry and thought you were a clone, an impostor. The Hokage already told you it was an honest mistake," Minato tried to calm him down.

"How is breaking your teammate's arm a mistake?!" Obito yelled in response.

"It wasn't," Kakashi observed. "Either he’s someone who shouldn’t have left the academy, or not being able to recognize a clone from a real person isn’t something that can justify certain actions, Sensei." Kakashi expressed, to which Minato sighed.

"Guys, I understand your frustration, but please... don’t make it harder to understand. It was an honest mistake, whether he could or could not identify a clone," Minato got up from his chair. "I’m going to get you pulled out of the exams. You can do them again next year." The blonde Hokage walked out of the room.

"This isn't fair!" Obito yelled out. "I've been training to do the Rasengan for weeks! It was for this exact purpose! And I can't even participate in them."

"Obito..." Rin whispered, saddened by it. Now she didn’t feel like she should have participated in the exams. "If it makes you feel better, then... I'm going to leave the exams too. So we can do them together next year," she suggested.

"Really?!" Obito asked. "You'd do that?"

"Of course!" Rin agreed. "After all, I don't think my jutsu is ready either. I can use the extra time for training."

"That is so stupid," Kakashi commented.

"It is not! I just want to help out Obito," Rin corrected him.

"No. I mean this whole ordeal is stupid. I doubt you need a hand to work with for the exams, Obito," Kakashi corrected his words.

"I do need two hands! How can I perform hand signs with one hand?" Obito asked.

"The Rasengan doesn't need two hands," Kakashi pointed out.

"But I do for a clone!" Obito argued back. Kakashi sighed. Guess he wasn’t going to let Obito understand.

The exams were in three days, and Obito seemed resigned to the idea. Even Rin had pulled herself out of the exams as well. Now, they were all at Kakashi’s house for dinner. Obito was struggling to move around with one hand but was getting the hang of it, finally laughing over something Rin said.

"Kakashi-brat," Kurama called Kakashi over. "Ask the Uchiha brat if he's serious about these exams."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, turning toward the Kyuubi.

"Ask him if he's serious about becoming a Chunin. If it matters to him," Kurama rumbled, moving his tails.

"Obito, the Kyuubi asks you if you're serious about these exams. If you truly want to win," Kakashi said, looking at his teammate.

"Of course I do! I want to become a Chunin!" Obito passionately claimed, as Kakashi looked at the Kyuubi, waiting for his comment.

"Why?" Kakashi asked his teammate. Obito looked down at his plate, his expression darkening.

"I'm the black sheep of my clan. No matter what I do, you are always in front of me. Catching up to you and finally beating you will prove that I'm not a loser! I can prove to anyone that I'm not weak, and I don't need my Sharingan to be strong. I... just want to be more than just a loser without the Sharingan," Obito explained. "And when I do become Chunin, then I'll be a step closer to becoming Hokage. People will acknowledge me for who I am."

"Enough for me. Tell him." Kurama’s voice nearly startled Kakashi. "We can fix his arm and let him participate. But he has to win in return."

"Wait. Really?" The silver-haired kid asked. "How?"

"It's one of my abilities. Since my chakra runs through your chakra coils, when you get wounded, you get healed. But if you handle it to someone else, it can accelerate their healing. It won't heal him instantly, but in three days, he can take part in the exams."

"Didn't Minato pull him out of there?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but he can also put him back into the list. Even if his arm isn't healed, it's up to Obito," Kurama said, standing up.

"Hey, Obito. The kyuubi suggest we heal your arm. It won't get fixed instantly but in three days it should get better" Kakashi voiced out.

"Really?! He'd do that?!" Obito asked surprised dropping his spoon on the ground.

"Yes. But with the condition you win this round too and become chunin"

"Why? What will he do if I don't?" Obito asked.

"I'll kill him myself and make sure he's dead" Kurama commented. A comment that Kakashi just shrugged.

"Please! I'll win this match! I promise you!" Obito got his face into Kakashi's stomach.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kakashi asked, pulling his face away.

"Isn't he like in your stomach? I am thanking him!"

"He's not there! And he can hear you fine without your face into me!" Kakashi growled, blushing. 

It was weird to hear Kurama and Rin laugh and the antics of the two.

"So? How will you do it?" Obito asked.

"Right question" Kakashi looked at Kurama. He simply let out a bit of his chakra. Kakashi's hand quickly was surrounded by the red chakra. Kakashi moved on instinct. He placed his hand on Obito's arm, surrounding it with the kyuubi's chakra. Obiyo had noticed how his body reacted to it. The feeling was warm, the arm was itching, but he could also sense blood running into it like something was injected into it. 

"Keep it down for a little while and don't overdo the next days" Kakashi told him

"Got it!" Obito smiled, anxious to return to training.

Minato didn't argue much when Obito and Rin asked to be re-enrolled into the exams, and their academy friends kept showing up, worried about Obito's arm. Surprisingly, the same guy who had broken it showed up.

"So you're back into the exams," he smirked at Obito.

"What do you want?" Obito asked, anger building up inside him.

"Just a reminder to be careful. When we meet, I won't go easy on you. Your arm won't be the only one to be destroyed," he said, turning around and leaving.

"Who is that guy?" Kakashi asked, curious.

"After you left the academy, he got transferred here. From what I know, his family is from the Mist," Gai explained.

"The Mist?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "But in my opinion, he's nothing but a baboon. He thinks he's better than any of us, and he always targeted Obito because he didn't have his Sharingan yet."

"And because of his crush on Rin," Asuma whispered. "Rin isn't into that guy, and she was always close to Obito, so you know, there’s a lot of drama surrounding them."

"Then I was right. He didn’t break Obito's arm by mistake. He did it on purpose," Kakashi observed.

"That's what I was trying to tell Sensei!" Obito yelled into the sky.

"Stop yelling!" Kakashi growled at him. "He doesn't look that strong to me. If I were to compare the two of you... you have more potential." Kakashi crossed his arms, leaning against the tree behind him.

"Really?" Obito asked, surprised. "You think I'm better than him?"

"Don't get your head in the clouds. For now, you aren't anything special. We still have lots of training to do before the exams."

"I'm fine with it!" Obito chirped happily. "Besides! I made a promise! I'll become a Chunin this time!"

Kakashi doubted it. He highly doubted it. Obito was too quick to overrate himself and lose because he underestimated his enemies. But he was getting better. He had finally managed to create a better Rasengan, even though it still required a lot of chakra from him. Rin was also improving in her new jutsu. Her Waterfall technique, however, lasted too briefly, indicating that she was using too much chakra.

"Rin. Try to use less chakra for the Waterfall. It will get weaker, but remember this is a start. If you keep this up, you won’t have enough chakra for the exams. Obito, you're trying to make the Rasengan too big. Try lowering your chakra as well. It will be a smaller version of the Rasengan, but if you concentrate the small version, the damage will be greater. We can improve your techniques later on, but for now, focus on not wasting chakra."

"Understood!" Both kids nodded and proceeded with the training.

It was this same advice that allowed the two of them to defeat enemy after enemy. Rin even managed to defeat Kurenai and her illusions. Guess she didn’t need training in Genjutsu after all.

It seemed that Kurama was also watching the fights because Kakashi could feel his emotions in his body. Even though he tried not to show it, the enjoyment the Kyuubi was feeling rebounded in every cell of his body.

Unfortunately, Rin lost to Asuma. She had tried to use her Waterfall technique, but it failed. She was still used to expending too much chakra, and since after five rounds she had already exhausted it, she felt lost and ultimately unable to defeat her former classmate.

Obito, on the other hand, was doing well, far beyond anyone’s expectations. He didn’t get distracted by Rin’s cheering, nor did he pay much attention to the crowd’s applause. He was completely focused, and it seemed the Kyuubi was too. Kakashi smiled under his mask when Obito managed to defeat Asuma. For once, Obito was using his head instead of his emotions, and Kakashi had to wonder if that was because of what he had promised.

"Seems to me that you've done a great job, Kakashi. You became a good friend to him." Minato congratulated the young Hatake.

"You got it wrong, sensei. We aren’t friends. I just didn’t want to stay in a team of losers," Kakashi shrugged it off. He wouldn’t consider himself friends with Obito, but their relationship was definitely changing.

"Uchiha Obito vs Aoi Kiri," the announcer called out as Kakashi watched the battlefield. He hadn’t even realized Aoi had defeated Gai, and Gai had been taking it seriously.

"Since I lost, I’m going to run 700 laps around the training grounds! And if I can’t do that, I’ll do 800!" Gai roared as he dashed away. Kakashi shook his head, refocusing on the match.

At first, the two exchanged some kunai slashes before moving on to their respective elements—Fire Release and Water Release. A mismatch. A clear mismatch. Obito wasn’t considered someone that powerful, and despite the training he had received, the elemental disparity and differences in power were strongly felt in the battle. Obito’s fireballs were continually extinguished by Aoi’s water, and it seemed like Obito was getting nowhere. Weaponry seemed useless, and jutsus even more so.

"I think this fight is too one-sided," Kakashi observed.

"Give him faith! He can do this!" Rin stood up for their teammate. "He really wants to win."

"Wanting something is not the same as getting it. They're on different levels, and his chakra is Water Release. It’s the opposite of Obito’s," Kakashi looked at Rin. "There isn’t much to say." He returned his gaze to the fight.

He had to give Obito credit for endurance, though, because the Uchiha kept trying. Despite the direct hits from Aoi, despite the loss of chakra, Obito kept pushing forward.

Kakashi realized Obito had lost when Aoi launched a powerful water jet toward the Uchiha’s injured arm. The healing process hadn’t fully completed; Obito could move it, but he couldn’t use it to its full potential. It seemed the battle was over when Obito fell and didn’t get back up.

Silence fell over the battlefield. Probably everyone was expecting Obito to rise, or maybe it was the shock of how long the match had lasted. 

"Told you," Kakashi muttered, closing his eyes.

Rin looked at their friend before clenching her fists in determination.

"Obito!" she yelled through the silence. "You made a promise! An Hokage always keeps their promises! Get up!" she shouted. She wasn’t the only one cheering for him. A lot of people joined in the chanting for the Uchiha boy, probably caught up in the excitement of the fight.

Kakashi looked at Obito, his expression softening for a moment.

"Get up," he whispered. "Don’t let him win."

"Get up, brat! Or ill kill you!" Kurama roared in his mind surprising Kakashi. He knew the kyuubi was rooting for the uchiha but to this point? It was hilarious. 

Obito moved slightly. He forced himself to move.

"Still standing?" Aoi asked taunting "then show me what you got!" He drew his sword out. Obito finally, finally managed to get up silencing the crowd.

"Rin is right" he looked at his arm "a good friend of my team...he healed my arm so I could win this fight. I promised I'd become chunin. I'm not losing to you" he cleaned some blood off his mouth. The pain was unbearable but adrenaline was stronger. 

Maybe that was what allowed him to move his broken arm—to make a clone. The two Obitos started running toward Aoi, the real one extending his good arm, while the clone used his other hand to form a small Rasengan on his palm.

"I'll become Hokage one day!" he yelled at Aoi as the clone vanished. "And to become that, I have to go past you! Rasengan!"

Aoi smirked. The Rasengan was way too small to do any damage to him. He could just use his chakra-deflecting sword to block it. Or at least, that’s what he hoped to do.

Obito’s Rasengan faltered slightly before flames erupted. The blue chakra shifted to red, growing much larger.

"Aoi! I’m Uchiha Obito, so don’t ever mock me!" he screamed, smashing his Rasengan against the opponent’s sword. The force of the impact shattered the sword and drove the Rasengan into Aoi’s chest. The shockwave was so powerful that Aoi was thrown from the battlefield, passing out instantly. Flames erupted around them, forcing the Jonin to intervene.

Obito stumbled a few times before finally collapsing in the middle of the battlefield, passing out from exhaustion.