Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

As soon as Minato's voice fell, Obito's black eyes transformed into three-tomoe Sharingan, and he threw the marked kunai with a simple yet powerful motion, sending it flying in a straight line toward the target tree.

The kunai turned into a black streak as it shot toward the tree, while Obito remained standing in place.

Shisui had no time to watch Obito. His figure disappeared from the spot, reappearing 200 meters away a second later. After a brief pause, he vanished again.

Using his Sharingan to track the kunai's trajectory, Obito also had enough focus to observe Shisui's movements. He noticed that Shisui had already covered several hundred meters in an instant but remained unfazed.

The kunai's speed was faster than Shisui's movement. However, as it reached 400 meters, its strength and velocity began to wane.

A smirk appeared on Obito's lips. In a flash, he disappeared, reappearing mid-air above the flying kunai.

At that moment, Shisui emerged again, having used his second Body Flicker technique, his feet landing on the ground. He was now neck and neck with Obito.

Screech…!

Shisui's eyes turned into Sharingan as well.

In the brief moment when their paths crossed, the Sharingan of both Shisui and Obito met.

A glint of surprise flashed in Shisui's crimson Sharingan.

It's really the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique!

Obito's confident smile reflected in Shisui's eyes. Mid-air, Obito swung his arm, throwing a second marked kunai toward the tree. Before he even hit the ground, he disappeared once again.

"Well…" Shisui sighed with a wry smile and used the Body Flicker Technique again. However, he already knew he had lost.

Thunk!

The marked kunai embedded itself in the tree trunk, and a figure appeared beside it—it was Obito.

Because he wasn't yet skilled at throwing the marked kunai while airborne, when Obito performed his second Flying Thunder God teleportation, he lost his balance, leaning too far forward.

And then…

Thud!

Despite having the Sharingan, Obito smashed headfirst into the tree trunk with a loud crash, letting out a scream before falling to the ground in a clumsy heap.

Shisui, who had stopped about 70 to 80 meters away from the tree, looked at the scene with a helpless smile.

Although Obito's posture upon reaching the finish line was anything but graceful, he had indeed touched the tree first, winning the speed competition.

Of course, he had used his head to touch the tree.

Before the match, Shisui had never considered the possibility of losing to Obito. Now, though, he felt a little unsatisfied. He hadn't taken the match too seriously, believing there was no real comparison.

But since it was a competition, he had not held back and had given it his all—and yet, he still lost.

The spectators watching from the side were wide-eyed with disbelief at the scene.

Young Sasuke, too small to fully grasp what had just happened, tilted his head, his little mind unable to comprehend.

Izumi Uchiha stood frozen in shock. It was the first time she had seen such a fast movement technique. Unfamiliar with the Flying Thunder God Technique, she assumed Obito had simply used an advanced Body Flicker.

Even Itachi, known for his maturity, couldn't hide his surprise. His black eyes widened, and his slightly open mouth forgot to close.

Itachi rarely showed such expressions, but this scene had truly stunned him.

Obito had not only mastered the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique but had also won a speed competition against Shisui.

Rin watched with a smile. That figure sitting by the tree, clutching his head and making a fuss, had truly grown stronger. He had mastered Minato-sensei's Flying Thunder God Technique and achieved this level of skill, though there were still a few flaws.

"Well done, Obito," Minato said softly, his gaze filled with approval.

The proper way to use the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't to track the kunai's trajectory with the naked eye but to sense its position. This allowed the kunai to be thrown to various locations for seamless and precise teleportation during combat.

Dynamic vision was critical immediately after teleportation, allowing the user to quickly process their surroundings.

Obito's crash into the tree during his second teleportation happened because he wasn't yet proficient in the technique. He also hadn't fully utilized the predictive capabilities of his Sharingan.

Even so, Obito's performance relied on his Sharingan to track the kunai's trajectory and determine the timing of his teleportation, it was an impressive display of skill.

In Minato's eyes, Obito had done very well. Given more time, mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique wouldn't be an issue.

When he began teaching Obito, Minato hadn't expected him to have the potential for such a technique. Obito's sharp spatial awareness, combined with the excellent dynamic vision of the Sharingan, made him a natural fit.

"Once Obito has fully mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, I can teach him the Rasengan to pair with it," Minato thought silently. He had already started grooming Obito as a future Hokage candidate.

Sitting on the ground, Obito clutched the swelling lump on his head, hissing in pain.

Shisui walked up to him, smiling as he extended a hand.

Obito looked up, flashed a wide, triumphant grin, and grabbed Shisui's hand, letting him pull him to his feet.

"How was that? That's the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Obito said proudly.

"Hmm…" Shisui scratched his temple and said earnestly, "It's very impressive."

"Haha, of course it is!" Obito laughed with unabashed pride.

Shisui added, "As expected of the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu."

Obito's proud smile instantly froze. So, the "amazing" part was referring to that?

Noticing Obito's expression, Shisui smirked slightly, then said seriously, "Obito, I lost."

Hearing Shisui's earnest words, Obito's deflated smile reappeared on his face.

At this moment, Minato and the others walked over.

Seeing them, Obito raised a finger, adjusted his goggles, and said confidently, "Did you see how cool I looked?"

The group exchanged glances. After a brief pause, Sasuke piped up, staring at the large bump on Obito's head. "That's a big bump."

Hearing Sasuke's remark, there was a moment of silence before the group erupted into laughter.

"Obito, let me heal you," Rin said, stepping forward.

Obito, now embarrassed, shot Sasuke a glare before bending over to let Rin treat the lump on his head.

Rin extended her hands above the bump, a gentle green light radiating from her palms.

As time passed, everyone was slowly changing. Even the differences in height were becoming more apparent with age.

Rin quickly healed the swelling on Obito's head.

With the bump gone, Obito was back to his usual self. He turned to Itachi and said smugly, "Itachi, I'm amazing, right?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes, very impressive."

"Heh, I'm a man destined to become Hokage. This is nothing!" Obito declared with a triumphant grin.

Itachi's eyes flashed briefly, and he smiled without replying.

"Now you can call me Obito-senpai, right?" Obito said, looking at Itachi with anticipation.

Seeing Obito's expectant expression, Itachi smiled slightly and granted his wish. "Obito-senpai."

In that moment, Obito closed his eyes in satisfaction. He had waited a long time for this day.

Itachi, though young, had already shown extraordinary talent and would undoubtedly become a powerful ninja in the future. Obito felt that establishing his status before Itachi fully matured was a smart move.

"Obito, your Flying Thunder God Technique still needs practice. You should train more regularly," Minato reminded after letting Obito bask in his moment of glory.

"Got it." Obito made an OK gesture but then said wistfully, "If only Kakashi and Kushina-sensei were here too."

Minato didn't know what to say to that. Teaching you the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't meant for showing off, you know.

At the mention of Kushina, Rin suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I need to find Kushina-sensei!"

She quickly ran off in a particular direction, waving goodbye to everyone. "See you all later!"

"Alright," the group responded.

As they watched Rin leave, Shisui said, "We're heading to the Dango shop now." He then looked at Minato and Obito with a smile. "Care to join us?"

Obito's eyes lit up, just about to speak, but Minato declined politely first. "You go ahead. Obito and I have something to do."

"Alright then," Shisui said, not pressing the matter. He and the rest of the group left.

After Shisui and the others were out of sight, Obito turned to Minato with a puzzled look.

"Alright, let's start training," Minato said with a smile.

Obito's eyes brightened. "No need to deal with official duties?"

He had always wanted Minato to make time to train with him but understood how busy he was.

Minato smiled. "It's all taken care of." After a brief pause, he said seriously, "Obito, you need to work harder. Kakashi and Guy are advancing quickly."

"Of course!"

Obito replied without hesitation.

He knew well how hard Kakashi and Guy were working, and now Rin too.

There was no way he could fall behind!

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Currently on Chapter 424 - Shisui's Plan