Veigar left the Hokage Residence with the S-rank mission, but there was little anxiety on his face.
It was just an S-rank mission; if it failed, it failed.
There was no way he would try to steal the credit. Only by letting Minato earn this battle achievement could he gain immense prestige.
This was because Veigar had no intention of saving Obito.
Without Obito as the mastermind, how the Fourth Great Ninja War would ignite was unpredictable.
The Third Great Ninja War was no longer Veigar's Konoha. He had set his sights on the future; he wanted to acquire the Chakra Fruit that would appear only in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Swish, swish, swish...
After a brief preparation, Veigar left Konoha.
Hiruzen in the Hokage Residence learned of Veigar's departure immediately.
"I hope everything is still in time."
"But, Veigar..."
If possible, Hiruzen wouldn't want Veigar to undertake this mission, as it was fraught with too many uncertainties.
However, having no other choice, Hiruzen could only assign Veigar this mission.
This was because there was no one more suitable in Konoha Village than Veigar; in terms of both speed and strength, only Veigar had the potential to reach the Kannabi Bridge before it was destroyed, and only Veigar had the possibility of seizing this battle honor from Minato Namikaze.
Hiruzen didn't want any variables in the succession battle for the Fourth Hokage. Jiraiya had used an overt strategy, so he would respond with one as well.
Veigar was the card in his hand.
The only card he could play.
Minato led Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake to the vicinity of the Kannabi Bridge.
"Kakashi, take this."
Kakashi took the Flying Raijin Kunai handed to him by Minato. Sensing that Minato had some operational plan, he asked:
"Sensei, what are you doing?"
Minato turned to glance at Rin and Obito beside him, then said to Kakashi:
"The bridge is currently occupied by Iwa-nin forces, and their supply unit should arrive very soon."
"Now, I'm going to scout the Iwa-nin's movements alone, and I also have a mission for you."
Kakashi also turned to glance at Rin and Obito, then nodded in understanding and replied:
"Yes, Sensei."
Minato smiled brightly and said:
"This mission is very dangerous, so I need you to absolutely protect Rin and Obito."
Obito, who was standing nearby, also reacted, understanding the meaning of Minato's words. If Minato had entrusted the mission to someone else, Obito might have accepted it calmly.
But since that person was Kakashi, Obito Uchiha had objections.
"Sensei, I don't need Kakashi's protection; I can protect myself."
Saying this, Obito confidently raised his head in front of Kakashi.
However, Kakashi didn't look at him but instead gazed at Minato, replying very gravely:
"Yes, please rest assured."
"I will definitely protect them."
Seeing himself ignored, Obito roared at Kakashi:
"Who needs your protection, you bastard Kakashi!"
Kakashi merely slanted his eyes, looked at Obito once, then said calmly:
"I am currently a Special Jonin. While Sensei is temporarily away from the team, I have the right to act as temporary captain and exercise authority."
Kakashi stated a very simple fact in a very calm tone.
"You bastard Kakashi, I won't listen to you!"
"I can protect myself, and I will protect Rin too!"
Obito angrily roared at Kakashi.
"Heh heh~"
"Such boastful words from the Dead Last."
The words "Dead Last" uttered by Kakashi deeply stung Obito's heart.
"I challenge you to a duel, you bastard Kakashi!"
Although Obito knew he was no match for Kakashi, he had to show his masculinity in front of Rin.
He couldn't back down.
Seeing Obito acting aggressively and engaging in their usual quarrel with Kakashi, Minato directly stepped between them.
Minato had already developed his own methods and gained considerable experience in handling the quarrels between Kakashi and Obito.
"Obito, stop fooling around."
"Kakashi, you too."
"We're still on the battlefield. Internal strife will only give the enemy an opportunity."
After hearing Minato's words, Obito, though still unconvinced, obediently quieted down.
Then, Minato spoke to Kakashi again:
"What you're holding now is my specially made Flying Raijin Kunai. No matter how far I am, I will definitely return immediately."
Kakashi nodded very solemnly, then placed the Flying Raijin Kunai into his ninja tool pouch.
"Sensei, I understand."
"I will definitely protect them."
Minato nodded with a mix of worry and reassurance, then said:
"Then I'm off. You three must be careful."
The three watched as Minato left with a whoosh. Only after Minato's figure was out of sight did he turn to Obito and Rin and say:
"Sensei has left. We should also find a place to hide."
Despite agreeing not to quarrel, Obito instinctively resisted Kakashi's command:
"I'm not listening to you!"
Obito's attitude instantly infuriated Kakashi. With a cold face, he said to Obito:
"Dead Last, I'm the squad leader now. Everything is up to me."
"If you want to get Rin killed, then don't listen to me."
Instantly, Obito stared blankly at Kakashi. How important was Rin in his heart? She was his only emotional anchor in this world.
Upon hearing Kakashi bring up Rin's safety, Obito, though defiant, still abandoned his intentions.
Rin's safety superseded everything.
This time, even when Kakashi called him a Dead Last in front of Rin, he didn't flare up at Kakashi.
"You two, stop arguing."
"Our most important task now is to find a safe place and wait for Sensei's return."
Rin's words were like a royal decree to Obito.
In 21st-century terms, Obito was Rin's loyal simp.
"Don't worry, Rin."
"I will definitely find a safe place."
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]