Obito's grand idea of making money by doing outrageous missions was shattered the very next day.
There were quite a few graduates from Konoha's Ninja Academy in Year 42 of the village calendar, so it was inevitable that Obito would be assigned to a team of three. Luckily, one of them turned out to be Rin—his dream girl. But unluckily…
"…the other one's Kakashi!?" Obito shouted in disbelief.
With a standard genin team formation, Obito's fantasy of taking on high-risk, high-reward missions vanished immediately. Not only were team missions limited by the lowest-ranked member, but a genin team would never be allowed to take on dangerous assignments without their jonin-sensei's approval.
More importantly...
"Isn't Kakashi already a chūnin!? How can they put him on our team?" Obito fumed.
Rin tried to smile gently to defuse the tension. "Obito, don't be like that. Kakashi's our teammate now. If we learn from him, we can catch up and become chūnin too!"
Obito clenched his fists. "I wanted to be on the same team as Fenghuo! Damn it, I'm gonna get Kakashi replaced!"
"Obito, do you even know who our instructor is?" Rin changed the topic, hoping to distract him.
Obito crossed his arms with a huff. "Don't care. Whoever it is, I'm still kicking Kakashi off this team!"
"Hey... who are you trying to kick off again?" Kakashi had appeared quietly, hands in his pockets, head tilted, his infamous dead-fish eyes fixed on Obito.
"Kakashi! You jerk finally showed up! I'm telling you, I don't want to be on the same team as you—just go away!" Obito charged at him, grabbing his collar.
Kakashi sighed, placed a hand on Obito's shoulder, and with a practiced move, shoved him down onto the ground. "You're dead last, Obito. If anyone should leave, it's you."
"Bastard!" Obito's Sharingan flickered into life—still with just one tomoe—but Kakashi didn't even flinch.
"Enough!" Rin marched between them, hands on her hips and fury in her eyes. "Why do you two fight the second you see each other!?"
Suddenly, a calm, cheerful voice came from behind them.
"Well, things certainly seem lively."
The trio turned to see a tall, blond man with bright blue eyes and a warm smile approaching. His presence immediately softened the atmosphere.
"Are you our sensei?" Rin asked with awe in her voice.
"Yes. I'm Minato Namikaze, your new jonin instructor. My dream is to become Hokage someday. I'll be guiding you from now on," he said with a smile. "Now then, how about you three introduce yourselves?"
Before anyone else could speak, Obito raised his hand. "Sensei! I have a request! Can you replace Kakashi with Fenghuo? He's super strong—probably even stronger than Kakashi!"
Minato blinked, then chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, Obito. That's impossible. Fenghuo already has his own team."
Meanwhile...
Across the village, Uchiha Fenghuo was standing stiffly in front of his newly assigned team. Beside him stood Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. Their jonin-sensei? The Legendary Sannin herself.
"Hey, kid, why the long face?" Tsunade grinned.
Fenghuo stared blankly at her. Why her? I'd rather be under Brother Minato…
He forced a smile. "I'm… happy."
"Then show it." Tsunade crossed her arms and leaned in with a smirk.
Fenghuo twitched. Laugh at your sister…
He tried to smile again, but Tsunade scoffed. "That's a horrible smile. You'll never get a girlfriend like that."
Fenghuo's eye twitched.
Kurenai blushed and quickly stepped forward. "Tsunade-sensei, Fenghuo will get a girlfriend!"
The flush on her cheeks deepened, drawing an amused glance from Tsunade. "Oh? Are you going to be his girlfriend?"
"Tsunade-sensei!" Kurenai squeaked in embarrassment, her eyes wide and shimmering.
"Ahh, kids can't take a joke these days." Tsunade backed off with a shrug.
Off to the side, Asuma leaned against a wall, sighing. He might as well be wallpaper.
Tsunade clapped her hands. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Time for introductions!"
Kurenai stepped forward shyly. "My name is Yuhi Kurenai. My dream… is to protect the people I care about."
Crack.
Asuma's heart quietly shattered.
"I'm Uchiha Fenghuo," he said flatly. "My dream is to fly to the sky and stand side-by-side with the moon."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?"
Fenghuo clasped his hands behind his back. "You wouldn't understand even if I explained."
Bonk.
Tsunade's fist landed squarely on his head. "Smartass."
Finally, Asuma spoke. "I'm Asuma Sarutobi. My dream… is to get stronger and protect those important to me."
Tsunade gave a nod. "Good answers—except for you, Fenghuo. Anyway, I hereby declare this team… the Tsunade Unit!"
Fenghuo sighed. I feel tired already.
"Alright, that's it for today. Kurenai, Asuma, you're dismissed. Fenghuo, you stay behind."
As the others left, Tsunade looked at Fenghuo seriously. "Follow me."
"Where are we going?" he asked warily.
"You talk too much. Let's go."
They wandered through Konoha's winding alleys. As they walked, Fenghuo's expression became increasingly uneasy. These streets were far too familiar.
Then they stopped—right in front of a garishly colorful building.
The Big Lucky Casino.
No… No way!
Fenghuo turned on his heel to flee.
"Where do you think you're going?" Tsunade caught him by the collar, her eyes gleaming dangerously.
"Sensei! Stay away from gambling! Life is precious!"
"Keep talking and you won't have a life," she hissed. "Now get in there. Don't worry—if I win, I'll give you 10%."
"What if you lose?"
She gave a shark-like grin. "Then I'll just take it out of your savings."
Fenghuo shivered. "I-I left the stove on at home! I have to—"
"Too late."
Tsunade's monstrous strength erupted as she dragged him into the casino, her chakra-charged grip unbreakable.
Fenghuo's face paled as he was hauled inside, praying silently to every god he could think of.
Why me!?
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