Obito, stay close or you'll fall behind!" Kakashi called out behind him, as their squad paced forwards.
"Yeah, yeah I know, Kakashi! Don't worry I'll protect you!" Obito smirked.
"Guys pay attention, we're the youngest here so we have to be careful!" Rin rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, Rin's right! That's what I was about to say!" the Uchiha boy glanced at his female companion, seeing if he got a reaction. Rin smiled at him, then looked back ahead, seriously.
Kakashi just rolled his eyes nonchalantly, and continued forward. The group had been able to take down many enemy shinobi, mainly due to the efforts of him, which was clear. Obito wanted to prove himself, not just to Rin, and also to the son of the White Fang. He couldn't afford to fall behind, and didn't want to make any mistakes.
However, Obito had a newfound respect for Kakashi and no longer looked at him as some sort of half-enemy. Kakashi had recently been promoted to Jonin, making him yet again the youngest recorded shinobi of a rank. But Obito didn't look at Kakashi with envy or any anger, only determination to get stronger himself and pride.
Minato Sensei… I haven't forgotten what you told me about Kakashi…
—
The night before Minato had left his squad to go fight in the forests, recognised the feud between Kakashi and Obito, and went directly to the young Uchiha to resolve the issue.
"Obito, have you heard of the White Fang?"
"I think I've heard of him. I know something bad happened to him a while ago, but my grandma always said he was a good shinobi. Why, Sensei? "
Minato's expression turned solemn.
"The White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, was a renowned shinobi across the Shinobi world. He is also Kakashi's father." Obito nodded, aware of the fact already, slightly annoyed by the fact that his rival's dad was a world-class shinobi.
"Well, he was assigned a top-secret infiltration mission, an S-rank at that, directly from the Third Hokage, given his rank and expertise. However, on the mission, his squad members had been defeated and he had to make a choice- between his squad members or the mission. What would you have done, Obito?"
"Hm," Obito thought, thinking back to Kakashi and Rin, "I guess I would've saved my squad members. That's the right thing to do, isn't it?"
"You are right, Obito," Minato smiled, before turning serious again, "that's also what Kakashi's father did. However, when he returned, it was discovered that he had abandoned his mission and nasty rumours circulated above him. Of course, some loyal people chose to believe Lord Sakumo, however the majority of the village turned on him. As a result, Kakashi's father attempted Seppuku."
Obito's eyes widened. The last sentence hung in the air for a few moments, the silence sharp and deadly.
Kakashi's dad… tried to commit suicide? Why? He saved his comrades- that's the right thing to do isn't it? What happened to Kakashi during this?
As if reading his thoughts, Minato continued and grimaced.
"Whats worse is that Kakashi returned home to see his father on the brink of death, bleeding out on the floor. If it weren't for Lord Katsuro and Lady Tsunade, Kakashi wouldn't have a father today, and who knows what would've happened to him as a result of that?"
Kakashi… Obito struggled to form his thoughts, I had no idea. I knew something had happened during that time, but you never told us. How did you survive such a terrible event?
Minato looked at Obito's confused, scared, worried expression.
"How, Sensei? Why would anyone turn on a hero, like the White Fang? So what if he abandoned his mission? His comrades' lives were at stake!" Obito couldn't suppress his anger. Fortunately, he and Minato were far enough away from the camp to not be overheard by others, especially Kakashi.
"I'm glad you feel that way, Obito. However, many believe that the village and its missions are more important than the lives of our shinobi. That's how it is. That's why Kakashi is always so strict about you and calls you sloppy, slow, ignorant and all of that."
Obito looked down, thinking of all the times Kakashi made comments about him, but also when he offered advice.
"He doesn't want to see his comrades hurt and he doesn't want to fail his village. He wants to be a shinobi everyone can rely on," Minato looked over to where their camp was situated.
"I think Kakashi just needs a friend who he can rely on too. That friend could be you, Obito." The Uchiha boy looked up at his Sensei.
—
Back to the present…
I won't let anyone down. Not Minato Sensei, not Rin, not Grandma and not Kakashi. I'll become a great shinobi, one that Kakashi and everyone else can rely on!
Suddenly, a large group of Iwa and Kumo shinobi surrounded the three.
"Obito, Rin! LOOK OUT!" Kakashi warned his teammates, as a volley of kunai flew towards them. Fortunately, the three narrowly evaded the attack, and stood back to back, without an opening to escape from the situation.
Why are there so many enemies around us? Just for a group of one Jonin and two recently promoted Chunin? What's going on?
A similar thought passed through the minds of his teammates.
"You three!" an Iwa shinobi called to them, stepping down from a tree branch, seeming to be the leader of the group, "students of the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, Namikaze Minato! Your Sensei's been causing us a lot of problems! So, we're going to take you hostage to get him to stop!"
"That explains why there's so many of them," Obito grimaced, raising his kunai.
"What should we do?" Rin asked nervously.
"We can't turn ourselves to the enemy," Obito stated.
"We can only fight," Kakashi nodded. But, how did they know? They knew exactly who we are and where we are, and the direction they came from… it's weird…but no use pondering that now.
The enemy shinobi laughed, but were quickly silenced as Kakashi disappeared from their view.
"Where did he go?" one of the Iwa shinobi carefully looked around, but he quickly fell to the ground. Behind his body, stood Kakashi, holding the tanto Katsuro had gifted him after becoming a Jonin, the youngest one at that ever recorded. Breaking Minato's record by a number of years.
After his promotion to Jonin, his father Sakumo had stated in a letter that he wanted to gift his own White Chakra Blade Tanto short sabre (which was also the reason behind the name given to Sakumo as the 'White Fang of the Leaf') to Kakashi, as a gift. However, Kakashi declined the offer, saying he was not yet worthy of the weapon his father wielded. He was still not strong enough, and was determined to become a shinobi that could be compared to his father. So instead, Katsuro used his resources to create a valuable short sword, partially made with chakra metal. Even if it wasn't the 'White Fang', such a sword would make many green with envy.
"Well?" Kakashi raised his eyebrow looking at his teammates. The leader of the enemy group growled and they charged at the 3 young shinobi. Without missing a beat, Obito and Rin both flew into action alongside Kakashi. While they were young teens, and completely outnumbered, the three had had their share of battle experiences, and as students of Minato, they were strong enough to take down many shinobi. Obito was also skilled as a young Uchiha, able to use Fire Style Jutsu particularly well, even for a typical Chunin. As an Uchiha, he also had a much higher chakra reserve and stronger, more athletic physical capabilities than most his age, and many Chunin for that matter. He who was the runt of the Uchiha, was beginning to shine through his hard work and dedication.
Rin was a skilled Kunoichi, and was very experienced in Iryo ninjutsu even for her age. Furthermore, she was capable of using strong enough Taijutsu, that she could help her teammates. However, the main factor of the squad being able to fight so well was Kakashi. Not only did he become the youngest Jonin in history, his capability with Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Shunpo and other techniques put him on the stronger end of Jonin in the Leaf village, regardless of his age. His natural ability while being trained by geniuses like Katsuro and Minato meant his battle IQ was well beyond his peers as well.
With all of this, the enemy became surprised as their numbers were cut down quickly by just mere children. But they weren't just mere children. They were students of the Yellow Flash.
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