"...Earth Release, huh? What a troublesome guy!"
Minato Namikaze stared at the circular pit beneath his feet.
In Sage Mode,
his already exceptional sensory abilities were further heightened, allowing him to clearly sense that Kyoichi was fleeing underground.
Unfortunately...
Among the seven chakra natures—Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang—there were two he had yet to master. One of them was Earth Release.
To put it simply, Earth Release was a domain he had never delved into.
Of all the ninjutsu in his arsenal, not a single one belonged to the Earth Release category.
Which meant...
Faced with a situation like this, there was really nothing he could do about Kyoichi's escape.
Even though he could pinpoint Kyoichi's location using the Flying Thunder God technique's seal markers,
the prerequisite for performing the teleportation jutsu was that there needed to be enough space near the marker to accommodate his body.
Otherwise...
he couldn't teleport at all!
Maybe...
When he had some time in the future, he ought to consider developing his affinity for Earth Release.
"Cough cough... Obito?"
The unconscious girl slowly came to under the overflowing, emotional cries of Obito.
She looked around in confusion at the boy in front of her.
"Am I... still alive?"
"Phew! Thank goodness, Rin, you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Do you want some water?"
Obito was staring at her without blinking.
"Obito."
Minato turned toward him,
sighing somewhat helplessly.
"Don't bombard her with so many questions all at once. Let Rin catch her breath. She's a medical ninja—she can examine herself."
"Oh! Right!"
Obito responded a bit sheepishly.
"Idiot,"
Kakashi muttered under his breath from the side.
But given how close he was, both Minato, Rin, and Obito heard it clearly.
"Kakashi! Who are you calling an idiot?!"
Obito shouted, agitated.
"I didn't name names. Please don't take it personally," Kakashi replied blandly.
"You...! Kakashi, you—!"
Obito was at a loss for words, unable to find a suitable comeback.
"All right, Obito, Kakashi—enough,"
Rin spoke up just in time, having finished her self-check and saving Obito from further embarrassment.
"I'm fine. But... can someone tell me what's going on?"
"Rin, you spoil him too much,"
Kakashi muttered again with a slight shake of his head—a line he'd probably said more times than he could count.
"Haha... do I?"
Rin gave a dry laugh, then quickly turned to Minato.
"Sensei, was it you who saved me? Also... what's with your current appearance? You look amazing! I've never seen you like this before. Is it some kind of powerful jutsu?"
By the end,
she was openly staring at Minato in his Sage Mode form with childlike curiosity.
And not just her—
upon hearing the question, Kakashi and Obito also turned their curious gazes toward Minato.
This was their first time seeing him like this. They'd never had the chance before.
"This is Sage Mode,"
Minato explained readily.
"I learned it at Mount Myōboku... Honestly speaking, I'm not very good at it. Due to certain personal limitations, I need quite a bit of time to gather natural energy to form senjutsu chakra...
and during that time, I have to remain completely still.
Also, I can't maintain this state for very long..."
As he spoke,
the orange-red pigmentation around his eyes began to fade,
and his pupils returned to their usual sky-blue color.
He let out a long breath, looking visibly exhausted.
"Come to think of it,
it's all thanks to that Iwa-nin named Koeda Kyoichi being so overconfident in his hardening technique—he ended up stalling long enough for me to finish gathering natural energy.
Otherwise... I might not have had the chance to use Sage Mode at all.
Of course, his hardening technique really was impressive.
Even Sage Art: Rasengan wasn't enough to completely break through his defense...
Good thing I didn't aim for his neck, back, or other vital spots. Otherwise..."
Otherwise,
he might not have been able to kill Kyoichi,
and could've missed the opportunity to rescue Rin.
"Was that guy... really that strong?"
Obito muttered, hearing Minato's rare praise of an enemy.
"Of course he was," Kakashi replied flatly. "Anyone who can walk away unscathed after fighting Sensei... how could they not be?"
As he spoke, he unconsciously pressed against the bandaged wound on his body.
The pain flared immediately.
If it hadn't been for Minato's timely intervention, he might've been killed by that Iwa-nin—
not just lightly injured.
Granted, a large part of the reason was because of a flaw in the newly-developed Chidori,
but the fact that Kyoichi had noticed and exploited that flaw so quickly...
That alone proved he was a formidable opponent.
Not to mention the fact that he managed to capture Rin right under their teacher's nose.
Even if Rin had been rescued in the end,
Kyoichi had still escaped completely unharmed.
With skill like that...
If that didn't count as "strong," then the bar for "strong" was way too high.
"...Fair enough."
For once,
Obito didn't argue with "Kakashi."
Instead, he silently accepted his judgment.
Looking at Rin—still pale and bruised around the neck—Obito felt a tightness in his chest,
as if his heart were being squeezed in a vice.
The pain drowned out any desire to bicker with Kakashi.
All he could feel now was regret—regret at his own weakness and helplessness.
A moment ago,
he hadn't been able to do anything at all.
If Sensei hadn't been there...
Rin might've...
Just the thought of that terrifying possibility made Obito feel like he couldn't breathe.
His heart clenched, and even his eyes began to sting.
"Ah! Obito, your... your eyes—!"
Rin gasped in surprise.
Minato and Kakashi both turned at the sound of her voice.
"Hmm?"
"Huh?"
Their reactions were nearly identical.
"Haha..."
Minato laughed, walking over and clapping Obito on the shoulder.
"Impressive! Your first awakening and you've already got two tomoe in each eye.
As far as I know, among the Uchiha clan in recent years, the only one who awakened their Sharingan like that was a kid named Shisui."
He'd learned that from Kushina in casual conversation,
who in turn had heard it from her friend, Uchiha Mikoto.
"Double tomoe..."
Obito blinked.
Indeed—
his vision had changed.
He could now see a glow of chakra radiating from Minato, Kakashi, and Rin.
Something he'd never been able to see before.
At that moment,
Rin, smiling brightly, reached into her pouch and pulled out a small mirror,
which she held up in front of him.
And then—
The goggle-wearing boy saw them:
those crimson eyes reflected in the glass,
each bearing two whirling tomoe.