Chapter 265: Classic Reappearance
"Don't ask me! I really don't know!" Obito blurted out instinctively as he was interrogated in his dream, only to jolt awake a moment later.
To avoid being late again, he had learned his lesson—doing his assignments during the day and training at night. However, he didn't expect those dreadful questions to linger in his mind, tormenting him even in his sleep.
"Don't tell me I overslept till ten again?" Obito muttered, his face tensing. That would mean disaster.
When he glanced at the clock, though, relief washed over him. The hour hand pointed to 8:10. "Hah, still plenty of time!" he sighed in relief.
Then realization struck him. "Wait… the meeting time isn't ten—it's 8:30!"
His eyes widened. He wasn't late yet, but he was dangerously close.
He scrambled into his clothes, brushed his teeth in record time, grabbed a piece of bread, and called out, "Goodbye, Grandma! I'm heading out to train!"
"Be sure to rest, dear," his grandmother said kindly as he ran out the door.
Obito sprinted down the road, chewing on the bread clenched in his teeth. The training ground was far, but if he ran at full speed, he could just make it on time.
As he ran, thoughts of his new teammate popped into his head. Who could it be? But before he could ponder further, his peripheral vision caught an elderly woman sitting on a bench, her face twisted in pain.
He hesitated only for a second before running over. "Grandma, are you feeling alright? Should I take you to the hospital?"
The old woman forced a weak smile. "Oh, I just strained my back. I'll be fine after resting a while."
"How can you say that? You should take your health seriously!" Obito said firmly. "How about I take you home instead? Don't let my size fool you—I'm strong! Carrying you around the village won't take long."
To prove it, he flexed his arm proudly.
"Oh, right! I'm a ninja!" he added quickly, pointing at his forehead protector as proof.
Eager to convince her, he even performed a one-handed handstand before standing tall again. It worked—the old woman chuckled and finally agreed to accept his help.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a puff of smoke, Obito created a clone. This was his brilliant plan to avoid being late while still helping others—the clone could assist people while he continued on his way.
Before he could even speak, the clone had already picked up the old woman gently and started walking toward her home.
Watching them go, Obito grinned. "Guess I shouldn't complain about Senju Tobirama anymore. This jutsu really is useful."
Feeling proud of his plan, Obito resumed running.
As the training ground came into view, he spotted three figures standing ahead—one tall, two shorter. From a distance, he could only make out their hair colors: brown, gold, and white.
The sight of golden hair filled him with warmth and admiration. But the white hair… for some reason, it made his stomach twist with unease.
Still, he didn't slow down. With one final burst of speed, he dashed toward them.
"Huff… huff… I'm not late, right?" Obito panted, bending slightly as he caught his breath.
Kakashi blinked in surprise when he saw him. He hadn't been given a team roster—only told by the Third Hokage that he'd been assigned to a new squad under a new instructor.
Seeing Rin there had already surprised him. Seeing Obito now left him speechless.
"Why are you here? Is your instructor also Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, suspicion lacing his tone. Given Obito's track record, he half-expected the boy to have gone to the wrong training ground.
"Rin… don't tell me the 'surprising teammate' you mentioned yesterday is Kakashi?" Obito asked weakly, his expression twisting in disbelief.
Rin smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes. Surprising, isn't it?"
Obito froze. It felt like fate was mocking him. Not only had Kakashi been his teammate during the internship, but now he was part of his official squad too. Was this karma for something he'd done in a past life?
"There's definitely foul play in the team assignments!" Obito thought bitterly, glaring at the heavens as if someone up there was laughing at his misery.
"Then you're late," Kakashi said flatly, putting the pieces together. "It's already past 8:30."
"I was late because I stopped to help a grandma!" Obito quickly defended himself, not wanting Rin to misunderstand.
Clap!
Minato clapped his hands lightly to draw their attention. "Alright," he said with a gentle smile, "since it was for helping someone and you weren't too late, let's let it go."
"Although you've all met before, let's do introductions properly to get to know each other better. I'll start first."
"My name is Minato Namikaze. I enjoy researching ninjutsu, reading, and trying new dishes from my friends. My dream is to become Hokage and protect the village."
Obito's eyes lit up. That friend must be Mugetsu-sensei, he thought immediately. He'd been too distracted by Kakashi earlier, but now he realized—Minato being his instructor was quite the surprise too.
He'd just said goodbye to Mugetsu-sensei, only to end up with a teacher who looked and acted just like him.
"My name is Rin Nohara," Rin said warmly. "I enjoy gardening and drawing. I hate war, and my dream is to heal those injured in battle and make the world peaceful."
"My name is Obito Uchiha," Obito followed quickly. "I like eating—especially anything Mugetsu-sensei cooks. I hate homework… and war. My dream is to become Hokage and end the war."
Minato gave him a small approving nod.
"I'm Kakashi Hatake," Kakashi said calmly. "If I had to say what I like… right now, it's training. As for my dream—" he paused briefly "—I'd rather not say."
Kakashi's real dream was to protect his comrades, but with Obito standing right there, saying it aloud would sound like confessing, "I want to protect you." He couldn't even imagine that.
"That's basically the same as saying nothing," Obito said flatly, exasperated. The self-introductions had already been short and dull, yet Kakashi still managed to make his sound even emptier.
Kakashi ignored him completely, expression unchanged.
"Now that everyone's introduced themselves," Minato said with a warm smile, taking out two small bells, "let's begin our first training exercise."
"This test focuses on teamwork. If you can take these bells from me together, it'll count as a success."
It was a traditional Jonin training method—something Minato had learned from his predecessors. They all swore by its effectiveness.
Obito tilted his head. "Then why are there only two bells? If there are three of us, does one person passing count for everyone? Or is it only a win for the one who grabs a bell?"
He remembered that during their internship, Mugetsu-sensei had used three bells instead of two.
Minato hesitated for a moment, realizing Obito had a point. "Well… I only have two on me right now," he said at last, smiling awkwardly. "As long as any one of you manages to take one, I'll consider it a pass."
He recalled one of the senior Jonin telling him that the point of this exercise was to emphasize cooperation, not victory. Once he saw the students working together, he could simply feign a mistake and let them win.
"If you can't complete it, the training continues until you do. You may attack me anytime," Minato added as he hung the bells on his belt.
He wasn't sure how strong Rin was, but he had already seen Obito and Kakashi's Taijutsu during their academy days—both were skilled and fast.
Once his explanation was over, Minato sat down under a nearby tree, opened a book, and waited quietly for them to make the first move.
If they fail to take the bells… should I comfort them? Or be stricter? he wondered absently as he read. This was his first time teaching a team, and they were all former disciples of Mugetsu. If he handled it poorly, how would he face that man later?
"Obito, Kakashi, have you two done this kind of training before?" Rin asked, glancing between them. "You both don't seem surprised."
Kakashi was as unreadable as ever, but Rin knew Obito too well—normally he'd be full of questions by now.
As expected, Obito nodded. "Yeah, Mugetsu-sensei made us do the same bell exercise during our internship."
"That's too bad. I wish I'd been chosen back then," Rin said softly. She felt a little left out—being the only one without prior experience made her worry she'd drag the team down.
"It's nothing to worry about," Obito said with an easy smile. "This kind of training is all about teamwork. Experience doesn't really make a difference."
After being taught by Mugetsu for so long, Obito had learned how important information gathering was. And while Mugetsu had always been mysterious, they'd at least known some of his abilities. Minato, however, was a completely new variable.
"The only thing we know is that Captain Minato is extremely strong and uses an incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique," Kakashi said quietly. "We need to collect more intel first."
They had seen Minato's speed before—back on the battlefield. It was so fast that even their eyes couldn't track him.
"First, we'll set traps. Then we'll lure him into them and gather information while fighting," Kakashi suggested.
Against an opponent like Minato, careful preparation was crucial.
"Rin, come with me! I learned a ton about traps from Mugetsu-sensei," Obito said eagerly, clearly proud of himself.
Though he had already proven he could beat Kakashi before, Obito knew tactics weren't his strong point, so he didn't argue with Kakashi's plan.
"Here, here… and over there too," Kakashi said as he joined Obito and Rin in setting traps.
Having learned from Mugetsu's previous lessons, Kakashi even sent out a Shadow Clone to keep watch on Minato's movements. He didn't want to fall victim to Minato using clones to create confusion.
Once everything was ready, the clone reported that Minato hadn't moved an inch. Time for the next step.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito formed hand seals, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a massive fireball nearly three meters tall that roared toward Minato.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Kakashi threw several shuriken from the side, limiting Minato's dodging space.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Minato didn't move. Smiling faintly, he formed his own hand seals and released a powerful Ninjutsu in response.
A blazing torrent of flames burst from his mouth, overpowering Obito's fireball and continuing toward both Obito and Kakashi.
"Fire Release…" Kakashi muttered under his breath, committing the technique to memory as he leapt out of the way.
He gave Obito a sharp look, and Obito immediately understood, nodding as they both retreated toward the trap zone.
Seeing them flee, Minato assumed the students had coordinated their plan and decided to give chase.
Whoosh!
As soon as Minato stepped into the forest, Rin triggered the trap she had hidden, releasing a flurry of shuriken from multiple directions.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Minato exhaled sharply, creating a strong gust of wind that blew away the incoming projectiles.
"He knows Wind Release too," Kakashi noted mentally. Most Jonin typically mastered at least two chakra natures—Minato had just proven he was one of them.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Before Minato could react further, Obito rushed in with a spinning kick.
"Not bad teamwork," Minato said with a smile as he easily sidestepped the attack, catching Obito's leg midair. "But it would've been better if your other teammate joined in."
"Hehe, you'd better be careful, Minato-sensei," Obito grinned despite being caught. "We've got more than that up our sleeves."
Minato chuckled, then tossed Obito toward a nearby tree.
Bang!
The impact exploded into a puff of white smoke—the Obito he'd grabbed was just a Shadow Clone.
"A clone capable of using Fire Release at that level?" Minato thought, momentarily impressed. "They're more skilled than I expected."
But before he could reflect further, the ground beneath him trembled. Kakashi and the others' timing was perfect—two massive wooden pillars suddenly burst from the soil, crashing toward him with incredible force.
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