10:04 a.m.
Kuroya and Rin sat on a rock, basking in the sun.
"Whew~~ so full."
Rin rubbed her stomach, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"You sure ate a lot." Kuroya gave her a sidelong glance while packing away the lunchboxes.
"Ah? That…" Rin's face flushed red in embarrassment.
She'd promised to only eat a little bit, but had ended up finishing three lunchboxes on her own.
"Right, why did you even bring food with you?" Rin quickly changed the subject.
"I cooked but didn't have time to eat, so I brought it along." Kuroya shrugged.
"They're back."
Rin nudged him with her elbow as a reminder.
In the distance, three figures were walking toward them.
The difference was obvious—Obito and Kakashi were both slumping in defeat, while Minato looked calm as ever.
Clearly, the bell test had failed.
"Kakashi, it's all your fault! If you'd held on a little longer, I could've snatched it!" Obito complained loudly, still trying to shift blame.
"Idiot." Kakashi spat the word out, exhausted.
He had been the one fighting the whole time. What had Obito done?
The only thing that fool had contributed was charging at their teacher without thought when he was already running out of stamina.
Not even trying to disguise it.
Like hell they were going to succeed like that.
At least Kuroya and Rin had the self-awareness to sit on a rock all morning instead of charging in pointlessly.
"Sigh, I was so close to getting it." Obito broke away from Kakashi and flopped down beside Kuroya and Rin, sighing dramatically.
"No worries, failure is the mother of success!" Kuroya comforted.
"Next time, just give it your all," Rin encouraged.
Hearing that, Obito instantly perked up.
See? That was how real teammates acted. Not like that dead-fish-eyed Kakashi.
In the center of the field—
Minato announced their failure.
Then, with a magician's flourish, he produced a lunchbox.
"Huh? Sensei brought food too?" Rin muttered under her breath.
No wonder.
No wonder both their teacher and Kuroya had shown up late—they'd both brought their own breakfast!
"Since you failed, for lunch today, the four of you will share one lunchbox!"
His tone serious, Minato swept his gaze across them.
"As for who gets to eat it—you decide among yourselves."
He placed the lunchbox on a rock, then—
Poof!
With the Body Flicker Jutsu, he vanished without a trace.
The atmosphere among the four grew tense.
Obito looked at the lunchbox, swallowed, then glanced between his teammates.
Of course, he didn't look at Kakashi. His gaze flickered between Kuroya and Rin.
After all, those three were the real teammates.
Kakashi, drained of energy, only cast one brief look at the food before his stomach growled loudly.
As for Kuroya and Rin—
They exchanged a knowing glance.
"I give up the lunchbox."
"Me too!"
Hearing their words, Obito was struck by a wave of warmth.
Now these were true comrades!
Even Kakashi, beneath his mask, looked faintly surprised.
"Because my stamina's drained, they're giving up their share for me?" For the first time, he felt a flicker of emotion.
Up in a tree nearby—
Minato, hidden in the branches, smiled.
"Who would've thought? I was certain this test was a failure, but there's an unexpected result."
"Giving up food for one another—that's also a form of teamwork."
He decided to keep watching to see who would actually eat the lone lunchbox.
One portion, two people who clearly needed it—how would they split it?
Perhaps because of Kuroya and Rin's withdrawal, both Obito and Kakashi turned to look at them again, as if seeking their judgment.
Rin couldn't think of any good solution.
So she turned to Kuroya.
And suddenly, Kuroya realized… all three teammates were staring at him?
"Ahem."
Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, he cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"It's simple. You each get one."
Each… gets one?
But there was only one lunchbox.
Just as Rin opened her mouth to correct him—
Kuroya reached into his clothes and pulled out another lunchbox.
Rin: __
Obito: "You were hiding another one?!"
Kakashi: "Heh."
Minato, from the tree: "..."
Sometimes, explanations were necessary.
Like now.
"I actually prepared breakfast for five."
"Our Team has four people, plus Sensei."
"But Rin already ate three portions earlier, so there's only one left."
At his words, Rin's face turned bright red. She wanted to use Earth Style to dig a hole and bury herself.
Too bad she didn't know Earth Style.
The good news was—Obito and Kakashi each got one portion.
Crisis averted, problem solved.
"This Kuroya… truly full of surprises."
From the tree, Minato rubbed his forehead. He didn't even know how to label this so-called dead last.
Punish Kuroya for breaking the rules?
But technically, he'd made sure everyone had food.
It was just that Rin had eaten most of it already.
In a way, that showed team spirit.
And he hadn't said they couldn't bring food in the first place.
"…Forget it. At least their relationships have softened a bit."
Watching Kakashi and Obito sitting side by side to eat, Minato had to admit this exercise had achieved something.
And surprisingly, the one holding the team together… was the dead last, Kuroya.
After lunch.
On the training ground rocks, four figures sat in a circle—Team 9.
But the atmosphere was quiet.
No one spoke, just sat there in silence.
Obito sat next to Kakashi, Rin beside Kuroya.
And the reason for this arrangement?
"Kuroya wants me to reconcile with Kakashi? Not happening!" Obito thought firmly.
"Heh." Kakashi gave Obito a sideways glance, pride all over his face.
"Kuroya, you really think this setup will make them get along?" Rin whispered.
"Setup? What setup?"
Kuroya looked baffled.
What had he supposedly arranged?
He hadn't done a damn thing!