Hatake Sakumo

"What you say makes sense."

Namikaze Minato nodded slightly and said, "Then from today on, you and Might Guy are my students."

Yes!

Uchiha Mai could barely resist throwing a punch in the air to celebrate securing a connection with Master Minato. Being on the same team as Master Minato—who would worry about failing to farm more style points?

Furthermore, becoming a student of Master Minato, a teammate, and bearing the Uchiha name meant he could basically walk sideways through Konoha from now on.

Please, call me Uchiha Young Master!

Might Guy scratched his head, feeling happy as well. According to what Mai said earlier, this Big Blondie was actually a Jonin. A Jonin must be even stronger than his father, right?

How did I, a Ninja Academy graduate who only knows taijutsu, end up becoming a Jonin's student without even doing anything?

Namikaze Minato scanned the training ground, where the three kids Uchiha Mai had laid out were sprawled on the ground, in urgent need of being sent to Konoha Hospital for treatment.

He then said, "For now, let's get Asuma and the others to Konoha Hospital.

After that, I'll take you two to dinner to meet your other teammate; consider it the first team gathering after our formation."

As he spoke, Namikaze Minato pulled out his wallet and flipped through it. Satisfied that he had enough pocket money to treat them, he let out a sigh of relief.

Yuhi Kurenai had forfeited on her own and hadn't suffered any injuries, so there was naturally no need to send her for medical attention.

Uchiha Mai's mind stirred, and he asked, "Is Master Minato's other student Kakashi?"

He had just called him Senior Minato, but switched to Master Minato immediately without the slightest hint of awkwardness.

"Oh, you actually know?" Namikaze Minato was slightly surprised.

Uchiha Mai smiled and started spouting nonsense: "After all, he is the most outstanding student in our Ninja Academy class, so we naturally pay a lot of attention to him.

I heard he joined an elite squad led by a Jonin with golden hair who is both handsome and powerful. I was just wondering if it might be Master Minato."

If you can talk, say more.

"Haha."

Master Minato scratched his head in embarrassment, looking a bit shy, and said, "Since you already know each other, that's even better.

Your strength is quite good. After a brief period of coordination, we can start taking on some moderately difficult missions."

So soft.

The three of them, each carrying a casualty, walked through the streets of Konoha under the setting sun toward Konoha Hospital.

As they walked, Namikaze Minato rambled on: "Mai, you defeated three fairly skilled Genin in less than a minute just now; that was an excellent performance.

Your talent might not be any worse than Kakashi's.

However, I must warn you: if you reach the battlefield or encounter a three-man squad from an enemy village during a mission, never be arrogant enough to think you can take them on alone.

A well-coordinated three-man Genin squad can easily take down three Genin fighting individually."

"I know," Uchiha Mai nodded.

In small-scale group combat, 3-5 people working in coordination can perfectly integrate individual strengths.

Whether it is the ninjas of the ninja world, the armies of his past life, or major team sports, everyone places great importance on this.

Just now, Mai hadn't won against three Genin; he had won via a gauntlet-style approach against three Genin who lacked coordination and didn't know how to read the flow of the battlefield.

There is a huge difference between the two.

A moment later, the three arrived at the hospital. The duty medical ninja was already unfazed by the sight of more kids being brought in.

During wartime, the training intensity and the cruelty of exercises in major ninja villages far exceeded those of peacetime; it was normal for kids to be beaten into the intensive care unit during sparring.

After finishing the chores, Namikaze Minato led the two kids toward the Hatake Clan to invite Kakashi.

The Hatake Clan was once one of the families that followed the two heroes of the ninja world to establish Konoha. Every member of the Hatake Clan basically possessed extraordinary talent, not necessarily inferior to the Uchiha.

Unfortunately, their numbers had always been thin, and they had gone through the Warring States period and two Great Ninja Wars. By Kakashi's generation, he was the only one left.

The location of the Hatake Clan was much better than the Uchiha's, though the area was slightly smaller—less than one-twentieth of the Uchiha compound.

Namikaze Minato knocked on the gate of the Hatake Clan a few times, very politely.

In his past life, this kind of knocking would certainly have received no response; the chirping of cicadas in the trees was louder than Master Minato's knocking.

But this was the ninja world. Kakashi and his father were both extremely excellent ninjas with keen senses; unless they were asleep, they would definitely hear the knocking.

A moment later, the gate of the Hatake Clan was opened from within. A middle-aged man with silver-white medium-length hair, wearing the standard Konoha Jonin tactical vest, walked out. It was Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo.

Uchiha Mai's pupils constricted slightly. This man... does he really walk without making a sound?

Ninjas are like assassins; they need to conceal their figures and presence as much as possible to avoid being detected by opponents.

Mai had seen many Jonin in his clan who were top-tier at concealing their presence, but none of them walked without a trace, making them completely unfathomable.

Come to think of it, Hatake Sakumo's death should be around this time, right? Uchiha Mai suddenly thought of this question.

In the original plot, Hatake Sakumo died five years before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, when Kakashi was about thirteen.

The Third Great Ninja War had been fought on and off for three to five years, and the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was the finale of the Third War. Five years ago, Kakashi was about eight; this was roughly the right time node.

Seeing that it was Kakashi's team leader, Hatake Sakumo smiled and said, "Oh, it's Minato. Are you here to see Kakashi?"

"Hmm."

Master Minato replied, "I just recruited two outstanding students from the Ninja Academy today, so my team is officially formed. I wanted to invite Kakashi to join us for a meal."

Hatake Sakumo glanced at the two brats behind Master Minato—the Uchiha and Guy, who was always pestering Kakashi. This team was quite interesting.

The Uchiha went without saying; even a mediocre Uchiha, once they awakened the Sharingan, had a high probability of becoming a Jonin upon reaching adulthood.

As for Guy, Hatake Sakumo knew him. Over a year ago, Guy was being bullied, and Hatake Sakumo happened to encounter him while taking Kakashi home.

Kakashi had driven off those hooligan ninjas, after which he officially got to know Guy and ended up being pestered by him. Every time Kakashi returned from a mission, he was almost guaranteed to be challenged to a duel by Guy.

From the state Kakashi was in whenever he returned home, Hatake Sakumo could analyze that Guy's strength was progressing at an astonishing rate.

This was a promising team, and an excellent one that would allow Kakashi to grow.