Entrusted to Kakashi

"Damn it! I was so close, my Great Fireball almost hit you." Obito crossed his arms, his face full of indignation.

"Oh." Kakashi simply responded with a soft "oh" to his anger. This indifferent attitude instantly made Obito blush.

"You don't believe me, do you?! Don't you believe me!"

"Believe, believe, believe, whatever you say is right."

"Ahhh! Kakashi, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Alright, we're all on the same team." Rin tried to mediate from the side, her face full of helplessness. She shook her head, having no idea what to do with the childish Obito.

He had the chance to hit Kakashi earlier, but this guy suddenly got impulsive and didn't even look at her.

As the two bickered, she began to search for their teacher's whereabouts. Soon, she spotted two people sitting on a branch not far away. Her gaze lingered on the familiar young face for a moment, and a smile bloomed like a flower.

"Sora! Why are you here?"

Rin's shout immediately pulled Kakashi and Obito, who were "at war," back. Especially Obito, who looked like he'd eaten feces the moment he looked up and saw Sora's face. He muttered, "Why is this annoying guy here?"

As for Kakashi, he stared at Sora Uchiha for a while before slowly looking away.

"I had nothing better to do today, so I came to see the results of your special training." Sora Uchiha said, arriving in front of the three with Minato.

"Tch, if you have nothing to do, go home and eat rice," Obito pouted and retorted.

"Heh, Obito, it seems Kakashi beat you up again just now." Sora Uchiha teased.

"Beat me up? Is that what you call it? That was just a slight miscalculation." As expected, Obito immediately got agitated. He turned around and pointed at the Uchiha crest, "I'm going to be Hokage someday! All of this is just a test for me!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the future Hokage." Sora Uchiha replied perfunctorily.

"Hey, what's with your tone? I'm telling you, I'm not the same person I was two weeks ago! Come on, let's spar a few rounds. I'll knock that arrogance out of you."

"Oh."

Twenty breaths later...

Obito returned with a bruised and swollen face. Sora Uchiha, on the other hand, had only slightly dirty clothes. The winner was obvious.

"Not bad, not bad. Before, I could finish you in ten breaths. Now it takes twenty. Your strength has indeed doubled." Sora Uchiha deliberately gave a thumbs-up.

"Pfft."

A laugh rang out. Everyone looked at the culprit. Rin's small face turned red. "I... I couldn't help it."

Obito's entire face darkened, feeling like he'd lost face again. Wait, why "again"?

"If you're so capable, don't use summoning," he said indignantly.

"I didn't stop you from using summoning," Sora Uchiha replied calmly.

"You--!"

"Alright, alright, we're all friends, no need to get serious." Minato clapped his hands, suppressing the two of them.

Kakashi, standing nearby, looked at Sora Uchiha with a serious and solemn expression. He had watched Sora Uchiha's fight with Obito just now.

He had a feeling that this guy had gotten stronger again.

"Huh? Sora, what's that box you're carrying?" Rin asked, patting the Sword Box.

Obito froze. Only then did he realize that Sora Uchiha had been carrying a wooden box on his shoulder the whole time. His face darkened again. This meant that Sora Uchiha had dealt with him in ten breaths using only one hand.

"This? It's a Sword Box." Sora Uchiha explained, showing the Kusanagi Sword to everyone.

"Not bad, a good sword," Minato said, flicking the sword's body with his finger in admiration.

"Heh heh, of course. Do you know whose it is?" Sora Uchiha replied cheekily.

"Alright, alright, don't get a big head," Minato said with a smile, returning the Kusanagi Sword to him. "You probably have something to talk to them about. I'll wait here."

With that, he instantly disappeared, leaving only a specially made Kunai in his place.

The remaining four looked at each other, blinking. After a while, Kakashi said in a deep voice, "Sora, you should be looking for Rin, right?"

Saying that, he prepared to leave.

"Hey, why are you leaving? We're classmates, can't I look for you?" Sora Uchiha grabbed him, saying helplessly.

"Look for me?" Kakashi was stunned. He didn't interact much with Sora Uchiha, except when they were called to the front of the classroom in the ninja academy for demonstrations. They had hardly ever been alone together.

"Yeah," Sora Uchiha didn't explain much. He directly pulled Kakashi to the side and ran off. Obito wanted to follow, but Rin stopped him.

In the dense forest nearby, the grass was as tall as a person, enough to completely hide the two teenagers.

"Sora, why so mysterious?" Kakashi said helplessly.

"Yeah." Sora Uchiha's expression immediately turned serious, his eyes holding a maturity that didn't belong to his age.

Under that serious gaze, Kakashi was taken aback and immediately realized that what was about to happen was important, so he also became serious.

"Go on, I'm listening."

Sora Uchiha nodded, licking his dry lips. "If Minato isn't around in the future, and your Team 7 encounters ninjas from Kirigakure, I hope you'll abandon the mission and stay by Rin's side. If possible, it's best to just run away."

Kakashi: ???

He frowned. "What do you mean? What do you know?"

Sora Uchiha shook his head, "Literally."

"Reason? From what you're saying, Rin seems to be in danger. What information do you have?"

"...I can't say."

Sora Uchiha wasn't sure how big of a butterfly effect his transmigration would cause, so he didn't plan to interfere too much with the original history for now. At least... he wouldn't interfere much with the Third Shinobi World War.

In the original story, Rin was captured by Kirigakure and forcibly became the jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, which led to Rin's death.

If he interfered too much with the plot, he feared the butterfly effect he caused would lead to unfixable regret. What if something else happened in Kirigakure that deviated from the original plot? So, he only told Kakashi because Kakashi was the closest person to Rin at the time.

Therefore, he would only truly step from behind the scenes onto the stage after the Third Shinobi World War ended and he ensured those he cared about were safe.

"I don't understand," Kakashi shook his head.

"You don't need to understand. And, whatever you do, don't tell anyone about this, not even Minato," Sora Uchiha stared intently at Kakashi.

Kakashi fell silent. He lowered his gaze, judging the truthfulness of Sora Uchiha's words.

After a long while, he spoke softly, "If what you're saying is true, then there's nothing to ask of me. You're stronger than I am."

"...I can't say."

Sora Uchiha fell silent, then spoke again, "If you promise me, as repayment, I will help you at the most painful moment of your life in the future."

Obito's death was the most painful moment for Kakashi.

"Besides, everything I'm doing is for Rin. It's a good thing for you," Sora Uchiha added.

"Please, Kakashi."

Hearing this, Kakashi was stunned. In his impression, Sora Uchiha was an extremely arrogant person who had never asked anyone for anything. Now, he was asking him, a peer.

He looked up. Those dark eyes were so deep. For some reason, he felt a hint of pleading.

After a long while, "...I promise."