The morning breeze crossed the Naka River and climbed the cliffs of the Valley of the End, scattering faint rays of light over the rough surface of Kage Rock.
And so Konoha rose from the morning mist.
Konoha, Mission Assignment Office.
Uchiha Kai, Hyuga Rei, and Morino Kei walked in together, followed by a strange old man in hemp clothes, hunched over with a large iron pot strapped to his back.
Nearly a month had passed since the three of them had graduated from the Ninja Academy.
Many things, both big and small, had happened during that time.
First, the four members of Keiichi's team had begun their ninja careers under Aburame Keiichi's guidance.
But since the three were newly graduated rookies, they could only take low-level, harmless D-rank missions.
Most involved catching cats and dogs, plowing fields, or picking vegetables for the villagers. They were safe, but the pay was low, and the work was tedious.
Even Uchiha Kai was starting to get fed up with this kind of life, let alone Hyuga Rei and Morino Kei. They were itching to charge out of the village and cross blades with enemy ninjas.
Of course, that was only wishful thinking. Under Aburame Keiichi's watchful eye, the three little ones obediently tempered their dispositions and focused on their work.
Morino Kei, in particular, received special attention from Aburame Keiichi and was practically "tireless and uncomplaining."
But half a month ago, Aburame Keiichi had suddenly received a personal assignment from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and left the village on an urgent special mission.
The three had thought they might finally get a break. But just as they were about to relax for a day, someone showed up at their door: the old man now entering the Mission Assignment Office with them.
He was none other than Maruboshi Kosuke.
This plain-looking, kindly old man had been asked by Aburame Keiichi to temporarily look after the three of them as their acting team leader.
When Morino Kei and Hyuga Rei first heard, they could hardly believe it. After all, this kindly old man was as old as the hills, yet still a Genin like them.
He hardly looked like a ninja with any real strength. He was remarkably practiced at taking them through those tedious, boring D-rank missions, as if handling trivial matters was all he ever did.
That only made the two of them trust Maruboshi Kosuke's strength even less.
But since Aburame Keiichi had personally entrusted them to him, they didn't dare act too disrespectfully. He was their senior, and at his age, he deserved their respect.
Uchiha Kai was the only one who didn't share their opinion. The boy didn't see Maruboshi Kosuke as some old man simply coasting through life.
After all, the old man had shown himself to be truly formidable in the original story. His strength, experience, and credentials were all first-rate.
He had become a ninja back when the Second, Tobirama Senju, was in power and had undertaken many dangerous missions.
But during the Chunin Exams, he had been so eager for promotion that he devised an overly aggressive strategy, resulting in a comrade's death.
From then on, he became trapped in guilt and self-doubt. He swore before Tobirama Senju that he would remain a Genin for the rest of his life to atone.
For decades, he kept that promise day after day. No one could persuade him otherwise—not even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, when he tried personally.
It was clear how seriously he took his vow. He was a man of principle, worthy of respect.
That was enough about the acting team leader who had suddenly appeared. A few days after Aburame Keiichi left, a major event took place.
An event that changed the Shinobi World's balance of power and would have countless consequences for generations to come.
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge had begun.
Just as in the original story, nothing had changed.
Minato's Team was ordered to the Stone Ninja front, where they infiltrated enemy territory to sever the enemy's supply route from Kusagakure: the vital Kannabi Bridge.
The mission was a complete success. Deprived of supplies, the Stone Ninja gradually weakened on the battlefield, their fighting strength visibly declining. They clearly wouldn't last much longer.
The mission laid an indelible foundation for the eventual defeat of the Stone Ninja. Minato's Team became the object of the villagers' adoration, and every member—including their leader, Minato Namikaze—rose to fame.
Yet none of them could bring themselves to feel happy.
Because their comrade, their student—Uchiha Obito—
had died in the line of duty.
While rescuing their captured teammate, Nohara Rin, Kakashi and Obito fought the elite Stone Jonin Kouka in a cave.
A moment's carelessness allowed Kouka to use a mutual-destruction technique: Rock Lodging Collapse.
To save Kakashi, Uchiha Obito shoved him out of the cave. Obito himself was crushed by the falling boulders, his body shattered and his chances of survival gone.
When the news reached the village, Uchiha Kai fell silent for a long time.
On the day the fallen were honored, Uchiha Kai attended as a close friend of the same clan.
The weather that day hadn't actually been bad. But after being washed over by grief and tears, even a decent day felt miserable.
Before the memorial stone, ninjas in formal attire offered their heartfelt respect to Konoha's fallen hero, Uchiha Obito.
Afterward, since Kakashi Hatake had received Obito's Sharingan, Uchiha Yashiro tried to reclaim Obito's eye. Uchiha Kai stopped him.
The two argued for a while, and it ended with Uchiha Yashiro silently agreeing to back down.
After that day, Uchiha Kai's already-tenuous composure tightened once more. He returned to his old routine of training desperately at every opportunity.
Hyuga Rei and Morino Kei were both deeply worried about him. Even Maruboshi Kosuke tried to talk the boy down more than once, but to little effect.
The system panel only triggered one mission during that time. It was a small one that awarded just 0.1 to his Spirit attribute—better than nothing.
Instead, the boy's relentless training raised his Body attribute by another 0.1 since the previous mission, allowing Uchiha Kai to understand the general pattern behind attribute increases.
Uchiha Kai's current panel was:
[Host: Uchiha Kai] [Body: 4.7] [Spirit: 6.2] [Energy (Chakra): 185] [Energy Control: Fire (Proficient) Wind (Proficient) Lightning (Locked) Water (Locked) Earth (Locked) Yin (Locked) Yang (Locked)] [Special Talents: Sharingan (Single Tomoe), Proof of Sweat, Bu'a] [Skills: Great Fireball Technique, Flower Shuriken Red Claw Technique, Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, Genjutsu—Sharingan, Shurikenjutsu, Konoha Style Taijutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Wind Cutter, Body Flicker Technique, Mirror Heaven and Earth Turn] [Overall Assessment: A shattered porcelain vessel barely repaired, with a little power at its command—a mayfly in a chaotic age]
Under the boy's focused training, his Wind Release control had also reached proficiency. He had also mastered the use of Mirror Heaven and Earth Turn, though he hadn't had a suitable opportunity to demonstrate it.
And by tracking increases in his attributes and Chakra, he had worked out the pattern connecting the two.
Uchiha Kai discovered that attribute increases had thresholds. Each time an attribute passed a whole number, the effect of its increase grew substantially.
For example, when his Spirit went from 6 to 6.1, he felt his spirit and soul grow greatly stronger, as if by some mysterious force. Even his Sharingan felt a strange warmth.
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