"Introductions are out of the way. Now, let's get down to business." His expression turning serious, Minato Namikaze didn't say much more. There were clearly other matters to discuss. Looking intently at the four youths standing before him, he spoke in a more solemn tone. "As you know, the Land of Fire is in a troubled state. In the days ahead, I'll devote all my energy to teaching you."
"Um, Fourth Hokage, are the other countries really at war?"
Perhaps because the Land of Fire was so peaceful at the moment, it was hard to believe that a Shinobi World War was happening.
Obito wasn't the only one who doubted it. Even Yang Xing wondered if it was just a rumor.
"More precisely, several other countries are involved. The great nations are invading the smaller ones, which have joined forces to fight back. The countries are also competing with one another for resources and manpower. The reason this hasn't affected us is the hard work of the Land of Fire's shinobi on the front lines." Minato's gaze grew somber as he furrowed his brow slightly. Things really did seem rather bleak.
"Is that so?" Minato's expression made Obito look even more troubled.
But then Kakashi casually remarked, "Idiot. With the Fourth Hokage here, how could anything happen to Konoha?"
"You're the idiot, Kakashi! You big idiot!"
"Cough, cough! All right, don't argue about this. Well, I am still here in Konoha, so there shouldn't be any major problems." Minato held the two of them back helplessly, then continued with a smile, "But you should worry about yourselves. When the time comes, don't tell me you won't even be able to protect yourselves."
"That definitely won't happen." Obito clenched his fist, his eyes shining. "Because I'm going to become Hokage."
"Oh? Obito's dream is to become Hokage." Minato narrowed his eyes, looking amused.
Obito nodded emphatically, his excitement plain to see. "Yeah! I'm going to become a Hokage just like you, Fourth Hokage!"
"Hmph!"
Two people scoffed.
"Kakashi, Yang Xing, you both just scoffed, didn't you?"
"You must have misheard."
"Kids are always so quick to accuse innocent people."
"You two!" Obito's face turned red, and he glared at them angrily.
Watching the group, Minato's smile grew a little strained.
Even as the Fourth Hokage, he couldn't do anything with these kids.
The sunlight grew brighter, bathing the plain in a golden glow.
"Next, I'll assess your abilities. I have your school records, but I won't know how far you've progressed until I see you for myself." Time was short, and there were important matters to address. Minato wasn't in a hurry to sort out their relationships just yet.
The most important thing now was to assess one person's abilities. He wanted to see for himself whether this boy really matched what his teacher had said.
"Suddenly, my stomach hurts, Fourth Hokage. I think I—"
"Yang Xing, your teacher told me you always use this trick. Your chakra control may be poor, but you still have to show me what you can do today. At the very least, I need to know how strong you are." Minato stared at Yang Xing, his expression serious. He was testing the boy for a reason; he needed to know just how weak he was.
"Do I really have to?"
"Yes!" Minato wasn't the only one watching. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin all turned to look at Yang Xing.
Unlike Yang Xing, the others had known each other since school. They didn't know much about their new teammate. What made him worthy of being taught by the Fourth Hokage?
"Fine." Realizing there was no getting out of it, Yang Xing spread his hands helplessly.
"Let's start with the basics. Use a ninjutsu. Fire Style, Wind Style, anything."
"Um, I can't."
"Is that so? You can't use any offensive ninjutsu..." Minato murmured the first half of his sentence so softly that it was almost inaudible. Then he looked up and continued in a serious tone, "In that case, just show me any technique you can use."
"Then I'll use the Clone Technique."
When Yang Xing finished speaking, he began making Hand Seals in a perfunctory manner. He had practiced them many times, and he had been training with the same few simple techniques for a year. How could he possibly get the movements wrong?
Rat—Serpent—Tiger!
He completed the sequence smoothly, and a puff of smoke appeared.
A person identical to Yang Xing appeared, looking remarkably lifelike.
Though the basic Clone Technique was nothing compared to the Shadow Clone Technique—it merely created an afterimage—it was still fairly useful.
"Not bad. That can't be what his teacher was talking about. What's going on with this kid...?" Seeing the clone, which was practically flawless, Minato muttered under his breath. His brow furrowed more and more. Unfortunately, before he could finish his thought, there was another soft sound.
Pop!
Before anyone could finish speaking, the clone had already vanished in a puff of smoke. Yang Xing looked completely exhausted.
"I'm beat." Yang Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the stunned Fourth Hokage. "Fourth Hokage, how many seconds did it last?"
"Not even ten seconds!"
"That's amazing! I used to last less than seven seconds, but now I can make it to ten. Looks like I've really improved. Hahaha!"
Everyone: "..."
Looking at Yang Xing's beaming smile, Minato could only cover his face and sigh. "So there really are people who can't keep the Clone Technique going for even ten seconds."
"This guy isn't joking, is he?" Even Obito looked shocked.
Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. Looks like you're not the last-place member of this team anymore."
"Kakashi, what's that supposed to mean?"
Though Kakashi's words clearly had an insulting edge, Obito was more curious about Yang Xing, who was over eleven years old and still couldn't use the Clone Technique properly. He didn't argue any further.
"Well, things take time." Even Minato felt that his attempt at encouragement sounded rather unconvincing. Fortunately, Yang Xing didn't seem to mind. He actually appeared pleased with himself for improving by three seconds. Minato found the strange boy rather interesting.
"No matter how you look at it, he still can't beat me. Why did they put someone this weak on our team?" Obito shook his head and sighed like a grown-up. Then he turned to the Fourth Hokage and raised his hand. "Fourth Hokage, I'm next, right?"
The Fourth Hokage nodded and turned his attention to him.
"Watch this! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Whoosh!
A stream of thick smoke and scorching flames shot from Obito's mouth. The moment it burst out, the blade-shaped flames swelled in midair, forming a massive fireball. It scorched the grass more than ten meters ahead of him, then exploded.
Boom!
A huge cloud of smoke rose into the sky.
There was no denying that the Fireball Technique packed a decent punch.
The Fourth Hokage nodded without comment, then let his gaze come to rest on Kakashi.
"Well, as for me..." Kakashi took his hands out of his pockets, apparently about to perform a ninjutsu.
But the Fourth Hokage merely murmured, "Kakashi, you can skip it," then turned his gaze away.
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