Team Minato Is Here!

"So amazing..." In the bushes nearby, Obito Uchiha stared wide-eyed, full of admiration.

"So the shorter one lost, right?" he asked Rin beside him. "What are they saying?"

"The shorter one is called Akatsuki. Uchiha Akatsuki." Kakashi's voice suddenly cut in, his youthful tone somehow combining coolness with arrogance. "He ran out of chakra and lost to Uchiha Shisui."

"So it was young master Akatsuki and Uchiha Shisui! No wonder they're so amazing!" Obito shot out of the bushes, not caring in the slightest that his head was full of leaves. His eyes brimmed with admiration. "Anyway, that was incredible..." He raised both fists and shook them excitedly, breaking into a wide grin, his face shining with delight. "That's our Uchiha Clan!"

"Those two are both really impressive," Nohara Rin said. As a medical ninja, she had a keen eye. Keeping her gaze fixed on the battlefield, she analyzed softly, "Their abilities are definitely above those of their classmates. They might even be... stronger than Genin."

After her assessment, she turned back and patted Obito Uchiha on the shoulder, smiling. "The Uchiha Clan is full of talented people. You have to work hard too, Obito."

"You're both members of the Uchiha Clan. If you could learn to do what they can, we wouldn't have to work so hard," Kakashi said, arms folded and eyes half-lidded, dousing their enthusiasm as usual.

"Kakashi, you—!" Obito gritted his teeth in anger, but Rin stopped him with an awkward smile.

After mocking Obito, Kakashi looked back toward the battlefield, only to find the two Uchiha boys looking right at them.

Under the gaze of two pairs of eyes as dark as polished jade, Kakashi frowned.

"They've spotted us."

In truth, I'd sensed the three of them as soon as they came near. I'd just been too busy fighting to pay them any attention.

Seeing my resistance, Shisui considered the situation for a moment, then grabbed my wrist and headed toward Team Minato.

"They're coming, they're coming!" Obito panicked. He stepped back out of the bushes, crouching down and looking around for somewhere to hide. "How are we going to explain this?!"

"We have no choice. Let's just face them," Rin said with a smile.

Once they were closer, I realized that the three of them were Hatake Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, and Nohara Rin from Team Minato!

Good grief, none of these three were people I could afford to offend!

I tensed up at once. Shisui noticed and tried to reassure me. "Don't be afraid. It won't hurt."

He really was the very definition of a social butterfly. He simply dragged me over and called to Rin, who stood beyond the bushes. "You're a medical ninja, right? Could you treat him? His hand is injured."

At that moment, Shisui's back seemed impossibly broad. I became even more determined to stick by him from then on!

Uchiha Shisui, you're my god!

"That was really dangerous..." A soft green glow lit up in Rin's hands and settled over mine. Her eyes were filled with concern. "You almost damaged the tendons and bones."

Rin's words suddenly made me think of Uchiha Xun.

Were medical ninja—or people who could become medical ninja—always so gentle and kind?

As the warm green light enveloped my hand, I stared at Nohara Rin's face and gradually lost myself in thought.

This was the girl who willingly ran into the Lightning Blade to protect Konoha. She'd been only twelve or thirteen when she died, hadn't she?

What had she been thinking before she died?

Had she been afraid?

The pain of losing a life was always left for those who survived to bear. That torment was no less than the agony of dying itself—perhaps even worse.

That was why Obito called the Shinobi World a hell.

But I was different. I'd been born in Konoha and raised in the close embrace of peace. It had taken me until now to realize how precious that was.

The most beautiful things seemed to pass by silently. Only when they were gone could you truly feel the heart-wrenching pain of losing them.

And how many people had sacrificed themselves to make this beautiful peace possible?

My gaze shifted from her to Uchiha Shisui. He had already been watching me. When I looked over, he gave me a questioning look.

His eyes were very much like those of Kagami Uchiha, Senju Tobirama's student. The corners tilted upward, the shape was gentle, and his pupils were large and bright. From any angle, it seemed as if he were looking at you with warmth.

I couldn't bring myself to dislike people like that. They were sunny and righteous, full of compassion, and kept nothing for themselves... If Konoha needed them, they would willingly bury themselves and become the "roots" supporting Konoha from underground.

I felt a tightness in my chest. Just thinking that they might die made me terribly sad.

If I could, I wanted to try to save them.

But how?

The tragedy of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge might not be impossible to prevent. If there really was a way to stop Obito from falling into darkness and prevent Rin's death, then maybe there was also a way to stop the Uchiha Clan's massacre—

There had to be a way!

The green light shimmered. My hand tingled, and as it gradually healed, its original fair skin reappeared.

Obito Uchiha and Hatake Kakashi stood quietly to one side. No, only Kakashi was quiet. Obito kept glancing around, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't dare.

I took the chance to turn toward him and asked, "Are you Obito Uchiha?"

He froze for a moment, then immediately grew excited. Stepping forward, he crouched in front of me and beamed. "Young master Akatsuki, you know me?!"

Obito Uchiha had been a dead-last early on, with both parents gone and only his grandmother raising him. He lived on the outskirts of the clan and had grown up with the clan's support. It was already quite remarkable for the clan leader's son to know who he was.

"My father told me about you." In truth, he hadn't. I was making it up.

"He said you trained hard, had a lot of perseverance, and improved quickly." I gave him an earnest smile, my eyes brimming with sincerity as I spun one lie after another.

"Father also said the future of restoring the clan will definitely need talented people like you." I gazed at him with shining eyes, making up even more nonsense!

"Did... the clan leader really say that?"

I hadn't expected those words to affect him so much. Obito froze, his voice gradually choking with emotion.

"Yes." I faltered, but could only grit my teeth and continue.

Kakashi frowned beside us. He wasn't nearly as easy to fool as Obito. Rin was simply happy for Obito, while Shisui showed no reaction.

"Please tell the clan leader I'll keep working hard. I absolutely won't let the clan down." After saying this, Obito lowered his head and muttered that he had something in his eyes. He took off his goggles and wiped away his tears.

Sometimes, being recognized by someone else was a uniquely powerful source of warmth.

Looking at Obito, I felt my heart soften.

This Obito Uchiha was so young, so innocent, and so prone to tears. He was still just a child.

Then my gaze dimmed again.

It was a shame that Obito became so twisted later in the original story. He devoted himself to revenge and slaughtered innocent people, only to end up as someone else's pawn.

He couldn't save the girl he wanted to save, and he killed his own teacher and the teacher's wife. He was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people in Konoha.

He spent his whole life hating, acting recklessly, and suffering, only to discover in the end that everything had been a lie.

Perhaps the Shinobi World really was a hell to him.

Most importantly, the Nine-Tails he unleashed deepened the rift between the Uchiha and Konoha, indirectly bringing about the Uchiha Clan's massacre. And later, he became so ruthless that he even killed his own kin, losing every trace of humanity.

That was an unforgivable crime, a stain that could never be washed away!

The later version of him was a devil. I couldn't connect him at all with the sunny, cheerful, somewhat timid boy in front of me.

I sighed, setting aside my tangled thoughts, and looked over the three before me: Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

Kakashi looked like a teenager. He wore a ninja mask, with his Forehead Protector pulled down over his head. He stood straight, his expression cold. His eyes seemed listless, but the calm and resolve buried in them were far beyond anything I possessed.

Those were the eyes of a true ninja.

He had killed, and he had been hunted. He had lived through the death of his only family member and endured boundless darkness and pain.

He was a genius forced to grow up... My gaze lingered on him for a long time. Only when Kakashi looked up at me did I look away, my heart suddenly racing.

In my previous life, I'd really liked Hatake Kakashi.

The version of him in the original story was exactly like the ideal partner I'd imagined. Whether he was the sharp-edged young man he was now or the Sixth who would one day watch over everyone,

he was someone I really liked—someone whose very presence made me feel warm.