Facing Kakashi!

"Digest?!"

Obito immediately flared up. He turned to look at Kakashi:

"That guy's way too arrogant. I'm going first!"

Kakashi glanced at him indifferently:

"Just don't cry when you lose."

"Hmph, just watch. I absolutely won't lose again until I've beaten you, Kakashi!"

Obito pointed a thumb at himself, looking utterly confident.

Kakashi had long since gotten used to this and could only shrug helplessly.

After graduating, they had been assigned to the same team.

After years of missions together, they knew each other's personalities inside and out.

Obito was always like this—reckless and impulsive—but when it really mattered, he was at least somewhat dependable.

"Since that's settled, let's go somewhere else after we eat. I'm even more curious about Shingen-kun's abilities now."

Minato had more or less figured out what Uchiha Shingen was like, but his curiosity about him hadn't diminished. If anything, like Kakashi, he was even more interested.

Two hours later.

After a satisfying meal, they left the barbecue restaurant and headed to the Forest of Death outside Konoha.

This was where Uchiha Shingen usually trained.

Scorch marks and slash marks covered the area. Under the moonlight, they gave the place an even more murderous air.

Even Obito, who had been talking nonstop, fell silent, gradually caught up in the atmosphere.

His hand tightened around the Kunai hidden beneath his sleeve. He swore to himself that he absolutely wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Rin.

Tap—!

Uchiha Shingen stepped onto one side of the clearing ahead of them, his arms hanging casually at his sides.

His eyelids drooped as he swept his gaze over the members of Team Minato and said coolly:

"Who's going first? Or are you all coming at me together?!"

"Let's get this over with. I want to go home and rest. I've been working all day, and my bones are about to fall apart."

"Me!"

Obito gritted his teeth.

He stepped toward Uchiha Shingen, pulled a Kunai from the tool pouch at his waist, and gripped it tightly.

Then he charged toward Uchiha Shingen!

After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Obito had been assigned to Team Minato alongside Kakashi. He was naturally talented.

Although he acted like a dead last most of the time, just as Kakashi had said, Obito never held the team back when it really mattered.

Now that he was taking things seriously, his skill was already on par with a competent Chunin!

"That kid's pretty good."

Jiraiya nodded.

He naturally knew how capable Minato was.

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was already practically invincible in battle. And with the Rasengan, the space-less technique he'd developed not long ago, the two abilities worked together perfectly.

Even Jiraiya, as he was now, would have to work hard to keep Minato in check.

But Jiraiya had never known how good Minato was at training his students.

Seeing Obito's performance now, though, he had a pretty good idea. His eldest disciple really had become someone who could stand on his own.

"Obito may be unreliable most of the time, but he's never slacked off in his training. Even if he's behind Kakashi now, he still has a chance of catching up in the future."

"It's just..."

Minato looked toward the battlefield in the distance and sighed inwardly:

"He's still got a long way to go."

As soon as Minato finished speaking, Obito's charge abruptly ground to a halt.

He remained poised with both hands gripping his Kunai, thrusting it toward Uchiha Shingen, but his entire body had frozen in place, as if someone had hit pause.

"Obito, you—"

Rin's encouragement caught in her throat. Watching the sudden change in the distance, she asked in confusion:

"What happened?!"

"It's a genjutsu. It should be the Uchiha's Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique."

Kakashi looked toward Uchiha Shingen.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in those crimson eyes gave off an unusually dangerous aura beneath the moonlight.

As one of Konoha's foremost Kekkei Genkai—and the only known Kekkei Genkai that could evolve as its user's abilities grew—the Sharingan's strength was already beyond question.

More importantly, there was an ironclad rule among the Uchiha shinobi.

Anyone who awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was all but guaranteed to become a Jonin.

In other words, Uchiha Shingen had already secured his ticket to Jonin.

If Kakashi had originally thought Uchiha Shingen was merely preparing for the Jonin exam, after seeing him now, he was eighty percent sure Shingen was already fully confident of passing!

As long as I can defeat him, passing the Jonin exam won't be a problem!

At that thought,

Kakashi quietly reached for the short sword on his back. Beneath his seemingly calm expression, his fighting spirit began to surge.

With Rin's help, Obito broke free of the genjutsu and limped off to the side.

He was still a little dazed as he recalled what had just happened.

He had merely pulled out his Kunai and charged at Uchiha Shingen, but then it felt as though his entire body had been bound. He couldn't move at all.

"Kakashi!"

Obito's eyes were filled with gravity:

"That guy... is dangerous!"

"Shingen's completely different from how he was at the Ninja Academy!"

"Yeah."

"I know."

Kakashi gave Obito an answer as he swung the short sword in his hand.

He turned and walked toward Uchiha Shingen, one step at a time.

His loose, slouching posture grew sharp and decisive as he moved, like a snow leopard waking from sleep and baring its fangs!

"So that's the White Fang's son?!"

From Kakashi's back, Jiraiya saw a glimpse of an old friend. He also remembered the tragedy that had taken place in Konoha several years earlier.

Hatake Sakumo, one of Konoha's strongest shinobi, had been known as the White Fang.

During one mission, he had chosen to abandon the objective and save his comrades. The mission failed, causing great losses for the village, and he was condemned by everyone.

In the end, the psychological pressure had become too much for Hatake Sakumo to bear, and he took his own life.

As the White Fang's only child, Kakashi had shouldered all the pressure in his father's place after his death.

"Mm."

Minato nodded. His gaze rested on Kakashi's back as he said:

"After Sakumo's death, Kakashi's personality became somewhat extreme. He put the mission above everything else, to the point where he could even abandon his comrades."

"I'm trying to correct that, but I haven't seen any results yet. All I can do is take it slowly during future missions."

"Still."

"Kakashi inherited Sakumo's talent as a shinobi perfectly. His strength is already on par with the Jonin in the village."

When he spoke of Kakashi's abilities, Minato's tone shifted, and a smile appeared on his face.

After all, he had trained this student himself. Kakashi wasn't even thirteen yet, and he had already accomplished this much. Minato was naturally proud as his teacher.

"I wonder how much my junior disciple can do now."

As he spoke,

Minato looked at Jiraiya, trying to read something in his teacher's eyes. But all he heard was Jiraiya's quiet reply:

"To take that kid down, you might have to handle it yourself."