Conversation

"Do you think I'm an idiot like Uchiha Obito?"

Kakashi radiated intense dissatisfaction; he felt completely underestimated.

"Throughout the entire battle, aside from the final Great Fire Dragon Technique, you and I were only competing with swordsmanship."

"Even though you activated your Three-Tomoe Sharingan, you didn't use any genjutsu."

"Don't tell me you don't know how."

"Ah, well, you caught me," Uchiha Aoba said, scratching his head with an embarrassed laugh.

"Tell me honestly!"

Kakashi glared with his dead-fish eyes, grumbling, "I want to know clearly what the gap is between you and me right now."

"If you're worried about hurting my feelings and chose not to tell the truth, there's no need for that."

"I'm not so fragile that a single sparring match would make me lose my fighting spirit."

"Aoba..."

Namikaze Minato spoke up then to persuade him, "Just tell him, otherwise Kakashi will keep pestering you."

"Besides, I can also tell that you weren't using your full strength, so I'm curious about that as well."

"Is that so?" Uchiha Aoba sighed, helpless, and said, "I used about 70% of my strength."

"70%..."

Kakashi shuddered, his expression turning slightly dejected, "Is the gap really that large?"

"Hey, wait, didn't you say you could handle it?"

Watching the changes in the other's expression, Uchiha Aoba hurriedly spoke up, agitated, "You don't look like someone who can handle it at all. If I had known, I wouldn't have believed your nonsense."

"Don't worry."

Kakashi's emotions came and went quickly; in the blink of an eye, he returned to normal, his tone firm, "You're only ahead of me for the time being. I'll catch up soon."

"Next time, I won't lose."

"Fine, I'll be waiting for you."

Listening to Kakashi's declaration, Uchiha Aoba's tone was playful, "I won't hold back at all next time."

"I suspect you're also very curious about what my full power is actually like."

Kakashi didn't deny this, snorting coldly, "I hope you won't disappoint me then."

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Aoba couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

Just thinking about the expression Kakashi would have if he used his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities later made him find it incredibly amusing.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I just thought of something happy."

"I have a feeling you're thinking of something bad."

Kakashi's eyes were full of suspicion, "I'll emphasize again, I'm not an idiot like Uchiha Obito."

"So don't even think about trying to fool me."

Nearby.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Namikaze Minato's face was full of gratification.

This scene, filled with healthy competition yet deep bonds, was exactly what he was very happy to see.

Just as he was about to say something.

At that moment, a boisterous figure appeared on the field.

"Damn Kakashi, I heard you talking bad about me the moment I arrived!"

"Uchiha Obito..."

Seeing the person arrive, Kakashi's dead-fish eyes reappeared on his face, revealing a look of helplessness, yet also showing he had absolutely no way to deal with the other.

He chose to ignore him directly and only greeted the female ninja behind him.

"Rin, good morning."

"Damn it! Don't pretend you don't see me!"

Even knowing that Kakashi was doing it on purpose, Uchiha Obito still couldn't help but lose his composure.

"Oh, so you're here too."

Realizing that if he didn't give some kind of reaction, the other wouldn't let it go, Kakashi deliberately acted as if he had just noticed him, waving his hand flatly, "Yo, hello, Uchiha Obito."

"You guy!!"

Uchiha Obito's face turned bright red, entirely from anger.

"Alright, Uchiha Obito, stop messing around."

"Rin..."

Following Nohara Rin's single word, Uchiha Obito, who had been flushed with agitation, instantly deflated like a punctured ball. Not only did his emotions settle, but a hint of apology also appeared on his face.

Uchiha Aoba, watching from the side, felt his mouth twitch uncontrollably.

As expected of you, Obito-bro.

To be handled so easily by a young girl—it was no wonder he would eventually turn to darkness because of her.

At this moment, Uchiha Obito seemed to have completely forgotten his earlier squabble with Kakashi, bringing up the sparring match between the two of them.

"Say, why didn't you two wait for me to arrive before starting your match?"

"You were the one who was late."

Kakashi said irritably, "When are you going to fix that bad habit of yours?"

"It was one thing back at the Ninja Academy, but now that you're a Chunin, you still have no sense of time. You're even dragging Nohara Rin down with you. Don't you feel ashamed?"

"I was helping an old lady cross the street!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Uchiha Obito's face flushed red again as he stubbornly argued back.

"Obito..."

Namikaze Minato originally didn't want to get involved in his students' bickering, but after hearing Kakashi's words, he felt compelled to speak up: "Kakashi is right, you must pay attention to this."

"Minato-sensei."

Seeing Namikaze Minato say the same thing, Uchiha Obito lowered his head, losing his previous bravado.

"Sensei, Obito he..."

"Rin, I know what you want to say, but you don't need to make excuses for Obito."

Namikaze Minato shook his head, interrupting her: "I am not denying the importance of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. If Obito did this in his spare time, I would never blame him; on the contrary, I would praise him."

"But once we are on a mission, it is different, especially when it involves important tasks."

"As comrades, we might be able to turn a blind eye to Obito's tardiness, but what about the client?"

"And what if we encounter an emergency mission where every second counts?"

After listening, Nohara Rin knew her teacher was right. She could no longer speak up to defend Uchiha Obito. Seeing him look so dejected, she could only sigh inwardly.

"Aoba..."

At this moment, Namikaze Minato suddenly turned his gaze toward Uchiha Aoba.

"Huh? What is it?"

Uchiha Aoba, who had been enjoying the show from the sidelines, was caught off guard by the sudden mention of his name.

"I would like to ask a favor of you, and I hope you will agree."

Namikaze Minato didn't mind his distraction and spoke directly: "You are already aware that Lord Hokage has designated you as my direct subordinate within the Anbu, so you can now be considered a member of our Team 7."

Uchiha Aoba was stunned upon hearing this. There was such a thing?

Weren't those two different concepts?

However, as far as he was concerned, this was a good thing, so he didn't interrupt Namikaze Minato and listened as he continued: "What I want to ask of you is this: you and Obito are both members of the Uchiha Clan."

"So, I hope that in the future, whenever we have a mission, you can bring him along with you."

"To put it simply, I am putting Obito under your supervision."

!!!

"What!?"

Uchiha Obito, who had been feeling dejected, immediately looked up in shock upon hearing this.