26. Separate Actions

Reflecting on the original work, Ye Yuexin estimated that Obito Uchiha's personality had never truly changed.

Even after he became the mastermind behind the Akatsuki.

It was likely that the Tobi seen back then was his original personality, which he had been suppressing all along.

"Obito, how can you say that?" Rin Nohara, standing to the side, said with a hint of annoyance.

With her large eyes, gentle tone, and that natural, round face adorned with markings, she was truly adorable.

It was no wonder Obito Uchiha would be willing to make the entire world his enemy for her sake.

As soon as Rin Nohara spoke, Obito Uchiha immediately quieted down, as if she were his natural nemesis.

Ye Yuexin felt it was time to introduce himself, as everyone else, with the exception of Kakashi Hatake, had graduated around the same time and were quite familiar with one another.

He walked into the center of the group and smiled, "Greetings, seniors. My name is Ye Yuexin, and I specialize in taijutsu and throwing blades. I am very happy to be on a team with all of you."

"Kakashi Hatake! Elite chunin, specializing in swordsmanship, Earth Release, and Lightning Release," Kakashi said, looking at Ye Yuexin with a flat expression.

Aside from his sternness, there was no other emotion in his eyes.

Perhaps at this stage, the Kakashi who still favored swordsmanship was just like this.

There was no hint of the gentle, lazy person who would later become obsessed with reading romance novels.

Hearing Kakashi finish, Obito Uchiha hurriedly added, "Obito Uchiha, specializing in... well, I'll specialize in the Sharingan later. And the Uchiha Great Fireball Technique."

After hearing that introduction, Ye Yuexin felt embarrassed for him; after all that, it turned out he didn't specialize in anything, only knowing the Great Fireball Technique.

Amused by Obito Uchiha's introduction, Rin Nohara said softly, "Ye Yue-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rin Nohara, and I specialize in medical ninjutsu. Please take care of me during this mission." Now that was a proper self-introduction.

She was, after all, the only woman in the group.

Next, a youth chewing on a small senbon needle said, "Genma Shiranui. I specialize in my family's swordsmanship."

"Ebisu, specializing in genjutsu and my family's secret mental techniques."

"I am the Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy. I specialize in taijutsu." Seeing that everyone else had introduced themselves, Might Guy followed suit.

With that, they were all acquainted.

Just as Ye Yuexin wanted to exchange a few more words, he suddenly felt a strange disturbance in the surrounding space. It seemed Minato Namikaze was arriving, and his eyes immediately darted to the wall at the village gate beside them.

In the blink of an eye, the figure of Minato Namikaze appeared atop the wall.

No one else noticed how he had appeared; only Ye Yuexin had sensed the fluctuation.

"To be able to detect my position—it seems you have the same spatial talent as I do." Minato Namikaze was already familiar with everyone else, so upon arriving, he first looked toward Ye Yuexin.

He was slightly surprised to find Ye Yuexin staring right back at him.

Only then did everyone else notice Minato Namikaze's arrival and turn to look at him in unison.

Minato Namikaze smiled and jumped down. It appeared he had already placed his Flying Thunder God Mark on the wall at the Konoha gate in advance.

He then laughed, "It seems you have all gotten to know each other. You seem to be getting along well."

"I just came from the Third Hokage. Time is tight, so we will discuss the mission details on the road. That is all; our squad is departing now."

He then led them to submit the mission information and headed out of the village.

Ye Yuexin still felt completely relaxed, even though he didn't know the situation at all.

He didn't even know basic information like the mission location.

Instead, he suddenly felt that this was even more relaxing, as he didn't have to worry about anything.

Essentially, he just had to do whatever Minato Namikaze told him to do and go wherever he was told to go.

After that, he could easily complete the mission with these big shots and collect his rewards.

Just thinking about it made Ye Yuexin feel great.

It was much better than when he performed missions with Itachi Uchiha; back then, he had to account for every variable, devise his own plans, and calculate the feasibility of everything... basically everything he had learned at the Ninja Academy.

After leaving the village, Minato Namikaze led the team to accelerate through the forest. The marching speed was very fast, but Ye Yuexin remained completely at ease throughout the journey, which couldn't help but draw a few extra glances from Kakashi and the others.

By noon, the group finally slowed their pace and found a place to rest.

They had already covered nearly half the distance. Their speed was far faster than when Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha had gone on missions.

This was because their destination was likely on the outskirts of the Land of Fire.

Of course, the main reason for the rest was that Obito, Ebisu, and the others were starting to run out of stamina.

To be precise, Minato Namikaze had set the pace too high, and Rin Nohara had been the first to struggle.

Afterward, Obito Uchiha had started supporting her as they moved forward.

So by now, both of them were exhausted, and Ebisu's forehead was drenched in sweat.

Of the group, those three were the only ones who did not specialize in taijutsu.

The pace had simply been too fast.

The others also appeared slightly exhausted.

This was because Minato Namikaze had been traveling at the average speed of a jonin the entire time.

Not everyone possessed the speed and footwork of Ye Yuexin, nor the ability to control wind-attribute chakra with such minute precision, which required very little energy.

Consequently, he and Minato Namikaze were the only ones among the group who seemed relatively relaxed.

Then there was Might Guy; Ye Yuexin truly felt he was a beast.

Back on the road, Ye Yuexin had noticed that Guy's chakra control was the worst of them all.

He had been wasting an excessive amount of chakra while traveling, yet just as his reserves hit empty, Ye Yuexin discovered that he simply stopped using chakra altogether and began traveling using only his raw physical strength.

He was actually recovering chakra while still on the move...

He was truly worthy of being called Emperor Guy. Ye Yuexin knew he could never manage to recover chakra while engaged in such strenuous exercise.

At this moment, Minato Namikaze seemed to have noticed the issue as well, so he gathered everyone together.

"I am truly sorry, everyone," he said apologetically. "This mission is extremely urgent. The border could be breached at any moment, so we must arrive as quickly as possible to defend it."

However, looking at them now, it seemed Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara were truly struggling with this intensity.

After a moment of thought, he decided to make new arrangements.

"For now, Might Guy, Ebisu, Ye Yuexin, and I will continue to advance quickly to provide support."

He then glanced at Kakashi and continued, "The rest of you will be led by Kakashi. Rest and recover your chakra, then arrive at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth by tomorrow morning. Our Konoha defense base is the same one I took you to last time."

Hearing Minato Namikaze's instructions, Kakashi replied calmly, "Understood."

After hearing Kakashi's response, Minato Namikaze stood up and addressed Ye Yuexin and the others, "I will carry Ebisu on my back for now. Are you all ready to continue?"

"Ready!" Ye Yuexin and the others replied.

With the mission being urgent, Minato Namikaze did not offer any further explanation.

He immediately hoisted the guilt-ridden Ebisu onto his back, and the four of them set off.

[New book released... I suggest adding it to your library and letting it grow before reading. Your support is appreciated... Thank you, everyone.]