Kakashi Hatake

Kato Osamu had not expected that his first mission after following Minato Namikaze would be to head to the Cloud Shinobi battlefield...

Between the Land of Iron and the Land of Rice Fields stretched narrow forests and mountains, now turned into a battlefield between the Cloud Shinobi and Konoha.

The mountain winds here were fierce. Bracing against their howl, Kato Osamu followed behind Minato Namikaze.

Obito Uchiha was on one side of him, Rin Nohara on the other, and the four of them raced through the forest.

Though Obito Uchiha, with his goggles, was already a Chunin, he was still just a child and never stopped talking. Kato Osamu had no choice but to endure Obito's resentful stare and block him from view.

Two streaks of purple face paint marked Rin's cheeks, making Kato Osamu think of Jiraiya. The smile she wore when facing Obito also felt strangely familiar to him. There had once been a girl who smiled at him that way too...

"Hey, Kato Osamu, you! Don't sneak looks at Rin!"

"Alright."

With no intention of arguing with Obito, Kato Osamu nodded expressionlessly. The look in his eyes, as though he were watching a child, made Obito deeply unhappy.

"Obito, no more talking. We're about to leave the Land of Fire..."

Rin's voice was crisp. Though they had only known each other for a few days, in Kato Osamu's view, even Minato's orders might not have carried as much weight as Rin's words.

"Rin, I..." Obito wanted to say more, but when he saw her reproachful gaze, he quickly covered his mouth with a hand.

Obito might have been a little slow, but he was not stupid. Knowing they were about to enter enemy territory, he said nothing more.

The entire forest was left with only the howling wind and the faint sounds of the four moving. Kato Osamu remained silent as he sensed the changes around them.

After traveling for roughly an hour, Minato Namikaze raised a hand lightly, and all four stopped. With a hint of vigilance, Kato Osamu quietly leaned behind a large tree.

"Osamu, Obito, Rin, once we reach the battlefield, there may be times when I cannot spare attention for the three of you. You must remain alert to the enemy at all times. I will transfer Kakashi Hatake over to serve as the team's vice-captain. If I am absent, the four of you are to immediately form a team."

"Yes, Lord Minato!"

"Osamu, we haven't even reached the camp yet. No need to be so serious..."

Minato Namikaze's voice drifted over with a trace of amusement, but Kato Osamu remained silent.

"Sensei Minato! Why does it have to be that Kakashi Hatake?"

"Obito, the village has only so many Jonin. Kakashi is the only one who can be transferred here. Don't tell me someone who wants to become Hokage plans to disobey military orders on his first time entering a battlefield?"

With a teasing smile, Minato Namikaze looked at Obito, whose mouth hung open as he failed to find a retort, then rubbed his head.

"Rin, when you have the chance, talk more with Osamu about medical ninjutsu... Osamu is quite proficient in it..."

"Yes, Sensei Minato!"

"No! That guy is even more hateful than Kakashi Hatake!"

"Obito! Don't be rude!"

Rin lightly knocked Obito on the head. Obito curled his lips, made a face at Kato Osamu, and only then nodded sullenly.

"Got it, Rin..."

Minato smiled at Obito's obedient behavior. With Rin acting as a buffer, it seemed he did not need to worry too much about how the group would get along.

"Alright, the camp is close. We'll rest one last time. After that, you must be constantly aware of your surroundings. The enemy will show you no mercy."

"Yes!"

Konoha's camp was not far away. The final stretch went smoothly, and they encountered neither enemies nor any Konoha ninja.

Yet the fallen trees and the terrain ravaged beyond recognition told Kato Osamu that the war had entered a white-hot stage from the moment the two sides first clashed.

Konoha's camp was likewise filled with a grim, murderous atmosphere. The clouds of war had completely shrouded the entire front line.

"Sensei Minato disappeared again... When are we actually going to the battlefield..."

Each team had only been assigned one tent. Due to the Cloud Shinobi's surprise attack, Konoha's fortress at the border had already fallen to the enemy.

The ninja originally stationed there had all been killed. Now, they could only set up camp in a concealed location and use it temporarily as a strategic command center.

Ever since Minato had brought them to the camp, he had vanished from sight. Even when they occasionally saw him, he was always in a rush, with barely enough time to exchange a few words.

"Obito, don't rush... Sensei Minato said we cannot take missions until Kakashi Hatake arrives."

Rin seemed somewhat unused to living with two boys, or perhaps she was simply unused to being around Kato Osamu. She sat alone in a corner.

Kato Osamu could sense her gaze sweeping over him several times. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she never spoke.

"It's already been two days! What is that Kakashi Hatake doing?"

Although he was happy being around Rin, whenever Obito thought of Kakashi Hatake, he could not suppress his anger.

"He's here..."

Kato Osamu sat on the other side of the tent with his eyes closed, resting. From Obito's endless chatter, he had gained a general idea of Kakashi's identity and traits.

Within his senses, a masked ninja about their age was slowly approaching their tent.

"Kato freak, what did you say? Who's here?"

Watching Kato Osamu sit motionless in the corner of the tent all day, Obito had privately labeled him a freak.

"Obito, don't give people nicknames!"

While Obito and Rin bickered, Kato Osamu turned his gaze toward the tent entrance. A young man with somewhat gloomy eyes and a short blade strapped to his back gently lifted the tent flap.

"I think I heard someone calling my name..."

Leaning lazily against the wooden post by the entrance, the white-haired young man swept his gaze over Obito and Rin before settling it on Kato Osamu.

"Ka... Kakashi?"

"You bastard! You bastard! Do you know how long I've been waiting?"

"Asshole!"

Obito froze for a moment, then charged forward, only for the white-haired young man to dodge him easily.

"Obito, you seem to have gotten a little stronger... Though you're still weak..."

"Kakashi, you're finally here!"

Rin also looked somewhat relieved. She turned toward Kato Osamu, who was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"Kato, this is Kakashi Hatake. From now on, he'll be our captain..."

"Kakashi, this is Kato Osamu. He's the new member of our team..."

Rin had always been trying to break down the barriers within the team, but she could never find the right opportunity. Kato Osamu could sense the kindness in her heart.

"Konoha Genin Kato Osamu, greetings, Captain Kakashi!"

Kato Osamu stood and looked at Kakashi. Beneath those gloomy, dead-fish eyes lay a guarded expression. It seemed Kakashi knew something; Minato Namikaze had likely told him about Kato Osamu's identity as Root.

"Kato Osamu... a Genin..."

Kakashi glanced sideways, surprise appearing in his eyes.

"Kato frea... Osamu... You didn't pass the Chunin Ninja Exams...?"

Obito looked at Kato Osamu and nodded slightly, though his eyes now held something resembling sympathy, as if he had instantly cast aside all of his displeasure from the past few days.

"The Chunin Ninja Exams are indeed difficult. Ordinary Genin really have a hard time passing them..."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you on the battlefield!"

Obito patted Kato Osamu on the shoulder, looking at him with the gaze of a fellow poor student sharing the same misfortune.

"You should worry about yourself..."

But Kato Osamu's slightly cold words made the smile on Obito Uchiha's face freeze.