Meeting Minato

Obito Uchiha woke from his deep sleep, drool running from his mouth and spreading across the pillow.

Seeing Kato Osamu and Rin Nohara both looking at his face, Obito scratched his head. His usually embarrassed expression rarely carried such a flush; perhaps it was left over from just waking up.

"Rin..."

"Yeah?"

"What was I going to say again... Oh, right..."

"Do you know what that giant octopus was? I feel like I've heard of it somewhere. It seems someone told me about these things while I was half-asleep, but it's all really vague..."

As though struck by inspiration, Obito changed the subject, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere. While Rin thought about it, he quickly flipped his pillow over.

"Obito... You fell asleep in class again! The person who vaguely told you was Teacher Wada! He taught us ninja world history and Konoha history for three years..."

Rin gave a soft snort, a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Obito's little movement naturally did not escape her notice, but she would not expose him. He was actually rather cute like this.

"Back then, the First Hokage captured the nine tailed beasts and gave them to several ninja villages. Among the five great nations, Konoha possesses the Nine-Tails. The Cloud Shinobi possess the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, Iwagakure has the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, the Three-Tails and Six-Tails are in Kirigakure, the Seven-Tails is in Takigakure, and the One-Tail is in Sunagakure..."

"Each tailed beast is sealed inside a person through Sealing Jutsu, and that person is called a Jinchuriki. While tailed beasts serve as secret weapons, their prestige is also used to intimidate other ninja villages. Therefore, the identities of Jinchuriki are absolute secrets, while the ownership of the tailed beasts is widely known..."

"That's what you get for sleeping in class... You don't remember anything..."

Rin recited it as smoothly as if she were reading from a textbook, and even Kato Osamu could not help focusing on her.

"So that big guy was a tailed beast called the Eight-Tails..."

Having never taken any classes on ninja world culture, Kato Osamu was only now learning of the tailed beasts' existence through Rin's explanation.

"I didn't expect Osamu to be such a poor listener in class too..."

When Rin saw Kato Osamu looking her way, a strange glimmer flashed through her eyes. She secretly pressed her lips together and smiled, while Obito glanced sideways at Kato Osamu with an expression that said he had known it all along.

"Osamu, haha, and you still won't admit it! Rin, see? I told you. Even though this guy looks a tiny bit strong now, he must have been dead last before. If I awaken the Sharingan, I'll definitely become even stronger than him!"

"Yes, yes, yes... Obito is always the strongest... If you weren't lying in a hospital bed right now, someone might actually believe you..."

Rin teased Obito with her lips pursed. Obito snorted, raised both hands, and pulled the goggles atop his head down over his eyes. Grabbing both sides of them, he looked at Rin as though through binoculars.

"Sharingan, reveal yourself already! Take me to the battlefield! Charge, charge, charge!"

"Hahaha..."

Rin and Obito's laughter lingered around Kato Osamu's ears. For some reason, he did not find it noisy in the slightest. Instead, an inexplicable warmth arose in his heart.

Great sheets of snow drifted down from the sky like jade butterflies fluttering their wings, settling upon the dead branches of the forest. A world of ice and snow was always so elegant and tranquil, soothing every troubled heart.

As the laughter continued to reach him, he did not know why, but despite having spent nearly the entire night awake with restless thoughts, he suddenly felt at peace. Drowsiness swept over him, and he fell deeply asleep...

"You two are even taking turns sleeping..."

Obito had only just gotten up when Osamu fell into a deep sleep. Rin rolled her eyes helplessly.

"I wonder how Kakashi Hatake is doing..."

Obito swung his leg hanging high in the air, speaking absentmindedly. Lying in the hospital bed, he could not help thinking of Kakashi.

"The last time I went to see that guy, he didn't even say thank you... Hmph..."

"Kakashi's injuries were serious too, but he should be almost recovered by now..."

"Maybe Kakashi will come see us tomorrow..."

Rin and Obito chatted casually. Most of the time, Obito was the one talking while Rin simply listened quietly, responding now and then.

Their peaceful days slowly passed amid lazy, casual conversation.

A few days of sharing the hospital room seemed to have brought Obito and Rin closer to Kato Osamu. Before, they had merely been comrades who could entrust their backs to one another—though they could trust each other with their lives, there had always been a certain distance whenever there was nothing to do.

But now, it seemed to be developing into the sort of relationship where they could talk about anything, like close friends. Rin was even more so than the carefree Obito.

Obito was rough around the edges, Kakashi was cold and distant, and Rin appeared to be the glue holding them together. Yet in truth, she had always accommodated the two of them, and now there was Kato Osamu as well.

But compared to Obito and Kakashi, Rin always felt that Kato Osamu seemed to be thinking about things beyond their reach.

Just like back at the Ninja Academy, when they were still worrying about whose relationship with whom was closer, who was more handsome, and who was prettier, someone else was already considering their path forward.

That feeling was even stronger around Kato Osamu, making Rin constantly curious to explore him. As a result, her days were not quite so dull...

On the first morning after Kato Osamu had fully recovered from his injuries, he received a summons from Minato Namikaze.

There was no surprise. Kato Osamu had already prepared himself to hand over his ninjutsu to the village; he had experienced such things far too many times in Root.

Although the scrolls he handed over were impossible to cultivate successfully, there would at least be no problems with the first few steps.

Given the special nature of the Spirit Transformation Technique, no one in Root had dared to attempt it.

Fortunately, he had long prepared a cultivation scroll for a gigantic spirit body—one that naturally could not be cultivated successfully.

But contrary to his expectations, when he first met Minato Namikaze, the faintly smiling Minato did not ask him anything about ninjutsu. Instead, he handed him a scroll.

"Jonin Minato... What is this?"

There was no one else in Minato Namikaze's tent, only the two of them. Kato Osamu had no choice but to remain cautious. He lightly held the scroll without opening it immediately.

"Osamu, take a look... A little surprise..."

Minato Namikaze smiled. His gentle and humble demeanor gave Kato Osamu no sense of killing intent or any other dark emotion.

Only then did he relax his guard slightly and slowly open the scroll.

Minato Namikaze naturally noticed Kato Osamu's vigilance, but acted as though he had not seen it.

Sometimes, he could not understand the small boy before him. Osamu could entrust his life to Obito and Rin, fight until the final moment, and even trust Minato during the most dangerous moment. Why had he now become so wary?

"Is he warning me? Does he want to tell me something?"

Minato Namikaze gave Kato Osamu a deep look, yet could not detect anything unusual.

"Do you like it, junior brother Osamu? You can be considered the first case... A Genin promoted directly to Special Jonin..."

"Was it a joint recommendation from Jonin Minato and Lord Jiraiya? Kato Osamu is deeply grateful!"

Kato Osamu slowly bowed to Minato Namikaze in thanks. He now roughly understood Minato's intentions—he knew Osamu's identity, and he wanted to win him over.

A twelve-year-old Special Jonin might not sound as genius-level as Kakashi's direct promotion to Jonin, but to Konoha, it was already enough to make him a genius who had entered the higher-ups' field of vision.

A twelve-year-old Special Jonin, the reputation of a genius exceptionally promoted directly from Genin, along with Kato Osamu's battle achievements—if there were enough people backing him, Kato Osamu's reputation could be inflated to at least the same level as Kakashi's.

Yet for ordinary ninja, these things would count as a meteoric rise. For Kato Osamu, however, they seemed to have little use. From the very beginning, he had understood one truth.

In this world, strength decided everything...