Still Team Minato

Obito turned happily to the girl beside him.

"Rin, this is great! We're in the same team again! Yes, yes!"

Rin spread her hands, hiding her delight as she teased him.

"What's so great about it? I'll still have to look after you."

"Uh..."

Obito scratched his head awkwardly.

He failed to notice the faint smile on Rin's lips.

Nearby, Shikaba clasped his hands behind his head and complained.

"Ah, how did I end up on a team with such a pain? What a drag!"

Nagano Nami snorted and said indignantly.

"Are you talking about me?"

Shikaba snorted back and replied lazily.

"I didn't name anyone, but it's nice that someone knows himself so well."

Nagano Nami flew into a rage.

"Idiot! Fight me, Shikaba!"

Ayako stepped between them helplessly.

"We're classmates from now on. Don't start fighting."

After reading out the team assignments,

Kisuke told each team when and where to meet.

Then he gave his closing remarks.

With that,

the graduation ceremony was finally over.

Kisuke accompanied the Third Hokage out first.

The children stayed behind to chat.

Shikaba walked over to Obito and sighed.

"I thought we'd end up on the same team, but..."

Obito patted Shikaba on the shoulder.

"It's fine. At least Ayako's on your team. Just ignore Nami over there."

Nagano Nami bared his teeth at Obito.

"Obito, fight me!"

Fight you, my ass!

Obito grumbled inwardly.

Could you stop talking like you're in some hot-blooded drama and act normal for once?

Asuma glanced toward the boys.

He had no interest in joining their conversation.

He shook his head and left ahead of the others.

Things were much more peaceful among the girls.

Rin, Shizuka, Ayako, Kurenai, and the others chatted and laughed, looking quite happy.

Too young to know sorrow, they were all caught up in the joy of graduating.

They had no idea that after graduation, some of them might never see one another again.

In a clearing outside the forests of Konoha,

a figure came running up in a hurry.

He bent over, panting for breath.

"S-sorry to keep everyone waiting!"

A silver-haired boy folded his arms and frowned.

"You're too slow, Obito!"

The girl beside the boy nodded in agreement.

"We've been waiting ages."

Between Kakashi and Rin stood a blond young man in a jonin vest.

He looked at Obito and smiled.

"So you're Obito. You're finally here."

That blond guy was ridiculously handsome.

His blue eyes were clear as gemstones, yet deep as a spring.

The moment he smiled, Obito felt it in his very DNA.

He could practically hear the words ringing in his ears.

"Though you're an enemy, you're not bad!"

"Name's Minato Namikaze. Starting today, I'll be the jonin in charge of your team. I look forward to working with you."

Obito straightened up and gave Minato a thumbs-up.

"All right!"

Minato clapped his hands and said with a smile,

"Now that everyone's here, let's briefly introduce ourselves."

"You already know my name. I like reading, especially Lord Jiraiya's novels. There's nothing I particularly dislike."

"Now, who's next?"

(According to the Book of Formation, Minato was a bookworm in everyday life. When he had no missions, he would spend the whole day reading.)

Obito covered his mouth to hide a snicker.

He knew Minato meant The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.

But Kakashi and Rin didn't know that!

Once Jiraiya released the Icha Icha Paradise series,

Minato-sensei's reputation was going to take a hit. Ha!

"I'll go first, Minato-sensei."

Rin volunteered, raising her hand.

"I'm Rin Nohara. I like the friends who are always by my side."

At that, Rin stole a glance at Obito.

But Obito was grinning to himself, lost in his own world.

He didn't notice.

Rin paused, then continued.

"Like Minato-sensei, there's nothing I particularly dislike."

Minato gave Rin an approving nod.

Then he looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi said flatly,

"Kakashi. Nothing I like. Nothing I dislike."

Uh, was this kid always so cold?

Minato rubbed his nose helplessly and turned to Obito.

"Your turn, Obito."

Obito thumped his chest and said,

"I like blac—studying! I hate going to school, and my dream is to become Hokage!"

Minato nodded thoughtfully.

From those brief introductions,

he had already gotten a rough sense of his three students' personalities.

Rin Nohara seemed like a well-behaved girl who wouldn't give him much trouble.

But the other two had strong personalities... or rather, they were a bit odd.

This team might not be easy to lead.

But that could be fun too, couldn't it?

Minato chuckled, stepped in front of the three, and said,

"All right, let's start with an exercise to test how well you work as a team."

W-work as a team?!

Obito and Kakashi exchanged a glance, both looking a little uneasy.

Rin repeated, puzzled,

"Work as a team?"

Minato took two bells from his pocket and dangled them before the three students.

"Well, here's the exercise."

"If you can take these two bells from me, you pass."

Obito exclaimed in admiration,

"Those bells are so pretty! Where did you get them, sensei? Can I have a look?"

Smiling, Minato fastened the bells to his waist and shook his head.

"Nice try, Obito, but no."

Obito hadn't expected his little trick to work anyway. He sighed regretfully.

"Then, Minato-sensei, could you give us a little time to discuss a strategy?"

Minato nodded slightly.

"Sure. I'll give you half an hour."

The three children walked off together and huddled up to talk.

Obito turned to Kakashi and asked,

"You've got more experience, Kakashi. What do you think we should do?"

Kakashi thought for a moment before answering.

"Rin will keep Minato-sensei occupied from a distance. We'll attack up close using the two-person formation we learned at school."

"Draw as much of his attention as you can. I'll lead the attack. We can also..."

Obito nodded.

"Okay. Works for me."

Rin nodded too.

"Let's do what Kakashi suggested!"

Once they had finished discussing their plan,

the three approached Minato from different directions, subtly surrounding him.

"Finished planning?" Minato asked.

Obito pulled down his goggles and nodded at Minato.

"Yes, Minato-sensei."

Minato smiled.

"Good. Let's begin."