Stealing the Bells, the System Returns

The moment Minato said, "Begin,"

Kakashi and Obito shot forward almost simultaneously, heading straight for him.

As they closed in, they hurled shuriken one after another.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Minato drew a kunai and swept his arms through the air, easily deflecting the dense volley of shuriken.

A chill came from behind him.

The corner of Minato's mouth lifted. With a quick sidestep, he dodged the young girl's attack from behind.

He's so fast!

Obito was secretly stunned.

So this is the fastest man in the Shinobi World?

Ten little Narutos in one second... Ahem.

Their long-range attack had failed.

Kakashi drew the short blade from his back and pushed off hard, charging at Minato even faster.

Obito followed close behind, kunai in hand, moving to surround Minato with Kakashi.

Minato's gaze sharpened. He saw through their plan at once.

They want to force me to face them, expose my back, and give Rin an opening?

Minato nodded to himself.

Not bad. They're starting to work as a team.

But this won't be enough.

Whoosh!

Kakashi's short blade slashed down fiercely, whining as it cut through the air.

Instead of retreating, Minato stepped in. He raised his kunai in a reverse grip and shifted slightly to meet the Short Sword.

Screeech...

The scrape of metal on metal set their teeth on edge.

Sparks flickered where their weapons met.

Minato drew his arm back to absorb the force, then angled his kunai across Kakashi's blade and knocked the attack off course.

He lunged forward, putting Kakashi between himself and the others.

Rin lost her target, and Obito had to stop short.

"Kakashi, fall back!" Obito shouted.

Kakashi feinted with his blade, then sprang backward.

Obito formed Hand Seals with both hands. His throat bobbed.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A blazing ball of fire roared toward Minato.

Surprise flashed in Minato's eyes.

He tapped a foot against the ground and swiftly cleared the blast radius.

Obito hadn't expected the technique that never hit anyone to actually hit someone.

He used the opening to regroup with Kakashi, and the two charged Minato again.

Minato had barely landed when their fierce attacks came at him.

Kakashi struck from tricky angles, nearly every slash aimed at a vital point.

Obito fought with his kunai, fists, and feet, each attack carrying real force.

Minato casually knocked aside a projectile the young girl threw from a distance. He was quite pleased with their performance.

Not bad.

Kakashi's combat ability is nearly on par with some Jonin.

And Obito's overall ability is no worse than that of some veteran Chunin.

No wonder the Third specifically asked me to take charge of this team.

These two have real potential!

...Of course, the young girl is doing well too.

As Minato fought the two boys, he gradually shifted position.

Before long, they reached the spot where Obito and the others had discussed their tactics.

"Now!" Kakashi called in a low voice.

"Got it!" Obito answered.

They attacked together, forcing Minato to take a step back.

Behind Minato,

the seemingly solid ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a huge pit.

The corner of Minato's mouth rose almost imperceptibly.

They even set a trap?

Excellent!

He pretended he couldn't react in time.

As he leaped into the air, he deliberately paused for a moment, leaving an opening.

All three youngsters rushed at him.

In the end,

a small hand successfully grabbed a bell at his waist.

All four landed at once.

Kakashi knelt on one knee and slowly opened his hand.

A bell lay in his palm.

Obito sat on the ground, panting.

"Whew... We did it!"

Beside him, Rin clenched her small fists in delight.

"Yes!"

Minato smiled, thoroughly satisfied with his three students' performance.

"Very good. I declare that all of you have passed."

Just then,

a familiar notification sounded in Obito's mind for the first time in ages.

[Choice completed! Reward obtained: Lightning!]

Holy crap, my system's finally back?!

Understanding dawned on Obito.

Two years ago, he had chosen the option to lie low and wait for an opportunity.

Now the system was telling him he had completed the task.

So...

Was the opportunity becoming Minato-sensei's student?

Whatever. The system's back, and that's what matters!

Obito focused on the interface and examined his reward.

[Lightning: At the brink of life and death, your attacks will carry the power of lightning. Like a gentle elder watching over and protecting you in silence, it will help you shatter the darkness with thunder.]

When Obito read the description,

the handsome man seemed to appear before his eyes again.

Memories of the past surged through him.

Obito couldn't hold back. Tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Waaah!"

Minato was alarmed.

"Obito, what's wrong?"

He was grinning just a moment ago. Why is he suddenly crying his eyes out?!

Known as the Yellow Flash, Minato could plan for anything, yet he found himself at a complete loss.

It was his first time teaching students. He had no experience at all.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?!

Obito wiped his tears as he sobbed.

"Waaah... I'm so... so happy to be your student."

Oh. That's it...

Minato breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Obito's back and said gently,

"I'm happy to have a student like you too... Please, don't cry."

Kakashi silently thought,

You're celebrating way too soon.

Rin joined Minato in comforting Obito.

But Obito kept right on bawling.

Minato said helplessly,

"Come on, Obito, don't cry."

"To celebrate our team's formation, how about I treat you all to dinner tonight?"

Obito sniffled.

"Waaah... I couldn't possibly... How about we go for barbecue?" he asked between sobs.

Minato: "..."

The four of them sat down at a barbecue restaurant.

As Minato grilled meat for the others, he said,

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be taking on missions."

Obito swallowed a piece of grilled meat and said excitedly,

"Great! I've wanted to get out and see more of the world!"

Minato placed some cooked meat on Obito's plate and smiled.

"I know, but your first missions will probably be inside the village."

"Things like finding lost pets or missing belongings."

Oh...

Obito sighed.

So there's no avoiding the early odd jobs after all?

Everyone knew

that in the world of Naruto, a newly formed team's first mission was always finding someone's cat.

It was just like how the first mission in the Main God's Space was always Resident Evil.

Rin had no objections, though.

There was nothing wrong with taking things one step at a time.

Minato thought for a moment, then looked at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, you've already seen combat many times. Going back to missions like these might frustrate you."

"But you still need to take them seriously."

Kakashi gave a slight nod without speaking. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Obito beside him.

If I'm with this guy,

then I suppose wasting a little time is fine.

Obito grinned and raised his cup.

"Let's have a toast to the formation of Team Minato!"

"Cheers!"

Their four cups met, and every face wore a smile.

Barring anything unexpected,

they would become the most important bonds in one another's lives.