Three days later.
Outside a lush forest.
Minato sat on a boulder, waiting for his students.
Always wearing a smile, he did not wear one today.
Iwagakure and Konoha went to full-scale war, with a massive army pressing straight toward the border of the Land of Fire.
The high-end combat power in the village was all deployed to the front lines.
Right now, they faced a predicament where no one was available to use.
Left with no other choice.
In a moment, he was going to send his apprentices... onto the battlefield!
Kakashi arrived first and greeted Minato.
"Minato-sensei."
Minato gave a slight nod.
"Kakashi."
After another moment.
Rin and Obito appeared in Minato's field of vision, holding hands.
"Hello, Minato-sensei," Rin said with a smile.
"You two..."
Minato was stunned at first, then his expression grew complex.
If it were in the past, he would have surely offered them a happy blessing.
But now...
Kakashi looked at the two standing side by side, a trace of a smile crossing the corner of his mouth.
This idiot finally confessed to Rin, huh...
(°ー°〃) Wait!
Kakashi's expression suddenly stiffened.
If the two of them were together.
Then wouldn't that mean in the team... I was the only single dog left?!
Being single wasn't scary, really.
Kakashi had never even thought about finding a girlfriend or anything like that.
But what was scary was.
When you were single, everyone around you had a partner!
What was even morescary was.
Your two good friends got together, and you still had to tag along as a third wheel every day!
Kakashi's eyes widened.
H-How could this happen... Dammit!
"Hello, Minato-sensei. Kakashi... you guy, why are you staring at me the whole time?"
Obito looked at Kakashi somewhat perplexedly.
"Hmph!"
Kakashi let out a cold