Chapter 265: A Classic Revisited
Chapter 265: A Classic Revisited
"Don't ask me, I really don't know." In his dream, where he was being relentlessly interrogated, Obito answered subconsciously before waking up with a start.
Having learned from his previous mistake, he had planned to do his assignments during the day and cultivate at night to avoid being late again. Yet, the questions lingered in his mind, torturing him relentlessly even in his dreams.
"Did I oversleep until 10 am again?" Obito's expression turned solemn. If so, he would have been extremely late.
When Obito glanced at the clock and saw the hour hand, he heaved a sigh of relief. It was only 8:10 am, far from 10 am.
"Wait, the assembly time isn't 10 am, it's 8:30 am!" Obito suddenly realized that while he wasn't late yet, he was very close to it.
He quickly got dressed and freshened up, grabbed a loaf of bread, and bid his grandmother farewell. "Goodbye, Grandma. I'm off for my cultivation session."
"Remember to get enough rest," his grandmother reminded him with a kind smile.
Obito began running while chewing on the bread. The training ground was quite far from his home, but with his speed, he should be able to arrive just in time—8:30 am on the dot.
As Obito wondered who his last teammate could be, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of an elderly woman sitting on a bench, looking rather uncomfortable.
Even though he was worried about being late, Obito instinctively ran over to her and asked with concern, "Ma'am, are you feeling unwell? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"
"I must have twisted my waist. I'll be fine after resting here for a bit," the elderly woman replied, forcing a smile at the child's eagerness to help.
"That won't do. You need to take care of your body. How about I take you home to rest instead? Don't underestimate me because I'm small. I'm stronger than I look, and it won't take long for me to carry you home," Obito suggested, wanting to ensure the woman's safety even if she refused to go to the hospital.
After speaking, Obito flexed his arms to showcase his strength. "Oh, and I'm a ninja," he added, pointing to the forehead protector on his head, feeling that his scrawny arms might not be very convincing.
Obito continued to boast, even performing a one-handed handstand to impress her. Eventually, his efforts paid off, and he managed to convince the elderly woman to accept his help.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Obito performed the necessary hand seals and created a shadow clone. This was the solution he had thought of to both help others and not be late—his clone would assist those in need while his main body rushed to the meeting spot.
Obito anxiously watched his shadow clone, knowing that his plan would fail if the clone didn't cooperate.
"Ma'am, let me take you home," the shadow clone said, taking the initiative to carry the elderly woman without waiting for Obito's instructions.
"I won't complain about Thousand Hands today. This shadow clone jutsu is actually quite useful," Obito smirked. With this technique, he wouldn't have to worry about being late again.
Obito then sprinted towards the training ground at full speed. As he approached, the flat terrain allowed him to spot three figures in the distance—one tall and two short. However, they were too far away for him to make out their features.
As he drew closer, Obito could gradually discern the colors of their hair—brown, gold, and white.
The sight of the golden hair brought a glimmer of joy to Obito's heart, but the white hair filled him with an inexplicable sense of foreboding. Nonetheless, he didn't have time to dwell on it as he rushed forward and soon found himself standing before the trio.
"Phew, I don't think I'm late," Obito panted, catching his breath.
Kakashi was stunned to see Obito. He hadn't been given a list of team members, only informed by Hiruzen Sarutobi that he had a new team and the name of their new sensei.
So, when Kakashi arrived and saw Rin Nohara, he was surprised. Out of all the teams, they had ended up together.
"Why are you here? Is your sensei also Minato?" Kakashi asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Given Obito's unreliability, he thought there might have been a mix-up.
"Rin, is the teammate you mentioned Kakashi?" Obito asked, looking up at Kakashi with a bewildered expression.
If it was true, he had to admit that it was surprising in more ways than one.
Obito desperately hoped that Rin would shake her head, but to his dismay, she nodded and smiled. "Yes, quite a surprise, isn't it?"
Obito's heart sank. He felt that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Kakashi had been on his internship team, and now he was on his graduation team too. Was Kakashi's bad luck rubbing off on him?
"Damn it, there must be some foul play involved in the team assignments!" Obito cursed the staff in his mind.
"Then you're late," Kakashi said, realizing that he and Obito had been grouped together again. "It's past 8:30 am now."
"I was late because I was trying to convince the old lady to let me help her," Obito explained to Rin, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.
Clap!
Minato clapped his hands to get their attention and then offered a gentle smile. "Well, since you were helping someone and didn't delay too long, let's just forget about this incident."
"Even though we've met a few times before, let's introduce ourselves again to get to know each other better. I'll start," Minato suggested.
"My name is Minato Namikaze. I have many interests, including researching ninjutsu, reading, and trying my friends' new culinary creations. My dream is to become the Hokage and protect the village." Minato introduced himself briefly.
"That friend must be Teacher Mu Yue," Obito thought to himself. Earlier, he had been too surprised by Kakashi's presence to realize that it was odd for Minato to be his sensei as well.
After bidding farewell to Teacher Mu Yue, his new sensei turned out to be someone very similar to her—Minato Namikaze.
"My name is Rin Nohara. I enjoy gardening and painting. I detest war, and my dream is to save more people injured in battles and put an end to wars," Rin introduced herself next.
"I'm Uchiha Obito. I like a lot of dishes, especially those made by Teacher Mu Yue. I hate doing assignments and war. My dream is to become the Hokage and end all wars," Obito followed up.
Hearing Obito's dream, Minato gave him an approving look.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi," Kakashi said, thinking for a moment. "If I had to pick something I like, it would be cultivation. As for my dream, I'd rather not say."
His true dream was to protect his comrades, but with Obito there, it would be like declaring that he wanted to protect Obito. Kakashi couldn't bring himself to say that out loud.
"You might as well not have said anything at all," Obito commented dryly. Kakashi had already kept his introduction brief, and now he was leaving out crucial parts.
Minato had learned about this training secret from the veteran jonin instructors, and they all raved about its effectiveness.
"But why are there only two bells? Does the entire team pass if we get one bell, or does only the person who grabs a bell pass?" Madara asked curiously, interrupting Minato's train of thought.
During their internship, Mu Yue had also tasked them with a bell-stealing exercise, but she had used three bells.
Madara's question gave Minato pause, and he, too, found the situation a bit odd. It seemed strange to have only two bells, as it implied that one person was destined to fail. After all, the training wasn't designed to eliminate the weakest member.
"Well, I only have two bells on me right now, but as long as any one of you can snatch a bell, I'll consider it a pass." Minato scratched his head, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.
He recalled the old jonin instructor's advice from the day before—the key to this exercise was to intentionally let the students win by feigning carelessness once you sense that they are genuinely trying to collaborate.
"If you fail, we'll just keep at it until you succeed. Feel free to attack me at any time." Minato hung the bells on his waist and reminded them with a smile.
He was unsure about Rin's precise abilities, but he knew that Madara and Kakashi were adept at taijutsu, having witnessed their swift movements during one of their training sessions.
After explaining the rules, Minato leaned against a tree and began reading a book, quietly awaiting Kakashi's team to make the first move.
"I wonder if I should comfort them or be strict with them if they fail," Minato thought absentmindedly as he flipped through the pages.
It was his first time teaching students, and they were all Mu Yue's disciples. He felt the weight of responsibility—if he didn't teach them well, how could he ever face Mu Yue again?
"Madara, Kakashi, have you done a similar training before? You both seem so calm and unfazed." Rin called out to her teammates, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Kakashi remained silent, knowing that Madara would likely ask a barrage of questions, given his inquisitive nature.
As expected, Madara nodded and replied, "Yes, during our internship, Teacher Mu Yue also had us do a bell-stealing exercise."
"That's a bit unfortunate. I wish I had been chosen back then, too," Rin said, feeling a twinge of regret. She was the only one without prior experience, and she didn't want to be a burden on the team.
"It's really not that big of a deal. This exercise is all about teamwork, whether you've done it before or not doesn't matter." Madara offered a reassuring smile as he tried to comfort her.
Having been taught by Mu Yue for so long, Madara had come to appreciate the importance of information gathering. Although Mu Yue was shrouded in mystery, they had at least gained some insight into her abilities. In contrast, Minato was a complete unknown, so Madara didn't think prior experience with bell-stealing exercises made much difference.
"The only information we have right now is that Captain Minato is very strong and possesses an incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique. We need to gather more intelligence on him," Kakashi chimed in, his eyes narrowing in thought.
They knew of Minato's strength from Mu Yue, and they had witnessed his Body Flicker Technique firsthand on the battlefield—it was so fast that it was nearly impossible to keep track of his movements.
"Let's set up traps first and gather more information as we lure him into the trap zone," Kakashi suggested, taking charge of the strategy.
Facing such a formidable opponent as Minato, they knew that well-laid traps could give them a much-needed advantage.
"Rin and I will handle the traps. I learned a lot of trap techniques from Teacher Mu Yue," Madara said, eager to showcase his skills.
Although he had bested Kakashi in a one-on-one battle, Madara recognized that his tactical skills were lacking, so he deferred to Kakashi in that regard.
"Here, here, and over there." Kakashi scouted out the ideal locations and began setting up traps with Madara and Rin.
Having been outmaneuvered by Mu Yue's traps before, Kakashi sent out a shadow clone to keep an eye on Minato, determined to prevent him from using shadow clones to deceive and outwit them.
Once the traps were set, Kakashi received confirmation from the shadow clone that Minato hadn't made any moves. It was time for the next step.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Madara swiftly formed the necessary hand seals, gathering chakra in his throat before unleashing a three-meter-high fireball toward Minato's position.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Kakashi threw several shuriken to the side, reducing Minato's options for dodging the attack.
"Fire Style: Fire Bullet!"
Instead of evading, Minato simply smiled and performed a fire-style jutsu on the spot.
In actual combat, he rarely used the five basic nature transformation jutsu because they required hand seals, which didn't mesh well with his signature Flying Thunder God Technique. However, that didn't mean he was unskilled in nature transformation jutsu. After all, he hadn't always had the Flying Thunder God Technique; he had practiced wind and fire-style jutsu extensively in the past.
Minato exhaled a torrent of flames that formed into a massive fireball, countering Madara's fireball and continuing to advance toward Madara and Kakashi.
"Fire Style..." Kakashi silently took note of the jutsu before quickly dodging to the side.
Kakashi gave Madara a subtle nod, and Madara returned the nod, both of them understanding each other's unspoken plan.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Madara and Kakashi each created a shadow clone, and the three of them charged toward the trap zone, taking advantage of the momentary distraction created by the fire jutsu.
The students had launched their attack, and as their teacher, Minato assumed they were now fully prepared. Without hesitation, he gave chase.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
As soon as Minato entered the forest, Rin activated the traps, sending a barrage of shuriken flying toward him.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Having kept a cautious eye on their surroundings, Minato was ready. He immediately used a wind-style jutsu, exhaling a powerful gust of wind that deflected all the incoming shuriken.
"He also knows wind-style jutsu. Most jonin are proficient in two nature transformations," Kakashi noted, adding this new piece of information to their growing dossier on Minato.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
As the shuriken flew toward Minato, Madara seized the opportunity and lunged at him, delivering a powerful spinning kick.
"Your teamwork is decent, but it would be even better if all three of you attacked together," Minato commented as he nimbly dodged Madara's kick. In a swift motion, he grabbed Madara's leg and hoisted him into the air. "Now, tell me, why is Kakashi holding back?" he asked with a smile.
"Hey, Captain Minato, you'd better watch out! We've got a few more tricks up our sleeves," Madara said nonchalantly, even as he was being held by the leg.
Minato flung Madara toward a nearby tree.
Boom!
Madara dissipated into smoke—it had been a shadow clone.
"The fact that their shadow clones can use jutsu of this caliber indicates that they're even more exceptional than I thought," Minato thought, impressed by their skill.
Before Minato could catch his breath, Kakashi and the others pressed their attack, sending two thick wooden pillars crashing toward him.
(End of Chapter)
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