"Sensei is so slow! I didn’t even arrive te, but he’s te? Uable!"

  "Obito, maybe our Sensei had something to take care of."

  "Ugh..." Kakashi g Obito, unsure how to even respond.

  You do realize you’re often the one who’s te, right?

  Still, as a jōnin, punctuality was an essential part of the profession. How could he be so te?

  Could it be... he’s watg us secretly?

  Kakashi gripped his White Light Sabre and began sing his surroundings cautiously.

  Moments ter, his body stiffened as he slowly turo look at the tree behind him.

  "Good afternoon, everyone."

  In the instant, Minato Namikaze appeared before them.

  So fast!

  Kakashi was stuhat speed...

  Among everyone he had seen, only Kyoichi had such terrifying mastery of the Body Flicker Teique. Now, he had entered a sed person with simir skill.

  "Sensei, you’re so te!" Obito shouted angrily.

  "Hahaha, actually, I’ve been here for a while, just all of you. Clearly, only Kakashi dispyed any vigihe two of you... you fail!"

  "Huh?"

  Obito froze in disbelief.

  Fail?

  The test hadn’t even started yet!

  "Of course, Rin has demonstrated excellent potential as a mediinja, having studied medical knowledge from a young age. She is a type of ninja we desperately need, so I’m allowio pass. But as for you... Kakashi and Rin, the two of you vote oher to keep Obito ieam."

  Minato’s tone remained warm, but his words were anything but.

  Earlier, Kyoichi had suggested that Minato didn’t have enough gravitas and advised him to deliver such statements with a smile. Judging by the current atmosphere, it was clear the advice worked wonders.

  Obito was pletely dumbfounded, his mouth opening and closing without making a sound.

  What the hell?

  He thought they were here to take a test, but now it seemed he had already been disqualified before it even began.

  Meanwhile, Kakashi was deep in thought.

  Obito... really wasn’t cut out for this.

  It wasn’t about his skills but rather his carefree personality. Coordinating with him would be a nightmare. Kakashi seriously sidered whether they should repce Obito.

  But before he could speak, Rin interjected, "Sehat’s not fair... Obito has been w hard. Please give him another ce."

  "Well, he didn’t arrive te this time. That’s some progress," Minato said with a nod and a smile.

  "I-I promise I won’t be te again!" Obito pleaded, his panic evident.

  He could tell Minato wasn’t bluffing. As a renowned jōnin and the you in Konoha’s history, Minato wouldn’t hesitate to kick him out if he deemed him unsuitable.

  "Kakashi, what’s your opinion?"

  "Me? If it were up to me, I wouldn’t keep him. But... whatever, do as you like."

  Seeing the pleading look in Rin’s eyes, Kakashi decided to drop the matter.

  "Alright, the test begins now. The objective is simple: nd a hit on me, and you pass. The test starts... now!"

  Minato crouched slightly, his posture rexed, as if leaving himself wide open.

  "Scatter!"

  ---

  "Just as I thought..."

  Yūhi Shinku sighed.

  Expeg Obito to follow a strategy was asking for the impossible—especially with Kakashi in charge.

  From the very beginning, Obito and Kakashi had cshed.

  Sarutobi Asuma frowned and g Shisui before turning to watch Obito, who remained rooted to his spot.

  What a carefree guy.

  The oppo was a jōnin!

  The three of them—Asuma, Kurenai, and Shisui—had gone all out during their ow, coordinating their every move to the best of their ability, yet they hadn’t even e close to toug Kyoichi.

  And Obito thought he could handle Minato alone?

  "To be fair, his Fireball Jutsu is quite det," Kyoichi remarked with a chuckle.

  Obito wasirely without merit.

  His Fireball Jutsu, shuriken teiques, and kunai handling were all solid. The problem was his impulsive nature and poor deaking.

  In short, Obito wasn’t at the bottom because he cked talent—he just didn’t use his brain.

  But a Fireball Jutsu alone wouldn’t be enough to nd a hit on Minato.

  As expected, the fireball only struck a substitution.

  Forced to retreat, Rin tried to assist, while Kakashi threw shuriken from a distao provide cover without hesitation.

  "Why is Kakashi holding back?" Shisui asked, puzzled.

  "Hmm?"

  Asuma tilted his head, not uanding the question.

  Kurenai, however, expined, "Kakashi is like that. It’s hard to expin."

  "Shisui, what would you do in this situation?" Kyoichi asked.

  "If I were Kakashi, I’d focus on resg Obito and Rin. As the stro member of the team after the jōnin, it’s my responsibility to eheir safety."

  "Let’s keep watg."

  Kyoichi didn’t ent further.

  Ba the battlefield, Minato made his move.

  Despite Obito and Rin’s efforts to resist, they were clearly outmatched. Just as they were about to lose, a fsh of steel emerged from the ground.

  It was Kakashi!

  "So fast!"

  Asuma was stunned.

  This was the first time he had seen Kakashi go all out. His speed and decisiveness were remarkable, resembling a seasoned warrior far beyond his years.

  But it still wasn’t enough.

  Minato was faster.

  The csh of ons echoed across the training field.

  Obito and Rin tried to join the fight, but their interferenly made the battle more chaotic.

  "What do you think?" Kyoichi asked.

  "They’re fighting all wrong."

  "There’s no coordination at all."

  "I agree."

  Shisui, Kurenai, and Asuma all shared the same se.

  In truth, it wasn’t that there was no coordination—it was just a plete eaningful teamwork. Obito and Rin had some synergy, but Kakashi’s inclusion threw the entire dynamito disarray.

  Team battles were never about individual performance. Unless someone was overwhelmingly powerful, coordination was key.

  And Kakashi, for all his talent, wasn’t that strong.

  "If the three of you went up against them, do you think you could win?" Kyoichi asked.

  "Us? I think we could," Asuma replied after some thought.

  Shisui and Kurenai nodded in agreement.

  Kakashi was strong, but he was only one person. If they ralized Obito and Rin first, it wouldn’t be difficult to deal with Kakashi afterward.

  "Minato, let them join the round."

  "Alright. I’ll this up quickly so they don’t exhaust too much chakra."

  Minato’s shadow e dispersed, and in an instant, the pace of the battle shifted.

  With a sudden burst of speed, Minato khe forehead protectors off Kakashi, Obito, and Rin in quick succession.

  "All of you fail!"

  Minato’s expression turned serious.

  He g the three of them before fog on Kakashi.

  "If this is what you think being a ninja is, then I suggest you all go back to the Academy. Don’t set foot otlefield and risk harming both yourselves and others."

  "Ugh..."

  Kakashi gripped his short sword tightly, gring at Obito before turning away with a snort, clearly dissatisfied.

  "Not vinced? Fine. Fortunately, I invited Kyoichi and his First Squad here. You spar with them and see what a real team looks like."

  Minato’s tone was sharp and unyielding.

  For the first time, he truly uood why Kakashi didn’t fit into any in team and why the Third Hokage had assigned him to Minato for restructuring.

  With that attitude, how could he expect to fun in a team?

  Gcell