At the gate of Training Ground Three in Konoha Forest, the three kids sat apart, all facing toward Konoha; they'd already been waiting an hour.
"Rin, we've waited a whole hour—this rotten guy still isn't here!"
Rin puffed out her cheeks. "Yeah, totally unreliable!"
Kakashi glanced at Obito. "Less reliable than you, and you're late every day."
Obito bristled. "What did you say, Kakashi!"
"My, my—you look full of energy."
Night Maple was in an excellent mood today, all smiles.
Seeing his smile, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi were actually spooked.
"H-hello, Sensei!"
"Mm. Good—you look nice and lively. Let's head in."
All three were silently grumbling; this teacher seemed way too unreliable.
...
Inside Konoha Forest, Night Maple was explaining the rules to Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.
"So as long as we snatch the bells from you, Sensei, we win, right?"
Night Maple nodded. "That's right. Whoever performs the worst skips lunch."
"Wha—?!" Obito yelped, a bad premonition forming.
"And you've got two hours. Begin…"
Before he finished, the whistle of a kunai split the air.
Kakashi had thrown it!
"Shff!"
Night Maple caught the kunai between his fingers, chuckling. "Not bad."
As he spoke, Kakashi's figure vanished and reappeared behind Night Maple, kunai driving for him.
Obito gaped, his body trembling a little.
Beside him, Rin clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes bright.
But in the next second, Night Maple popped up behind Kakashi.
Kakashi's eyes widened. "Body Flicker?!"
Before he could react, Night Maple grabbed his left leg and hoisted him upside down.
Kakashi didn't give up—one hand shot for the bells at Night Maple's waist, while the other stabbed with his kunai.
"Good—steady under pressure."
Night Maple tilted his head, let the kunai pass, and flung Kakashi away.
"Whoops!"
Kakashi slammed into Obito; the two of them tumbled across the ground.
"What's a shinobi, huh? You two just spectating—planning to be the ninja cheer squad, here to shout 'Go team'?"
Rin froze at Night Maple's words, then snapped to. "Kakashi, Obito, we can't act alone—we have to coordinate!"
Night Maple nodded in approval. "The girl's got the quicker wits."
Rin smiled at the praise.
Kakashi stood, patted the dust from his clothes, and fell silent.
Obito climbed up too, pouting. "But there are only two bells. How are we supposed to work together?"
"We all go all-out, and one of us still doesn't eat?"
Rin blurted, "We can split ours!"
Night Maple watched Rin with appreciation; she was Team Seven's natural guide.
Kakashi was strong and tsundere—looked down on teammates, always wanted to solo.
Obito was insecure and timid—always complaining about the situation instead of finding solutions.
Only Rin, at times like this, could pull the squad together.
"Alright, again. I won't use any ninjutsu—come take the bells."
Two hours later, Obito was so tired he couldn't straighten up. He pouted, "Sensei, you specialize in taijutsu, don't you!"
In those two hours the three hadn't so much as touched a bell, never mind take one.
Obito figured Night Maple must be a taijutsu specialist—why else not use ninjutsu?
On the other side, Kakashi got booted away again, hit the ground, and pushed himself back up.
"Idiot!"
Obito flared. "Did I say something wrong?"
"He's Senju Night Maple! Heir to the First Hokage's blood! The First was a taijutsu specialist? Are you trying to be funny?"
Kakashi's rapid-fire put-down left Obito stupefied.
What?
Senju Night Maple?
Our teacher's that busted?
Rin, a civilian-born girl, hadn't known Night Maple's identity; hearing Kakashi, she looked at Night Maple with open admiration.
In every heart in Konoha, the First Hokage was the supreme God of Shinobi.
His blood's heir, naturally, stood far above.
Night Maple smiled wryly. "Hold up—my name's Night Maple. I don't have the Senju surname."
Kakashi blinked. "Sensei—you're not Senju…?"
Night Maple chuckled. "Kids don't need to worry about that. Just call me Night Maple-sensei."
As he spoke, another Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Night Maple.
Clone Technique!
Rin and Obito both brightened.
Kakashi was about to snag the bells—then in the next instant Rin and Obito's eyes bulged as the Kakashi beside them popped out of existence.
The one talking had been a clone; the real Kakashi was pinned face-down under Night Maple.
"Oh? When did you use the Clone Technique? Not bad—learning clones so young."
Night Maple quickly let Kakashi go and smiled. "Good work. You're a squad first and shinobi second. Only teamwork reduces casualties in real missions—and in war."
"Strength matters, but teamwork makes 1 + 1 greater than 2."
"Complementary strengths can flip a battlefield."
"Conversely, a team's weak link often becomes the enemy's entry point."
"For example…"
As Night Maple spoke, a small root sprouted beneath the three.
Kakashi's eyes widened and he leapt back. "Careful!"
Rin retreated at once.
Only Obito looked baffled.
"What?"
Before he could react, the root dragged Obito to Night Maple's feet.
"Ah!"
Night Maple crouched, flicked Obito's forehead, and smiled. "See—this is the team's weak link."
"Weak links can be fatal. Say right now you're on a mission carrying classified intel—and Obito gets captured."
"Rin, Kakashi—give up your intel, or Obito dies."
"Ah…" Rin gasped softly.
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
Night Maple smiled. "It's a metaphor. At that moment, you have to make a painful choice."
"Abandon a comrade for the sake of the village—or abandon the mission for this comrade, causing the village great losses and more deaths."
Shamefaced, Obito still mouthed off. "Sensei, that's not fair—you struck while I wasn't paying attention!"
"And you promised no ninjutsu—then used ninjutsu!"
Kakashi: "Idiot…"
Night Maple chuckled. "Is there 'fair' or 'unfair' on a battlefield? There are only survivors—and fallen heroes."
"Remember the Hero Memorial Stone by the gate? Those are the dead—just a name left on stone."
"You think, before they died, they said, 'This isn't fair—the enemy struck while I wasn't looking'?"
"The intel said 'genin'—how is he stronger than a jōnin? The intel was wrong, so I died?"
Hearing this, all their faces changed.
"Obito, if you don't want to be baggage for your teammates, train more. Stop daydreaming about unlocking the Sharingan."
"If others train five hours, you train ten. If they train ten, you train twenty. If your talent's lacking, stop living in your fantasies."
"War is far crueler than you imagine."
"And it isn't far away."
"If you don't want to die, don't want to drag your teammates down, don't want to shame your clan—then work."
Then Night Maple saw Obito cry.
With one bout of Talk-no-Jutsu, he'd scolded Big Boss Obito into tears?