"You met the masked man?!!"
Sasuke was the first to react, demanding answers with barely restrained agitation.
Among everyone present, he and Naruto harbored the deepest hatred toward the masked man.
Naruto was just as furious. He stared at his mission scroll and snapped, "Wasn't this with Orochimaru?!"
"He probably got it from Orochimaru," Obito replied. "His dōjutsu is far stronger than mine. It seems he can open the entrance and exit of his dōjutsu space anywhere within a certain range."
Minato looked slightly surprised. "When I encountered the masked man during the Nine-Tails incident, he didn't seem nearly this proficient with his dōjutsu."
"It's been more than ten years since then," Jiraiya said. "You can't compare the past to the present."
It had been twelve years since that man attacked Konoha and caused the death of Minato's student.
Compared to the three from Team Kakashi, the remaining members of Team Minato were more concerned about the safety of the Obito standing in front of them now.
"Obito," Rin asked gently, "did he say anything to you?"
Unlike Rin's tactful approach, Young Kakashi was far more blunt.
"Are you an idiot?" he snapped. "When he showed up, why didn't you make any noise at all?" He let out a sigh before continuing, "Since you know you're the type who's easy to take advantage of, don't believe a single word that Obito from this world tells you."
Rin nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Whatever he said to you, you have to tell us. Don't keep it to yourself and overthink it."
She stared at Obito seriously, just like back then, when he tried to hide his injured hand behind his back and she caught him immediately.
"Kakashi and I will keep a close eye on you."
"Rin…"
Obito was genuinely moved. He then recounted everything that had happened when he met the adult Obito the previous night.
"That intelligence scroll was given to you by him?!" someone exclaimed.
Obito felt awkward just thinking about it. "Yeah… but he seemed to have forgotten about the Ninja Eight Attributes test from the Academy. He thought it was some kind of code and promised that if I could crack it, he'd return Naruto's mission scroll to us."
"..."
The others were momentarily speechless.
Should they say that even after becoming the final boss of the entire ninja world, Obito Uchiha was still Obito Uchiha?
After going through so much trouble, the so-called 'code' turned out to be nothing more than his childhood Ninja Eight Attributes.
And to top it off, he'd been mocked by everyone because his Wisdom score was only 2.
"But whose B-rank mission reward was that scroll from?" Sakura asked, getting straight to the point. "Neither Naruto nor Obito has taken any B-rank missions recently."
Adult Kakashi spoke up. "Among the remaining people, the ones who have mission scrolls are Itachi Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi."
"The chances of it being either of them are very low," Minato said. "As of yesterday afternoon, we had already met them, and I didn't sense any new mission being added to their scrolls."
Through his perception of space-time chakra, he could immediately tell when a nearby mission scroll gained a new task.
"In that case, there's only one possibility left…" someone murmured.
As that realization sank in, Sasuke, both Young and Adult Kakashi, Minato, Jiraiya, Sakura, and Rin all fell silent.
Naruto and Obito were a beat slower, but they quickly caught on as well.
"It's Obito's previous S-rank mission, the one for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan," Naruto said. "We still don't know who ended up with the new mission scroll that came with it."
"Now it seems we already have the answer," Jiraiya said quietly.
There was no need to spell it out.
The other mission scroll was most likely in the hands of…
…the masked man. The Obito Uchiha of this world.
"Why?!" Sasuke shouted. "Why would that bastard have a mission scroll?!"
Itachi was one thing, but why should the very source of all their suffering, the Obito Uchiha of this world, be worthy of a mission scroll?!
Naruto's parents had died because of him. The Uchiha clan's reputation had been destroyed through his collusion with Danzo.
Naruto, standing beside Sasuke, said nothing, but his clenched fists and gritted teeth made his fury just as clear.
"Alright, let's leave that for now," Minato Namikaze said. "At the very least, he kept his word and returned Naruto's mission scroll to us."
He opened the scroll, his eyes stopping at the final task.
Naruto suddenly remembered. "Dad, what did you mean earlier when you said I had a new mission?"
"It's an A-rank mission."
A-rank?!
Everyone was slightly startled. An A-rank mission reward was no small sum.
Minato held the scroll up for them to see.
[Mission Rank: A-rank]
[Mission Content: Treat Tsunade-sama's hemophobia.]
"That granny?!"
Just thinking about her made Naruto's head hurt.
Who flicks someone on the forehead and sends them flying more than ten meters?!
"Naruto, don't you think your recent missions are a bit…" Obito started.
Seeing the long list of pending tasks, Naruto grabbed his head and begged Obito not to continue. SS-rank, A-rank, C-rank, and now another A-rank?!
"You can't assign missions like this!" Naruto scratched at the floor in panic. "Even if I usually say I want more A-rank or S-rank missions, you don't have to dump all of them on me at once, dattebayo!!"
Obito looked at him. "I don't know, looks to me like you're being favored by fate."
"But what if I can't finish them?!" Naruto blurted out. Even though he'd promised Mom to always believe in himself, this kind of pressure would make anyone anxious!
Minato gently rubbed Naruto's head. "Relax. You'll be able to do it."
"Why are you so confident, Dad?" Naruto slumped his shoulders.
Minato thought for a moment. "Probably because you're my son."
That was a straight hit.
Naruto instantly lit up, his mood turning bright.
Minato continued, "The previous S-rank and A-rank missions should take place during the third stage of the Chūnin Exams. Learning the Rasengan is likely a short-term objective. As for treating Tsunade-sama's hemophobia…"
He paused and glanced at Jiraiya.
"I believe that's also a near-term task," Minato said. "I can't be completely sure, but the trigger is most likely the exchange between Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru three days from now."
Naruto nodded, half understanding.
Sasuke reminded him, "Don't forget, Kabuto Yakushi still has a mission that involves fighting Tsunade-sama."
"Exactly," Minato said. "Taking Naruto's mission into account, I've arrived at a possible conclusion."
"Kabuto Yakushi's strength is probably around Shizune's level," Jiraiya said. "But if he's supposed to fight Tsunade and still gain the upper hand… then there's only one explanation."
"He's exploiting her weakness," Minato said.
Hemophobia.
"That means Kabuto Yakushi's mission can only be completed before Naruto finishes this A-rank task," Jiraiya continued. "Otherwise, the only option would be to convince Tsunade-sama to go easy on him."
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "Honestly… I'd rather Tsunade hold back than have someone tear open the wounds in her heart again."
Minato understood his teacher's feelings. As Jiraiya's student, he knew exactly how deeply he cared for Tsunade-sama.
"But," Jiraiya suddenly changed tone, "like you said, the trigger for completing Naruto's mission might very well be Kabuto Yakushi's mission itself. That's what you're thinking, right?"
Minato nodded. "That's right. Which is why I plan to bring Kabuto Yakushi to the exchange site as well."
"Bring Kabuto Yakushi along?!"
"Isn't he Orochimaru's subordinate? Won't he try to escape or attack us?"
Regarding the battle arrangements, Minato explained, "That's one of the risks. So everyone needs to accelerate their training. During the next fight, Team Kakashi will take the lead. Obito, Kakashi, Rin—you three stay in the rear and keep track of the overall situation. Can you do that?"
"Understood!"
...
The three days of training began in full swing.
As the main combatants, Naruto and Sasuke pushed themselves especially hard.
Even with Shadow Clones and the occasional secret boost of chakra from the tsundere Kurama, Naruto was still a bit slower than Sasuke.
By the time Sasuke could barely fire off a single Chidori, Naruto had only just managed to burst the rubber ball, barely stepping into the third stage of his training.
Moreover, the third stage of training was far more difficult than the first two. Naruto could barely manage it even with more than three Shadow Clones.
Sasuke panted heavily, yet still didn't miss the chance to provoke him.
"Hey, dead last, are you really okay? There's only one day left."
Their training ground had shifted from a forest to a desolate canyon. Knowing that rivalry would better push them forward, Minato deliberately arranged for the two of them to train in the same area.
From time to time, the faint chirping of Chidori echoed through the canyon. By the afternoon of the second day, Sasuke had already shattered who knew how many rocks. Even so, his strongest Chidori could still only be used once per day.
Hearing Sasuke's taunt, Naruto forced himself up from the ground. Blue light gathered in his palms as he formed a Rasengan and charged straight toward the target carved into the rock ahead.
Sasuke was secretly stunned. A ninjutsu that didn't require a single hand seal. The blond man sitting on the rock nearby, watching them with a gentle smile, truly was terrifyingly strong.
Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke could clearly see that when Naruto first completed the Rasengan, its power was impressive. But as Naruto rushed toward the rock, the chakra in his hand rapidly dissipated, dropping to less than twenty percent.
Boom…
The Rasengan only managed to carve a shallow spiral-shaped dent into the surface of the rock. Worse still, it missed the target entirely, striking far off to the side.
"…Damn it!"
Naruto grew restless. Sweat poured off him, and he felt like he was about to collapse.
He clearly had enough chakra to form the Rasengan, but maintaining it while using it offensively like this was just too hard.
"Alright, take a break," Minato said as he jumped down from the rock.
"No!" Naruto protested. "There's only one day left!" He stared at the hand he'd just used for the Rasengan. "If I stay at this level, I won't be able to beat Orochimaru."
Minato didn't know whether to laugh or scold him. "Don't forget, there's still me, Kakashi, and Jiraiya-sensei. The three of us aren't so weak that we'd definitely lose to Orochimaru and need you kids to step in."
"But Orochimaru has his eyes on Sasuke, and he wants to kill Grandpa Hokage!" Naruto shouted. "I have to protect them!"
"Who needs your protection?! You super idiot!" Sasuke snapped, kicking Naruto from behind.
Naruto collapsed face-first onto the ground and couldn't get back up, mostly because he'd already completely exhausted himself.
With no other choice, Minato said, "Alright, sit down and rest for a bit. We'll walk back later."
"Walk back?" Naruto blinked. "Not using Flying Thunder God?"
There was a faster way, so why not use it?
Both Naruto and Sasuke were confused.
Minato explained seriously, "If we walk back, we'll pass through villages. No matter how hard you train, you mustn't forget about everyday life, or forget that people live within society, not alone."
He continued, "If you spend too long moving through darkness, never seeing the lives of others, your sense of empathy will slowly fade. You'll become cold or filled with anger. That's not good for shaping your values."
"You might not fully understand now," Minato said gently, rubbing their heads, "but you will once you've experienced more."
They didn't really understand, but the two twelve-year-olds listened anyway. After resting, the three of them walked back together.
As they passed through a small town, Naruto suddenly stopped.
"What are you staring at, dead last?" Sasuke asked.
Following Naruto's gaze, Sasuke saw a child asking for an ice pop. The father bought one of those that could be snapped in half.
He broke it and handed one half to the child.
"Huh? I could've eaten the whole thing!"
"No, no. We still have to eat dinner when we get home. I'll eat this half," the father said.
"Cheapskate!"
"Your mom made your favorite grilled meat rice. Let's go."
"Really?!"
Sasuke saw Naruto's envious gaze almost turn tangible.
"Let's go," Sasuke said.
"Oh," Naruto replied.
"If you want one, just ask Minato-sama to buy it for you," Sasuke added. The moment he said it, he felt he'd talked too much. It didn't fit his usual image, and he felt a little embarrassed, even regretting it.
Naruto scratched his head and laughed foolishly. "I'll try asking him later."
For no clear reason, Sasuke felt a twinge of sympathy.
At least he had experienced growing up with both parents around, cherished by his older brother.
The Fourth Hokage from another world probably wouldn't be able to stay here for long. Likely less than a year. One day, Naruto would taste that same warmth… and then lose it again.
Would he be able to endure that?
"Wait here for me."
When they reached the entrance of the inn, Minato suddenly told Naruto and Sasuke to stay put.
…
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