Chapter 26: Hatake Kakashi
As the lingering haze of smoke on the battlefield slowly faded, the Konoha ninja began cleaning up the area and tending to the wounded.
Akimichi Doto led Izumo, Kotetsu, and Kurenai over to Minato, his face full of pride.
"Minato, these are the members of Team Eight—Kamizuki Izumo, Kotetsu Hagane, and Yūhi Kurenai."
He gestured toward Izumo. "The kid I mentioned earlier is Izumo. On our last supply mission, he didn't just take down an Iwagakure Chūnin—he even managed to hold back an enemy jōnin."
Minato nodded, his gaze settling on Izumo. His voice was gentle as he spoke.
"Kamizuki Izumo, is it? I've heard about you from Rin and Obito. Second place at the Ninja Academy, and your progress has been incredibly fast. Just now, your speed and battlefield awareness were already far beyond that of an ordinary genin."
Izumo bowed respectfully.
"Minato-sama, you flatter me. I still have a lot to learn."
At that moment, three figures flashed in from the distance and landed beside Minato.
Leading them was a silver-haired teenager wearing a black mask, his gaze cool and sharp.
Hatake Kakashi.
Behind him followed a young man and a girl. The boy had short black hair and a stubborn, fiery look in his eyes—Uchiha Obito. The girl had long brown hair and a gentle face with clear, kind eyes—Nohara Rin.
"Minato-sensei!"
Kakashi's eyes swept across the battlefield before stopping on Izumo. A flicker of surprise passed through his gaze.
The words Akimichi Doto had just spoken had reached all three of them.
Kakashi still remembered the boy named Kamizuki Izumo from their days at the Ninja Academy—a student who had only been average back then, his performance hovering around the middle of the rankings.
And yet, just a few months after graduating, he was already showing such an outstanding performance on the battlefield. He had even managed to restrain Iwagakure jōnin.
Nohara Rin's attention was drawn to Izumo as well. She noticed the bloodstains still clinging to his clothes and the shallow cut on his arm.
She stepped forward anxiously. "Izumo-kun, are you okay? Your arm is hurt."
Rin's voice was soft and soothing.
Standing beside her, Yūhi Kurenai unconsciously tightened her grip on the edge of her sleeve. A faint, almost invisible trace of jealousy flickered deep in her eyes.
Uchiha Obito frowned and looked at Izumo with clear dissatisfaction.
"Hey! You—are you really that amazing?" he blurted out. "Rin, don't be fooled by him! He just got lucky beating Iwagakure ninja!"
"Obito, don't say things like that," Rin said gently, tugging lightly at the hem of his clothes.
"Izumo-kun really is incredible. I saw it myself just now. He took down three Iwagakure genin all by himself. He was so fast I couldn't even see him clearly."
Obito puffed out his chest, glaring at Izumo with eyes full of challenge.
"Kamizuki Izumo, how about a match with me? I'll show Rin who's really the strongest!"
Kakashi cut in coldly, his voice flat.
"Obito, you're not his opponent."
There was no emotion in his tone, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
"His speed and combat awareness are above yours. If you fight him right now, you'll only lose—badly."
Obito froze. He stared at Kakashi in disbelief.
"Kakashi! How can you side with an outsider? I'm your teammate! And I'm a genius of the Uchiha Clan—how could I lose to him?"
"Genius isn't something defined by words alone," Kakashi replied, his gaze still cool and unwavering.
"And what about the genius of the Uchiha Clan? Why haven't you awakened your Sharingan yet?"
Obito could only grumble as he stepped aside.
"Once I open these eyes, I'll make all of you see just how great I really am…"
Izumo looked at Kakashi, a spark of interest rising in his heart.
This was the first time he had truly met Hatake Kakashi.
In the memories of the body's original owner, Kakashi had been a legendary figure at the Ninja Academy—graduating at the age of five and becoming a Chūnin at six.
And in the stories, Kakashi would go on to become a jōnin at the age of twelve.
He really could be called a true genius.
Meanwhile, Akimichi Doto and Minato had stepped into a nearby meeting tent to talk.
Thinking about the noisy atmosphere of Minato's team, Doto couldn't help but feel a little amused.
"I didn't expect you to start mentoring students already, Minato. And those kids on your team are… pretty interesting."
Minato let out a small sigh, rubbing his temple with a tired expression.
"Yeah. I've got two problem children on my team."
"Seriously. I've never seen an Uchiha that strange before," Akimichi Doto laughed.
"By the way, how's the overall situation on the battlefield for the village?"
Minato's expression turned serious.
"For now, Konoha is facing enemies on three fronts at once. We're fighting Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure simultaneously. I was sent here this time to speed up the campaign against Iwagakure."
Doto nodded, his tone heavy.
"Yeah, it won't be easy. On Iwagakure's side, their commander is the Third Tsuchikage's son—Kitsuchi. He's a terrifying Earth Release specialist, with power close to Kage-level. It's a good thing you showed up. Otherwise, the pressure on our side would've been much worse."
"On top of that, Iwagakure excels at large-scale battles. Their combined ninjutsu has overwhelming destructive power. If we face them head-on, Konoha will be at a serious disadvantage."
Minato listened carefully, already turning the situation over in his mind.
"Looks like this war isn't ending anytime soon," he said quietly. "All we can do now is see which side finds the other's weakness first."
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