Konoha.
A clearing somewhere.
"Obito, you're late again."
Kakashi stood expressionlessly atop a stone pillar with his arms folded, looking at Uchiha Obito, who was rushing over while wearing his usual goggles.
Obito ran all the way over, but since he was already a trained ninja, he wasn't even out of breath. He looked at Kakashi and said, "I ran into an old lady on the way…"
"It's always the same excuse."
Kakashi gave him a look that said 'Are you kidding me?' and sighed. "Could you at least come up with a more believable reason next time?"
"What do you mean 'believable reason'?!"
Obito glared at Kakashi in annoyance. "I really did run into one…"
Just as the two were about to start bickering again, Rin, who stood to the side, intervened helplessly. "Alright, alright, that's enough. I believe Obito. Besides, isn't Minato-sensei also late?"
"He probably ran into something."
Kakashi looked around the area with some confusion. He had never seen Namikaze Minato show up late before.
Almost as soon as Kakashi finished speaking, a figure silently appeared behind him. Wearing Konoha's forehead protector and sporting golden blonde hair, it was Namikaze Minato.
"Sorry I'm late. Something came up."
"It's fine, I just got here too…"
Obito scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. Kakashi shot him a glare that clearly said, 'You've got no shame.'
Rin looked at Minato and asked, "So what's our mission today?"
"There's no mission today."
Minato glanced at Kakashi and Obito and said in a low voice, "Sunagakure has officially declared war on us. All previously scheduled missions are canceled. Starting tomorrow, you three will accompany me to the border to face the Sand ninja."
Obito froze at first, but then his eyes lit up with excitement. "We're going to the battlefield too?! Awesome! It's finally my time to shine!!"
"With how often you're late, by the time you show up, the battle will probably be over."
Kakashi cast him a sidelong glance.
Obito froze, then turned angrily to glare at him. "Kakashi, you jerk… You and your brother are both insufferable!!"
Ever since joining this squad, he had constantly been mocked and looked down on by Kakashi. Compared to that, Kaede seemed almost tolerable. The only thing that annoyed him about Kaede was how popular he was at school, almost all the girls were obsessed with him.
"Obito."
Minato ignored Kakashi's snark and looked at Obito seriously. "This time, we're going to the front lines. No matter the situation, you must obey orders. No acting on your own, absolutely not."
With Kakashi, he had no concerns about following orders. Rin was also reliable. The only wildcard was Obito, who had a tendency to cause trouble. He had to lay down the rules ahead of time, this wasn't a normal mission; they were going to war.
"...I-I understand, Minato-sensei."
Obito wilted under Minato's serious tone.
Rin took a deep breath, finally recovering from the news. "We're going to the battlefield too... I wonder how Kaede is doing."
"Kaede, huh…"
Minato hesitated for a moment upon hearing her words, then said, "How should I put this…"
Seeing his expression, Kakashi's face turned serious. "Minato-sensei, what happened to my brother?"
Obito also looked up, his gaze slightly tense.
He might not like Kaede, but he didn't want to hear any bad news about him either. What he wanted was to surpass Kaede in strength and achievements and become Hokage, not to see Kaede fall on the battlefield.
"How should I explain this…"
Under the stares of the three, Minato thought for a moment, then said, "Kaede has likely already been marked as a 'high-alert target' by the top brass of Iwagakure."
"Huh?"
Rin blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what that meant.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. He had a guess but still found it hard to believe. "What did he do on the battlefield?!"
"I don't know the details."
Minato shook his head. "...But what is confirmed is that in a recent battle, he killed more than thirty elite ninjas from Iwagakure, including a large number of Jōnin."
His words brought a sudden silence.
Even Kakashi, who had mentally prepared himself, couldn't help but look shaken. He hadn't expected Kaede to accomplish something that outrageous on the battlefield!
Rin stood frozen in place.
Killed over thirty elite Hidden Stone ninja, including numerous Jōnin… That phrase echoed repeatedly in her mind, nearly impossible to believe.
Konoha had more than 20,000 active shinobi, including over 10,000 Genin and 6–7,000 Chūnin, but the number of Jōnin was less than 300!
Each Jōnin was considered a top-tier talent, capable of leading a ninja squad, true pillars of their village.
And Kaede had killed multiple of them in a single battle.
It was almost beyond belief!
Just how strong had Kaede become?!
"N-No way!"
"Minato-sensei, maybe you misheard…"
Obito was also stunned. It was just too much to accept. It sounded like something out of a fantasy.
Minato shook his head. "It's confirmed intelligence. That child truly inherited the talent of White Fang… No, this is beyond mere talent. He must have put in an unimaginable amount of effort."
"Yes."
Kakashi took a deep breath.
As Kaede's younger brother, he knew better than anyone how insane Kaede's training was. Every day, he practiced until midnight, splitting his sleep into short bursts just to keep training.
That kind of training regimen wasn't something a normal person could endure. Kakashi had tried it once, and after just two days, his energy and mental state plummeted, he couldn't keep it up at all.
He remembered something Kaede had once said:
If you want strength far beyond others, then you must put in effort far beyond others. Every ounce of power is earned through relentless training, little by little!
And now, Kaede had reached a level where he could defeat Jōnin.
Meanwhile, Kakashi…
He hadn't even mastered Chidori.
He had only just completed the Cell Activation technique.
His current strength was still just short of the Jōnin level.
"To be left behind by this much distance…"
Kakashi shook his head inwardly.
How was he supposed to catch up now?
After hearing Minato's confirmation, Obito's expression turned slightly dazed. At this point, he was still a Genin, while Kaede already had the record of slaying multiple Jōnin.
The gap between them now felt unreal, just months ago, they were classmates in school. How had things changed so dramatically?
He must've cheated!
But… he was still Uchiha Obito. After a moment of blankness, he regained his composure, took a deep breath, and showed a confident expression once more as he clenched his fist.
"I'll surpass that guy!"
He was a member of the Uchiha Clan. once he awakened his Sharingan, his power would skyrocket.
Enjoy the spotlight while you can…
Sooner or later, I'll catch up and become Hokage!
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