Minato Namikaze arrived at the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi briefed him on the current situation.
Hiruzen spoke seriously, "We don't have enough time to mobilize so many ninja to stop the Rock ninja, so we'll have to launch a surprise attack. I'm relying on you for this, Minato."
Minato understood the gravity of the matter and nodded, "I understand. I'll inform Kakashi immediately and then set off right away."
After leaving the Hokage Building, Minato summoned three small frogs to notify Obito, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara. Since Shindai lived next door and needed time to pack, Minato decided to pick him up along the way.
Minato reached Shindai's doorstep and knocked on his door.
"Shindai, it's time to go on a mission!"
"I'm coming!"
Shindai opened the door. Minato saw him with wild, disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes.
Frowning slightly, Minato asked, "Shindai, how many days have you gone without sleep?"
Shindai scratched his head, "Hmm, not sure, but I feel fine. It won't affect the mission."
"Hurry and pack. We've got an S-rank mission. We need to head straight to the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass Country."
At once, Shindai's expression turned serious.
The Grass Country bordered both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.
An S-rank mission to the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass Country...
Was the incident at Kannabi Bridge about to begin?
"I understand, Minato. I'll get ready right away."
After informing Shindai, Minato returned home to pack his own things.
Kushina Uzumaki asked with concern, "Has war broken out again?"
Minato nodded, "Yes, the situation is urgent. I must leave immediately with Shindai and the others."
Kushina fell silent as she watched Minato packing.
Shindai had already finished packing and arrived at Minato's house: "I'm ready, Minato. Oh, Kushina-nee is here too."
After fastening his ninja gear pouch to his waist, Minato said, "I'm all set too. Let's head out immediately. Kushina, Shindai and I are leaving now."
Kushina took a deep breath before calling out reluctantly, "All of you must return safely! I'll be waiting for you at home!"
Both Minato and Shindai turned their heads toward Kushina and smiled brightly, "Yes! Wait for us, Kushina!"
...
Outside Konoha Village,
Minato, Shindai, Kakashi, and Rin had already arrived. Only one person was missing—Obito.
"Where the heck is Obito? Did he fall into the toilet? He's so slow!"
Shindai leaned lazily against a rock, twirling a dog's tail grass in his mouth.
Kakashi was growing a little bored waiting around: "That idiot, always messing up at crucial moments."
Rin Nohara speculated, "Maybe Obito got held up by something."
"I'm here! Wait for me... Oh man!"
Obito rushed over in a sprint but accidentally tripped over a tree vine. He immediately lost balance and face-planted, sliding right to Shindai's feet.
Shindai saw Obito's masked face by his foot. Unable to resist, he directly stepped on it.
"You're way too slow, Obito."
Obito quickly bolted upright like a fish leaping out of water, brushing dust off his hair while complaining, "Bastard!"
Shindai shrugged his hands, "You offered it yourself. If I didn't step on it, it'd feel unsatisfying."
Kakashi sighed helplessly, "Do you even know what time we were supposed to meet?"
"Not exactly — I met an old lady halfway who asked me for directions."
Shindai sneered slightly, "Directions? Listen to yourself — an old lady who doesn't recognize the village roads asking *you*? Probably she actually took a liking to you and used the question about directions as an excuse to strike up a conversation, right?"
Kakashi chimed in agreement, "Very likely. After all, Obito is quite in high demand among the elderly ladies. Once, I even heard one saying that if she were a couple dozen years younger, she'd marry Obito."
Obito irritably replied, "What nonsense are you two spouting!"
Minato Namikaze also spoke up for Obito, "Don't say that. Obito definitely helped that old lady get somewhere, right, Obito?"
Obito nodded vigorously, "Exactly! The old lady had very heavy luggage, so I helped carry it there."
Shindai looked at Minato in disbelief, "Sensei, no wonder you're completely under Kushina's thumb."
Kakashi also joked, "Teacher, you're too naive. Every time Obito meets an old lady, the same thing happens."
Minato gave an embarrassed laugh.
Obito grumbled, "Don't either of you have any tenderness in your hearts?"
Rin Nohara also defended Obito, "Alright, you guys stop arguing. Obito has always been a very warm-hearted person."
Kakashi sighed, "Rin, you're just spoiling Obito too much. He'll end up spoiled rotten, and today's especially important for me."
Shindai asked curiously, "Important? How? Did you get pregnant, Kakashi?"
Kakashi's temple instantly bulged, "Can you clear that junk out of your head!"
Obito tilted his head thinking, "Hmm, what was it again? Oh right, you became a Jonin today, didn't you, Kakashi?"
Shindai scoffed disdainfully, "Hmph, what's so important about that? I'm still a Genin — and do I go around bragging about it?"
Kakashi twitched his mouth, "What exactly are you proud of just being a Genin?"
"Shindai, aren't you excited?" Shindai raised his head. "Haven't you heard? The strongest ninja are always genin!"
Rin Nohara pointed out, "Shindai, you're not a genin anymore. Since you've been staying at home these past few days, we didn't get the chance to tell you. You, Obito, and I have all become chunin now."
"Eh? Chunin already? Middle rank? Pointless! So boring."
To Shindai, becoming a chunin was nothing compared to being a genin—he thought being a genin was much better.
Minato Namikaze gave a clap. "Alright, we should get going. We'll talk while walking."
Everyone began heading toward the border bordering Grass Country.
Minato spoke to Shindai and the others, "Kakashi is now a jonin like me, so for mission efficiency, I've decided to separate from Kakashi's squad. Right now, Konoha is facing Rock ninjas with historically low combat effectiveness, and this battle came up quite suddenly."
Obito asked suspiciously, "Separate? Are you saying that..."
Minato nodded, "Yes, exactly. Kakashi will be your team leader, forming a four-man squad with you, Shindai, and Rin. I'll go alone."
Rin turned and asked Obito, "Didn't we already talk about this before? Obito, weren't we supposed to prepare a gift celebrating Kakashi's promotion to jonin?"
Obito blanked for a second—he'd completely forgotten about the whole gift thing.
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