Minato was in a good mood that day.
Kushina and he were growing closer with each passing moment, he had just been promoted to Jonin, and he'd even been assigned his own team of troublemakers.
His expression softened at the thought of them.
Obito was clumsy but had heart.Rin was nurturing, always caring for the others.And Kakashi… aloof as he was, was slowly beginning to appreciate their bond.
So when Minato stumbled upon his childhood friend again after so long, he couldn't help but feel excited.
And it was just his luck—the mission both of them were seeking was the same: a bandit-clearing operation.
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Kyojiro stared at the three brats in front of him with a helpless look. This wasn't in the plan at all.
Minato had insisted on introducing him to the team early that morning. One boy with gray hair was already squinting at him, as if measuring his strength.
Kakashi Hatake.
Kyojiro shook his head. "My name is Uchiha Kyojiro. Since I'm Minato's friend, I'll be joining your mission."
A soft breeze swept across the land.
Ahead, the grand gates of Konoha towered in the distance. The three Genins glanced at him curiously, restless with anticipation for their first mission outside the village.
"What rank are you, mister?" Obito asked with a trace of respect.
"Chunin," Kyojiro answered, folding his arms and turning toward Minato for backup.
"Now, now, my lovely little Genins—we're late for the mission. Talk on the way out, alright?" Minato's cheerful voice rang out, his figure vanishing instantly in a flash of jutsu.
Kyojiro deadpanned. You were supposed to help, not abandon me in enemy territory.
The walk to the gates was filled with chatter.
Because he was another Uchiha, Obito held back his usual antics, sticking to simple questions. Once Kyojiro answered those without much fuss, Rin joined in too, asking her own.
Why does this feel harder than training? Kyojiro thought, lips pressed thin.
By the time they reached the gates, Minato was already there, waving casually while chatting with the village guards.
Kyojiro grinned. "C'mon now, Minato, before we leave you behind in the dust."
The rest of the team nodded with him. And though Kyojiro didn't realize it then, he had already carved an image into their minds—
the kind senior, someone they could look up to.
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"Hey, pass me that card," one bandit grunted, lounging lazily in his chair.
"No, idiot, that's mine," another snapped.
Four of them sat in a circle, playing cards. Night duty was dull, and none of them cared to patrol when nothing ever happened anyway.
They didn't notice the five pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows.
Minato crouched beside his team, pointing toward the camp. "Tell me—how would you finish the job?"
Obito glanced at Kyojiro nervously before opening his mouth, but Kakashi cut in.
"First, scouting. By the number of guards, the camp looks big—maybe twenty men." He ticked the count off on his fingers.
"Obito, Rin, and I will assassinate the guards." He pointed toward Kyojiro. "He'll sneak into the leader's tent. These groups fall apart once the leader is gone. Their first instinct will be to gather in confusion, and then…"
He left the rest unsaid. They all knew what came next. Massacre. Necessary, but massacre nonetheless.
Minato turned to Kyojiro. "And you, Kyo? What would you do?" His voice carried both warmth and trust.
Kyojiro gazed at the camp, expression calm. "Kakashi's plan is efficient. But with the Sharingan, Genjutsu makes it even easier for me." He exhaled with a sigh.
Kakashi and Rin exchanged looks with Obito.
Scratching his head, Obito blurted, "When I awaken my Sharingan, I'll have super-strong jutsu too!" His pout was almost childlike.
Kyojiro allowed himself a small smile. "For today, though, let's go with Kakashi's plan."
Minato nodded. "You three start. I'll keep watch."
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The bandit leader snored loudly, face buried against the chest of a woman he called his wife. The title meant little—he changed wives weekly.
SWISH.
A sudden draft stirred his tent. His brow furrowed as he woke. Those useless men can't even close the damn flap properly.
But when his eyes adjusted, what he saw froze his blood.
Scarlet tomoe revolved slowly in eerie crimson eyes.
"Sleep."
The command dropped like a stone into his mind, dragging him under. By the time his body slumped forward, a kunai had already buried itself in his skull.
Permanent slumber.
The woman stirred, but Kyojiro nudged her into Genjutsu too, sparing her life before slipping back into the shadows.
One by one, he dispatched idle guards, kunai flashing silently in the dark.
It wasn't long before the alarm spread.
About time.
Men rushed toward the leader's tent, confusion mounting. When an older, more experienced bandit stepped inside and stumbled out pale-faced, fear rippled through the camp.
Now's the time.
Kyojiro's hands blurred through seals, heat surging through him like a furnace.
Fire Style—Fireball Jutsu.
Two fireballs burst forth—one from Obito, one from Kyojiro—blazing across the night sky.
"Take cover!" the bandits screamed.
But it was too late.
BOOM.