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The next morning.
Akira Tsubaki stepped out with a prominent black eye and a bandage wrapped around his head.
He'd had to cook his own breakfast, which made him a little late.
At Training Ground Nine.
"Agh, haa~~"
Obito Uchiha yawned, stretching his neck side to side.
"Where is Akira? Why isn't he here yet?"
Obito had arrived bright and early, the very first one.
Then came Rin Nohara, and then Kakashi Hatake.
The three of them had been waiting for over an hour now. Not only was Akira Tsubaki missing, but their squad leader, Minato Namikaze, hadn't shown up either.
Isn't this a total scam?
"Yo! I'm late."
A figure flickered into existence—it was Minato Namikaze.
He quickly scanned the group, then did a double-take.
Huh?
How could someone be even later than their own sensei?
"Where is Akira Tsubaki?" Minato asked, looking at the assembled genin.
"I don't know, maybe he face-planted on the way here," Obito grumbled.
"Is he still asleep?" Rin whispered worriedly.
"Hmph!" Kakashi scoffed softly, his expression clearly signaling his dissatisfaction.
Just then.
A figure came jogging rapidly toward the training ground.
Who else could it be but Akira Tsubaki?
"Sorry, I tripped on the road and ended up late."
Akira ran up to them, pointing to the obvious bump under his head bandage, which served as his perfectly reasonable excuse.
"Huh? Did you really fall?" Obito couldn't believe it.
He'd just tossed out a casual joke, but now Akira genuinely had a massive lump on his head.
"Are you alright?" Rin asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just a little stumble," Akira waved it off.
"But your clothes look a little... puffy," Rin observed.
"Really? Must be swelling up from the fall," Akira replied, dismissing the supposed injury.
This surprised Minato Namikaze.
Kakashi, standing nearby, shot a quick glance at the bandage on Akira's head before turning his gaze away again.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, it's time to test your teamwork."
Minato Namikaze cleared his throat and proceeded to announce the day's task.
"Your mission, the four of you, is to snatch the bell from my hand."
As he spoke, a small bell appeared in Minato's hand, which he jingled in front of them.
He then secured the bell to his waist.
"You can use any means necessary!"
"As long as you manage to grab the bell, you pass the test."
"Fail to grab it, and you'll face punishment!"
Hearing the mission objective, Kakashi was the first to react.
Completely ignoring the other three, he charged toward Minato Namikaze on his own.
"In such a rush?"
Minato smiled, sidestepped with a subtle sway, and effortlessly dodged Kakashi's surprise attack.
Immediately after, the two began a fierce, close-quarters engagement.
"Snatching the bell requires teamwork, that idiot Kakashi," Obito said, not forgetting to take a jab at his rival while observing the fight.
"This is your chance," Akira Tsubaki stated mildly, with a knowing look.
"Huh? My chance? What chance?" Obito rushed over to ask.
Even Rin pricked up her ears, keen to hear Akira's plan.
"Think about it: the longer Kakashi keeps our sensei occupied, the more exhausted they both get. Once they're tired, you seize the opportunity to rush in, and your chances of snatching the bell skyrocket, right?"
"You have a point!" Obito's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
"But isn't that just a 'war of attrition'? It doesn't feel right. Didn't Sensei say this was about teamwork?" Rin felt the idea was a little dishonorable.
Sensei had clearly said the test was about teamwork.
That meant the four of them were supposed to go in together and snatch the bell to pass.
"Rin, did Kakashi consult us at all?" Obito immediately deflected the blame onto Kakashi.
Then he continued, "Since he won't cooperate with us, then we can only form a three-person team instead."
He clapped Akira Tsubaki on the shoulder.
"Akira, you'll cooperate with me later."
"How do we cooperate?" Akira smiled.
"You'll fall down again," Obito said, getting a brilliant idea.
Akira Tsubaki: ...?
"In a bit, you pretend to fall, and I'll call Sensei over. When Sensei lowers his guard, hehe, I'll secretly snag the bell."
Obito chuckled with confidence plastered across his face.
He even turned to Rin, hoping to see adoring eyes.
Unfortunately.
"I don't agree with you two doing that," Rin stated.
"I don't agree either," Akira Tsubaki chimed in.
"Huh?" Obito looked utterly baffled.
He could understand Rin disagreeing—she was kind-hearted.
But why was Akira Tsubaki disagreeing? Weren't they supposed to be good buddies?
To be honest, Akira Tsubaki was a little tired of the whole thing.
He pulled Obito aside.
"Obito, you've been given such a great opportunity to show off, and you're just going to throw it away?"
"You have to grab the bell alone. That's the only way Rin will be impressed and fall for you."
"Can't you see Kakashi is already ahead of you?"
Akira Tsubaki's words immediately cleared the fog from Obito's mind.
"Bro!"
Obito looked at him gratefully. He understood now.
Akira Tsubaki was giving him the spotlight. Whether he could grasp it depended on when he chose to enter the fray.
And so.
A tense situation developed at Training Ground Nine.
On one side, Kakashi fiercely battled Minato Namikaze for the bell; on the other, Obito watched like a hawk, ready to jump in at any moment.
As time passed, the scramble moved further, reaching the edge of the training ground and then even spilling outside of it.
Obito followed right behind, keeping a close eye on the action.
Now, only Akira Tsubaki and Rin were left.
"Shouldn't we go too?" Rin suggested, feeling anxious.
"Go where? To not help?" Akira Tsubaki replied with a grin.
After speaking, he chose a comfortable stone, squatted down beside it, and pulled a lunchbox from inside his clothes.
Then a second lunchbox.
A third lunchbox.
A fourth lunchbox.
He opened the lunchboxes one by one, and a delightful aroma suddenly wafted out, instantly whetting the appetite.
When Rin Nohara saw this, her eyes widened.
No wonder his clothes looked puffy! He was hiding bento boxes! Gulp...
As soon as that thought crossed Rin's mind, her stomach gave an unbearable growl.
It wasn't her fault, though.
She had arrived so early that she hadn't even eaten breakfast.
But still, our teammates are fighting for the bell, and Akira is just sitting here eating. Isn't that just a little bad?
"Why are you spacing out? Hurry up and eat!"
Akira Tsubaki tossed a pair of chopsticks toward Rin and urged her.
"Ah? I'll just have a little," Rin mumbled, rubbing her stomach as she hurried over.