The assembled press conference sat in total silence as a middle-aged but still dashing man made his statement. He seemed cool and collected, regardless of the dozens of faces staring into his ocean blue eyes.
"Of course I have high expectations for this all-new team. It's my team. As you already know, I've appointed Hatake Kakashi the new manager and his decisions concerning the roster will pass through me before finalization. We are confident that this will be the year we restore ourselves to history's heights and beyond. We have the resources, the manpower, and above all, the will to compete at the highest level. In short, I have every confidence and hope for success in the coming season. Everybody at Konoha has huge expectations to live up to, including myself and that why, I think, we will solve whatever problems there are now and fight for the championship. Thank you."
Flashbulbs lit up the room and chatter filled the air as Minato Namikaze stepped down from a podium different from the kind he was more accustomed to. The winningest driver in the history of World Formula Racing had just inherited ownership of the troubled Racing Team Konoha, once the most successful team on the grid, but for the past three seasons, seen dismal results. His name was the standard by which all other drivers and team managers was judged. Not only had he, Konoha's "Yellow Flash," won 5 world championships, 3 of them consecutively, but also won 3 straight championships as a team manager in later years before calling it quits to spend time coaching his growing son in the ways of competition driving. Now he was back, leading a completely new team, every single slot in personnel replaced from yesteryear. As the owner, his own personal millions he had accumulated from driving were now staked in the team. His name and all the reputation with it was now staked in the team. The eyes of the world were, at least for that moment, squarely upon him.
Dodging the incessant pestering from the press, he escaped into a hallway and soon got into a waiting car outside, the driver none other than RTK's new manager. "Ugh. Thanks for waiting, Kakashi, I thought I'd never get out of there alive. Media feeding frenzy."
"Heh. And you thought it was bad when we were in the seat."
"Yeah, alot's changed since then. Even for you." It had been 12 years since the new manager had won back to back world titles. Of course, it wasn't exactly too difficult back in those days – his manager then? None other than the man sitting next to him.
"You remember what day it is today?"
"Yeah I do. I assume we're going to go see the birthday boy now?" With a nod, Kakashi started the car and sped away toward the hills.
On the hills overlooking Racing Team Konoha's facilities and test track lay a lone headstone. "Uchiha Obito – The Fastest of Them All." The last driver killed in World Formula racing was buried on the hills that came alive every winter with the engine shriek of RTK's new car testing for the upcoming season. It was now a cloudless, sunny fall day, and Kakashi knelt down to clear the leaves covering his best friend and greatest rival's gravestone. Uchiha Obito had indeed been phenomenally fast and prodigiously gifted behind the wheel. Earning a start racing motorbikes (and winning), Minato Namikaze saw talent in the young man and gave him a shot at the big time and a World Formula seat. Right from the get-go, Obito's peerless will to win became apparent. There was no team or driver on the grid he ever feared or let off easy on the track. Even when, on the rare occasion, he was dogged by an inferior car setup or reliability issue, he continued to drive at the very upper limit of his exceedingly high ability. In fact, in his scant 4 seasons with the team, he never once retired the car voluntarily. His doctrine of "if it moves, I will take it across the finish line" convinced his fellow drivers that there was no heart beating inside of Uchiha Obito, but rather a will of pure fire. Even when, in his championship winning season, with the title already clinched by the penultimate race-a torrential rainstorm, he continued to fight furiously for points he did not need. His tires badly worn, visibility limited to just a few meters, he pressed on from second and was gaining fast for an almost sure win. And the wreck happened. Uchiha Obito posthumously won that year's driver's trophy, the only person to ever do so. "You know…" Kakashi spoke up, not looking away from the headstone.
"Hm?"
"You know after he…passed…I really wanted to quit. Just leave it all. Go away and never come back. Nothing mattered and I mean all the glory and the thrill…it was just dead. Dead like that rock with his name on it."
"I know. I still remember, you told me. It was real bad times then."
"But then I asked myself what he would do if he were me. I still know he would keep fighting, keep fighting until I couldn't go any further. And then I'd keep going."
"You did good, Kakashi. There's no need to put yourself, or anyone else on trial."
"It gets me thinking. What if he's the one who should be manager right now? What if I can't teach these kids anything bringing the fight to the big-"
Namikaze cut him off. He would not have his protégé and now second in command doubting himself in the least, "I did not settle for you. I selected. I selected you because you're going to be the best damn team manager ever and that's all there is to that." His gaze shifted to the winding circuit of concrete in the valley below, Konoha's test track. "And now you're going to tell me about our all new team."