The first thing Kakashi noticed after he woke up was the soreness in his shoulder. He yawned away the last vestiges of sleep as he propped himself upwards, sighing as he pressed down on his shoulder looking for the knot.
After he had bid farewell to his sensei yesterday, Kakashi went straight to one of the bathhouses around camp for a soak then came back to sleep. When he arrived, his squad mates were already sleeping. Despite getting an earlier start to their rest, Taiki and Banri were still sleeping soundly. He closed his eyes and detected Katsu's chakra right outside the tent.
Not wanting to disturb the sleeping teens, Kakashi rubbed away the sore spot in his shoulder till the tension eased and then quietly left the tent, grabbing his hygienics kit on his way out. Once he stepped outside, he was pleased to note that it was a cloudy day, the shade and small breeze a welcome change to the summer heat.
"Good morning, Kakashi-kun," Katsu greeted him in a low voice so as not to disturb the sleeping ninja all around him. The teen was eating some rice balls with a smile on his face, but Kakashi could tell it was fake.
"Good morning, Katsu-san," Kakashi nodded in reply regardless. "Did you rest well?" he asked, wanting to give the teen a chance to talk if he wanted to.
"Ah, I was so exhausted I just collapsed," Katsu sighed tiredly.
"When I came back you were all completely out of it," Kakashi agreed.
"We're not as young as we once were, it's your youngsters turn now" Katsu joked.
"I'll be sure to pass on your words of wisdom when you retire soon," Kakashi joked along with him. Katsu let out a small laugh, and his eyes seemed to clear up a bit.
"Want to join me for breakfast?" Katsu asked, waving the rice ball in his hand. "Those two will be asleep for a few more hours."
"Sure, let me just freshen up," Kakashi agreed, lifting his hygienics kit up in proof. He left him and got ready for the day. It didn't take him more than ten minutes, and he rejoined Katsu at the tent.
"Here you go," Katsu passed the pack of rice balls to Kakashi once he returned.
"How were the ninja we brought back, any serious long-term injuries?" Kakashi asked as he took one and settled down on the floor next to Katsu.
"Fortunately, not, besides they were mostly already patched up. One of them has a few broken ribs though, he will have to heal back in Konoha once he's good enough to travel," Katsu informed him.
"His cough did seem pretty bad," Kakashi recalled the ninja's labored breathing with a scowl.
"I have to admit though, I was surprised by how good you were," Katsu stated. "I knew you were a genius, but I thought some of that title was exaggerated by your age. When you attacked those ninja tunneling from below… that was some great control!"
"Thanks," Kakashi took the compliment in stride. "I was also impressed, Taiki and Banri had great teamwork, and I never realized how useful a bow in skilled hands could be," Kakashi reciprocated.
For the longest time, Kakashi never gave much thought to the bow, categorizing it as a tool used by weapon masters in certain scenarios. After seeing Katsu's fighting style, it gave him some ideas for create archery-inspired lightning jutsu. Of all the elements, the fastest was lightning. If he could shoot arrows enhanced with lightning, that would give him a deadly long-distance attack, something that is missing in his arsenal.
"Ah no," Katsu shook his head, "it's easy when your teammates cover the front so well."
With nothing more to add, the two enjoyed the remainder of their breakfast in companiable silence. Once done, they proceeded to clean the container, and Katsu flipped it upside down to dry.
"I should probably clean the clothes I wore at the skirmish," Kakashi stated. "Do you have a bucket or something?"
"Good idea," Katsu nodded. "Yes, Taiki has one. I'll get it for you."
They both went back into the tent and got the necessary items as quietly as possible. As Katsu approached Taiki's area to grab the bucket, Taiki shifted in his sleep. Both Kakashi and Katsu froze in place, hoping that by making no other sounds, the teen wouldn't wake up. True enough, Taiki just rolled to the other side but remained asleep. Katsu gave him a silent thumbs up.
"That was close," Katsu grinned once they were outside again. He laid the bucket down and ran through some seals for a low-ranked water jutsu to fill it. Kakashi grabbed some soap, squeezed some in and mixed it with the wooden stick Katsu handed him.
"I wanted to talk to you," Katsu shuffled on his feet as Kakashi stirred. Kakashi detected the hesitancy in his voice, and only raised a questioning eyebrow in response.
"It's just that, well… Taiki told me what that kunoichi said… about your father that is," Katsu visibly winced as to how badly he had approached the topic.
"It's fine," Kakashi replied sharply. He did not want to talk about his father, especially not with a teen he barely knew. Moreover, there was not much to discuss anyway, he had gotten over it and respects his father. Of course, he still gets angry when people disrespect his father but that's because they're insulting his father. Otherwise, the topic as for as he was concerned is closed.
"I know you don't know me that well," Katsu continued awkwardly, "but you should talk to someone. It's not good to keep things bottled in. And for me, I probably would have made the same decision as your father. Others feel the same. So don't let the rest get you down."
"Why do you care?" Kakashi asked curiously. Like the teen said, they barely knew each other.
"Well, I am your squad leader," Katsu said as he placed his and Kakashi's dirty clothes in the bucket.
"Yes, just for a week or two," Kakashi countered as he grabbed his shirt and started rubbing away the dirt and dried blood.
"Nonetheless," Katsu shook his head as started doing the same with his own shirt, "we're on the same team and that means it's my responsibility to make sure you're ok. And even if it wasn't my responsibility, you're alright kid. It's not fair what that kunoichi said, whether I agree with your father's decision or not, that was his decision and not yours. It's really not fair."
"Life isn't fair, Kakashi replied gently, "but you shouldn't worry. I'm ok."
"Ok good," Katsu let out a sigh of relief, happy to let the matter rest. Kakashi smiled fondly at the teen. It wasn't common to see young ninja captains consider moral support as part of their responsibilities.
"You're different than other captains your age, it's a nice change," Kakashi remarked off-handedly as he moved on to cleaning his pants.
"Oh, why?" Katsu was pleasantly surprised by the statement.
"I was assigned to several other young captains and most of them were arrogant and more worried about how things would reflect on them," Kakashi explained. "However, you focus on providing emotional support too. I noticed you doing the same with Banri and Taiki."
It was a trend in rising captains. In the beginning, they wanted to prove themselves so only focused on tangible results. Their ambition gave them tunnel-vision as to the team's needs and ironically showed less leadership skills than before they were assigned the role. Kakashi was the same when he first became a jonin. Then again, my teamwork and leadership before that was abysmal too, Kakashi lamented.
"Ah no," Katsu was embarrassed, laughing nervously, His laugh slowly stuttered out as he looked at the ground; his eyes downcast, "This is my way of contributing, you know? It's the least I can do."
Kakashi recognized the lack of confidence Katsu was displaying. It reminded him of Sakura before Tsunade-sama began teaching her. In the beginning she was confident but as Naruto began to excel, she began to feel inferior to the boys. Slowly, she took on a more supportive role and left the fighting to Naruto and Sasuke. It was only after Tsunade-sama's guidance that she was able to blossom, so to speak.
Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, Kakashi didn't ignore the signs this time. As much as he would love to be blunt, he knew that approaching this head on may not be the best approach. Although he simply wanted to tell the teen that he underestimated his importance to the team, he was still a child in their eyes. Those words would come off as condensing.
"Want to have a taijutsu spar later?" Kakashi asked. From Banri's request to protect Katsu due to his weak taijutsu, and Katsu's focus as to how Banri and Taiki were strong frontline fighters, Kakashi was able to read that the teen's taijutsu was a key driver for his low self-esteem.
Katsu dropped the garment in his hands with a splutter, "What, why?"
"During the skirmish I realized I really need to improve my speed and fight against new styles. I already know how Taiki and Banri fight, but I didn't get to see your taijutsu during the skirmish. I want to try and fight someone who's style is completely unknown to me," Kakashi used a smatter of the truth to disguise his true intent.
"My taijutsu isn't really the strongest," Katsu admitted, verifying Kakashi's observations, "but I can get you someone else to fight. I know some solid taijutsu users."
"I'd rather fight you," Kakashi replied stubbornly. "My focus is ninjutsu and kenjutsu, so my taijutsu isn't the best either," he lied. One cannot be rivals with Might Gai and not develop their taijutsu. Kakashi's taijutsu was of high caliber simply because he didn't want to lose to Gai. Therefore, he focused on it more so than he would have without the Green Beast as his close friend.
"I mean, if you're sure," the teen was hesitant but gave in to Kakashi's request.
"Great, tomorrow we should be well-rested. I'm meeting my sensei for dinner, so I'll book a room in the Tower. Say, 11:00 am?" Kakashi asked as he dumped the dirty water on the ground.
While Kakashi refilled the bucket with clean water for a final rinse, Katsu sighed in annoyance but nodded in agreement. "How troublesome, as the Nara would say," he said. Kakashi smirked in reply but said nothing more as they finished their laundry.
The rest of the day passed in a more relaxed manner, whereby his squad decided to avoid the central area. They knew many would be grieving their loved ones and waiting to hear news of the injured; and they'd rather avoid the somber atmosphere.
In its place, they spent the rest of the day resting and lounging around, allowing their bodies to rest after the grueling skirmish. They made sure to stay relatively quiet so as not to disturb those who were in mourning. Despite being mentally older, Kakashi enjoyed spending time with the three. As evening approached, Taiki taught Kakashi some card games to fill the time.
"You're cheating!" Taiki uncharacteristically growled as he slammed his cards onto the ground in annoyance. "There's no way anyone can be so lucky five hands in a row."
"Beginner's luck," Kakashi sing-songed innocently.
"Yeah right," Banri muttered as he shuffled the cards again. "I don't know how you're doing it, but this time I'm catching you."
"You can try," Kakashi challenged mischievously, clearly indicating that yes, he was cheating, and no, they wouldn't catch him.
"We cheat all the time," Katsu chuckled, finding the game amusing despite losing constantly.
"Yes, but not every round. We also get caught every now and then," Banri flicked three cards at the ground in front of Katsu with annoyance.
"What can I say, I take the lessons we learn very seriously" Kakashi said as he picked up his own cards and organized them in his hand.
"This time, there's no way you're winning," Taiki glared at him from behind his cards.
During the round, Kakashi was impressed to see them gang up on him; playing cards that helped each other or hurt him even if they didn't necessarily benefit themselves. He contemplated letting them win to encourage their teamwork. In the end, he decided teasing them was much more entertaining. "I commend you for teamwork but…," he said dramatically as he played his final hand with extra flair, winning by a slim margin, "maybe next time?"
"Oh, come on!" Banri groaned and let himself fall backwards to lay on the ground in mock fatigue.
"Damn it, I was sure we had you this time," Taiki muttered.
"We were so close," Banri complained with a whine.
"As fun as it is trouncing you, I need to go meet my sensei," Kakashi added insult to injury.
"Laugh it up Hatake, next time you're not winning a single hand," Taiki vowed. Who knew the quiet teen would take card games so seriously.
"It's good to have dreams," Kakashi smirked as he got up. He clapped his hands together briskly, as if brushing away dust after completing a task.
"Brat," Katsu laughed at the gesture while Taiki and Banri intensified their glares.
Content with having successfully provoked his squad, Kakashi approached the central area. It was a breath of fresh air to be himself. The three never knew him before, so he didn't worry about living up to a personality he had shed a long time ago.
As he made his way over, he passed by a stall selling goods for entertainment and the small collection of books on the racks caught his eyes. The books filled him with the sense of the strangest nostalgia; he missed walking around with a book. Although he wouldn't be able read his typical choice in literature, it has become part of his trademark to walk around with his head inside a book. Bolstered by the enjoyment of embracing his true personality, Kakashi decided to make a quick detour to the stall.
He inspected the shelves and immediately disregarded the informative books. One, he doubted a stall in the middle of war outpost would stock any advanced texts; just in case the outpost was overtaken. Instead, the stall probably housed texts on fundamentals across the ninja disciplines for those picking up new skills. Secondly, he wanted a book to read for fun, and would leave his studying for when he was back in Konoha.
A mystery novel seemed interesting, so he grabbed it and began reading the synopsis in the back, but the summary didn't grab his attention, so he placed it back. His eye caught the covers of an adventure series that he recalled had become popular when he was a kid. Genma, Raidou and Asuma used to discuss it all the time. Kakashi had of course ridiculed them for wasting time as opposed to training. He was surprised to later learn that his sensei was a fan of the series. Genma had told Kakashi that Minato had used their mutual interest in the series to get to know Genma when he was assigned to train as a future Hokage guard. Deciding to give it a try despite not favoring the adventure genre, Kakashi purchased the first book in the 'Path of the Wandering Ninja' series.
He immediately opened the book and began reading as he maneuvered around the camp. Dodging the various ninja and obstacles in his path without batting an eye felt so familiar that Kakashi nearly felt he was back in his own time and walking around Konoha. He didn't have much time to delve much into the story as it was only a short distance from the stall to the Tower. The triage station and the tent with the green flag had already been taken down, indicating that all minor injuries had already been taken care of. Kakashi closed the book and took a glance at the outpost hospital, frowning at the sight of many ninja loitering around waiting to hear news of their comrades.
With a sigh, he looked away, entered the Tower, and made his way to his sensei's accommodation as instructed. He tapped on the door twice and walked inside when he heard a soft command to enter from the other side.
Kakashi opened the door and was not surprised to find he was the first of his teammates to arrive. The room was simple, housing only a futon and a trunk off in the corner. Minato was sitting on a tatami mat on the other side of the room and was placing food containers around the mat.
"Obito should be here in a few minutes," Minato informed him tiredly as Kakashi was closing the door behind him. "Rin, unfortunately, won't be able to join us. She's too busy helping with the injured."
"Figured as much when I saw that only the green flagged tent has been taken down," Kakashi shrugged as he joined his sensei on the mat.
"There were a lot of serious injuries," Minato verified, "Rin told me that she can't heal many ninja per day as her chakra levels are still developing. But even so, she's helping where she can or observing the senior medics. She's keeping very busy."
"That's good. You seem to be very busy too. Are you sure you're up for a team dinner?" Kakashi asked skeptically. Minato's eyes were slightly droopy, and his hair was more messy than usual. It was clear that his sensei was running around without much rest.
"I'm fine," Minato smiled as he placed three chopsticks in the center, "some of the information we found is promising but could lead to another important mission soon. In fact, Jiraya sensei is heading over as a result."
"Oh, what did you find?" Kakashi asked innocently.
"Can't tell you that, I'm afraid," Minato said seriously. "Don't worry about it though, we'll handle it." Kakashi found that ironic, given that he was assigned the Kannabi mission despite only being twelve years old at the time.
"If it's an important mission, you should rest instead of having dinner with me and Obito," Kakashi said.
"I might not go myself; nothing's been decided and won't be for a few days. Also," Minato said cheerfully, "you guys are what keeps me going."
Kakashi sweat-dropped at the comment. He keeps forgetting how sappy his sensei could be at times, "If you're sure," he said hesitantly.
"What have you been up to today?" Minato asked as he raised his leg and leaned into it.
"Just hanging out with my assigned squad," Kakashi said, legs crisscrossed, head cupped in his hand in a bored manner.
"What are they like?" his sensei asked curiously.
"Hmmm, they're good people," Kakashi replied.
"That's great," Minato rolled his eyes at the lack of any useful information in that reply. With nothing more to add, Kakashi didn't say anything else.
The silence stretched for a few seconds before Minato revived the conversation again. "I've been meaning to talk to you. Obito will probably be late, so this is a good time as any…" he trailed off.
"What about?" Kakashi asked lazily.
"Well," Minato began seemed conflicted on where to begin "These last few days you've been through a lot. That fight with Haruki. Your assist with Gou. Being out on the frontlines again after being absent for some time… I want to make sure you're doing ok."
Now then, what should I do? Kakashi mused. On the one hand, he could dismiss his sensei to make sure the man wasn't distracted for the Kannabi bridge mission. On the other, this was the moment he was waiting for to start his personality change without raising red flags. Reflecting on his own experiences as a sensei, he was able to put his concerns for his students on hold whenever the situation called for it. He knew his sensei should be able to do the same and decided to forge ahead.
"If I'm being honest… things have been a bit, confusing, I guess?" Kakashi settled on.
"Oh!" Minato clearly didn't expect his student to open up. He quickly masked his surprise, sat up more vigilantly and asked for more details, "In what way?"
"I tried to keep Rin and Obito at arm's length for so long. I didn't want to repeat my dad's mistake," Kakashi said, ignoring Minato's reaction and placing his hands behind him to lean back to look up at the ceiling.
"But when Pakkun told us that Haruki was approaching," he continued, "I knew it that if I failed to stop him, they would die. To me, that was the worst-case scenario. We've been in do-or-die situations before, but you were always there to protect them, so I didn't have to worry about them, you know?"
"You were able to follow your way of the ninja without consequences, right?" Minato summarized. Kakashi appreciated how quick Minato was on the uptake as it showed the man clearly thought about his students frequently.
"Exactly. This time I had a choice to make and… I didn't care about my deployment. I didn't care if I died as long as they lived. I always thought I'd be able to leave them behind if the mission called for it. I'm more like my father than I thought I was," Kakashi pretended to be frustrated, as if he was reprimanding himself for his 'apparent' weakness.
"I believe we are at our strongest when protecting those we love," Minato replied passionately, "Despite being so young, you beat Haruki. I still can't believe it. It's because you weren't just fighting as a ninja, rather, as a friend."
"What about the rules?" Kakashi frowned, "My dad fought for his friends and saved them, but at what cost?"
"Konoha was teetering on war for some time before your father's mission, and war would have still broken out even if he had succeeded. The White Fang wasn't solely to blame, Kakashi," Minato explained gently.
"Still, his failure led to the start of the war. Are Obito and Rin's lives worth more than the rest of Konoha?" Kakashi sat upright and crossed his hand under his chin in thought.
"Your point is valid, Kakashi, and it's one of the hardest truths we face as shinobi. Every decision we make comes with a cost. But I believe that the measure of our strength isn't just in the battles we win or the missions we complete—it's in the compassion we show and the principles we uphold, even when it's difficult," Minato paused for a second to place a supportive hand on Kakashi's shoulder who remained still.
"Your father's actions, though controversial, came from a place of deep loyalty and love for his comrades. His sacrifices remind us that while we may be tasked with protecting the village as a whole, we should not forget the value of each individual life within it. Obito and Rin's lives were not less important than the lives of the many. In the end, it's the sum of our choices—made with both courage and empathy—that shapes the path to a future where we can strive for peace without losing our humanity," Kakashi turned to face Minato to acknowledge he was listening.
"It's a delicate balance, and sometimes the right path isn't clear. But holding onto our values and remembering the worth of every person we fight for," Minato lifted his hand, settled it softly on top of Kakashi's head and ruffled it lightly, "that is what makes us truly strong."
And there he is, the future Fourth Hokage, Kakashi thought fondly.
Although out loud he said, "I don't know if I can afford to think like that," Kakashi said in a low voice. It would be too easy if he agreed with a new perspective on life with just a few words of encouragement. "Still, you gave me some stuff to think about."
"Promise me, though, that you'll really reflect on what I've told you," Minato smiled in understanding.
"Yes, sensei, I will," Kakashi nodded.
"Good," Minato was content with that promise. "So, tell me a bit more about this squad of yours."
Kakashi went along with the topic change, "They're a bit rowdy and joke around a lot. They work well together so it's not too bad. The captain uses a bow. None of us are long distance fighters so that's new."
"A bow huh, that is unique," Minato acknowledged, "is he skilled at using it?"
"Yes he is," Kakashi said, "he knows how to cover our weak points and is very accurate despite the long distance."
"I'll have to ask Genji-san about him. It's always important to nurture various skills so we're prepared for any scenario," Minato said. The last skirmish proved the strength of leveraging the various skills Konoha had at its disposal.
"I think that'll help him," Kakashi replied, "he seems to lack confidence."
"Oh, why is th—"
"Senseeeeei!" Obito barged in with a whine, "How could you assign me to patrol, it's super boring! My talents are wasted there."
Rather than get annoyed at the rude displayed, Minato smiled in amusement, "Hello to you too, Obito."
"Yea yea, hello to you too," Obito grumbled impatiently and closed the door behind him. He then plopped down onto the mat with a huff and hands crossed in annoyance "I'm going to be the greatest Hokage, I can't waste my time on patrol, sensei!"
"This is your first frontline assignment," Kakashi lectured. "Almost everyone starts on patrol."
Obito pointed an accusatory finger at Kakashi, "Easy for you to say. You were right there in the thick of it!"
"I already told you twice, that I used to be on patrol, you idiot," Kakashi said exasperatedly.
"You were like what, a toddler? That doesn't count," Obito claimed.
"Now now, keep working hard and next deployment you'll see some action," Minato placated him.
"Of course I will, I'm the great Obito-sama," Obito puffed his chest.
"Confidence without a foundation," Kakashi muttered in a low voice.
"What was that?" Obito glared at him, having not heard Kakashi's comment but knowing it was derogatory nonetheless. Kakashi played with a loose straw in the mat instead, refusing to argue with Obito.
"Where's Rin when I need her to play mediator?" Minato bemoaned the absence of his third student when he saw Obito twitch at Kakashi's dismissal.
"You should want Rin to be here for her own merits, not to do your job for you," Kakashi stated nonchalantly, still playing with the mat.
It was now Minato's turn to twitch in annoyance as Obito laughed, "He's trying to cover up for the fact that Rin's his favorite!"
"I do NOT have favorites," Minato exclaimed in disbelief at the notion. Although Kushina favored Obito, Minato loved all his students dearly and equally. Rin was the easiest to deal with as she was the most level-headed, but he certainly did not love her more than the other two. Am I really giving them that impression? Minato asked himself in worry.
"It's ok sensei, Rin's my favorite too," Obito replied seriously and patted him on the arm for extra reassurance.
"Mine too," Kakashi added.
Rin was always kind to everyone, so it was hard for anyone to dislike her. Even mini-Kakashi couldn't find it in himself to berate her and would strike up the occasional conversation with her. Other than Gai, who forced himself onto Kakashi until he could no longer ignore him, Rin was the only one in their age group he didn't mind spending some time with. Only a little, but for his bratty younger self that was basically a large declaration of friendship. He still hasn't completely forgiven her for jumping in front of his Chidori and scarring him for life, yet he also couldn't find it in his heart to resent her either.
"Wait, she is?" Obito spun his head towards Kakashi, nearly giving himself whiplash.
"She's not annoying," Kakashi elaborated, folding his arms and nodding sagely as if he was in the middle of imparting crucial wisdom.
"Are you saying I'm annoying, Kakashi?" Minato teased.
"Rin's the least likely to be annoying on any given day," Kakashi replied easily, refusing to get flustered.
"That's, umm. I agree, but I'm also not satisfied," Obito got flustered. He wasn't sure how to reply without insulting his crush in the same breath.
"Be that as it may, I don't have favorites," Minato felt the need to restate, looking each boy in the eye.
"Uhuh," Kakashi nodded absently as he grabbed the chopsticks and started passing them around.
"Sure thing," Obito followed suit, snickering and grabbing one of the containers to start eating.
Minato sighed but lay the matter to rest and joined them. At least they're getting along, even if it's to make fun of me. I'll chalk that up as a minor win.
"You still didn't tell us about your fight with Haruki, Baka.. er Kakashi," Obito changed topics. Kakashi appreciated his teammate's attempt to refrain from the nickname. It meant that Obito was still trying to build a better relationship with him, and he was all for it.
Minato smiled softly and raised the food container closer to his mouth to avoid his students' notice, "Yes that's true, I'm still interested to hear the full details as well." Despite his words, Minato gave Kakashi a concerned look. They had talked about how this fight was weighing heavily on Kakashi's mind and he didn't want to push him into talking about it more. Kakashi understood from that look that Minato, the man was silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to talk about the fight.
"I guess now's a good time as any," Kakashi mumbled and gave his sensei a nod. Obito scooted closer, eyes glistening with excitement over an epic tale. "He was underestimating me at the start, so I managed to get a few shallow wounds in. That annoyed him, and you know what they say…"
"An annoyed shinobi is a shinobi who makes mistakes," Minato replied easily.
"Exactly. That's when we started exchanging some jutsu. I recognized the seals of his first attack as the Earth Wave Jutsu, and I used that too. He didn't expect the same jutsu, and –
"You used that in that ninjutsu contest when we were kids!" Obito remembered happily. He then slumped in defeat as he recalled Kakashi stealing his victory with the jutsu.
"Ninjutsu contest?" Kakashi thought, trying to remember but it didn't quite ring a bell. He may look eleven, but he was almost thirty. Whatever Obito was talking about was ages ago and not a worthwhile event for him to remember after all these years.
"Yeah, anyway, with the surprise attack I managed to trick him into attacking a Lightning Clone and nearly landed a killing blow, but he suddenly turned into a golem," Kakashi sighed in annoyance.
If only the fight could've ended there. Fighting against people with strong defenses was aggravating. Fortunately, strong defenses tended to be earth-natured so at least he had the affinity to deal with that easily. The ease through which Sasuke's Chidori penetrated Garaa's defense was proof of that.
"I didn't know you could make Lightning Clones," Minato said in surprise.
"It takes up a good amount of chakra so I try to use it when I know I can follow up after the effects of it dispelling," Kakashi explained.
"Why, what happens when the clone dispels?" Obito asked confused.
"Unlike other types of clones, Lightning Clones burst into electricity that can shock you in place for a few seconds. The Fire Clone jutsu also has a dispel effect as it bursts into flames," Kakashi answered.
"Cool! I want to learn that sensei!" Obito was almost bouncing up and down in excitement at the prospect.
"You need to improve your chakra control and when you're at that level, I'll teach you," Minato promised him.
"I've been practicing my control during rest periods," Obito reassured him. "Your main nature element is wind, right sensei? What do Wind Clones do when they dispel?"
"Wind Clones just fade into the breeze, not the strongest clone types I'm afraid," Minato lifted both his hands up, rotating his palms to the ceiling, in a 'what-can-you-do' gesture.
"Sensei uses Shadow Clones though," Kakashi filled in for his sensei. "They don't have a dispelling effect, but you retain the memory of the clones so it's super useful in infiltration. They require the most chakra though." Of course that meant nothing to Naruto, Kakashi's thoughts turned to his knucklehead student fondly.
"Neat!" Obito cheered, "but I'll stick to Fire Clones, they sound way cooler."
"They're better suited to your fighting style," Minato agreed then turned back to face Kakashi. "We got a bit side-tracked, so what happened next, Kakashi?"
"Well, the golem was very powerful but slower than I was, so after a bit of back and forth Haruki created two smaller golems to try and pincer me," Kakashi continued the tale. "Speaking of different clones, I used the Shadow Clone here and that's when I charged two kunai and created a lightning cable like I told you sensei. Worked like a charm and I sliced the smaller golems in half."
"Still impressed with the creativity there," Minato reiterated his previous thoughts, then taking a sip of water.
"Haruki seemed even more frustrated after I defeated the two golems. I goaded him a bit more here, to add to his annoyance," Kakashi said.
"Whadya say?" Obito asked through a mouthful of meat.
Kakashi grimaced at the disgusting display, "Close your mouth when you speak, that's disgusting."
Obito swallowed the food and stuck his tongue out at Kakashi.
"And what did you say?" Minato quickly intervened to prevent an argument from breaking out.
"Nothing great, I only told him that 'too bad Earth is weak to Lightning'. He didn't like that very much," Kakashi stated.
"For a ninjutsu user, a bad elemental match-up against another ninjutsu user isn't the most ideal of circumstances," Minato scratched the side of his forehead in thought.
"It's even more annoying when your match-up is a kid," Obito smirked.
"He certainly didn't expect us to be fighting for this long," Kakashi agreed. "He started using more elaborate jutsu and I got caught a few times. I kept using Lightning Senbon to create cracks in the golem while doing my best to dodge. Things started turning worse when an Earth Spear stabbed my calf." He grimaced as he recalled the pain of that injury.
"That would also impede your speed," Minato was not happy, realizing once again how close to death his student was.
"Exactly. That's when I came up with the idea of using the seals I created to destabilize the golem," Kakashi replied.
"Seals? You know fuinjutsu?" Obito frowned.
"I'm still learning," Kakashi elaborated.
"Wait, I still have it here," Minato wiped his hands on a napkin and got up to open the trunk. Kakashi heard riffling before his sensei turned back to them with the seal held in between two of his fingers. "It's designed to dispel spiritual energy, and as you know Obito, the balance between spiritual and physical energy is key to using and stabilizing jutsu."
Obito grabbed the seal his sensei was offering him for a closer look, the frown on his face only growing deeper, "When did you start learning seals?" he asked irritated.
"I study all ninja specialties. I had solid theoretical knowledge, but I only started making seals a few months ago," Kakashi provided a timeline that would make sense to create the A-Ranked seal. He was used to Obito moping whenever Kakashi learned something new and didn't think much of it.
"I'm still upset you didn't tell me," Minato grumbled as he sat back down. "I'd love to help you learn more about fuinjutsu! Very few people take an interest in it. I'm well-known as a fuinjutsu master and to think that my own student didn't come to me to learn." Kakashi bet that his sensei was internally pouting given the near whine-like voice that came out at the end.
"I'm more interested in ninjutsu, and knowing you, you would have only talked to me about seals if you knew I was learning them," Kakashi accused.
"I wouldn't have," Minato denied. Kakashi only raised an eyebrow in disbelief. His sensei was obsessed with fuinjutsu and Kakashi had no doubt in his mind that he would've kept pushing Kakashi towards sealing had he known. It was the same reason his younger self also didn't share that piece of information. Well, that and his stupid desire to do everything by himself.
"I mean, I will teach you more about it now that I know, but I'll still teach you other things," Minato allowed. "Besides, you know more about elemental ninjutsu than I do. I don't really need to teach you that, do I?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Obito jumped in before he could reply, "Enough talk about seals. Then what happened?" Kakashi swore his teammate's demeanor was more dejected now. Obito was never interested in sealing, so he didn't understand the aggravated look on the boy's face. He couldn't really be jealous about me learning sealing, could he? Kakashi wondered.
"Nothing much," Kakashi obliged to avert a tantrum. "Once there were enough cracks, I waited tell he used an earth jutsu and countered with a water one, drenching the man. He got angry that I could use a third element which gave me the time to strike the area he was standing on with lightning. Since he was wet, the lightning struck him through the cracks. Before he could recover, I used the Rasengan to finally destroy the golem. I followed up with a combo of attacks and then stabbed him to end the fight. I lost consciousness a few seconds after that." Kakashi summarized quickly and then proceeded to grab a rice ball to eat.
"So basically, you defeated him by annoying him into making mistakes?" Obito asked in disbelief.
Kakashi swallowed before replying, "It's like sensei said, annoyed and angry ninja are easier targets."
"I can see that, you're very annoying," Obito perked up again at the thought as he threw an impish smirk his way. Kakashi rolled his eyes but decided that getting some food in his stomach was a better use of time and continued to munch on his rice ball.
"Annoyance aside," Minato winked "you did well in using your strengths to your advantage. I understand how you said you got lucky; if Haruki was better able to handle his emotions, it would have been a much harder fight."
"You hear that Obito?" Kakashi turned to his teammate with a knowing look.
"I can control my emotions, Bakashi" Obito grumbled, proving the exact opposite.
"You're getting better, but this serves as a solid cautionary tale for you to keep working on that," Minato lectured.
"Hmph!" Obito turned his face away from them in anger.
Minato sighed, "Come on, Obito. Let's just enjoy our meal, ok? Why don't you tell me about your squad, hmm?"
"They're boring," Obito began and then launched into a tirade of how his team, while kind, were dull and old. Of course, to Obito, old was ninja in their thirties. Kakashi felt offended at the implication that his original age was old. However, he refrained from egging Obito on or joining the conversation much, hoping to keep the peace as his sensei was desperately trying to do.
As Obito continued to embellish his teammates' traits and so-called boring nature, Kakashi's thoughts drifted back to the Kannabi Bridge. Jiraya was coming. Between his sensei and the man, he knew they'd be able to handle it. He was worried, of course, but anyone would be more prepared than three young ninja who were in way over their heads.