Chapter Three

"I can't do it," I refused. "I-"

It has to be you," Minato repeated.

"Why?" I yelled. "Why can't it be Kakashi?"

"There is a high chance he will end up in a time where he already existed," Tobirama replied, his emotionless face expressing a bit of annoyance. "We made this seal keeping in mind that no soul can exist in two places at the same time. If that happens, one of the bodies would die."

"But I don't want to steal anyone's body! What if it's a baby? An old man?!" I pushed him aside. He still seemed stoic. "I am not Orocimaru. I believe it!"

"Listen, son," Minato said, his reanimated cracked face showing hints of guilt. "Kakashi doesn't have the power to survive this transfer. He needs to fuel it... You on the other hand will definitely make it. However, there's a possibility that you will lose some of your memories. Not much though, a little. I am sure you'll manage. I know this sounds selfish... But we don't have any other option and you are the only one alive who can do this."

"...Goggles-kun in position."

"Ramen-hime in position."

"Supersonic Yellow Flash sensei is also in position."

"...I am in position too."

"Kakashi..."

"Fine... Scarecrow-kun is also in position."

"In three, one, two and three!"

"And there we have it." Minato grinned. "Daimyo's dog retrieval is a successful mission.

"Next time, I am choosing the codenames."

"Come on Scarecrow-kun, you must admit that I have creativity."

"I thought you had a crush on me?"

"I did? Well, too bad, I ain't a scarecrow person."

Obito looked the other way.

Rin has always been special. She was kind to him despite not being. He didn't know her outside of the academy, she lived alone in an old apartment in the merchant district. She was gentle and bright.

But lately, she's been acting a little weird.

First of all, she managed to accomplish something even Kakashi couldn't do, not that he thought she was weak. But she wasn't the best in hand to hand combat.

Secondly, she was never ramen obsessed like this. She didn't hate ramen, but didn't like it either.

Thirdly, she has developed a verbal tic: believe it, which is kinda cute in his opinion. After some secret inspection, he discovered that it was truly a verbal tic, not intentional.

Finally, she changed her behaviour. She is now brighter, more is now brighter, more energetic and cheerful. She doesn't fangirl over Kakashi anymore. Instead, she makes fun of him every now and then.

She even has a new dream. Uniting the world? That's not actually a bad dream, but can she do it?

Sure she is cool and all but still...

Obito furrowed his brow as he pondered Rin's recent changes. Something about Rin's behavior had been nagging at him. She was always special to him, but lately, she had become almost unrecognizable in some ways.

After the mission was declared a success, they gathered their things and prepared to head back to the mission office. Minato, ever observant, noticed Obito's distracted expression.

"Is everything alright, Obito?" Minato asked, his voice filled with genuine concern.

Obito glanced at Rin, who was laughing with Kakashi and teasing him about his codename. "Yeah, Sensei. Just... thinking."

"About what?"

Obito hesitated. "It's Rin. She's been different lately. Happier, more energetic... but also, it's like she's someone else sometimes."

Minato nodded thoughtfully. "People change, especially during times of stress or after significant experiences. But if you're really worried, maybe you should talk to her about it."

Obito sighed. "Yeah, maybe I will."

As they walked back to the village, Obito kept stealing glances at Rin. Her newfound enthusiasm was infectious, and she seemed genuinely happier. When they arrived, he finally mustered the courage to pull her aside.

"Rin-chan, can we talk?" Obito asked.

Rin looked at him curiously. "Sure, Obito. What's up?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "You've changed a lot lately. Not in a bad way, just... different. Are you okay?"

Rin's eyes softened. "Obito, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually. I just realized that life is too short to be anything but happy. I want to make a difference in the world, and I think we all can. I've been trying to embrace that."

Obito smiled, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. "I'm glad, Rin. Really. I just want you to be happy."

She grinned. "Thanks, Obito. That means a lot."

"Today," Minato announced with a warm smile, "we'll find out what your chakra natures are." He pulled out three white papers from his vest and handed them to his eager students.

Obito, leaning casually against a tree, grinned. "How do we do that, sensei? Maybe I have light release? Or volcano release?" His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Minato chuckled. "No, Obito. There are only five basic chakra natures. Light and volcano aren't among them."

He held up one of the papers. "There are five chakra natures. If you push your chakra into this paper, it will react accordingly. If it's fire, it will catch fire. For earth, it will turn to dirt. Lightning will make it wrinkle, water will dampen it, and wind will split it in two." He demonstrated, pushing his chakra into his paper. It split in two before wrinkling.

"Wow!" Obito whistled. "That's so cool!"

Minato smiled. "As you can see, I have wind as my primary and lightning as my secondary affinity." He handed each student a paper, and they stared at them curiously.

Obito went first. His paper caught fire instantly. "Fire nature, just like an Uchiha," Minato said with a nod. Obito looked a bit disappointed, but Minato patted his shoulder. "With practice, you can learn other natures too."

Obito perked up a bit. "I guess I can become Hokage with only one chakra affinity."

Next was Kakashi. His paper wrinkled. "Lightning," he said simply, holding up the paper.

Minato nodded. "As expected."

All eyes turned to the remaining member of the team…

...zzz...

…zzz...

…zzz...

...who was leaning against a tree and... snoring.

"Is she really sleeping with her mouth open?" Kakashi pointed out.

"Doesn't she look adorable?" Obito said, trying to defend her.

Everyone gave him a strange look.

"What? It's not like I stalk her every day and watch her through the window."

"Obito," Minato said sternly. "We need to have a long talk about your... hobbies."

"Water Style: Water Ball Jutsu!" Kakashi suddenly exclaimed, launching a small water ball at Rin.

"Danger...! Tsunami! Run for your life, believe it..." Rin jolted awake, her face and top drenched, revealing her figure more detailedly. Obito blushed and looked away, while Rin looked around in confusion.

"Stupid teammates."

Minato sighed at his team's antics. They were still children after all. "Alright, Rin," he said, gently petting her wet head. "Pour chakra into this paper."

Rin shrugged and focused her chakra into the paper.

The results were... unexpected.

"Nothing?!" Rin exclaimed, frustration evident in her voice.

Minato's gaze softened. "Sometimes the paper can't analyze certain chakras. It's rare, but it happens."

Rin frowned but nodded. "I guess…"

"Come on, team," Minato said, rallying them. "Let me show you some C-rank ninjutsus according to your chakra natures."

"Come on sensei!" Obito nagged. "Get us an S rank mission already!"

"Now, now, Obito-kun," Minato patted his head. "We need to complete several C rank missions, then some B ranks and quite some A ranks to get there."

"Aww! Darn it."

"Then how about a cool C rank then?" I chipped in. "Ne, old-man... I mean, Hokage-sama?"

"I do have an escort mission to the Land of Earth."

"But that's the enemy territory!" Kakashi gasped.

"This is the only C rank mission I have. You can do other missions," The old man inhaled some smoke from his pipe. "D ranks."

"Hokage-sama," Minato respectfully said. "Why is this a C rank mission? What is needed to be delivered?"

"Just a box of medicine."

"Medicine for what?"

"Nothing special. Just some fungal infection vaccine that Orochimaru made for one of our informants" The old man explained. "Although the payment is quite high."

"We'll take it." Minato stated. "I think my team is ready for this mission. Shouldn't be too hard. Besides, I can always teleport back."

"Very well, you leave at noon after collecting the box from my secretary."

As we left the Hokage's office, Obito couldn't contain his excitement. "An escort mission to enemy territory! This is gonna be epic!"

Kakashi nodded, already calculating the risks. "We should plan our route and have contingencies in place."

Minato smiled at the team. "That's the spirit. Let's meet back here at noon, ready to go." with that, he body flickered away.

"I am so learning that," Obito declared, eyes wide with determination.

Kakashi smirked. "You can't do the body flicker technique?" he teased. "That's expected."

"You say something, Bakashi?!" Obito shot back, his nickname for Kakashi a mix of annoyance and affection.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled. "So you have problems with your ears too?" he deadpanned. "I thought it was only your brain."

I couldn't help but chuckle. These two were like oil and water, constantly at odds. But today, I had a plan to change that.

"I have a proposition," I interjected, appearing between them. Startled, they both turned to me. "How about a race to Ichiraku's? Losers pay for ramen. Deal?"

Obito's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Get ready to be broke, Bakashi!"

Kakashi adjusted his headband, taking a sprinting stance. "We'll see about that," he said. "In three."

"Two," I continued.

"One!" Obito finished, already sprinting down the street, screaming like a man possessed. Kakashi followed a moment later, disappearing into a blur of speed. I waited, biding my time. This was my chance to show off my skills.

And then, I launched myself.

Time slowed down. Not metaphorically—literally. The world around me shifted into slow motion. People froze mid-step, like statues caught in a photographer's frame. A fly hung suspended in mid-air, wings outstretched. A man slipped on a banana peel, teetering on the edge of disaster. A woman's cup of tea tilted dangerously.

I sprang into action. I grabbed the slipping man by the shoulders, steadying him. A nearby cushion materialized in my hands, placed just in time to save the woman's tea from spilling. The fly, oblivious to its impending doom, was gently relocated to safety. And then, I passed my teammates, who looked like absolute idiots in their frozen forms.

Obito's expression was a mix of surprise and nausea. Kakashi… well, Kakashi was in a rather questionable position. I suppressed a laugh and reappeared in front of Ichiraku Ramen, sliding onto a stool.

"Hey, Teuchi!" I called out to the ramen chef. "Ten large bowls of beef ramen!"

"Well, well, if it isn't my new favorite customer," Teuchi said, wiping his hands on his apron. "Beef ramen, eh? What's the occasion?"

"My teammates are paying, believe it!" I grinned.

Teuchi chuckled. "Poor souls. Ten large bowls of beef ramen, coming right up!" With that, he disappeared into the kitchen.

A second later, Obito and Kakashi burst through the curtains, panting and dishevelled.

"I won!" Obito declared, chest heaving.

"No, you didn't. I did," Kakashi retorted, adjusting his mask.

"Stop lying!"

"Loser, I won."

"No, I did!"

"Actually, I did." I pushed the curtains aside, looking at them with wide eyes. "You arrived about twenty seconds later."

"NO WAY!"

"You must have cheated."

"No, I didn't," I grinned. "And you're paying."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, calculating. "Fine."

Obito reluctantly nodded.

And then, our order arrived. Ten steaming bowls of beef ramen, piled high with noodles and savory broth.

"Itadakimasu!" I declared, diving into my bowl.

Obito stared at the mountain of ramen before him, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "Tell me this is a dream," he muttered, shaking Kakashi. "I don't want to be bankrupt!"

Kakashi sighed, pulling out a black wallet. "I'm going to have to stay empty-stomached tonight."

"Don't just look," I said, pushing two bowls toward them. "Eat up. I'm paying for yours while you guys pay for mine."

They hesitated for a moment, then dug in.

Man, this was what I called team bonding.

TBC

NEXT: Our First C-rank mission.