"Kakashi, you're not graduating early anymore?"
Obito Uchiha sidled up beside him, grinning. "Heh. You just can't bear to leave me, right? You're scared that once you graduate, you won't have this great me as your rival anymore, and you'll get lonely…"
As he talked, he bumped Kakashi lightly with his shoulder, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Other people were still figuring out how to ask, hesitating around the edges.
Obito didn't care about any of that.
Some people just clicked.
Kakashi and Obito were the perfect example. One was a cold, arrogant little genius, the other was a loud, hot-blooded dead last. On the surface, they shouldn't have had anything in common.
But somehow, their rhythm matched.
Kakashi, strangely enough, didn't find Obito's constant hovering annoying. Even when Obito followed him around to fish, watched him cook, and generally acted like the concept of personal space was optional.
Kakashi could feel it clearly, that pure, straightforward kindness. Obito's honest hunger for friendship.
Half the time, Kakashi would catch him sneaking a peek from the side and just call him out. "Stop hiding. Come eat."
Sometimes Rin would tag along with Obito too, the two of them quietly watching what Kakashi did in his everyday life.
So even though they hadn't graduated yet, the three of them already felt like a real team, tight and familiar.
"You really don't get what it's like outside the academy…"
Kakashi lowered the swordsmanship notebook in his hands. The strange calm in his eyes faded into something softer, almost faintly gloomy, and he spoke in the tone of someone trying very hard to sound grown.
"If you graduate without being ready, you'll think the outside world is hell."
Huh?
The students who'd started drifting over froze, surprised.
Even if the academy still hadn't officially set up an elite advancement class, the truth was, the circle had already formed.
It was based on talent.
It wasn't that anyone looked down on the weaker students. It was just that when your abilities didn't match, you didn't share the same problems, the same conversations.
So naturally, people of similar strength clustered together.
Shisui, Obito, Asuma, Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Rin…
Aoba Yamashiro, Hayate Gekko, Raido Namiashi, Ebisu, Genma Shiranui…
And even Obito, who got mocked as "dead last," mostly earned that title because he was careless and always spacing out at the worst times.
"H-Hell? Don't be so dramatic, Kakashi…" Obito scratched the back of his head. "You're crazy strong. I seriously think you're stronger than most chunin."
"Even though I hate admitting it, you're definitely someone worth surpassing."
Kakashi's eyebrow twitched.
That was probably part of why he didn't mind Obito so much.
In a way, Obito was the academy's number one Kakashi fan.
Who could reject a teammate who turned red and blurted out how amazing you were while watching you fish?
"Most?" Kakashi muttered, and without warning, the image of a blond head popped into his mind. A chill crawled up his spine.
"I don't even know if that guy counts as a normal chunin… he said he's only 'average,' and that there are tons of people in Konoha stronger than him…"
And then he remembered it.
The way he'd followed him around, convinced he was being sneaky, only to realize he'd been noticed for days.
The way he'd gone all out on a sneak attack and hadn't even brushed a strand of hair.
The way that Curse Mark had pinned him in place for a second, and how his father had to step in and save face for him.
Heat rushed straight to Kakashi's cheeks under his mask.
"Hey, Kakashi, why do you look kind of red?" Obito's eyes were sharp when it came to stuff like this. "Who are you talking about? Is he that strong?"
Kakashi silently tugged his mask higher. "His name is Minato Namikaze. He looks really sunny…"
He paused, then added, "…and he really is sunny."
Kakashi suddenly remembered his father and Minato seemed to be close, the kind of friendship that didn't match their ages.
His father had even said that if Kakashi graduated, he'd apply to Hokage-sama to have Minato be his jonin instructor…
Yeah. Better not talk bad about him.
If something got back to him and he really ended up becoming Kakashi's teacher, that sounded like the start of something horrifying.
And Guy, of all people, seemed to worship that blond guy.
"Hokage-sama said he's going to set up an advancement course at the academy," Kakashi continued. "They'll select a group of students, and Minato Namikaze will be one of the instructors."
"When the time comes, you'll find out for yourself, Obito."
Guy cut in immediately, practically vibrating. "I'm going to make Minato-san acknowledge me! His youth burns like a little sun!"
"Like a sun? Then doesn't that make him like Hokage-sama…" someone muttered.
"Hokage-sama's youth is a huge sun!" Guy didn't even care who said it. He enthusiastically drew an enormous circle in the air with both hands. "It shines on everyone in the village! My dad and I respect him more than anything!"
Asuma's mouth twitched on instinct.
Sure, his old man was amazing, but wasn't this a bit much?
In the past, Asuma would've fired back with some sharp comment. He could, he was the Hokage's son.
But then he thought about the pressure his father carried, and how even as Hokage, he still got up at four in the morning to train.
And somehow, the urge to argue just… faded.
"Hokage-sama really is great," Kakashi added, like he was filling in a blank. "My father says the same thing."
Then he looked at Obito again. "Minato Namikaze is a good person. If it's you, Obito, you might actually be able to force him to get serious…"
"Everyone train hard," Kakashi said, voice turning a little too bright. "When the time comes, we swarm him together and show him how strong the academy is!"
Something strange flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
He'd gotten soaked in the rain already. How could he let his classmates stay dry under an umbrella?
And if they prepared properly… maybe they could actually make that blond guy stumble for once.
His father had said Minato might have a chance of knowing one of the Second Hokage's signature forbidden techniques, but that was only a possibility…
What, he really mastered it?
Come on. Don't make Kakashi laugh.
Besides, even if it was one in ten thousand and he really did know it, was he seriously going to use the Second Hokage's forbidden technique on academy kids?
That was what the little white-haired schemer told himself.
Either way, he didn't lose.
Worst case, everyone got soaked with him.
Best case, they landed a clean hit on Minato Namikaze.
It was all winning, just the difference between a big win, a medium win, and a small win.
Shisui watched quietly, thinking.
He'd wanted to graduate early too.
But after hearing what Kakashi said, he hesitated.
He thought too much for a kid, always worrying about where his clan and the village were headed.
If becoming a real shinobi meant seeing more of the world, maybe he'd meet someone wise, someone who could point him in the right direction.
But if he left the academy and couldn't stand out, then maybe it was better to stay with everyone a little longer and build a stronger foundation.
Most shinobi understood that a solid foundation mattered for long-term growth. Even kids knew it.
Reality just didn't always give you the luxury.
If I had an amazing big brother… Shisui sighed inwardly. I could talk to him about everything I'm thinking.
Sometimes he felt like all that weight really did affect his body.
If he had someone close who understood him, maybe it would be easier…
He knew it was impossible, but Uchiha were like that. Always wanting a brother or a sibling.
The whole "brother-obsessed, little-sibling-obsessed" thing was basically inherited at this point.
"Kakashi, your idea is perfect!"
Asuma stepped into the middle of the group, fired up. "We can't lose to the adults!"
"We should form an organization, help each other, train together, and make the grown-ups see how hard we're fighting…"
Guy threw both hands up immediately. "Asuma's youth! Let me be part of it too!"
"What do we call it?" Everyone leaned in, excited.
Who didn't want to shock the adults and prove they weren't just kids?
"Let me think…" Asuma frowned in concentration. "If we're picking a name, it should be based on something from our village."
"I heard the First Hokage's special move could summon a blue wooden dragon. So why don't we call our group the 'Azure Dragon Gang'?"
Asuma still had that stubborn rebellious streak in him, so even the name came with a little street flavor.
But it hit the exact kind of dramatic nerve teenagers loved.
"Alright! Then the Azure Dragon Gang officially begins today!"
"Train together, advance together, and our goal is to take on Minato Namikaze!" Asuma declared.