The moment Rin finished speaking, Ren froze.
Not outwardly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But inside, his thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Oki-sensei had specifically told Rin to wait here for him.
That alone was strange.
And now, with everyone else already assigned and gone…
A faint sense of danger began to creep up his spine.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Just then—
Bang!
The doors of the auditorium were thrown open.
A familiar figure stumbled in, bracing himself against the frame as he gasped for breath.
Spiky hair.
Orange goggles.
Wildly disheveled expression.
It was Obito.
And he was, as expected, spectacularly late.
"Huff… huff… Rin! You're still here!" Obito panted, wiping sweat from his face. Then he noticed Ren as well. "And you too, Ren! I'm not late, right?!"
Silence.
A brief, painful silence.
Rin sighed, half helpless and half amused.
"Obito… the graduation ceremony is already over. Everyone's been assigned to their teams and left." She held up a forehead protector. "But there's still one headband left for you. Oki-sensei told Ren and me to give it to you."
Obito blinked.
Then his face lit up.
"Wait—really? I passed? I can graduate too?!"
His excitement lasted less than two seconds before his brain caught up.
"The team assignments are over?" he asked, suddenly alarmed. "Then, Rin, what team are you on? Are you on the same team as me?"
Rin hesitated.
And Ren's heart sank.
That question was the exact one he didn't want asked.
Because everyone in Konoha knew how team assignments usually worked.
Teams were formed in groups of three.
Bonds were taken into account.
Balance was taken into account.
Sometimes performance mattered, sometimes personality mattered, but the village almost always tried to arrange squads with some logic behind them.
And what was the situation here?
Ren and Rin had grown up together.
Obito had attached himself to Rin like a shadow for years.
As for grades…
Ren was first in the class.
Rin was in the upper range.
Obito was, well…
Obito.
A warning bell rang in Ren's mind.
He stood up immediately, already thinking of how to phrase a polite but urgent request to change squads—
And then a hand settled lightly on his shoulder.
Warm.
Calm.
Completely silent in its arrival.
A gentle male voice sounded behind him.
"It seems everyone is here."
Ren's eyelid twitched.
He slowly turned.
Rin and Obito also looked up at the same time.
Standing there was a tall young man with blond hair and clear blue eyes, wearing the dark green flak jacket of a Konoha jonin. His smile was gentle, but there was a natural steadiness to him that made it impossible to look away.
Minato Namikaze.
"Nice to meet you," he said. "I am Minato Namikaze. Starting today, I will be your jonin instructor."
For a moment, Ren felt like his soul left his body.
His mind buzzed.
A thousand thoughts exploded at once.
No. No, no, no.
This isn't right.
Why am I here?
Did I just steal Kakashi's spot?
So where is Kakashi now?
Is it too late to quit and go open a ramen shop?
He kept all of that off his face through sheer willpower.
Beside him, Obito reacted much more directly.
His eyes widened with admiration.
"You're our jonin instructor?" he blurted out. "Then you must be super strong, right? Stronger than that arrogant Kakashi guy?"
Minato chuckled and raised one hand, pinching his fingers close together.
"Well… I'm a little stronger than him."
Ren almost choked.
A little?
That was an absurd understatement.
But Minato only smiled and changed the subject.
"Alright, we can talk more later. For our first meeting, we still need a bit of ceremony." He gestured for them to come closer. "Come here and stand together. Hold hands."
"?"
Ren was still mentally reeling.
Obito immediately looked at Rin, awkward and hesitant.
Rin, however, was much more practical. She stepped forward without fuss, took Ren's hand with one of hers, then caught Obito by the wrist with the other.
"Like this, Minato-sensei?"
"Yes," Minato said.
He stepped in, placing one hand on Ren's shoulder and the other on Obito's.
"Hold tight."
The next moment—
Buzz.
Ren felt the world twist.
His vision blurred.
The ground beneath him seemed to vanish for a heartbeat, while a strange spinning sensation swept through his body. It lasted only an instant, but it was enough to make Obito yelp.
Then it was over.
The auditorium was gone.
In its place was a forest training ground bathed in bright sunlight, with dense shrubs, tall trees, and the fresh smell of earth all around them.
A system prompt flashed in Ren's mind.
---
[Ding! Detected over-spec conquest target: "Flying Thunder God"!]
[Current conditions not met. Conquest unavailable.]
---
Ren's eyes flickered.
Flying Thunder God.
An S-rank space-time ninjutsu.
Honestly, he wasn't surprised by the rejection.
From past experience, the system clearly had thresholds for high-level targets. The Eight Gates had only become available after his physique improved past a certain point. A technique like Flying Thunder God obviously wouldn't be something he could touch yet.
So he didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he took a slow breath and looked around.
Well then.
If he had to be on Team Minato… this wasn't the worst outcome.
Actually, objectively speaking, it was probably the best.
At this point in time, the Sannin were no longer casually taking on disciples. Jiraiya and Tsunade were not options. Orochimaru was… Orochimaru.
Minato Namikaze, on the other hand, was the direct successor of the Hokage faction, a genius acknowledged throughout the village, and one of Konoha's absolute top combatants. Depending on who you asked, he was already in the top three strongest shinobi in the village.
Being placed under Minato meant one thing:
He was being valued.
Heavily.
If Ren tried to request a transfer now, it would be the same as publicly slapping Hiruzen's face.
That was impossible.
So if he was already here…
Then he would make the most of it.
He knew enough of the future to understand the broad shape of Team Minato's fate. Until the Kannabi Bridge mission, there would be no truly unavoidable disaster. That gave him time—two years, maybe a little more.
Enough time to learn from Minato.
Enough time to expand his conquest list.
Enough time to prepare.
And when that mission finally approached…
He would think of something.
By then, perhaps he would be strong enough to change more than just his own fate.
Nearby, Rin and Obito were still recovering from the sudden relocation.
"Wow…" Rin murmured, looking around in amazement. "We're outside the village?"
"This is one of the training grounds near Konoha, right?" Obito said, turning in a circle. Then he looked at Minato with shining eyes. "Minato-sensei, do you know teleportation?"
Minato smiled.
"Something like that. This is a space-time ninjutsu called the Flying Thunder God Technique. As long as I place a mark beforehand, I can move instantly to the designated location. It's very useful for long-distance travel."
Obito's mouth fell open.
Then he glanced at Ren.
"Isn't that kind of like Ren's Substitution Jutsu?"
Minato laughed softly.
"You could say that, if you want a simple comparison. Think of it as a much more advanced version."
Then his gaze shifted briefly toward Ren.
"It seems Ren adapted the fastest. He was already steady the moment we arrived."
Ren was expressionless.
If I adapted that fast, I'd already have conquered Flying Thunder God.
Still, compared to Rin and Obito, who were experiencing this kind of instantaneous movement for the first time, he probably had looked calmer.
Minato clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright. Let's sit down first and introduce ourselves. Tell me about yourselves, your interests, your goals… that kind of thing."
It was all very standard.
Self-introductions.
Dreams.
Goals.
One of Konoha's classic team-building rituals.
Ren sat down with the others on the grass, going along without complaint.
Minato began first, giving them the basics in a relaxed, approachable tone.
Then Obito went, loudly declaring his ambition to become Hokage one day and surpass everyone who had ever looked down on him.
Rin introduced herself more gently, speaking about wanting to become a capable medical ninja and someone her teammates could rely on.
When it was Ren's turn, he kept things simple.
"My name is Ren. I like training when it produces results, and I dislike wasted effort. My current goal is to become stronger as quickly as possible."
Minato nodded, seeming unsurprised by the answer.
After the introductions ended, there was a brief pause.
Ren was already expecting the next step.
The bell test.
That was how Konoha did things. A new team formed, a practical cooperation exercise followed. It was as natural as breathing.
But then Minato said something unexpected.
"Normally, according to procedure, I would conduct a teamwork exercise with the three of you next."
He paused.
"However, before that, there's something I need to explain."
Obito tilted his head.
"Hm?"
Minato's expression remained gentle, but his tone became slightly more formal.
"My missions are usually very demanding, and there will be times when I cannot remain with you for long periods."
"So, after speaking with the Hokage, I arranged for a teaching assistant."
"He will act as your acting leader whenever I am unavailable, and will help oversee your basic missions and daily training."
Rin blinked.
"A teaching assistant?"
Obito looked around immediately.
"Where is he?"
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.
A teaching assistant?
This part, at least, definitely hadn't been in the original setup.
Which meant one thing.
From this point on—
Things were diverging even further.
And that made the answer to Minato's announcement very important.
Very, very important.
--------------------------------
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