Minato Namikaze knew perfectly well that Obito stood no chance against Kakashi. That's why he had placed a Flying Thunder God marker seal on him beforehand. Calculating the timing, he used the Hiraishin technique to teleport directly to the scene and check the situation. Just as he expected, his student had collapsed within minutes.
Feeling exasperated with his two problematic students—being a teacher was tough—Konoha's Yellow Flash sighed. He leaped down from the tree but didn't immediately rush to help Obito up. Letting him stay unconscious for a while might be for the best; otherwise, he'd just start clamoring the moment he woke up. Minato had hoped Obito might have matured somewhat during this time, but seeing Kakashi seemed to make him revert instantly.
Still, perhaps this was a good thing. The Uchiha clan already carried far too much hatred.
Kakashi stepped protectively in front of Terumi Mei, instantly tossing aside the three-pronged kunai he'd taken. Every cell in his body crackled, activated by lightning chakra.
Can't win. Can't escape.
Speed-type ninja feared encountering someone even faster. Just as Obito could recognize the gap between himself and Kakashi, Kakashi understood the immense difference between his current self and the Yellow Flash.
Minato Namikaze was at his absolute peak. Across the entire shinobi world right now, the number of people who could defeat him could probably be counted on one hand. Perhaps the Third Raikage, if he were still alive and they fought to the death within a barrier, might win. Nagato was a wildcard, difficult to gauge. Hanzo of the Salamander, whose abilities countered Minato's well, likely stood a chance. As for Kirigakure... maybe the Fourth Mizukage in his full Tailed Beast form?
Kakashi, who had felt a surge of confidence after defeating one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, was instantly doused with a bucket of ice-cold reality. Chilled to the bone.
His fundamental strength was still too lacking. The silver-haired youth cursed his own weakness internally while simultaneously trying to figure out a way to break through.
Seeing his student looking so tense, Minato wasn't sure what to think. Since when did his own student need to be so wary of his teacher?
Time for a distraction.
"Kakashi," Minato called out cheerfully, "is that young lady behind you your new girlfriend?"
"Eh?"
Mei, sheltered behind Kakashi, didn't grasp the situation fully. Seeing the silver-haired boy acting as if facing a formidable enemy, she guessed the man before them must be the dreaded Yellow Flash feared by the other Great Nations, but he didn't quite match her imagination.
Confirming there were no other female ninja behind Kakashi, Mei tentatively poked her head out and pointed at herself.
"Me?"
"Ah, looks like I was wrong," Minato chuckled.
"No, I mean, at least not yet... wait, no..." Mei fumbled, flustered.
"Maybe you should just say less," Kakashi muttered, exasperated.
The tense atmosphere evaporated. Kakashi couldn't maintain a life-or-death stance against his own teacher. He let his usually sharp gaze droop into his typical 'dead fish eyes,' deciding to wait and see how things unfolded.
"Can I ask a question?" Mei ventured, sensing Minato might be approachable, feeling a bit bolder.
"Go ahead," Minato replied kindly.
"When you said Kakashi's new girlfriend... does that mean he had girlfriends before?"
"Hahahaha!" Hearing this, Minato was amused by the orange-haired girl's precociousness. His hearty laughter made Kakashi distinctly uncomfortable. "Oh yes, he did!"
"Really?" Mei's eyes showed a flicker of disappointment. Then, noticing the utterly exasperated, 'you're an idiot' look on the silver-haired boy's face, she realized it was a joke and let out a couple of indignant "hmph" sounds.
"Sensei," Kakashi cut in, his tone serious again, "you didn't come all this way just to chat with me, did you?"
"Of course not," Minato's expression turned earnest. "I'm here to take you back to Konoha."
Warily preventing Minato from getting closer, Kakashi slowly backed away, keeping Mei behind him.
"I really am a failure as a teacher," Minato sighed dramatically. "My own student doesn't even trust me."
"It's not about trust, it's about impossibility," Kakashi retorted. "Konoha's mission for you must be to capture me. Otherwise, encountering you and Obito here in the Land of Water... that coincidence is just too unbelievable."
"It certainly isn't a coincidence," Minato admitted. "You've caused quite a stir in Kirigakure, creating significant trouble for the Land of Water. The young lady behind you escaped from Kiri with you, didn't she? She's a missing-nin now too. Don't you realize you might have ruined her life?"
"Don't you dare use that against me!" Kakashi flared up. "If I hadn't brought her out, she would have died there!"
Minato absorbed this key piece of information. He had heard rumors about the Village of the Bloody Mist and Kirigakure's brutal graduation system. It confirmed his suspicion that Kakashi had rescued the girl.
Through this exchange, Minato confirmed that Kakashi's fundamental nature hadn't changed. Perhaps he had hidden reasons for being here, but as long as he remained fundamentally good and hadn't intentionally betrayed the village, there might still be room for reconciliation.
"The Mizukage is putting pressure on the Third Hokage," Minato explained gravely. "If I don't bring you back to answer for your actions, the Land of Water will declare war on the Land of Fire."
"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext, can't you?" Kakashi scoffed.
"It's a fact that you killed people in the Land of Water," Minato stated firmly. "And furthermore, you killed a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Do you understand what that implies?"
"..." Kakashi desperately wanted to reveal everything about Madara and Zetsu's existence, to explain that coming to Kirigakure was never his intention – his goal was to save people! "I never wanted to kill them! But if I didn't kill them, they would have killed me! Fewer than one in ten Genin survive Kirigakure's exams! Under those circumstances, saving one person, saving some infants – is that wrong too?"
"No, it's not wrong," Minato conceded softly, his gaze sharpening. "But your very presence here was the mistake."
Hitting the crucial point, Minato's eyes flashed. He instantly closed the distance, mirroring the way Kakashi had overwhelmed Obito moments earlier.
In perceived slow motion, Kakashi saw the Yellow Flash's figure blur and vanish, reappearing near the kunai he had dropped earlier. Simultaneously, two more three-pronged kunai flew towards him from the front.
Lightning flared around Kakashi. As he bent low to dodge, the silver-haired youth instinctively slapped one kunai away, but Minato was already before him.
A swirling sphere of blue chakra grew rapidly in Kakashi's vision, only to dissipate into nothingness just before impact. Instead, a hand gently ruffled his silver hair. Minato smiled down at his student.
"Well now, Kakashi?"
Kakashi slapped Minato's hand away, his hair slightly messy. Behind him, Mei stared wide-eyed, utterly stunned by what had just transpired. The intensity of moments ago was still fresh in her mind. That instantaneous battle... it's already over?
It was indeed over. Kakashi distinctly felt a new seal – a marker – appear on his skin.
He had been tagged.
Frustrated by being 'patted on the head,' Kakashi could only vent his annoyance elsewhere. He turned and ruthlessly messed up Terumi Mei's long orange hair until it resembled a chaotic bird's nest, only stopping then.
"What are you doing?!" Mei protested indignantly.
"Nothing!" Kakashi snapped back.
If Mei hadn't been here, he thought bitterly, if I didn't have to split my focus protecting her, I definitely could have exchanged a few more blows with Minato-sensei. Being defeated so easily is just humiliating.
That was essentially how the Yellow Flash fought – either instantly defeating his opponent or being instantly defeated himself. To drag out a fight with him, you needed to be at least on the level of someone like the Raikage.
Kakashi, who had long coveted the Raikage's powerful Nintaijutsu, made a firm resolution: he had to find time to visit Kumogakure and learn from that monster whose physical prowess rivaled a Tailed Beast.
"Obito, stop playing dead," Kakashi said, nudging the unconscious Uchiha boy on the ground with his foot a couple of times. He resisted the urge to check his 'System' – specifically, the 'Battle' category he'd never opened before. Maybe it was time to take a look.
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