Ren stared at Rin, his instincts warning him that something was wrong.
Teacher Oki had specifically instructed her to remain in the auditorium and wait for him. Since Konoha traditionally formed Genin squads of three, that almost certainly meant they had been assigned to the same team.
But who was their third teammate?
And why had their Jonin instructor not appeared yet?
Before Ren could ask another question, hurried footsteps thundered through the hallway.
Bang!
The auditorium door slammed open hard enough to shake the frame. A boy with spiky black hair and bright yellow goggles stumbled into the room, leaning against the doorway as he desperately tried to catch his breath.
It was Uchiha Obito.
He was exactly two and a half hours late.
"Huff… huff…" Obito gasped. "Rin! You're still here!"
His eyes moved to Ren, and relief spread across his face.
"Ren's here too! Good! That means I'm not late, right?"
Silence filled the auditorium.
Ren looked at Obito.
Rin looked at Obito.
Even the dust drifting through the sunbeams seemed to pause in disbelief.
After several seconds, Rin released a helpless sigh. The corners of her lips curved upward despite her exasperation.
"Obito, the graduation ceremony ended a long time ago," she explained. "Everyone has already received their team assignments and left."
Obito froze.
"What?"
"Teacher Oki left one forehead protector behind," Rin continued. "He asked Ren and me to give it to you when you arrived."
She reached into the desk and removed the final Konoha forehead protector.
The engraved metal plate caught the sunlight.
Obito stared at it, his exhaustion disappearing instantly.
"I passed?"
"You passed."
"I actually graduated?"
"Yes, Obito."
An enormous smile spread across his face. He rushed forward, accepted the forehead protector with both hands, and held it above his head like a priceless treasure.
"I did it!" he shouted. "I'm officially a ninja! Just wait—this is only the first step toward becoming Hokage!"
His celebration continued for several seconds before his thoughts finally caught up with Rin's earlier words.
Obito lowered the forehead protector.
"Wait. You said the team assignments are already over?"
Rin nodded.
Obito's expression immediately became nervous.
"Then which team are you on?" he asked. "Are you on the same team as me?"
Rin hesitated.
"That… is a good question."
Ren's eyelid twitched.
Konoha traditionally assigned Genin to three-person squads. The Academy instructors considered personal bonds, individual talents, and overall grades when arranging those teams.
Students with existing relationships were sometimes kept together to improve cooperation. When that was not possible, their abilities were balanced so every squad contained both strong and weaker members.
Ren and Rin had been childhood friends for years.
Obito, meanwhile, followed Rin everywhere and made no attempt to conceal how much he liked her. There was clearly an existing bond among the three of them, even if Ren occasionally wished there were a little less of it.
Their academic results also formed an alarmingly perfect balance.
Ren was the top-ranked graduate.
Rin's performance placed her comfortably in the upper-middle portion of the class.
Obito was the lowest-ranked student who had managed to graduate.
Top, middle, and bottom.
The balance was practically perfect.
A cold realization settled over Ren.
No. They couldn't possibly have…
If he, Rin, and Obito had been assigned to the same squad, then he had effectively replaced Hatake Kakashi in the original Team Minato.
Alarm bells exploded inside his mind.
Ren stood abruptly.
He needed to find Teacher Oki and confirm the team assignments. If possible, he might still have time to request an adjustment before everything became official.
But before he could take a single step, a hand settled silently on his shoulder.
There had been no sound.
No rush of air.
No warning from Ren's sharpened senses.
One instant, nobody had been standing behind him. The next, a calm and unmistakably powerful presence was close enough to touch him.
"It appears everyone has finally arrived."
The voice was gentle, clear, and male.
Ren's eyelid twitched.
He slowly turned his head.
Rin and Obito looked up at the same moment.
A tall young man stood behind Ren. His bright blond hair rose in soft spikes, while his clear blue eyes carried a warmth that made him seem instantly approachable. The dark green flak jacket covering his torso identified him as a Konoha Jonin.
His appearance was handsome and calm, without the slightest trace of arrogance. Yet Ren knew that beneath that harmless smile stood one of the most terrifying shinobi of the era.
Minato Namikaze.
The future Fourth Hokage.
"Nice to meet you," the blond Jonin said. "My name is Minato Namikaze. Starting today, I'll be your Jonin instructor."
The room became silent again.
Ren's thoughts, however, were anything but silent.
Damn it.
His worst suspicion had been confirmed.
Images from the original timeline flashed through his mind—Team Minato, the Third Shinobi World War, Kannabi Bridge, Obito's supposed death, Rin's tragedy, and Kakashi standing alone before the Memorial Stone.
Team Minato was legendary.
It was also cursed.
I've really taken Kakashi's place?
That raised an even more troubling question.
Then where did Kakashi go?
Ren had altered the timeline merely by existing, but he had not expected such a major change to appear this early. Kakashi should have been assigned to Minato alongside Obito and Rin.
Instead, Ren was standing in that position.
For one irrational moment, he wondered whether it was too late to abandon the shinobi profession and open a ramen shop.
Beside him, Obito appeared completely unaware of the future tragedies associated with their team. His eyes shone as he examined Minato.
"You're our Jonin instructor?" he asked. "Then you must be extremely powerful, right?"
Minato smiled modestly. "I suppose I'm reasonably capable."
Obito stepped closer.
"Are you stronger than that arrogant Kakashi?"
Minato raised one hand and held his thumb and index finger a tiny distance apart.
"Well… perhaps a little stronger."
Ren stared at him.
A little?
Minato was already among Konoha's most exceptional shinobi. Once his Flying Thunder God Technique reached its peak, enemy forces would receive orders to flee the moment they saw him.
Comparing him with the current Kakashi was meaningless.
Obito, however, accepted the answer immediately.
"I knew it!" he declared. "Kakashi acts superior just because he graduated early, but now I have a teacher even stronger than him!"
Rin gave him a helpless look.
"That isn't what Minato-sensei meant."
Minato cleared his throat before Obito could continue boasting.
"We'll have plenty of time to discuss Kakashi later. For now, our first meeting deserves a little ceremony."
He gestured for the three students to move closer.
"Stand together and hold hands."
Obito glanced toward Rin.
His face reddened almost immediately.
"H-Hold hands?"
Rin did not wait for him to gather his courage. She reached out, took Ren's hand, and then caught Obito by the wrist with her other hand.
"Like this, Minato-sensei?"
"Yes. That will work."
Minato moved behind them and placed one hand on Ren's shoulder and the other on Obito's.
"Hold on tightly," he instructed. "The first time can be disorienting."
Ren's pupils contracted.
He understood what was about to happen.
Before he could prepare himself, a faint vibration passed through the air.
Buzz!
The auditorium vanished.
There was no burst of speed and no sensation of movement through the space between two locations. Instead, Ren felt as though the entire world had been folded for a fraction of a second.
His vision blurred.
A dizzying weightlessness swept through his body, followed by a momentary pressure that seemed to twist his stomach inside out.
Then his sandals touched solid ground.
The quiet auditorium had disappeared.
Bright sunlight filtered through a thick canopy overhead, and the surrounding air carried the fresh scent of soil, grass, and leaves. Dense bushes enclosed a wide clearing, while birds scattered from the trees in alarm.
They had moved from the Academy to a training ground near Konoha's outer forest in less than an instant.
A sharp notification rang inside Ren's mind.
[Ding! Overpowered potential conquest target detected: Flying Thunder God Technique!]
[Current conquest requirements have not been fulfilled.]
[Target cannot be conquered at this time.]
Ren stared at the message.
He was not surprised by the rejection.
The System had already proven that high-level techniques required certain conditions before they could become potential targets. The Eight Gates had not generated a conquest mission until his Physique increased by more than ten points.
As an S-rank space-time ninjutsu created by Tobirama Senju, Flying Thunder God was far more complex than anything currently on Ren's list.
It involved formulas, spatial coordinates, instantaneous displacement, and a level of chakra control that ordinary shinobi could not even comprehend. The fact that the System recognized it at all was already encouraging.
One day, when Ren satisfied the hidden requirements, the Flying Thunder God might enter his favorability list.
The mere possibility was enough.
Ren took a slow breath and pushed the thought aside.
His immediate situation required his full attention.
Joining Team Minato had caught him completely off guard, but objectively speaking, it was one of the best outcomes he could have received.
Among the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya were no longer publicly accepting students. Orochimaru still occasionally guided promising young shinobi, but becoming his student carried dangers that Ren preferred not to examine too closely.
Minato, however, belonged to the direct lineage of Hokage mentorship.
Hiruzen had trained Jiraiya, and Jiraiya had trained Minato. Minato was already one of Konoha's strongest active Jonin and possessed the qualifications to become a future Hokage candidate.
Being placed under his command meant Ren had entered that same lineage.
Hiruzen's decision proved that the village placed considerable value on him.
Requesting a transfer now would not merely appear ungrateful. It would make Hiruzen question Ren's judgment and might permanently damage his relationship with Konoha's leadership.
Besides, Minato had countless abilities Ren wanted to learn.
Flying Thunder God.
The Rasengan, if it already existed.
Advanced sealing techniques inherited through Kushina Uzumaki.
Battlefield experience, tactical judgment, and Minato's terrifying understanding of speed.
Even without considering the System, studying under him offered enormous benefits.
The true danger lay in Team Minato's future.
According to the original timeline, the team would not encounter its unavoidable catastrophe until the mission at Kannabi Bridge. There should still be more than two years before that event.
Two years was enough time for Ren to grow stronger, acquire new techniques, and search for a way to alter the team's fate.
If changing events proved impossible, he could always find an excuse to avoid the Kannabi Bridge mission entirely.
Since I'm already here, I might as well make the most of it.
Rin and Obito finally recovered from the disorientation.
Rin placed one hand against her chest and looked around in amazement.
"This is the training ground near Konoha's outer forest."
Obito's jaw dropped.
He spun toward Minato, his earlier admiration intensifying.
"Minato-sensei, did you just teleport us?"
"Something like that," Minato replied with a smile. "The technique is called Flying Thunder God. It is a space-time ninjutsu that allows me to move instantly to a location marked with one of my formulas."
He pointed toward a small seal carved discreetly into a nearby stone.
"As long as I establish the coordinate beforehand, I can cross the distance in an instant. It is particularly useful for long-distance travel and battlefield movement."
Obito studied the formula with wide eyes.
"Isn't that similar to Ren's Substitution Technique?"
Minato laughed softly.
"You could think of it as an extremely advanced version of substitution, although the principles are fundamentally different. Substitution exchanges your position with another object. Flying Thunder God moves the user directly through space."
His gaze shifted toward Ren.
"Ren adapted quickly. He regained his balance almost as soon as we arrived."
Ren remained silent.
If his reaction speed were truly impressive, he would have already satisfied the Flying Thunder God's conquest conditions. Compared with Rin and Obito, who had never experienced instantaneous displacement, he had merely known what to expect.
Still, correcting Minato would provide no benefit.
Minato walked toward the center of the clearing and clapped his hands.
"Everyone, sit down. Since we'll be working together from now on, we should begin with introductions."
He sat cross-legged on the grass.
Obito looked confused. "Introductions? We already know each other."
"You know one another as classmates," Minato replied. "That isn't the same as knowing one another as teammates. Tell us what you like, what you dislike, and what you hope to achieve."
Ren almost sighed.
Self-introductions, dreams, and a coordination test—some traditions appeared to be unavoidable whenever Konoha created a new team.
Still, he cooperated and sat with the others.
Minato introduced himself first.
"My name is Minato Namikaze. I enjoy reading and developing ninjutsu. There aren't many things I strongly dislike."
A subtle softness entered his smile.
"My dream is to protect the village and the people important to me."
Obito raised his hand immediately.
"My name is Uchiha Obito! I like helping people, eating sweets, and spending time with…"
His eyes flickered toward Rin.
"…my friends."
Rin pretended not to notice his sudden hesitation.
Obito hurriedly continued, "I dislike people who abandon their comrades, and I especially dislike arrogant geniuses who think they're better than everyone else!"
"Kakashi?" Rin asked.
"Obviously Kakashi!"
Obito tightened his new forehead protector around his head.
"My dream is to become Hokage! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge me, and my face will be carved on the Hokage Monument!"
Minato listened without laughing at him.
"That's a good dream," he said. "Hold on to it."
Obito sat straighter, clearly pleased.
Rin introduced herself next.
"I'm Rin Nohara. I like studying medical ninjutsu and spending time with my friends. I dislike seeing people injured when I could have helped them."
Her fingers rested on the medical scroll she still carried.
"My dream is to become a medical-nin who can protect everyone on my team."
Obito gazed at her as though she had just delivered the greatest speech in history.
Then everyone looked toward Ren.
"My name is Ren," he began. "I enjoy learning ninjutsu and understanding how different techniques work. I dislike wasting effort and being forced into situations without having the strength to choose for myself."
He paused briefly.
"My goal is to become strong enough to control my own future—and protect the people I care about."
Minato's blue eyes remained on him for a moment longer than expected.
Then he nodded.
"A difficult goal," he said. "But a worthwhile one."
Once the introductions ended, Minato stood and brushed several blades of grass from his trousers.
"Normally, the next step would be a coordination exercise designed to evaluate your teamwork."
Obito immediately looked excited.
"A fight?"
"Possibly."
Minato's smile became slightly apologetic.
"Before that, however, I need to explain something. My regular assignments are unusually demanding, and there may be periods when I cannot personally accompany or train you."
The three Genin listened carefully.
"For that reason, I requested an assistant instructor from Lord Third. Whenever I'm unavailable, he will act as your temporary team leader, supervise your daily training, and guide you through basic missions."
Minato glanced toward the trees.
"He will also administer your first coordination exercise."
Obito blinked.
"An assistant instructor? Where is he?"
A faint rustle came from the canopy above them.
Ren's gaze snapped upward.
Someone had been watching from the trees the entire time.
And not even Ren had sensed his presence.