Onoki said.
Ayane raised her eyebrows; she hadn't heard about this matter before.
"Go to the Land of Grass to support Kitsuchi. I need you to deal with the so-called Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, the Konoha Jonin who's recently made quite a name for himself."
He'd also received intel about the supply point in the Land of Grass being taken out by a blond-haired Konoha ninja.
Not only that, but even the Hidden Rock ninjas stationed around the supply point suffered heavy casualties, while the enemy withdrew without a scratch.
This infuriated Onoki.
But after understanding the whole sequence of events, Onoki was left only with worry.
They say that Yellow Flash—no matter what kind of ninja he faces, even veteran and powerful Jonin—ends the fight in just two moves.
Whenever he launches a killing spree, he leaves behind a flicker of yellow light, hence the name 'Yellow Flash.'
"Since it's the Tsuchikage's request, as a bounty hunter I'll of course follow orders. But I can't promise I'll be able to handle Namikaze Minato—his space-time ninjutsu must be even more refined than before."
Ayane said with a smile.
"Of course I know. All you need to do is keep him busy."
"Easy for you to say! He's not just some random stray dog off the street. Speed-type ninja are the absolute worst to deal with."
Ayane grumbled, walking out of Onoki's tent.
Soon after Ayane left, a shadow landed next to Onoki—a Hidden Rock Jonin.
"Lord Tsuchikage."
"Tell Kitsuchi to be careful with that woman—her motives for helping us Hidden Rock are anything but pure."
"Understood."
After the Hidden Rock Jonin left, Onoki let out a long, frustrated sigh.
◎
—The air outside the forest was stifling. It was once again the hottest season of summer, and as September approached, the Hidden Grass ninja's energy seemed to be worn down by the oppressive heat.
In front of Kakashi flowed a crystal-clear river, stretching through the entire forest of the Land of Grass.
The breeze blowing in from afar carried the dampness of the river, offering a brief refreshment when it brushed past.
Kakashi scanned the area, then found a moist rock by the river and sat down to rest.
He took out kunai, shuriken, and other ninja tools from his bag, then pulled out a small sharpening stone, scraping off the rust from his kunai and shuriken.
Although a little rust didn't make it any less deadly, as a fatal hit would still be hard to survive, it was these small imperfections that might cause someone to miss a vital area—and let the enemy escape death at the last second.
So every now and then, he'd fix up his own tools—he didn't use kunai or shuriken very often anyway. He wasn't a pro toolsmith, but he took good enough care of his gear.
After all, his real weapon was the White Fang Short Knife left to him by his father, Hatake Sakumo. As long as the White Fang was sharp, kunai and shuriken were just backups for emergencies.
First, he applied a specialized cleaner to his tools, coating every corner, then rinsed with water, and after that, used the sharpening stone to scrape away the rust.
"So this is where you are, Kakashi."
A voice came from behind.
It was a boy about Kakashi's age, wearing goggles—Uchiha Obito, his teammate from Minato's class.
A member of the prestigious Konoha Uchiha Clan, known for producing prodigies.
Compared to true elites of the Uchiha, Kakashi didn't think Obito was anywhere near that level yet.
Still, reaching Chunin at age eleven was passable, he guessed.
Obito's hands were shoved in his coat pockets, a look of reluctance in his eyes.
"What is it?"
Kakashi looked back at him.
"Minato-sensei wants to see you—he said to hurry over."
Obito snorted.
"Is that so? I'll go after I finish cleaning my tools."
Kakashi nodded. He didn't know what Minato wanted right now, but as a member of Minato's class, he had to obey the captain's orders without question.
This was the ironclad rule every ninja had to abide by.
"Hey, Kakashi, hurry it up—Minato-sensei seems to have something urgent."
Obito urged Kakashi again.
"I know, can't you see I'm cleaning my gear? Besides, the only reason you're in such a rush is because you want to see Lin as soon as possible, right?"
Kakashi replied lazily.
"N-No way! That's not it at all!"
Obito's face turned bright red as he shouted back.
"If not, then what are you yelling for? Makes you seem even more guilty, doesn't it?"
"None of your business! You really are an annoying guy."
"Same to you. In my eyes, you don't count as an Uchiha elite at all."
Kakashi and Obito sniped at each other.
"Hmph…"
Obito turned his face away, as if unwilling to look at Kakashi's infuriating face even a second longer.
Just because he had a bit of skill, he thought he could mock an Uchiha elite like him without consequence.
Kakashi—he really was the kind of genius ninja girls fawned over, and Obito hated that.
At every class gathering, Kakashi was always the center of attention for the girls.
But he was the real elite here!
If only he could awaken the Sharingan…
But the truth was, Obito didn't actually know how to awaken the Sharingan.
Once, when he asked his grandma, she just stayed silent, then patted his head and said, "You'll know in time."