He knew he couldn't intervene directly; Rockruff and Zorua were both newly born ninja beasts.
If he took action, it would look like he was bullying newborns, and Kakashi would seize the chance to mock him, which might lower Nohara Rin's opinion of him.
At night, Obito was in his yard explaining the Fire Release to Charmander, trying to teach it the Great Fireball Jutsu.
With the stone around Rockruff's neck allowing it to naturally learn Earth Attribute Chakra Nature Changes, and given the flame on Charmander's tail, Obito believed Charmander would definitely be able to use Fire Release.
Just as Obito was diligently teaching, Namikaze Minato arrived at Obito's home.
"Obito, gather at the Hokage Building tomorrow," Minato informed him.
Upon hearing Minato's words, Obito remembered he was actually a member of Minato's team, though he had been under guardianship for a long time.
"Teacher Minato, are we going on a war mission?" Obito asked.
Usually, gathering at the Hokage Building meant undertaking a mission, and during wartime, given their team's abilities, it would surely be a high-difficulty war mission.
Namikaze Minato smiled and shook his head, "Not a mission, but there will likely be some training."
Namikaze Minato had just finished his recent tasks and wasn't planning on taking any war missions; he just wanted to get the students familiar with Kushina.
Due to Kushina's limited range of activity, Namikaze Minato could only bring Obito and the others to the Main Konoha District.
The main district also had a training ground, but it was very small, basically just a field fenced in like a playground.
After explaining the situation to Obito, Namikaze Minato quickly went to inform Kakashi and Nohara Rin.
...
The next day, Minato's team gathered in front of the Hokage Building, joined by the onlooking Kushina who came with Namikaze Minato.
"You are all disciples taught by Mokgetsu and Minato together. I've read about you in the papers, but hearing is one thing, seeing is another. I want to see if you're as excellent as Minato says," Kushina said, hands on hips, posing like a stern examiner.
In fact, Kushina was just bored and itching for action, plus Namikaze Minato wanted her to get familiar with Kakashi and the others, so she thought of combat training, unrelated to assessing excellence.
Of course, what's in the mind and what's said are two different things. Kushina wanted to present herself as authoritative, so she specifically prepared a speech.
"Of course, it's true. Our excellence is even acknowledged by our enemies," Obito retorted.
Back when they made a big name for themselves on the East Coast Battlefield, an ordinary Hidden Mist squad was afraid to face them.
"And are you sure you want to train all three of us at once? We're all Jonin, and I've even defeated the Jonin exam proctor in the Jonin examination!" Obito raised his head, looking proud and confident.
Though Obito didn't pass the Jonin exam, he considered defeating the Jonin exam proctor an admirable achievement, since it was something Kakashi hadn't accomplished.
"So you think you're quite the courageous one?" Kushina asked with interest, looking at Obito.
It had been a long time since any ninja dared to be so bold in front of her.
"Just kidding, I can definitely take down one of the Seven-Swords Ninja now!" Obito claimed he was already an elite among Jonin.
"So are you up to challenge me alone?" Kushina began to eagerly prepare herself, wondering if Obito would end up crying.
"Of course." Obito was confident.
He was the famous genius Jonin of Konoha; beating an unknown Konoha Jonin would be easy.
Kushina was the real challenger here.
"Obito, that's not a good idea," Nohara Rin worried for Obito.
Namikaze Minato wasn't an unreliable person; if he let Kushina train the three of them, it meant Kushina must be stronger than them, or have some outstanding quality, rather than it being just because of her personal relationship with Namikaze Minato.
Obito returned Nohara Rin's concern with a confident smile.
"This is hopeless," Kakashi shook his head quietly.
Even Nohara Rin could see, yet Obito couldn't predict Kushina's strength.
Still, Kakashi was curious about a strong yet unheralded figure during these constant wars.
"Kushina, go a little easy on him," Minato softly said on their way to the training ground.
Kushina had a kind of violence that didn't match her looks, earning her the nickname 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' during Ninja Academy.
"No way, I've got to teach him a lesson and show him not to underestimate people," Kushina lightly clenched her fist, indicating she was about to strike.
Namikaze Minato smiled wryly, hoping Obito would learn to be more cautious in the future.
"Go ahead and do your best; I want to see how impressive a ninja who can beat one of the Seven-Swords Ninja really is."
Upon reaching the training ground, Kushina graciously allowed Obito to make the first move.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Kushina's poise caused Obito to reassess her abilities. Generally, someone that confident wouldn't lack strength, so without hesitation, Obito unleashed a fireball.
After his confident display before the fight, losing would be quite humiliating.
"Vajra Seal!"
Kushina swiftly dodged the slow-moving Great Fireball, then unleashed an overwhelming amount of Chakra and rushed towards Obito utilizing a special ability of the Uzumaki clan's bloodline.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Chains formed from Chakra extended from Kushina's back, stretching and sealing off an area within twenty meters around her.
Obito didn't even have time to activate the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode; after a few dodges, he was bound by the Chakra chains and immobilized.
"What jutsu is this?" Obito was stunned, having never seen such a jutsu before.
"Breath of Flame Chakra Mode!"
Obito concentrated his breathing to the fullest, entering the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode. He exploded with Chakra, enveloping himself in high-temperature flames, hoping to burn through the chains binding him.
But to his surprise, the chains showed no signs of damage under the scorching flames.
Observing from the sidelines, Kakashi squinted. Without his Transparent World ability, and being a certain distance from Kushina, he might not have managed to dodge all those chains either.
"Is it a secret technique of the Uzumaki clan?" Kakashi wore a contemplative expression; he didn't recall this jutsu either.
Obito was flustered; even the usually low-key Teacher Mokgetsu was renowned in the ninja world, so how did Konoha still have hidden masters?
With the Chakra power Kushina just displayed, even Might Guy might not win against her, let alone him.
Kushina manipulated the chains to lift Obito up, "Looks like the rumors are fake; you're not that impressive."
"Is it possible that it's because you're even stronger?" Obito, blushing hard, conceded.
"Well, that should be it—I am very strong!" Hearing Obito's softened tone and praise, Kushina beamed, immediately releasing him.
After all, those who compliment her aren't all bad.
"Teacher Minato, by the way, when do you plan to bring Big Brother Naruto into the world? He still owes me a call as big brother." Obito mentioned something he found quite important.
Minato: ...
Kushina: ???
That one remark from Obito almost left Minato dumbfounded, until he recalled the joke Naruto had told Obito when leaving in the future.
Seeing Obito acting strangely due to red heat, Kakashi subtly placed the photograph in front of Obito, using poison against poison to provoke Obito into lunging at him for the photo, smoothly distracting Kushina.
Later, after Obito had rested, the three of them—Obito, Kakashi, and Nohara Rin—had a training session with Kushina.
After the training, they went out for ramen together before dispersing.
Spending time with Kushina, Kakashi noticed how she and Obito were somewhat similar—both were straightforward individuals.
However, Kakashi couldn't quite understand why Kushina wasn't famous, as she didn't seem like someone who would intentionally hide her abilities.