Seeing the expressions on these two kids' faces, Minato Namikaze shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Let me guess—Sasuke's thinking is that Naruto's wind element can counter your lightning element, right?"
Having his thoughts read aloud, Sasuke felt slightly uncomfortable.
"Wind counters lightning—it's basic Ninja Academy knowledge."
"Huh? That's how you see it?" Naruto's voice sounded slightly displeased, tinged with a hint of resentment. "I was thinking wind could help fire burn even brighter. We'd make a great team."
With that, Naruto shifted his buttocks, turned his back to Sasuke, and sat cross-legged on the grass. "Hmph!"
The posture resembled a child unilaterally declaring an end to their friendship.
Prompted by the Fourth Hokage's reminder, Naruto bluntly stated his intention to support Sasuke—using wind power to enhance fire's combustion. This willingness to play second fiddle, to assist in defeating enemies together, suddenly made Sasuke feel his own ambitions seemed petty.
Obito Uchiha nudged Naruto's arm. "Ignore him. He's just like that dumb Kakashi, always putting on that elite act. I've got fire chakra too—we can coordinate our attacks! Let me think... your Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Rasengan combined with my Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique... how can we make that into a combo move?"
Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke snorted coldly.
"You'd better figure out how to combine your Fire Release with your Mangekyō Sharingan first, idiot!"
Mentioning this got Obito fired up!
"You know what? I actually have an idea. After using Fire Release, activate the Sharingan's space! Wouldn't that fire also be launched in a spiral pattern?!"
As for the inspiration behind this technique...
Obito Uchiha would never admit it was conceived when he was about to pee, only for the 'masked man' to suddenly pull him into his Dōjutsu space.
Had his composure failed that day, he might have invented the most terrifying technique in history: 'Urinator: Blast Wave Wild Dance'.
"Minato-sensei, my paper got wet."
Rin's voice snapped Obito out of his reverie.
Minato Namikaze nodded. "Correct. It's water-attribute chakra."
Rin Nohara looked delighted. This meant she could better master Water Release, combining it with Isobu's power to fight alongside Kakashi and Obito.
Sakura was last. Her chakra test paper showed minimal change.
Yet upon closer inspection, the fingertip turned faintly yellowish-brown, the paper itself extremely fragile.
A slight squeeze between her fingers caused it to tear.
"It's earth chakra..." Minato remarked, then detected a trace of moisture on the paper. "And a hint of water chakra too."
It was just weaker compared to the others.
"But that's perfectly fine," said Adult Kakashi. "You can focus less on ninjutsu and more on Medical Ninjutsu and physical strength."
Minato continued, "Sakura can train with Tsunade-sama for the time being. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Obito will continue their advanced chakra and ninjutsu training with me and Adult Kakashi. Rin can choose whichever side she prefers."
Obito looked at Rin, seeking her choice.
Rin hesitated for a moment. "This is a rare opportunity. I still hope to continue deepening my studies of medical ninjutsu with Tsunade-sama. Obito and Kakashi will only grow stronger. If..."
Her smile was shy. "If Obito aims to become Hokage, and Kakashi aims to lead Obito's Anbu Commander... then I aspire to be the strongest Medical-nin. I want to serve as Konoha's Head of the Medical Corps, active on every major battlefield and healing our injured or sick comrades at Konoha Hospital."
"Rin..."
Within the Kamui's Dimension, the young Obito showed no surprise at Rin's choice. Yet the heart he'd believed would never feel anything again suddenly ached unbearably, for reasons he couldn't fathom.
Beside Rin, Obito was also delighted by her choice. "Rin will definitely succeed!"
"Ah, that's right." The young Kakashi agreed with Obito's words. "But who's going to be this idiot's ANBU captain?! The ANBU Commander reports directly to the Hokage. Let him become Hokage first before we talk about that."
"What did you say?! Just you wait! The first thing I'll do when I become Hokage is appoint you as my ANBU captain!!"
Influenced by their interaction, Naruto began pondering what Sasuke and Sakura would do once he became Hokage.
"So when I become the Seventh Hokage, what should I appoint Sasuke as..."
Sasuke's previous dream was to kill Itachi Uchiha and revive the Uchiha Clan. But now, that dream might need some adjustment. Reviving the Uchiha clan was fine, but based on experience from another world, if he actually killed Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke would only drift further away from Konoha—maybe even try to destroy it. That wouldn't do.
"ANBU Commander? No thanks." Surprisingly, Sasuke Uchiha didn't object to Naruto becoming Hokage. It wasn't merely because he already knew from the future that Naruto would become the Seventh Hokage. More fundamentally, he genuinely didn't believe this guy could ever sit in that position.
Naruto pondered, "Hmm... The position of ANBU Commander really isn't right for you. I just feel like you'd be better suited for something like..."
"Hm?" Sasuke's curiosity piqued slightly.
Naruto: "I can't quite put it into words, but it's like being the other Hokage of Konoha, protecting the village from the shadows! I think that role would suit you perfectly! I can't picture what you'll be like in the future, but I just know it'd be incredibly cool, dattebayo!"
A vague scene flashed through Naruto's mind...
It was a vision of his future self and Sasuke's future self, back-to-back, fighting together as Konoha's two Hokage to protect the village.
But they were still too young now, their abilities not yet fully developed, so naturally, they couldn't conceive of that battle mode where a Perfect Susanoo armor enveloped the golden Nine-Tails. If they could see it, it would probably blow their minds.
Sakura agreed, "That sounds great!"
Sasuke remained silent, seemingly pondering the suggestion seriously.
He hadn't considered it before, but becoming Hokage alongside Naruto didn't seem like a bad idea. That way, after the Uchiha Clan's revival, he and Naruto could jointly resolve the conflicts between the Uchiha and the village.
The scope of possibilities suddenly broadened.
Sakura felt a sudden pang of confusion. Her dream had always been to prove herself in front of Sasuke-kun. But compared to Naruto and Sasuke's dreams, hers felt almost insignificant...
Somehow, the conversation drifted to everyone sharing their dreams, reminiscent of their first day in Team 7 when Kakashi-sensei had them introduce themselves.
"Dreams? I haven't really figured mine out yet," Sakura admitted. "But last time, when Rin and I pulled our comrade back from the Shinigami's grasp... that felt incredible. So I want to train with Tsunade-sama alongside Rin and really solidify my path forward."
"Excellent! You've all grown. Your sensei is proud." Adult Kakashi gently ruffled their hair, his memory still vivid of how they looked just a year ago when they first became his subordinates.
One was a fool, one didn't fit in with others, and one was love-struck. Now, each had grown into outstanding young ninja. It seemed Asuma and Kurenai were right.
In the upcoming third Chūnin Exam in a few days, with these three participating, the other candidates would likely be overshadowed.
"With four days left until the third Chūnin Exam, I don't demand you fully master chakra nature transformation in your techniques—just do your best."
After solidifying their theoretical knowledge, Rin and Sakura went to continue studying Medical Ninjutsu and chakra control with Tsunade. The others remained here to practice altering leaf shapes using their chakra attributes.
Obito and Sasuke both charred leaves, while Naruto and Mitsuki sliced them with wind blades. Young Kakashi applied Lightning Release to leaves, achieving an effect similar to charring them with Fire Release.
It appeared deceptively simple, yet proved exceptionally difficult in practice. Even Sasuke, who could already use Chidori and various Fire Release techniques, couldn't immediately char the leaves.
Up until now, Naruto Uzumaki only knew the Rasengan, Shadow Clones, and Transformation Technique, which made him even more constrained during this training session.
Obito and Sasuke faced similar struggles. They placed leaves in their palms, and after a day of training, the leaves remained unchanged—exactly as they were at the start.
By dinnertime, the first to show results was young Kakashi, followed closely by Mitsuki, who came from the future. Obito, still a step behind Kakashi, snorted and returned his focus to the leaf in his hands.
"It's not about chakra volume, you idiot," young Kakashi casually strolled over to Obito, as though he had nothing better to do. "Carefully think back to the feeling when you burned the test paper."
Obito froze. Though he muttered insults under his breath, he had to admit that the current Kakashi was much better than the one from their past. At least he was willing to remind him of the techniques to improve.
Minato and Adult Kakashi glanced at the time.
Adult Kakashi spoke up, "Let's head back first. You can practice on your own after dinner, or rest and wait for the third exam. It's up to you to manage your time."
"Right," Minato Namikaze added. "Naruto and Obito, remember to check your mission scrolls. One reason is to prevent them from getting lost, and the other is to stay alert for any new missions that might pop up."
Though Minato had placed the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on both of their scrolls, it would still be troublesome if someone with ill intentions managed to take them.
Especially this world's Obito Uchiha—who knew what he might be thinking right now?
But Minato was almost certain that Obito was hiding somewhere around them, using his Dōjutsu space to spy on their every move.
Minato's suspicion proved correct. That very night, a new mission appeared on young Obito Uchiha's scroll.
[Mission Rank: A-rank]
[Mission Content: Engage Masked Man in combat for no fewer than 15 rounds.]