Stepping out of the Hokage's office, the three of them swung by the mission hall to collect their rewards, then each headed home.
Back inside the office, the Third Hokage pulled out a list—the roster for the students graduating early from the Ninja Academy. If Taiichi had been standing there, he would have recognized every name. All his old friends were on it.
Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma—
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the names, lost in thought. There were promising young talents, heirs from major clans, and even his own youngest son. Figuring out how to balance the teams and keep every faction happy while squeezing out the maximum benefit was going to be another headache.
After a while, something clicked. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a fresh shinobi file. The photo clipped to it was unmistakably Kakashi Hatake.
This kid was another headache. Hiruzen shook his head to himself. Maybe it was karma for all those rumors spread about Sakumo earlier—now Sakumo's son was giving the Hokage problems of his own.
Unlike the original timeline, where Kakashi's beliefs shattered after his father's death and he turned into a mission-obsessed loner who didn't care if his teammates lived or died—earning him the nickname "friend-killer" and making no one want to team up with him—the current Kakashi was different.
He still took missions seriously, but he valued his comrades just as much. He was the textbook example of a Leaf ninja raised on the Will of Fire.
The only real complaint was his rotten luck. In the nearly four years since graduation, he'd been through ten different teams—averaging two or three reassignments a year. Every squad either suffered heavy casualties on tough missions until only Kakashi remained, or had to be disbanded and reformed for other reasons.
Over time, Kakashi earned the nickname "Team Terminator" among Konoha's chunin. A lot of squads flat-out refused to take him.
Hiruzen looked over Kakashi's mission record: five A-ranks, twenty-one B-ranks, twenty-four C-ranks. For someone who'd only been a ninja for four years, those numbers were insanely impressive.
He had considered assigning Kakashi to Taiichi's team. After all, they were former classmates and still got along well. But when Taiichi said his squad didn't want new members for now, Hiruzen had dropped the idea.
What the Hokage didn't realize was that Taiichi only didn't want a brand-new genin dragging the team down on high-intensity A-rank missions. If it was Kakashi, Taiichi would have agreed in a heartbeat.
In Taiichi's mind, Kakashi had shaken off the trauma of Sakumo's death and was happily running missions with his own squad. He had no idea Kakashi was in this situation.
It was both funny and frustrating. Maybe fate really had decided Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were meant to be a team after all.
Sure enough, after pondering the names for a long time, Hiruzen followed that vague gut feeling and made the assignments.
Kakashi Hatake, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin—one squad.
Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu.
Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Aburame Shibi.
In the days after returning to the Leaf, Taiichi's life fell back into a stable rhythm. War news was kept outside the village walls, but the sense of urgency had sunk deep into everyone's bones.
Every morning, after finishing his early training, Taiichi's real body showed up right on time at Konoha Hospital. As an increasingly vital medical asset, his status there grew higher and higher—especially after word of his front-line medical camp performance somehow made it back. His treatment now far exceeded that of a regular senior medic.
But the praise didn't go to his head. He still devoted almost all his morning hours to patients and hospital duties.
From performing complex surgeries to mentoring new medical ninjas, his hard work earned him the respect of the entire staff. This responsibility grounded him and felt like his direct contribution to the village.
At noon he'd grab lunch with Nonou and catch up on orphanage matters.
Afternoons belonged entirely to his own improvement.
On his home training ground, the space used to be covered in scorch marks and craters from ninjutsu practice. Now it was filled with heavy stone weights, custom weighted gear, and thick wooden posts for striking.
The system had called his "hardware" trash. That evaluation had stuck with him, so one of the first things he did after returning was set up all this physical training equipment.
These days he trained with weighted vests and wrist/ankle weights on at all times. During actual sessions he'd go full gear for maximum effect.
Advanced Taijutsu, Advanced Meditation, Advanced Kenjutsu, strength training, speed training—he repeated these five drills every single afternoon.
At the same time he would create four shadow clones, each one immersed in nature transformation insights. Fire, Wind, Water, and Ice—these were his current and future core combat styles, so they were his main focus. He also worked on Chakra Control and Shape Transformation.
By the time the sun set and his real body finished the intense workout, he was usually dead on his feet, every muscle screaming.
Luckily he was an outstanding doctor with top-tier medical ninjutsu. After forcing down a pre-made high-energy supplement despite the soreness, he'd convert what little chakra he had left into Yang nature and give himself a full-body conditioning treatment.
Once that was done, he'd absorb the day's training results from his shadow clones. A flood of memories poured in, bringing exhaustion along with deep satisfaction from his growth.
Physical improvements were slow and subtle, but the system gave him clear, concrete feedback. All the long-term training had finally built up to a breakthrough during this focused period.
Today, the system delivered the notification.
[After prolonged, grueling training, your Constitution +1, Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1]
[Your Chunin job level has increased to Lv8]
[Attribute Point +1, Skill Point +1]
During the day he trained his body to exhaustion. Evenings were for building knowledge—poring over the massive collection of materials Tsunade-sensei had left behind, plus all the books and scrolls he'd traded merit points for at the exchange.
These would form the foundation for developing genjutsu and advanced sealing techniques next.
Sometimes he'd write letters to Tsunade asking for guidance, especially on sealing jutsu. The Yin Seal was one of his current learning goals.
One morning, as Taiichi walked the familiar path to Konoha Hospital under the early light, his strict daily routine had him moving like clockwork. He was already thinking about what kinds of patients he'd see and how he'd handle them.
Just as he turned the corner, a flash of familiar golden hair caught his eye.
"Minato-senpai!" Taiichi called out in pleasant surprise.
Minato stood by the side of the road with his usual warm smile. He was heading toward the Ninja Academy.
"Taiichi, good morning!" Minato turned, his smile brightening when he saw him. "Heading to the hospital?"
"Yeah, I go every day to help out and keep my medical skills sharp," Taiichi replied, falling into step beside him. His gaze followed Minato's toward the academy gates.
It seemed busier than usual, with faint sounds of excitement and ninjutsu practice drifting over.
Something clicked in Taiichi's mind from the earlier conversation in the Hokage's office. He asked tentatively, "By the way, Minato-senpai… are you here today to pick up your new genin team?"
"That's right," Minato nodded, his golden hair catching the morning light. "Today is the day the kids get assigned to teams. I'm here to collect my squad members."
Minato's team, huh? Taiichi wondered how Kakashi was doing. With Sakumo-senpai alive and well, would Kakashi still end up as Minato's student like in the original story?
As Taiichi pondered, faces of old friends—Guy, Obito, Rin—flashed through his mind. A sudden urge to watch his buddies officially step into the ninja world hit him. It had been ages since he'd seen them!
Without hesitation, he said, "Minato-senpai, wait for me!" Before the words were even out, his hands flew through seals and a shadow clone appeared beside him.
"Handle the hospital shift today. Watch your chakra usage—don't dispel before noon," Taiichi instructed quickly.
"Got it!" The clone nodded politely to Minato, then hurried off toward the hospital without wasting a second.
With the clone gone, the real Taiichi turned back to Minato, eyes sparkling with anticipation and a hint of boyish excitement. "Mind if this idle guy tags along to watch, senpai? I'd love to see how my old friends are doing these days."
Minato watched Taiichi efficiently delegate between clone and original with clear approval. He readily agreed. "Of course. There are actually quite a few familiar faces in there for you!"
The two shared a smile and walked side by side through the academy gates. The noisy energy of youth washed over them—shouts from boys and girls, the whistle of thrown kunai, instructors barking orders.
Walking down the familiar hallway, Taiichi spotted a familiar figure near the teaching building: that shock of white hair and the mask covering most of his face. Who else could it be but Kakashi?
Taiichi was puzzled. What was he doing here? Just coming to watch his friends graduate? Or… had he still not found a permanent team and was being assigned with brand-new genin?
"Hey, Kakashi! What a coincidence. You here to watch Obito and the others graduate too?" Taiichi called out first, slinging an arm around Kakashi's shoulders in a warm, reunion-style hug.
Kakashi had looked happy at first, but the moment Taiichi grabbed him and started shaking him around, his expression darkened. How embarrassing—this chunin reduced to being placed on a team with fresh genin.
He didn't even have the energy to complain. His eyes rolled upward in a dead-fish stare. Was his luck really this bad? Was he truly the "Team Terminator"? He just hoped he wouldn't drag Rin and Obito down too.
Minato, standing nearby, had a strangely amused smile on his face. He glanced between Kakashi and Taiichi but kept whatever he was thinking to himself.
Only then did realization dawn on Taiichi. "Kakashi… you've been assigned to Minato-senpai's team!"
Kakashi stayed silent. Taiichi could only chuckle awkwardly. "Congratulations, man. Minato-senpai is one of Konoha's top jonin. You'll learn a ton working under him."
Taiichi quickly changed the subject before things got more awkward. This was something he could tease Kakashi about for the rest of their lives. The thought made the corners of his mouth curl up involuntarily.
"Alright, let's head inside. I need to meet my new students," Minato prompted, helping Kakashi out of the uncomfortable moment.
The three of them made their way to Obito's classroom. Most students had already been collected by their instructors, leaving only a few in the room—including Obito and Rin.
"Give me a moment," Minato said with a gentle smile, pushing open the classroom door.
Waiting outside, Taiichi clearly heard Minato's voice inside:
"Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin—you're with me."
The moment the names were called, cheers erupted from the classroom. "Haha! Rin, we're on the same team after all!"
Obito's exaggerated bow followed. "Please take care of me from now on!"
Outside, Kakashi slapped his forehead. The thought of being teammates with this clown gave him an instant headache.
Taiichi leaned against the wall by the door, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Just as expected."
Seeing Kakashi's pained expression and recalling how the two interacted, Taiichi couldn't hold back a quiet "pfft" of laughter.
Kakashi shot him a heavy side-eye.
Soon, footsteps and the sound of chairs moving came from inside. They knew Minato and the others were coming out, so they turned their attention to the doorway.
Suddenly—crash!—the sound of breaking glass and surprised shouts erupted. Something had slammed hard into the classroom's sliding door.
A rather disheveled figure tumbled out: messy black hair, goggles, with a small piece of torn paper stuck comically to his forehead. Who else but Uchiha Obito?
Kakashi's reflexes kicked in instantly. He caught Obito before he could hit the floor.
Taiichi, standing closer, felt his eye twitch. You two act all tough, but your bodies are honest as hell. The second he started falling, Kakashi moved without even thinking.
The classroom door slid open fully, revealing Rin with a slightly helpless smile on her face.
"Ka… Kakashi!" Obito looked up at the person steadying him, then spotted Taiichi nearby. His eyes widened in happy surprise before he noticed his own embarrassing state and scratched his head sheepishly. "Haha… you guys are here too!"
He still hadn't realized the person holding him up was going to be his new teammate.
Minato followed the two out, nodding to Taiichi and Kakashi to confirm he'd collected his students.
Looking at the reckless Obito, he didn't scold him. Instead, his tone was encouraging. "Are you ready, Obito? Rin?"
"Of course! It's the final test, right? I got this!" Obito puffed out his chest, full of energy.
"Yes, Minato-sensei," Rin replied seriously.
In that moment, Taiichi felt like he was watching history unfold. The iconic, love-hate team had finally come together. He could only wonder what the future held for them now.