The other party had a head of silver-white hair, wore a mask, and carried a finely crafted standard Short Knife on his back.
Minato recognized that as the White Fang Short Knife, the weapon once wielded by the now-dead Konoha Ninja, Hatake Sakumo.
The identity of the other party was obvious: White Fang's son—Hatake Kakashi.
Graduated at five, became a Chunin at six—a genius child.
Even the higher-ups placed great expectations on his future.
With Kakashi's talent and growth speed, surpassing his father, Konoha's White Fang, was only a matter of time.
However... ever since the White Fang incident, he completely shut himself off, doesn't communicate with anyone, does as he pleases, ignores the lives and safety of teammates, with only the mission remaining in his heart.
Anyone who stood in the way of his mission—be they comrades—he would abandon them without hesitation.
"You're Hatake Kakashi, right? Hello, I'm Namikaze Minato, your future Jonin leader."
Minato took the initiative, smiling as he greeted him.
Kakashi only nodded indifferently, his eyes betraying no emotion. After nodding to Minato, he leaned against a wall, arms crossed, silently waiting for the others to arrive.
Minato didn't mind, but this only proved that the rumors about Kakashi not mingling with others weren't just stories.
And... his father's three former subordinates were all now renegade Konoha Ninjas...
Minato smiled bitterly to himself; Kakashi's heart must be even more closed off now.
The Hokage really gave him a troublesome assignment.
Not long after, someone else arrived.
A gentle, short-haired girl—it was Nohara Rin.
"You must be Teacher Minato. I'm Nohara Rin, joining your squad from today. Please take care of me."
Rin introduced herself with a smile. Minato could tell she was a thoughtful girl who cared about others.
According to her file, her main course at Ninja School was Medical Ninjutsu. Besides Jonin Tsunade, her instructor of Medical Ninjutsu was S-rank renegade ninja Chiba Hakushi, who had already left Konoha.
"Hello, I'm Namikaze Minato. Take a rest here for now; I have something to say later."
Minato replied to her with a smile.
"Yes."
Rin obediently walked to the side, only to see Kakashi also there, a little surprised.
"Kakashi, are you a member of the squad too?"
Rin suppressed her excitement. She hadn't expected Kakashi would also be a member of Minato's class.
"Mhm."
Kakashi nodded, then closed his eyes to rest.
Seeing that Kakashi didn't want to talk, Rin had no choice but to stay quiet and not bother him.
About an hour later, someone else arrived, rushing hurriedly.
Wearing goggles, he gave people a feeling of being honest and clumsy. If someone like this was also a ninja, they probably wouldn't inspire much confidence.
Uchiha Obito.
"Sorry, sensei. On my way here, I happened to see an old lady fall down. I wasted a bit of time taking her home."
Obito knew he was late, and he might leave a bad impression on the Jonin leader, so he apologized earnestly.
"It's fine. You were late, but it's understandable. Today, I mainly wanted to meet everyone, not give you a mission. But in the future, during actual missions, try not to make this kind of mistake."
Minato didn't scold Obito, but reminded him not to be so careless or imprudent during missions.
For a ninja on a mission, time management must be taken seriously.
"Yes. Uh, I'm Uchiha Obito. Starting today, I'll be a member of this squad."
Obito rubbed his nose, grinning spiritedly.
Minato was also infected by Obito's cheerful smile. This kid named Obito was truly a strange Uchiha ninja.
It was hard to imagine someone so lively and cheerful coming from the Uchiha Clan.
"I'm Namikaze Minato, this squad's Jonin. The other two are Nohara Rin and Hatake Kakashi—you should know both of them, right?"
Minato signaled for Rin and Kakashi to come over and gather.
When Obito saw Rin and Kakashi coming over together, he curled his lips, clearly jealous.
"You were like this back in school too. You should develop some ninja awareness by now. You're a Genin, not a student anymore."
Obviously, Kakashi was targeting Obito's lateness.
"Alright, you two used to be classmates. You'd better get along."
Minato quickly intervened.
"Yes, I know, Minato-sensei."
Can't imagine ever teaming up with this guy. Obito looked at Kakashi's dead-fish eyes, feeling gloomy inside.
Minato looked at Kakashi, who could only sigh and say, "As long as you don't hold me back, I don't care."
Only then did Minato smile in satisfaction.
"Now that everyone is here, let's do a real combat exercise."
"Combat exercise?"
"Relax, it's a simple drill. I just want to get to know your abilities, and then I'll decide what sort of missions you're suited for."
Minato smiled as he spoke.
"Awesome! Minato-sensei, and Rin, just watch! My first mission is definitely going to be a high-level A-Class Mission!"
Obito was suddenly fired up.
Minato could only respond with an awkward smile.
Rin sighed helplessly too, feeling Obito's bold words were unrealistic. No Genin would start off with an A-Class Mission.
Kakashi continued looking at him like an idiot, as always.
Minato led the three of them to the nearby training field.
At the formerly empty ground, a head slowly emerged. The skin on the face was pale, the corners of the mouth curled in a bizarre, creepy smile, and the eyes were locked fiercely onto Obito's back.
"A kind and friendly Uchiha, but a few screws loose. Easy to manipulate... The one Lord Madara wants is probably this kind of idiot Uchiha."