"Now that everyone's here, let's begin analyzing this mission."
Minato was deadly serious as he pulled out a map from his robe and spread it across a flat rock.
A few people quickly gathered around Minato, poring over the marked paths on the map.
Minato pointed at a red line on the map and said, "This is their current route into Grass Village. According to intelligence reports, there were more than a thousand ninjas involved in this assault."
"Didn't they used to be fighting Konoha? Why are they suddenly attacking Grass Village?" Obito Uchiha asked, confused.
Kakashi analyzed with confidence, "Grass Village borders the Land of Fire. If they capture Grass Village, they'll be able to establish strongholds and gain the strategic advantage, enabling attacks on Konoha anytime."
Rin Nohara looked concerned as she said, "Their attack seems to be progressing smoothly, which suggests their logistical support must be advancing quickly too."
Minato looked appreciatively at his three students, clearly pleased as he said, "Your analysis is spot on. That's exactly why the key point of this mission will be at Kannabi Bridge."
Following the direction of Minato's finger, the group quickly located the place on the map. Minato continued, "We've already sent a large number of Konoha ninjas to support the front lines in Grass Village. This mission will only be executed by a small team of elite ninjas — which means just us."
"A bridge, meaning this will be an infiltration mission, and our target is to destroy this bridge," Kakashi confidently analyzed.
"Exactly right," Minato nodded seriously. "This bridge is massive. If destroyed, Iwagakure won't be able to rebuild it in the near future, and their frontline supplies will be cut off. That time window will be enough for our front-line forces to launch a counterattack."
For the first time, they saw an unfamiliar seriousness on their teacher's face. All three understood the gravity of this mission and nodded in agreement. "Understood."
"What about him?" Obito Uchiha asked, glancing at the quiet Anya standing nearby.
Minato glanced at Anya, then after a brief consideration, replied, "I plan to have Night protect you as you infiltrate behind enemy lines, while I go to the front alone to block the enemy. This will also serve as a distraction. I'll stay with you until we reach enemy territory, then we'll split up and execute their respective tasks."
After speaking, Minato extended his hand to the center of the group. Before every mission, Minato would use this method to motivate the team and strengthen their unity.
Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara quickly placed their hands on top of Minato's hand in a friendly manner. Kakashi, however, hesitated and didn't extend his hand.
"What's wrong?" Minato asked, looking at Kakashi with concern.
Kakashi spoke expressionlessly, "Since we'll be splitting up, we need a temporary team leader to give commands."
Rin caught on and nodded, "That's right. Kakashi is already a Jonin now, so he's fully qualified to lead the team."
"If that's the case, then starting now, you'll be the team leader. Let's see what you're capable of."
Anya placed her hand on top of their hands, offering her suggestion.
Minato paused, then nodded in agreement.
"That settles it. I guarantee we'll complete the mission," Kakashi confidently accepted, then extended his right hand to press it over their hands.
"Oh right."
At that moment, Rin Nohara suddenly remembered something. She pulled a small box from her backpack and handed it to Kakashi with a smile. "Here, this is specially prepared for you—a personalized first aid kit for celebrating your promotion to Jonin. I've already upgraded it for easier use."
"Thank you." Kakashi accepted it without hesitation.
Anya looked at Rin with surprise. This medical pack was specially developed by Tsunade to reduce ninja casualties. Though its appearance seemed ordinary, it contained everything needed—perfect for emergency use. That Rin had managed some moderate improvements must have taken tremendous effort. Kakashi definitely wouldn't appreciate it, though.
At this point, Minato also took out his signature kunai and smiled while saying, "Then I'll give you this instead—a special-made kunai. Although it's slightly heavier, once you get used to it, you'll find it very practical."
So saying, he extended his hand to give it to Kakashi.
Kakashi caught it immediately, swung it around a couple times, and said to Minato, "Thank you, Master."
Anya understood Minato's intention instantly—with this kunai, as long as they weren't too far apart, he could always use the Flying Thunder God technique to appear beside Kakashi. Combined with her coordination, even if the Tsuchikage came, they'd still be able to fight him.
After receiving gifts from both people, Kakashi slowly freed one hand and stretched it toward Obito Uchiha.
Obito remained immersed in shock over Kakashi becoming Jonin. Facing the hand reaching toward him, he blurted out confusedly, "Wh-what does this mean? This hand..."
He got it in a second and blurted out, "I've got absolutely nothing to give you!"
Kakashi remained unfazed and said offhandedly, "Forget it—it's not a big deal anyway. Whatever you give would be useless. Useless things just become burdens, huh?"
Before Kakashi even finished speaking, he suddenly discovered an extra scroll now resting in his hand.
"This is my gift for your promotion to Jonin. Accept it," Anya quietly stated from the side.
Kakashi gripped the scroll, then unhesitatingly threw it back at Anya, speaking even colder words: "I already told you—I've got my own fighting style. I don't need this junk."
Anya sighed, picking up the scroll and forcefully stuffing it into Kakashi's hand as she said, "Since you carry that blade, it means you..."
Before Anya finished speaking, Kakashi exploded, "I told you—I have my own fighting style. I don't need this thing."
Having said that, Kakashi directly unsheathed the White Fang Blade behind him, cleaved the scroll in half with a single slash, then resheathed the sword and silently walked away.
This kid… His personality right now is just like future Sasuke's. Master, you just walked off and left me holding the bag—what a real headache you've given me.
Seeing Kakashi lose his composure for the first time ever, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha were greatly shocked. Unclear about the connection between Anya and Kakashi, they looked back and forth between the two before rushing forward to catch up with Kakashi ahead.
Using the [Spirit Transformation Technique] to communicate with Anya, Rin Nohara explained, "Big brother Kakashi isn't usually like this. Today, we don't know why he suddenly…"
"It's fine; I get it." Anya wasn't bothered. "He's just a kid—he'll go through his rebellious phase, like I did in my previous life when I ran off to become a great thief. In the end, I was just a robber—one who went all the way down that dark path without turning back."
"Poor kid…"
Minato stood silently watching the whole scene, then let out a long sigh. "It seems Kakashi still hasn't moved past the incident of White Fang's suicide. If this continues, I fear he'll lose even more precious things in the future."
Anya spoke lightly, "That's just how life works—you grow from what you go through. Don't worry. He's Master's son after all, and is definitely destined to be an excellent ninja."
Minato said with a slight smile, "You're so sure about that?"
"Of course! I've seen it…"
"You've seen it happen?" Minato looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what Anya meant…
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