"Here, Kakashi—this is my gift for your promotion to jōnin."
Minato Namikaze smiled as he took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and handed it to Kakashi.
"This is a specially made Flying Thunder God kunai. As for what it does, you should already know."
"Ah… oh. Thank you, sensei."
Kakashi paused for a moment before accepting the kunai from Minato.
Compared to ordinary kunai, the Flying Thunder God kunai was slightly longer—enough to be called a short sword.
"Congratulations on becoming a jōnin, Kakashi. This is my gift."
Rin Nohara smiled and took out a white pouch.
"It's a medical kit I modified. It should be much easier and more convenient to use."
"Yeah, thanks, Rin."
After that, the three of them all turned their attention to Akashō and Obito.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Akashō smacked his lips.
"I don't even have a damn thing on me. Not a single ryo."
Earlier, everything he owned had been stored in the storage scroll Orochimaru gave him. Before the big battle in the Land of Lightning, he'd casually stuffed it into a crack between some rocks—and he still hadn't retrieved it.
Of course, even if he got it back, he wouldn't have anything to give anyway. Besides, why should he give Kakashi a gift? They weren't close enough for that kind of thing.
"Forget Akashō—Obito, what about you? Didn't we already agree on this before?"
Rin looked at Obito with dissatisfaction.
"I—I forgot."
Obito scratched the back of his head and turned away guiltily.
Kakashi just sighed and shook his head.
"I didn't expect anything good from you anyway."
"What did you say!?"
"By the way…"
Akashō leaned closer to Minato.
"Didn't Kakashi already become a jōnin a while ago? Why are you only congratulating him now?"
"Well, we were stuck on the Lightning–Fire battlefield before. I could manage, but Obito and Rin didn't have anything suitable to give, so we decided to wait until after the war and do it back in the village."
"But since we got this mission and passed through a town along the way, we figured we'd prepare something and give it now. Turns out Obito here forgot again."
Akashō nodded, not particularly caring, then glanced at Obito and Kakashi, who were still arguing.
"Alright, what are you even fighting about? Just make it up to him when we get back to the village."
"Exactly—just make it up later!"
"Heh."
Kakashi let out a cold laugh. "No need."
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Don't forget—we still have a mission."
At that, Minato stepped in, and the two finally dropped it. The five-man team continued forward.
Along the way, Obito kept sneaking glances at Rin. Walking beside him, Akashō immediately bumped into him.
"What was that for?"
Obito frowned in annoyance.
"Heh—what, worried Rin will think you're petty because you didn't give Kakashi a gift?"
Seeing Akashō's teasing grin, Obito's face instantly turned red.
"W-what are you talking about? I don't get it."
"Heh."
Akashō scoffed. "Why bother pretending? Anyone with eyes can tell you've got a crush on Rin."
Obito froze, then hesitated.
"I-is it really that obvious?"
"When your crush burns that hot, it's basically a confession."
"Th-then… do you think Rin knows I like her?"
When it came to Rin, Obito didn't care about anything else. He immediately humbled himself and asked Akashō for advice, despite Akashō being physically younger than him.
"I just said it's basically a confession. What do you think?"
"Uh…"
Obito blinked in confusion. Why did it feel like Akashō was just stating the obvious?
"So… she knows?"
he asked tentatively.
"Obviously."
Akashō rolled his eyes.
"Huh!?"
Obito almost shouted. His face flushed bright red, and it took him a while to calm down before he asked again,
"Then… do you think Rin likes me?"
"Pfft."
Akashō couldn't help laughing.
"She knows you like her and hasn't reacted at all. Doesn't that tell you everything?"
Obito froze for a moment, then understood.
Yeah—she knew, and yet showed no reaction at all. That basically meant she didn't like him.
With that realization, Obito immediately looked devastated—like a walking corpse that had lost all its dreams—mechanically trailing behind the group.
Akashō curled his lips slightly. Seeing Obito so miserable, he felt much better.
One of humanity's three great illusions—"She likes me." Truly destructive.
The team kept moving forward. Just before reaching the Earth–Fire battlefield, they encountered another ninja from the Hidden Stone Village. Kakashi showed off his newly developed jutsu, Chidori, but it was still incomplete. He nearly got counter-killed, and it was only thanks to Minato stepping in—instantly eliminating the enemy—that things were resolved.
"Next is the key part of this mission."
Minato took out a map and went on explaining at length. In short, from here on, he would act alone and head to the frontline of the Earth–Fire battlefield to draw enemy attention.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, Akashō, and the other three would form a team. Their objective: a crucial supply and reinforcement route behind the Hidden Stone Village's camp on the Earth–Fire battlefield.