Chapter 158: Classic Konoha Exercise

"I can't wait for ninja life." Obito got up early, washed up, and headed to the meeting point he'd agreed on with Mugetsu.

"Who will the other teammate be? Could it be Rin? Is Mugetsu-sensei tricking us to give us a surprise?" Obito couldn't help but fantasize.

"Uncle Teppou, give me one pancake." Obito quickly ran to the pancake shop to buy breakfast.

After buying it, Obito hurried toward the training field, eating as he walked.

Having studied at the ninja academy for so many years, he was finally getting a chance to experience ninja life—Obito was thrilled.

"Grandma, do you need help?" Obito suddenly noticed an elderly person who needed assistance.

Obito wolfed down the pancake, threw the wrapper in the trash, and went over to help.

"Today's another meaningful day." After helping the second old lady, Obito said with a smile.

"Wait, I have to gather!" Obito suddenly remembered today was the practice team assembly day, so he dashed toward the training field.

He was glad he'd woken up early; even with the delay on the way, he shouldn't be too late.

When he entered the training field, Obito heard two familiar voices and saw two familiar figures.

"As expected of my best friend and my rival—among so many training grounds, we meet by such a coincidence."

"No, I'm not here to train. I'm looking for my team."

"Want to have a bout of youth and passion? Let's race for speed."

"No contest. I've got things to do today."

"Hey, Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Obito couldn't help rushing up to ask when he saw Kakashi.

He had a terrible feeling—could Kakashi be the other teammate?

"It shouldn't be. Kakashi graduated years ago and became a chunin already. No way he'd be on a practice team with us. He must be here to train and just ran into us." Obito comforted himself.

Hearing Obito's voice, Kakashi turned and looked at him, a little puzzled. Running into Might Guy was one thing, but Obito too?

"I should be the one asking. Don't you have school at this hour?" Kakashi said flatly.

"What an idiot—the ninja academy went on break last week." Obito seized the chance to take a jab.

"Sorry, but since I graduated so long ago, I'm not as sensitive to the schedule as you. Thinking back, it's been a long time—three years, and you're still at the academy." Kakashi taunted.

"You…" Obito was speechless. Every time the topic came up, he ended up on the losing end, with no comeback because it was all true.

"I don't have time to waste on you two today." With that, Kakashi prepared to look elsewhere. He didn't share Obito's habit of being late.

"You're Hatake Kakashi, right?" Mugetsu appeared next to Kakashi in a flash and asked.

"So fast!" Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively stepped back two paces. He hadn't sensed Mugetsu appearing at all—not even a trace of presence.

Recovering, Kakashi nodded and said, "Yes. Are you Captain Hayuse?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had told Kakashi that his squad's instructor was named Hayuse Mugetsu.

Looking at Mugetsu's face, Kakashi recalled something—he thought he'd seen Mugetsu once before, maybe at the Junior Ninja Tournament.

"Yes, I am." Mugetsu nodded with a smile.

"Captain?" Obito's sense of dread peaked.

"That's right. Kakashi will be your teammate from now on." Mugetsu announced directly.

"No, this is all wrong." Obito couldn't hold it together.

He never imagined the person Mugetsu said he knew was Kakashi. Sure, they knew each other, but how could Kakashi be here?

"Obito, is there a problem?" Mugetsu asked.

"Kakashi graduated ages ago and is already a chunin. Why is he joining our practice team?" Obito grabbed his hair and asked.

He'd thought it couldn't possibly be Kakashi, but of course it was.

"Practice team?" Kakashi also looked confused. He'd thought running into Obito and Might Guy was a coincidence, but it seemed they were his upcoming teammates.

"The reason is a bit special, but for the next few months, Kakashi is your teammate—that's indisputable." Mugetsu replied.

"Obito and Gai haven't graduated yet. This is a practical activity the academy holds to help excellent students get used to ninja work faster."

Muyue then answered Kakashi's question and explained to him about the intern ninja situation.

Kakashi instantly felt that he had been set up by Sarutobi Hiruzen—what the hell was this about throwing him in with ninja academy students?

"Did I let my guard down after resting for a while? I didn't even notice a ninja school teacher getting close to me," Kakashi reflected.

"Everyone, go ahead and introduce yourselves. Even though you're intern ninja, you're still ninja—different from before."

"Let me start first. My name is Hanyu Muyue. What I like is teaching and watching my students gradually grow stronger. As for hobbies, calligraphy. And I like dishes made with eggs." Muyue said with a gentle smile.

"As expected of Teacher Muyue!" Might Guy said, giving Muyue a thumbs up.

"I'm Might Guy. What I like is training. My dream is to become the strongest taijutsu ninja in the world. I want everyone to know that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu, you can still become a strong ninja!" Might Guy shouted with burning passion.

"That's just like something he would say," Kakashi thought sarcastically. Only Might Guy could say something like becoming strong without relying on ninjutsu or genjutsu.

"I'm Uchiha Obito. What I like is helping people in trouble. What I hate is doing homework. My dream is to become a Hokage who surpasses all the previous Hokage!" Obito quickly said.

Kakashi saw that everyone else had introduced themselves. He had no choice but to speak, so after thinking for a moment, he said:

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. I don't want to say what I like or dislike. I have no hobbies or dreams."

"Isn't that basically saying nothing except your name?" Obito couldn't help but retort.

Kakashi completely ignored Obito's words and calmly looked at Muyue.

"You can't force personal things like that. Now, let's start our first training exercise." Muyue took out three small bells and said.

"Within the next day, if you manage to take my bells, you succeed."

"Those who fail will have to fend for themselves for dinner and won't get to eat my special cooking."

"Boring," Kakashi thought dismissively. What kind of punishment was that?

That's all for today. More updates tomorrow. After dealing with the bugs, I really do feel a lot better.