Wearing a green jonin vest, with dazzling short golden hair, and that incomparably warm smile—
All these signs made it clear who the newcomer was.
Minato Namikaze!
The future Fourth Hokage.
Compared to him, no other genius mattered; not even the main character of the ninja world could match up.
Because this was truly a "civilian" ninja—
No clan background, no special bloodline, rising purely through his own talent and hard work (and, let's be honest, good looks).
He was just missing a protagonist's halo; otherwise, he would have been the undisputed savior.
Perhaps because he was too perfect, he had to die to a "plot kill."
If he'd been allowed to firmly sit in the Hokage seat, no other ninja villages would have had a chance to act up, and there'd have been no room left for the real protagonist to step in.
Without Ōtsutsuki blood, naturally, he couldn't be the "true" main character.
Now, this kind of figure had appeared and would become Akira Sato's squad leader.
How could anyone not be shocked?
No wonder Akira was left momentarily stunned.
"I'm Minato Namikaze, the jonin in charge of Team Three. You two are Akira Sato and Koji Yamanaka, right? Sorry I'm late!"
Minato apologized gently.
Let's just say—
Some people become Hokage not by accident.
Just his manner of handling things already put Danzo to shame.
For clarity: the term "jonin in charge" meant the squad leader, though it was technically a formal position.
"Sensei Minato!" ×2
Akira and Koji immediately stood up and bowed.
And while they were doing that, they caught sight of a small figure with a cold expression standing by the door.
Kakashi Hatake!
Akira hadn't expected Kakashi to end up on Team Three as well.
But it gave him chills.
Because, usually, the teammates around the main character were just there to be sacrificed.
Being on the same team as someone like Kakashi meant facing all kinds of dangerous situations—it was easy to imagine how risky that would be.
Of course, there were upsides as well.
With increased danger came the best guidance and protection.
Minato, both in character and strength, was undoubtedly the best choice for a team leader.
"Alright, let's go—I'll treat you all to barbecue!"
As he spoke, Minato also subtly sized up Akira Sato.
Originally, the assigned students were supposed to be Kakashi and others,
but on his way over, the Hokage had summoned him and directly reassigned the third team lineup.
Minato had already heard about Akira Sato defeating Kakashi in yesterday's assessment.
"A summoning beast, huh…"
As someone with a summoning contract linked to Mount Myōboku, Minato naturally understood the advantages of a powerful summoned creature.
Especially flying-type summons—their support abilities were astonishing.
The four of them soon arrived at Barbecue Q.
This was a restaurant run by the Akimichi clan.
As a ninja clan where everyone was "chubby," they naturally knew their food, making this place the top choice for grilled meat.
For ninjas, celebrations usually meant barbecue.
Why?
Simple.
Because their daily meals were often so lacking that whenever they had the chance, they needed to replenish nutrients properly.
Since a ninja's chakra came from their cells, replenishing nutrients was essential.
In other words—
The better you ate, the more chakra you could generate.
Ninja clans were far superior to civilian ninjas, not just because of their knowledge and bloodline, but also in terms of resources.
These kids started out soaking in medicinal baths and eating better food from a young age—how could civilians possibly compete?
This was why even though the Second and Third Hokage worked hard to promote civilian ninjas, most elite talents still came from the major clans.
Once inside, the four of them found an empty table.
The place was booming with business.
Even though it wasn't officially mealtime yet, the shop was already more than half full. If it were evening, there definitely wouldn't be an empty seat.
"Twenty servings of barbecue!"
After placing the order, Minato smiled warmly at the three of them and said,
"From today on, we're Team Three!"
That warm smile, that sincere tone!
There was no denying it—Minato's charm was off the charts.
No wonder people secretly called him the "Little Sun."
Of course, his words carried another meaning:
No matter what had happened between Akira and Kakashi yesterday, from now on they were a single unit.
"Yes, Sensei Minato!"
Akira lightly nodded, showing his attitude.
He was fully aware that yesterday's incident had been orchestrated by Danzo and had nothing to do with Kakashi.
At this stage, Kakashi was just a "feelingless" mission machine.
"Yes, Sensei Minato!" ×2
Koji Yamanaka and Kakashi responded in unison as well.
"Once we finish eating, we'll head over to the training field. I need to first understand where each of you stands in your training."
Minato was quite satisfied with this first meeting.
Soon, the twenty plates of barbecue arrived.
Each plate was roughly a pound of meat, stacked generously.
Sound like too much?
Actually, for them, it was no problem at all.
Ninjas—
Were professionals who used chakra.
Even after eating all this, they'd still be fine.
If it were a certain future princess, she could probably eat dozens of pounds easily.
And as for the Akimichi clan, ten pounds was just a starting point.
They usually ate little only because they didn't have food, not because they couldn't eat.
"I'm starting now!" ×4
The four of them dug in.
The fragrant, sizzling barbecue was impossible to resist.
Soon, the twenty servings were completely devoured.
After the meal, Minato reluctantly pulled out over ten thousand ryo from his wallet to pay the bill.
Good thing he hadn't told them to "eat as much as you like," or they might've had to stay and wash dishes afterward to cover the costs.
Don't be fooled by how high ninja incomes were—their expenses were even higher.
Food, purchasing ninja tools, training costs, medical expenses… all of it added up.
Even the highest-ranking S-rank missions only paid around a million ryo, and that had to be split with the village.
No wonder they only dared to come to Barbecue Q during celebrations.
If they came here regularly… what kind of family income would that even take?!
The four of them slowly made their way to the training ground.
"Alright, let's start with introductions."
"I'm Minato Namikaze, and I'm your squad leader. I like eating ramen, and my dream is to become Hokage. What about you guys?"
After finishing, Minato looked at Kakashi, clearly expecting him to go first.
Wearing his mask, exuding a cold aura, Kakashi turned his head slightly and said,
"I'm Kakashi Hatake. I like dogs. My dream… is to wash away the shame of the Hatake clan!"
As he spoke, his fists lightly clenched—
His father, such a strong and gentle man, had died because of a failed mission…
"He still hasn't let it go, huh?"
Minato quietly observed his student's reaction.
"I'm Koji Yamanaka. I like powerful ninjutsu, and my dream is to restore the glory of the Yamanaka clan!"
Koji's face was usually expressionless, but when he spoke about his clan, a flicker of emotion appeared.
"Those are great dreams!"
Minato smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Akira Sato, curious about what his dream might be.
In fact, he had a secondary task—
To observe Akira.
This mission had been assigned by the Third Hokage.
And making Minato the squad leader had been the result of negotiations between the village and the Uchiha clan.
Neither side wanted to see such a promising talent fall by the wayside.
What Minato didn't expect at all was that Akira's dream would turn out to be…
(End of Chapter)