Upon arriving at Training Ground 44, Veigar Koshima immediately spotted Kakashi Hatake in the distance.
Seeing Kakashi here didn't surprise Veigar; in fact, it was only natural. If Kakashi weren't here, that would have been more unusual.
By this point, the lingering sadness in Veigar's heart had dissipated. When he saw Kakashi, he greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, Kakashi."
Kakashi noticed Veigar at the same time and asked with slight confusion, "Veigar?"
"Good morning. What are you doing here?"
Perhaps due to their battle yesterday, which had earned Veigar Kakashi's recognition, the usual trace of arrogance unique to a prodigy was slightly diminished in Kakashi's voice today.
Before Veigar could respond, Kakashi followed up with another question. "You're not the new teammate Minato-sensei mentioned, are you?"
Veigar nodded. "If there are no surprises, then yes, I am the new teammate you've heard about."
As he spoke, Veigar walked toward Kakashi, who was leaning against a tree.
Once Veigar stopped in front of him, Kakashi spoke again. "Next time, we should have another match."
Veigar nodded in agreement. "Sure, let's spar again when we get the chance."
At precisely 9:00 AM, Minato Namikaze arrived at Training Ground 44 right on time. Seeing Veigar and Kakashi under the tree, he greeted them with a warm smile. "Veigar, Kakashi, good morning!"
"You two seem to be getting along well."
Hearing Minato's voice, both Veigar and Kakashi turned toward him and replied in unison, "Good morning, Minato-sensei."
Minato nodded with a smile before addressing Veigar. "Veigar, welcome to what is, for now, a small team consisting of just Kakashi and me—Team Minato."
"To ensure we can cooperate better during missions, let's start by getting to know each other more deeply."
"Introduce yourself with your name, interests, hobbies, and dreams."
Minato then coughed lightly twice before continuing. "Ahem, I'll go first."
"My name is Minato Namikaze, and I am currently a jōnin of the village. As for my interests, let's skip that for now. My dream is to become the Hokage and protect everyone."
After finishing, Minato turned to Kakashi. "Your turn, Kakashi."
Kakashi glanced at Minato. Already familiar with him, he understood that this introduction was mainly for Veigar's benefit. So, he simply said, "I'm Kakashi Hatake, six years old, currently a chūnin. My dream is to become a great shinobi like my father."
At this time, Sakumo Hatake—better known as the White Fang of Konoha—was still alive. To Kakashi, his father was the person he admired most, his role model, and his goal to surpass.
Once Kakashi finished, it was Veigar's turn. He said, "I'm Veigar Koshima. I think I'm seven years old."
"I don't have any particular hobbies, but I do like Konoha at 4 AM. Before this morning, my dream was to become Hokage."
"But now, my dream is to become the strongest shinobi in the world, to protect the village, and to make my name known across the entire shinobi world—so that it reaches another world, where she can hear it too."
Minato picked up on the deep confidence in Veigar's last words and was also curious about his mention of Konoha at 4 AM. However, he didn't press for details and simply kept his usual warm smile. "If you want to be the strongest shinobi in the world, Veigar, then you'll have to work very hard."
Unaware that Veigar's seven-year-old body housed the soul of someone in their twenties, Minato took Veigar's ambition as a lofty but admirable goal and encouraged him.
Then, Minato spoke loudly. "To celebrate Veigar joining Team Minato, I've prepared a special gift for you."
With that, he pulled out a sealing scroll and handed it to Veigar.
Veigar took it with curiosity. "Minato-sensei, what's inside?"
Minato replied with a grin. "Open it and see for yourself."
Veigar formed the hand seal to release the seal, pressing his palm against the scroll. A puff of smoke revealed a ninjatō inside.
"Well? Do you like it?" Minato asked with his usual gentle smile.
Veigar picked up the ninjatō and said sincerely, "Thank you, Minato-sensei. I like it very much."
Minato shook his head. "No need to thank me. I noticed your ninjatō was damaged in your battle with Kakashi yesterday, so I prepared this gift for you."
"Good thing you like it—otherwise, I wouldn't know what else to get you."
Minato scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Veigar swung the ninjatō a few times, noticing that, apart from being slightly heavier than his previous one, it felt just as comfortable to wield. He smiled and reassured Minato. "No matter what you give me, if it's from you, I'll like it."
Watching this exchange, Kakashi felt a slight urge to give Veigar a gift as well. However, he didn't voice his thoughts and instead turned to Minato. "Minato-sensei, do we have a mission today?"
Minato nodded. "Today's mission is to celebrate Veigar joining us."
"So, I'm treating you both to yakiniku."
Then, he turned to Kakashi. "But before that, I need to assess Veigar's abilities to determine how best to train him."
"So, Kakashi, you'll be training on your own today."
Kakashi acknowledged, "Got it. I'll go train now."
With that, Kakashi turned and left to focus on his own training.
Veigar wasn't sure what kind of test Minato had in mind, but his anticipation grew, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at his teacher.
Then, he saw Minato pull a sheet of paper from his pocket and say, "Veigar, let's begin the assessment."
"Show me the foundation of your abilities."
Having observed Veigar's combat skills and proficiency with the Three Basic Jutsu during yesterday's battle with Kakashi, Minato already had a rough grasp of Veigar's strength. Instead of testing his raw power, he wanted to gauge Veigar's other talents.
Minato's teaching style was always tailored to the individual—just as Jiraiya had once taught him.
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