36 I am unequaled

A young girl with short, lively hair hurriedly approached and slapped Obito on the head. She was clearly irritated and embarrassed by her longtime friend's behavior and forced Obito to bow.

"Obito!!!"

"You can't be rude like that, pointing your finger and cursing others randomly! Apologize, now!" she forced Obito to bow while apologizing.

"I apologize, Obito," Minato introduced himself somewhat embarrassed by the explosive reaction and quickly tried to defuse the situation. Even though he didn't mean those words maliciously and it was just in the heat of the moment upon seeing his "rival," it's not right to curse people randomly, especially when meeting them for the first time.

The problem was where and to whom he had done this. One was his student with a troublemaker brother, and the other was the boys' father; no parent would like to see their children cursed, especially in front of them. Sakumo quickly understood Minato's maneuver and tactfully went along with it. For him, it was a relief to finally see a "normal" boy getting carried away in the heat of the moment.

It was definitely a good change of atmosphere.

"Well, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Minato?"

Placing his hand on Obito's head and gesturing to the child who was being forced to bow, clearly unwillingly, "This energetic child here is Uchiha Obito. Despite appearances, he is actually a good kid." Minato chuckled a bit at the boy, knowing he was clearly embarrassed by his previous actions after realizing what he had done.

"Sorry, Sakumo-dono, I got carried away."

Obito had short, spiky hair and black eyes. He wore a long-sleeved blue uniform with metal protections on the back of his hands, as well as a blue jacket with an orange collar and trimmings. The jacket was fastened to the rest of the outfit by two buttons on the collar, and had the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. He also wore a white belt, shinobi sandals, the standard Konoha forehead protector with a dark blue cloth, and a pair of glasses with orange lenses connected to ear protectors.

"And this is Nohara Rin-san. As you can see, she's a very polite and caring young lady."

Rin had chin-length, brown hair framing her face and bright brown eyes. She also had two rectangular purple marks on each of her cheeks. She wore a long-sleeved black top, high-waisted light purple apron skirt, over which she wore shorts. She also wore the typical Konoha forehead protector, sandals, and thigh-high socks.

"I can see they're really good kids," Sakumo laughed at the interaction of the new children Minato brought. One being scolded and the other caring for her like an older sister.

"Now these are normal kids," Sakumo glanced at Kakashi, who had lost interest in the visitors, and looked at Eiji, who was by his side trying to say something, but Sakumo was quicker and prevented Eiji from causing another commotion.

"Yes, they really are," agreed Minato. Rin, being perceptive and observant, noticed the change in atmosphere and quickly 'helped' Obito maintain his composure.

"Kakashi."

Noticing Minato-sensei had called him, he stopped what he was doing and walked over to where his sensei was, frowning and annoyed.

One because Obito was there.

Two because he realized they would be his teammates. There was no other reason for his sensei to bring two other genins to his house.

"Today I came here with them personally, Kakashi, to introduce your new team members."

"What bad luck," Kakashi sighed.

"I'm Nohara Rin, nice to meet you."

"U-Uchiha Obito, pleasure."

"Aiiiiii!"

"Don't be disrespectful, Obito."

"Hatake Kakashi," he didn't care much for Obito's attitude. At least in one thing they agreed. They weren't very grateful for this.

Eiji, feeling Rin's expectant gaze, couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer and introduced himself. "Hatake Eiji. Nice to meet you, Rin."

"Are you going on a mission?" Sakumo asked tacitly.

Minato nodded and scratched his cheek somewhat shyly. He felt he was relying too much on Sakumo's kindness lately, but in this matter, he could only count on him. "I'm not really going on a mission. For a while, I'll be training at Mount Myoboku and won't be back in the meantime. I was wondering if you could take care of and help train them while I'm away?"

"Of course, it won't be a problem. It'll be fun to have some normal kids around once in a while," Sakumo chuckled with a bit of anticipation. Even though he had Guy around, that boy could hardly be called normal with all that explosive youth. He would definitely enjoy it.

"I appreciate that, so I hope you get along." Minato bid farewell and vanished with the wind.

Sakumo looked around and thought for a moment about what he would train these two boys in. Although he had vast experience in almost all areas, there would hardly be geniuses like his sons to learn everything at once with just a few feedbacks. Consequently, Sakumo would have to train them more...

Normally.

"Well, since we've been introduced. Tell me, what are you good at and what have you learned?" Sakumo asked calmly as he led the two youths to the back of the house, where the training area was.

"Sir! I'm great at everything! I'm an unparalleled genius under this sky, excellent at shurikenjutsu, an expert in taijutsu, a powerful Uchiha capable of releasing incredible ninjutsus to--"

"Aiii... Why?" demanded Obito, rubbing his head, hurt by Rin. She had hit the same spot precisely!

"Obito, please, take it seriously and don't exaggerate 'a little' about your GREAT skills," Rin said with a smile that didn't seem like one. Obito's back shivered with a chill, and it quickly passed.

"Be honest."

Watching the interaction between these two, Sakumo couldn't help but nod in his mind. "You guys are quite lively, aren't you?"

Rin lowered her head shyly, and Obito smiled, patting her head.

"Sir," Rin called Sakumo softly and answered the previous question to make the atmosphere less awkward. "I have excellent chakra control. A great memory and I can learn things very quickly. I have extensive knowledge in Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and medical ninjutsu." Rin spoke softly and with a little pride in her voice.

But being from a civilian family that didn't have much money to keep up with the other clan children who could get training at home and elementary ninjutsu, she ended up falling further and further behind her classmates. It was hard for her to keep up with them that way. So she invested in everything she could do at that moment.

Chakra control, advanced theoretical knowledge in various areas, and Medical Ninjutsu were relatively easy basics to acquire. She only had to pass a test at the hospital, be a ninja, or a student with excellent chakra control. Admiring Senju Tsunade was a bonus.

"I'm not particularly good at Taijutsu beyond what was taught in the academy. Just Shurikenjutsu and the three academy ninjutsu, along with traps and basic techniques. I don't know any Genjutsu because it's not taught in the academy, and that's about it..." Rin lowered her head a bit, afraid to see Sakumo with a disappointed or angry look for her being so... ordinary.

She wasn't to blame. It was normal to think that way. It was already incredible enough for her to have the amazing Namikaze Minato as her sensei. His name was big enough for most ninjas to know who he was. And now she was facing the strongest man in all of Konoha. It was an honor and a blessing. But it could also be her downfall...

Sakumo was someone very perceptive and subtly noticed the change in the girl's expression. Not that she was very good at hiding it. "You're very good overall. From what I see, you have an excellent foundation with a long way to go. Just the fact that you have great chakra control at your age through your own effort makes you someone worthy of note. And learning Medical Ninjutsu is not something just anyone can do at your age." Those were Sakumo's most sincere feelings.

Only he knew how hard it was to grow up in life without having great support like the boy by his side.

"That's right, Rin. You're too incredible. Don't get discouraged; one day your name will resonate throughout the ninja world. Of course... just behind the great me, the next Hokage, Uchiha Obito-sama hahahaha."

"...Thank you, Obito," Rin chuckled softly, and the feeling faded away. Her smile and bright humor were what made her life a little sunnier.

"And you, great Uchiha Obito-sama?" Sakumo said playfully.

Obito was a little embarrassed to notice what he had said in front of one of his heroes. But he didn't back down either. "I'm not very good at Shurikenjutsu. I don't know any ninjutsu besides [Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu] and what was taught in the academy. I don't have a good memory like Rin. I'm decent at Taijutsu, and I'm a very punctual person!" Obito spoke with great conviction, and gradually his voice dwindled as he spoke of his achievements. He couldn't mention being the last dead, though... right?

"But I'll still be Hokage, believe it!"

"Punctual my foot," Eiji finally couldn't resist staying silent any longer and responded to Obito with disdain. He really dared to lie in front of his father.