Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

As jonin, Hatake Sakumo and Junko Watanabe had witnessed countless life-and-death situations. Thus, merely by observing someone's eyes, they could accurately determine that person's inner thoughts.

The look in Minato Namikaze's eyes wasn't innocent bravery—it was something else entirely, more like their own, hardened expressions. Detached from any fear of death.

When it came to ninja carrying out missions, who could guarantee coming back unscathed every time?

Yet these were precisely the mindsets they'd developed only after enduring numerous missions. It was extremely strange for such an attitude to appear in front of them embodied by Minato. After all, he was still just a student at the Ninja Academy.

Not only were they astonished, Yan Uchiha, who had just had the documents snatched from his hands by Minato, also wore an expression of shock. When he finally regained his senses, he spoke with slight agitation toward the younger boy: "Minato Namikaze, this isn't the time for you to act tough. Do you even realize what this mission entails?"

"I do," Minato replied calmly. He understood exactly what Yan was thinking and added, "The Third Hokage wouldn't give orders for no good reason, let alone send us on a suicide mission. Knowing this alone is enough."

With that, he resumed flipping through the files without looking up. He flipped open the file to find a photo of a man who looked pretty ordinary at first glance—but those eyes. Cold as ice, sharp like a hawk's.

Yan Uchiha stood there frozen, clenching his fists tightly.

After a while, Yan slowly reached out his hand—but at this moment, Minato subtly shifted the file aside.

"The battles between you and me have always been no more than competition among comrades. However, this mission will involve risking our lives. If you're doing this purely to compete with me, there are other ways. Don't treat your life so carelessly."

Minato's expression became solemn because he couldn't tell whether Yan had truly prepared himself or was simply acting impulsively due to pride, unwilling to lose to him.

These words momentarily stunned both Hatake Sakumo and Junko Watanabe.

A child not yet nine years old could think things through with such meticulous detail...

Yan Uchiha lifted his eyes to meet Minato's gaze. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—an unexpected gesture that made Minato blink. As far as Minato could recall, this was the first genuinely kind smile he'd ever seen from this person.

"Once you've chosen the path of a ninja, risking your life becomes inevitable from the start. Besides, I don't believe I'm the type of person who dies easily."

Yan said slowly. Indeed, as Minato had pointed out, their rivalry had previously been limited to within the village. But here, at this moment, they weren't just rivals—they were fellow ninja of Konoha, teammates.

Minato smiled. Yan wasn't quite as inflexible as he'd appeared. He handed the files back to Yan right away.

Seeing this exchange, Hatake Sakumo felt gradually relieved. Originally, he'd worried that if these two were placed on the same team, they'd constantly clash and compete, thus jeopardizing the mission.

Looks like the Third was right after all—sometimes, true friendship starts as rivalry.

The two kids in front of him seemed more open-minded than he was.

"This Tachiyama Shinsaburo truly deserves to die!"

After reading the documents in his hands, Yan Uchiha muttered under his breath. The report showed that before defecting, this man had killed several Konoha ninja.

Although Yan was young, he had a strong sense of justice. His clan bore the duty of protecting the village, and the fact that this man had escaped made him feel a slight sense of guilt.

After returning the documents to the pouch and handing it back to Sakumo Hatake, Minato and Yan respectfully bowed to Sakumo.

As the team leader for this mission and also their senior, such courtesy was only appropriate.

"Hehe," Sakumo smiled gently, then shifted his body slightly, revealing Junko Watanabe standing in the corner. "Let me introduce her—this is Junko Watanabe, she's also part of our operation."

They had already heard her name before and immediately realized she was Junko Watanabe; otherwise, she wouldn't have been staying here all along.

"Hello there, little boys," Junko kindly smiled, her big eyes curved like crescent moons. Her delicate, pretty face gave off a warm and friendly impression.

But both Minato and Yan Uchiha noticed a chilling coldness deep in her eyes at the same time.

Yan felt it even more strongly, because even though Junko had concealed it well, there was something carved into her very being in that gaze—something that couldn't be fully erased.

He had seen that look before—it was common among many of the Uchiha's jonin.

Sakumo also glanced sideways at Junko and said, "Before we start the mission, you might want to work on hiding your eyes better, or else we could end up in danger because of them."

He had suspected earlier that Junko had recently joined Anbu, the elite unit directly under the Hokage, and as a newly promoted jonin, she hadn't yet mastered control over her expressions.

It wasn't an issue within the village, but this mission required assassinating elite ninja from Kumogakure. Although they were going to kill them, disguising themselves and concealing their identities beforehand was still possible. Junko's gaze could easily give them away.

"Mm."

Junko responded with a smile and agreed without hesitation.

What surprised her was that these two kids had noticed her expression too.

It seemed just as Senior Sakumo had told her: she shouldn't regard them as ordinary children.

"Senior Junko Watanabe, my name is Minato Namikaze. Please take care of me." Minato smiled warmly. He could sense that Junko wasn't evil by nature—perhaps she simply hadn't yet learned full control due to some unique past experiences.

Truth be told, there were often times when Minato himself couldn't clearly explain how he sensed those things...

"Yan Uchiha."

To Junko Watanabe, Yan Uchiha's presence by her side wasn't especially courteous — after all, she knew she held nowhere near the same significance in his heart as Sakumo Hatake did.

Junko herself wasn't angry anyway — or rather, she couldn't show it right now. She gave a polite nod to both of them before slipping back into her usual neutral expression and falling silent once more.

Sakumo turned and pulled two Konoha forehead protectors from the pouch strapped to his waist. Like throwing shuriken, he flicked both protectors forward at once. They soared in opposite directions and landed neatly in Minato's and Yan Uchiha's hands.

"As of now, you're appointed as temporary Konoha genin. Prepare yourselves for the mission in the Land of Hot Springs!"

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