Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha.

In mid-March, cherry blossoms fell, and the ninja academy graduation season arrived as scheduled.

Nohara Rin is in charge of compiling a list of ninjas who want to join the medical system. Recently, she has been receiving fewer and fewer applications, and the girl can't help but show a worried look.

During lunch break, Obito Uchiha specially brought the girl a bento box, but his cooking skills weren't very good, so Rin Nohara's smile looked a little forced.

"Ugh, the miso chicken is so salty! I'm sorry, Lin, it's all my fault!"

Obito took a bite and looked dejected as he stood up to apologize. Rin Nohara quickly pulled the boy back, giving him a gentle smile.

"It's okay, Obito, it's really delicious! There's no need to feel guilty."

"Rin, I can't even cook as well as Kakashi, I..."

Obito lowered his head dejectedly, muttering to himself. Rin Nohara knew he had been feeling down lately, so she looked up and earnestly encouraged him:

"Obito, isn't your goal to gain everyone's approval and become Hokage?"

"It's just that I'm temporarily behind in cultivation; I'll catch up with hard work later!"

"I'll always be watching you. Let's work hard together. After passing the Chunin Exams, we'll soon be able to catch up with Kakashi."

Looking at the girl's earnest face, Obito's own face grew increasingly red. For a moment, he completely forgot about Kakashi and, blushing, replied:

"Um!"

-

Kakashi, who was on a mission to hunt down spies, was unaware that he had offended Obito. He had been helping Obito with his training recently, and the two had been arguing every day.

Now, Kakashi feels only good when he's on a mission. Teaching "idiots" is still too difficult; he's not suited to be a teacher.

Upon arriving at the designated location, Kakashi saw Minato Namikaze and Masaru Furukawa chatting idly, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"We were indeed a step too late."

"Well done, Kakashi. It seems your sense of smell has been enhanced once again."

Wearing his Jonin combat uniform, Minato Namikaze smiled brightly and encouraged him. Kakashi merely nodded slightly, then released the target's corpse from the scroll and reported in a low voice:

"The Iwagakure spies in the grain caravan were around Chunin level in strength and did not possess any special abilities."

There were three corpses on the ground. Kakashi carefully examined the targets of Furukawa Osamu and Namikaze Minato and found that the wounds on the corpses were small, but they were all fatal wounds to the heart.

Kakashi knew that both of them were using weapons enhanced with wind-style chakra. Comparing them to his own target, he muttered to himself:

"The gap is obvious; my control over chakra is not precise enough."

Killing skills are also a way to judge a ninja's strength. Although Minato Namikaze looks like a "sunny and warm man", he has a talent for killing that far exceeds that of ordinary people.

"Kay will be here soon; this mission is still somewhat difficult for him."

After sensing Might Guy's chakra, Furukawa Osamu spoke up to remind him. Minato nodded, then smiled and said:

"The Hokage values ​​him highly. Guy needs to adapt to various complex tasks so that he can take on more responsibility in the future."

"At the end of the month, we will be carrying out a mission to guard the Lord of the Land of Fire. This was specially arranged by the Hokage."

Every year, the lord of the Land of Fire would make a routine visit to Konoha. Although the daimyo nominally ruled the country, the military strength was entirely in the hands of the Konoha ninja.

"Sorry, I was too slow. That damn guy, he used a rock clone!"

Might Guy arrived in front of the group, panting heavily. After displaying the corpse, Kakashi's eyes twitched slightly when he saw the deformed ribs and the sunken head; the technique was far too crude.

"Wow, that's impressive, Guy! That kind of strength isn't something an average Chunin can achieve."

Furukawa Osamu glanced at the corpse and gave a thumbs-up. Might Guy immediately flashed a bright white smile, pushed the others aside, and responded with a thumbs-up:

"Youth never slacks off!"

Minato Namikaze laughed heartily, and after a careful inspection, he called to the others:

"Go back and hand in your mission. After that, you can rest for a while. We'll go to the capital of the Land of Fire at the end of the month. Remember to show your best when we do."

"Yes, Captain Minato."

After returning to the village, Minato Namikaze hurriedly left. Recently, his relationship with Kushina has heated up again, and they are planning to get married.

Kakashi wanted to ask Furukawa some questions about swordsmanship, but Obito blocked him again, shouting loudly from a distance.

Nohara Rinya waved energetically; the two had been waiting for quite some time.

"Kakashi, guiding your comrades is also a form of training!"

Furukawa Osamu patted Kakashi on the shoulder, who sighed helplessly. Before he could speak, Might Guy shouted loudly from the side:

"So you were secretly practicing extra? Damn it, I still can't control my injury gate properly. I really want to have a duel with the Reverse Lotus."

"Let's leave the inner lotus to Xiu!"

Kakashi made a comment and waved goodbye. He had been spending a lot of time with Obito lately, mainly to gather information.

The Root ninjas who had been lying in wait were purged by Fugaku Uchiha, forcing Danzo to reinstate some of them, which gave Kakashi an opportunity.

As evening fell, Osamu Furukawa arrived alone at the memorial site. After offering his usual flowers, an unremarkable young man quickly appeared beside him, kneeling on one knee to present a scroll:

"Lord Shu, these are Lord Orochimaru's subordinates in the village. For the time being, they will be completely under your command."

When Furukawa Osamu saw the contents of the scroll, his expression was inscrutable. He noticed Orochimaru's spies within Root, and Danzo's renewed Wood Release plan made him smirk slightly.

"Orochimaru-sensei wants to push for the Third Hokage to step down as soon as possible, and I will naturally give my full support."

"After the negotiations with Sunagakure fail, I will contact the Uchiha clan to re-intervene in the war."

"The time is tentatively set after the Lord of the Land of Fire arrives. Remember, proceed according to plan."

The young man's body stiffened; a fleeting murderous aura made him freeze, and he instinctively lowered his head, replying in a deep voice:

"Yes, Lord Xiu."

-

As usual, Osamu Furukawa came to the underground laboratory late at night and, using his psychic powers, obtained a scroll from the little green snake.

When Furukawa Osamu saw Orochimaru's plan to steal the Sunagakure's bloodline limit ninja, he secretly shook his head. This teacher was even bolder than he had imagined. Fortunately, war also suited his needs.

The slug wriggled from my arms to my shoulder, looked at the pensive Furukawa Osamu, and spoke up to remind him:

"Master Xiu, we need to verify the Hashirama cell energy hypothesis today."

"I almost forgot, Subject 3 is nearly completely corrupted. Is that the familiar energy fluctuation?"

Furukawa Osamu approached a twisted, wooden figure. After wriggling over, he released his chakra, carefully sensed it, and responded:

"It does indeed possess some of the energy characteristics of the divine tree."

Furukawa Osamu nodded, and while the test subject still retained some of his physical instincts, he decisively used his [Gathering] ability, and a ball of energy immediately appeared in his right hand:

"As expected, it can be [collected]. The next step is to verify it on White Zetsu."