Chapter 4: Hanako, the Core Member of Team 9, Left Behind!

It was 10:48 in the morning.

Hanako and Rin sat on a rock, basking in the sun.

"Ah~~ so full."

Rin touched her belly, wearing a satisfied expression.

"You ate so much," Hanako glanced at her and packed up the lunchboxes.

"Ah? Well..." Rin blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

She had only planned to eat a little bit, but ended up eating three servings of lunch.

"By the way, why did you bring lunch?" Rin changed the topic with a sudden idea.

"I didn't have time to eat after cooking, so I brought it along," Hanako shrugged in response.

"They're coming back."

Nudging Hanako, Rin reminded him.

In the distance, three figures were walking towards them one after another.

The difference was that Obito and Kakashi looked downcast, while Minato Namikaze walked calmly behind them.

It was clear that they had failed to grab the bell.

"Kakashi, it's all your fault! If you had tangled with the sensei a bit longer, I could have grabbed it," Obito complained while walking, trying to shift the blame.

"Idiot!" Kakashi exhaustedly spat out the word.

From beginning to end, he was the only one fighting, while Obito did nothing.

The only thing Obito did was rush mindlessly towards Sensei when Kakashi's stamina ran out.

It was obvious that he had no chance of grabbing it.

Look at Hanako and Rin, they knew their own limits.

They spent the whole morning doodling on rocks.

"Ah, I almost got it," Obito shrugged off Kakashi and ran over to Hanako and Rin, sighing.

"It's okay, failure is the mother of success!" Hanako comforted.

"Keep working hard next time," Rin also encouraged.

Being comforted by his teammates, Obito immediately felt revitalized.

See?

These were good teammates, unlike Kakashi with his dead-fish eyes.

On the field.

Minato Namikaze declared the mission a failure.

Then, as if performing a magic trick, he pulled out a lunchbox.

"Huh? Sensei brought lunch too?" Rin murmured softly.

No wonder.

No wonder the sensei and Hanako were both late; turns out they brought their own breakfast?

"Since the mission failed, today at noon, you four will share one lunchbox!"

Sweeping his gaze over the group, Minato Namikaze's expression turned serious.

"As for who gets to eat this lunchbox, it's up to you to decide!"

After speaking, he placed the lunchbox on the rock.

Bang!

Using the Body Flicker Technique, he disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, the atmosphere between the four individuals was delicate.

Obito first looked at the lunchbox, swallowed a gulp of saliva, and then shifted his gaze to his teammates.

Of course, he didn't look at Kakashi; instead, he hesitated between Hanako and Rin.

After all, they three were the "real" teammates.

Kakashi, due to severe exhaustion, merely glanced at the lunchbox, and his stomach rumbled.

As for Hanako and Rin?

The two of them had a tacit understanding.

"I give up this lunchbox!"

"I give up too!"

As they spoke, a warm feeling welled up in Obito's heart.

These were good teammates!

Not just Obito, even Kakashi, upon hearing that the two had given up, revealed a trace of surprise beneath his mask.

"Because I'm physically exhausted, they voluntarily gave it to me?" Kakashi's expression changed slightly.

On a nearby tree.

Minato Namikaze concealed himself in the tree trunk, wearing a smile on his face.

"I didn't expect this."

"I thought the team cooperation had failed this time, but I received an unexpected reward."

"Yielding the lunchbox, that's also a display of team spirit..."

Minato Namikaze continued to observe, wanting to see who would end up with the only lunchbox.

There was only one lunchbox, but two people wanted to eat it. How would they divide it?

Seemingly because Hanako and Rin gave up, Obito and Kakashi both looked at them.

It seemed like they were seeking the two's opinions.

Rin couldn't think of a solution.

She could only look at Hanako.

And then.

Hanako suddenly realized that all three teammates seemed to be staring at him?

Cough cough.

Feeling awkward under their gaze, Hanako could only cough lightly and stand up.

"It's actually simple, each of you can have one."

One for each person?

But there's only one lunchbox here.

Just as Rin was about to correct him.

Suddenly--

Hanako reached into his pocket, pulled out another lunchbox, and held it in his hand.

Rin: O__O

Obito: "You hid a lunchbox?"

Kakashi: "Heh!"

Minato Namikaze in the tree: "..."

Sometimes, explanations are necessary.

Just like now.

Inside.

"I originally prepared breakfast for five people."

"Our small team of four, plus Sensei Minato!"

"But just now, Rin ate three portions by herself, and now we only have one portion left."

As Hanako explained, Rin's face turned red as if she wanted to use Earth Release to burrow into the ground.

Unfortunately, she didn't know Earth Release.

Of course, there was also good news.

Both Obito and Kakashi had one portion each.

They perfectly resolved the food dispute.

"This Hanako really surprises people."

Minato Namikaze on the tree rubbed his forehead, not knowing how to describe this "left-behind person."

Should they punish Hanako for breaking the rules?

But the problem was, he brought food for everyone.

Although most of it was eaten by Rin.

From this perspective, Hanako seemed to have good teamwork spirit.

Besides, Minato Namikaze hadn't mentioned beforehand that bringing food was not allowed.

"Let it be. At least their relationship has eased a bit."

Looking at Kakashi and Obito sitting next to each other, eating their lunch on the rock, Minato Namikaze felt that the team building this time had some effect.

And the core of maintaining this team turned out to be the one left behind, Hanako?

---------------

After the meal.

On the rocks in the training ground.

Four figures sat in a circle, the members of Team 9.

However, it was quiet.

No one was speaking; they just sat silently.

Obito sat next to Kakashi, and Rin sat next to Hanako.

As for why it was like this?

"Did Hanako want me to reconcile with Kakashi? Impossible!" Obito thought.

"Heh!" Kakashi glanced at Obito, proudly showing his indifference.

"Hanako, with this arrangement, can they really reconcile?" Rin whispered.

"Arrangement? What arrangement?"

Hanako looked confused.

What did he arrange?

He didn't do anything!