Minato stood alongside his student, Obito, as they watched a team of Chunin prepare for a training exercise. "Sensei, why are we doing this?" Obito asked. "We never did this when we were at the academy."

Minato turned to Obito, his voice serious. "The village is at war, fighting on all fronts against neighboring villages. Many jounin's like myself have been stationed at the borders, leaving our genin without proper leadership. They'll be put into genin corps and sent to different battalions."

Obito's eyes went wide with shock. "What? Are you serious, Sensei?"

Minato simply nodded, and the two were interrupted by a Chunin who appeared before them. "Is everyone prepared?" Minato asked.

"Yes sir," the Chunin replied. "Some have completed their task, and everyone else is ready."

Minato looked to Kakashi and gave orders. "Take the team and get ready to engage the students in training ground 22."

The team disappeared, covering themselves in disguises, and Minato declared, "Alright, let's begin."

A loud siren blared throughout the training grounds as Minato watched a team of Chunin perform hand seals, summoning a massive firebird that shot into the sky. "Good work," Minato instructed. "Keep an eye on the kids, make sure nothing goes too far."

Minato then body flickered towards the training ground where his students were, eager to see how they would perform.

Minato perched on the branch hidden, observing the intense exchange between his student and the academy student. The Inuzaku and Yamanaka students had fallen quickly, it was expected, they were facing genin and had more training, the exercise was to reveal the academy students the brutal realities of war. But the youngest, who looked to be merely six to seven years old, was holding his own, "Wow I can't believe that he is holding his own against the Kakashi" it was astonishing to watch.

As Kakashi launched a shuriken, Minato knew he needed to intervene. But just as he was about to intervene, the student shocked him by appearing in front of Kakashi, switching places with the thrown weapon in a flash. "Did he just use the Substitution Jutsu?" Minato wondered, taken aback the student had a kunai going for Kakashi's head, and Minato realized he was too far to use his body flicker to intercept him in time. He had to use an experimental jutsu to save him in time and knew that he had a seal on Kakashi, "Alright, let's hope this works."

Minato materialized beside Kakashi, blocking the incoming kunai with a sigh of relief, "Thank god," the student dropped his weapon. With a quick kick, he created some distance between himself and his opponents. "Quick reaction, good," Minato looked on, "Let's end this exercise."

"Calm down, student," Minato said, his tone calm and collected, trying to diffuse the situation. "This is just a test."

"Bullshit," the student replied, not willing to listen, keeping his guard up and launching a barrage of shuriken towards Minato and Kakashi.

Minato thought "Well, I guess that is a smart choice. I would probably do the same." As he and Kakashi effortlessly blocked the barrage, but Kakashi was seething with anger. 'Who would have thought that an academy student could be the one to bring him down?' Minato thought.

"Sensei, he's not going to stop," Kakashi warned.

Minato sighed, "Fine, but finish this quick, and don't let me save you again."

Kakashi charged forward, engaging in close combat once again in another intense fight. The student was pushed to the back foot, using every ounce of his skills to keep himself from being defeated. Kakashi expertly knocked out the student's kunai, and Minato noticed the student eyeing the kunai that had slammed into a tree in the distance. "Is it a possible escape route? Smart kid, let's see what he does next," Minato thought, flipping to avoid a slash from Kakashi. Kakashi stashed away his weapon and followed through with a powerful punch to the student's gut. "Oof, that's got to hurt the kid," Minato thought.

Minato watched as the student tried to do something again and noticed that Kakashi was about to lose his cool. The student took another hit from Kakashi and went for his explosive tags. "OK, no more mistakes," Minato thought as he body flickered behind the student and delivered a chop to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

The fight between Kakashi and the academy student had started out well, with both opponents displaying impressive skills and tactics. But as the battle raged on, Kakashi's calm and collected demeanor began to slip away. He charged in recklessly, his guard down, and nearly set off one of the explosive tags the student had placed around the area.

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Minato Namikaze, always quick on his feet, saved the day by using his own jutsu to neutralize the danger. But he wasn't pleased with Kakashi's behavior. "You must never let your guard down like that," he scolded his student sternly. "In the real world, a moment's carelessness could cost you your life."

Obito and Rin watched the exchange in amazement. They had always respected Minato's skills and wisdom, but seeing him in action like this was truly awe-inspiring.

But as soon as the fight was over, Obito burst out laughing. "I can't believe it," he cackled. "You got beaten by an academy student, Kakashi!"

Kakashi's face twisted in anger and annoyance at his own failure. He couldn't stand the thought of being defeated by someone so inexperienced. "Shut up, Obito," he growled, his fists clenched in frustration.

Minato, on the other hand, was more concerned with the well-being of the academy students. He ordered Rin to tend to the injured academy student, who had taken a beating in the fight. "How bad is he?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"He'll need to be checked over at the hospital, the Yamanaka, Inuzaki student, are fine, The ninken will need to be checked over by a veterinarian" Rin replied, her medical training kicking in as she assessed the situation.

As Rin worked on the boy, Obito spoke, "Hey, don't worry about it Kakashi," trying to console him sarcastically. "Guess what another little prodigy, like you has come up. You won't be so lonely anymore, right!" Kakashi couldn't take the humiliation of his defeat and he body flickered out of the area, unable to face his team members and his sensei.

Obito's laughter grew even louder as he savored his friend's humiliation. "Hahaha, this moment will be etched in my memory forever!" He continued to revel in his amusement, relishing in his friend's discomfort.

Minato watched them both, his eyes narrowed with concern. He knew that these were trying times for the village, and that the ninja would need to work together more closely than ever before if they were to survive. But with tensions running high and emotions running wild, that might be easier said than done.

As Obito chortled at Kakashi's defeat, Minato interjected, rebuking him for belittling their adversary. "Obito, it's imperative that you learn from this exercise and never undervalue your opponents. Every encounter is an opportunity for growth," he said sternly.

Minato then ordered Rin to awaken the other academy students, who were still disoriented from the fight. He explained to them that the battle was a part of their training, designed to teach them the harsh realities of war.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Yamanaka asked, still in shock from the events that had just transpired.

Minato gazed at the three students, "This exercise was meant to demonstrate to you the brutalities of war. In the future, you will face many foes, and you cannot afford to underestimate them."

Taro inquired, "But sir, how did Kenji last so long against Kakashi? He's just a student like me."

Minato replied, "That's a good question, Taro, and one that you'll have to find the answer to. How did you perform in the exercise?"

Inuzaki hung his head, "Not very well, sir. I thought I was better than this." His ninken barked in agreement.

Minato nodded, "Don't worry, the purpose of this exercise was to identify your weaknesses. Use this newfound knowledge to improve yourself for when you graduate."

Yamanaka nodded, "Yes, sir. We will work harder and be better next time."

Minato instructed the students to report back to the academy and inform their instructors of the exercise and Kenji's injury. "Make sure to inform them that Kenji will need a full checkup at the hospital. He sustained the worst injuries out of all of you," he said.

As Yamanaka and Inuzaki left, Minato pondered how Kenji managed to last so long against Kakashi. "I'll have to look into this," he thought to himself.

Minato then ordered Rin and Obito to carry Kenji to the hospital while they discussed their training for the upcoming Chunin exam. "We need to step up our training," Minato said firmly. "That exercise was a reality check. We need to be prepared for anything."

Obito complained, "But sensei, I'm exhausted from training every day."

Rin replied, "Daily training is necessary to become stronger. We need to keep pushing ourselves."

Minato concurred, "The exam is just around the corner. We cannot afford to slack off now."

Obito asked, "What do you think happened to Kenji? How did he last so long against Kakashi?"

Minato pondered the question, "I don't know, but it's evident that he's been training hard. He may not come from a clan, but he has potential."

Rin added, "It's also possible that he's been studying and analyzing his opponents' techniques. That could explain how he was able to hold his own against Kakashi."

Obito snorted, "He's just a foolish academy student. What does he know?"

Minato warned, "Don't underestimate him, Obito. Everyone has potential, and we should never belittle our opponents."

Obito hung his head in shame, "I'm sorry, sensei. You're right."

As they arrived at the hospital, Rin quickly informed the medical staff of Kenji's injuries. "He sustained injuries to his left arm and leg, as well as a mild concussion," she explained.

Minato nodded, adding, "It was from a training exercise at the academy. He's a tough kid, but he may be disoriented and aggressive when he wakes up."

The medical staff acknowledged their words, taking Kenji away on a stretcher and disappearing into the hospital's emergency department.