[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 29 It is inevitable

Another day, another round of Team Minato shenanigans.

At this point, I was used to the routine—training, missions, and trying to survive Obito’s dramatic speeches. Today was supposed to be no different. Supposed to be.

We were just finishing up a light spar when I noticed something… off. Not bad, not dangerous—just something different.

Rin and Obito were standing a little closer than usual.

Now, normally, this wouldn’t mean anything. They’d always been friends, and Rin had always been kind to him. But this? This felt different.

Obito was grinning, looking way too pleased with himself, while Rin laughed at something he said. She even nudged his shoulder at one point, and he didn’t immediately trip over himself.

That was weird.

I narrowed my eyes, watching as Rin patched up a small scrape on Obito’s arm. He made some dumb joke, and she laughed again—an actual, genuine laugh.

Huh.

I crossed my arms. "Since when were you two this close?"

Obito blinked at me, then smirked. "Since always, obviously."

Rin rolled her eyes, smiling. "We’ve been spending more time together lately. It’s nice."

Nice.

That was… new.

Before, it had always been Rin looking at me. Rin trying to get my attention. Rin offering me extra food while Obito sulked in the background. But now, she wasn’t even glancing my way. Her attention was fully on Obito, and for once, he wasn’t ruining it by being a total mess.

Did I accidentally step into an alternate timeline?

I leaned toward Minato-sensei. "Sensei, do you see this?"

Minato, ever the amused bystander, simply chuckled. "I see a young man finally getting noticed by a girl who’s always cared about him. You should be happy for them, Kakashi."

Happy? I wasn’t sure what I was feeling.

It wasn’t jealousy—I never had feelings for Rin like that. But there was something unsettling about it. Like I was watching things shift in a way they weren’t supposed to.

Because… this wasn’t how it happened last time.

Madara had orchestrated Obito’s "death" to manipulate him. He set up Rin’s kidnapping to push Obito over the edge. But if Obito was still here—if Rin was still safe—then would that even happen?

Would fate try to correct itself?

I suddenly felt cold, despite the warm sun overhead.

If Rin was still meant to be taken, if something was still meant to happen to her, then… how? How would it happen now?

And worse—was I strong enough to stop it?

"Kakashi?"

I snapped out of it, realizing that Rin was looking at me.

"You okay?" she asked, tilting her head. "You look like you saw a ghost."

Not a ghost. Just the possibility of something much worse.

I forced a shrug. "I’m fine. Just thinking."

Obito gave me a suspicious look, but he didn’t press.

Minato clapped his hands together. "Alright, that’s enough brooding, Kakashi. We’ve still got training to do."

Right. Training. Normal things. I could focus on that.

But even as we moved on, the thought wouldn’t leave me alone.

Was the future really different now? Or was this just a brief delay before everything fell apart again?

The days passed, and I tried to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

Training continued as usual—morning spars, jutsu refinement, missions that ranged from “completely pointless” to “mildly entertaining.” On the surface, everything was normal.

But I kept watching.

Rin and Obito were still… whatever they were now. Closer. Happier. And every time I saw them, I felt that weird, crawling unease in my chest.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want them to be happy. It was that I didn’t trust the world to let them be.

I knew too much.

I knew that Madara was still out there. I knew that Black Zetsu was lurking in the shadows, playing the long game. I knew that the entire timeline had already been manipulated once, and there was no guarantee that things wouldn’t still go horribly, irreversibly wrong.

And the worst part? I had no idea what to do about it.

Minato-sensei must have noticed something was off, because he started pushing me harder in training. Not in a bad way, but in the way a teacher does when they know their student is holding something back.

And I was.

I wasn’t just training anymore—I was preparing.

For what? I wasn’t sure. But I had a bad feeling I’d find out soon.

—

It was during a routine spar with Minato that I felt it again—that creeping sense of dread.

I was moving on pure instinct, my body flowing through the fight with ease. Seamless Sublimity had made training almost second nature to me now. Every motion was perfect, every attack optimized, every dodge precise. Minato still had the upper hand, obviously, but I could tell he had to actually put in effort now.

That was a win in my book.

But the whole time, my mind was somewhere else.

Was I changing things by being here? By being stronger? By keeping Obito alive?

Or was I just delaying the inevitable?

"You're hesitating," Minato said mid-exchange, effortlessly dodging a kunai I threw. "That’s not like you, Kakashi."

I didn’t respond, mainly because I was too busy trying not to get kicked in the face.

Minato was relentless today, moving faster, striking harder. He was testing me. And maybe, just maybe, I needed to be tested.

Because if the worst happened—if fate still found a way to take Rin away—then I needed to be ready.

Stronger than I was before.

Stronger than I was in my last life.

Minato’s fist shot toward me, but this time, I saw it. Not just saw it—predicted it, understood it, optimized my response in the fraction of a second I had to react.

I twisted at the last possible moment, my body moving in perfect sync with my instincts, and for the first time in a long time—

I dodged.

Minato blinked. Just once.

Then he smiled.

"Not bad," he said, right before teleporting behind me and kicking me into a tree.

I coughed, groaning. "That was uncalled for."

"It was necessary," Minato replied, helping me up. "You're improving, Kakashi. A lot. But you're thinking too much."

Obito, who had been watching from the sidelines, nodded sagely. "Yeah, stop overthinking, Kakashi. Just embrace the coolness like me."

I gave him a flat look. "I’d rather be kicked into another tree."

Obito pouted. "Rude."

Minato chuckled. "Take a break, you two. We’ll go again in a bit."

I sat down, catching my breath. Obito plopped down next to me, looking unusually thoughtful.

"So," he started, glancing at me. "What’s up with you lately?"

I hesitated.

He must have noticed me watching him and Rin. He was more observant than people gave him credit for.

For a second, I considered telling him everything.

But what would I even say? "Hey, Obito, you were supposed to die, and then Rin was supposed to die, and then the entire world was supposed to go to hell, but I think I might have broken that cycle, but I’m not sure, and now I’m paranoid that reality is going to snap back and fix itself in the worst way possible."

Yeah. No.

Instead, I just shrugged. "Just thinking about the future."

Obito scoffed. "Pfft, that’s your problem right there. You gotta live in the moment, Kakashi! Enjoy life! You never know what’ll happen tomorrow!"

That was exactly what I was afraid of.

I sighed. "Yeah. I guess you’re right."

For now, I’d keep watching. Keep training. Keep getting stronger.

Because if something did happen—if the world still tried to take Rin away—

I’d be ready.

–

The next few days were… normal.

Which, honestly, only made me more suspicious.

I trained. I went on missions. I endured Obito’s never-ending speeches about how great he was. Rin was still her usual kind self, keeping our team together. Minato-sensei continued to push us in training while somehow managing to act like our teacher and an older brother at the same time.

It was good. Too good.

The paranoia wouldn’t leave.

I watched Obito and Rin interact, and the sinking feeling in my gut only grew. The more time passed, the more uncertain I became. Was Madara still watching? Had he given up? Or was he simply waiting for the right moment?

If I had changed things, would he change his approach?

And if so… how?

I needed to be stronger. Faster. More prepared.

Minato had shifted our training focus again, pushing us toward refining our nature transformations. For me, that meant continuing my work with Lightning Release—sharpening it, making it deadlier, integrating it into everything I did.

Obito, of course, was still struggling to make Fire Release anything more than a flashy party trick.

“Just give up already, Obito,” I said as he attempted yet another Great Fireball Jutsu and ended up with a glorified campfire.

Obito turned to me, his face twisted with the kind of determination only an Uchiha with no actual talent could possess. “Never! I am an elite Uchiha! My flames will—”

BOOM.

Obito let out a strangled noise as his own fireball backfired, sending him flying backward into a tree.

I stared at the small scorch mark left behind. “Huh.”

Minato sighed, rubbing his temples. “Obito, you need to control the shape of your chakra better before applying nature transformation.”

“Y-Yeah,” Obito wheezed, still upside down against the tree. “I knew that.”

Rin giggled, helping him up. “You’ll get it soon, Obito. Just keep practicing.”

Obito coughed, trying to look cool. He failed miserably.

I just shook my head. "This is painful to watch."

Obito shot me a glare. "Oh, like you didn’t struggle with Wind Release before!"

"I mastered it within a week," I said flatly.

He looked betrayed. "You’re the worst."

Minato chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let’s take a break. We’ll work on chakra control next."

As we sat down, I leaned against a tree, my mind drifting back to my previous thoughts.

What if Madara still had something planned?

What if Rin was still in danger?

Was I doing enough?

Was I strong enough?

No.

Not yet.

I wasn’t going to let my guard down. Not now. Not ever.

—

It happened.

Despite everything—despite my training, my vigilance, my paranoia—Rin was gone.

One moment, we were finishing up a routine mission. The next, she had disappeared. No warning, no struggle, no signs of a fight.

She was just… gone.

We stood in the middle of the empty field, the air heavy with tension. The mission was already over. We were heading back to Konoha. And yet, somehow, somewhere between then and now, we had lost her.

Obito was frantic. His Sharingan spun wildly as he scanned the area, breathing hard. "Where is she?! Where did she go?!"

Minato was already on high alert, his expression grim as he crouched, scanning the ground for any clues. “There’s no blood… no signs of a struggle…” His brows furrowed. "This isn’t normal."

I clenched my fists. My mind raced.

This wasn’t a random attack.

No enemy nin had ambushed us. There was no battle, no warning—just a disappearance.

And that meant only one thing.

This was planned.

Planned by someone who knew how to take her without alerting me, Obito, or even Minato.

The only person I could think of who could pull that off… was Madara.

Was history repeating itself?

Had he been watching all along? Had he been waiting for the perfect moment to strike?

My jaw tightened. If this was the same event as before, then…

Then Rin was in deep trouble.

Obito turned to me, his eyes wide with urgency. “Kakashi! You’re the sharpest one here! Did you see anything?”

Minato-sensei was an excellent tracker, one of the best—but even he had limits. He relied on logic, sensory perception, and experience. I had Seamless Sublimity. To anyone else, the forest was just a mess of trees and undergrowth. To me, it was a crime scene with every detail laid bare, every disturbance screaming its story. It was like having the mind of Sherlock Holmes running on overdrive, solving the mystery before it was even fully formed.

There.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

"I found something," I said. My voice was steady, but inside, I was already moving a hundred steps ahead.

Obito's fists clenched. "Where?"

I pointed. "Northwest. It's faint, but someone was just there. And they had her."

Minato didn’t hesitate. "Let’s move."

And just like that, we were off.

No more time to think. No more time to wonder.

Rin was waiting.

And I wasn’t going to let her be taken without a fight.

We moved fast. No wasted movements, no hesitation. Minato led the way with his insane speed, Obito was right beside me, and I was using every ounce of my tracking ability to follow the faint traces of chakra.

Rin had been taken northwest. That was our only lead.

The air was tense, thick with unspoken words.

Obito was furious—his hands clenched, his Sharingan glowing with raw emotion. I could tell he was holding back from just running off on his own.

Minato was focused, but I could see the tightness in his jaw. He was worried too. He had every reason to be.

And me?

I was trying to keep my thoughts in check.

Because deep down, I knew how this was supposed to go.

Before, when Obito had been "dead," Madara had orchestrated everything to push him over the edge. Rin's kidnapping, the Mist ninja, the Three-Tails, the whole setup—it was all designed to break him and turn him into something else.

But Obito was here. He was alive. He wasn’t under a boulder somewhere, losing himself to despair and Madara’s manipulations.

So why was this still happening?

Was Madara still behind it? Had he adjusted his plan? Was this just history trying to correct itself?

I hated not knowing.

All I could do was focus on getting Rin back.

The faint chakra trail led us to a dense part of the forest, where the air was damp and thick with mist. A bad sign.

Kirigakure nin.

I motioned to Minato and Obito, keeping my voice low. “This mist isn’t natural.”

Minato nodded, his eyes sharp. “We’re close.”

Obito was already ahead of me. “Then let’s stop wasting time.”

He was right.

I wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.

Not this time.

We moved forward. And the moment we stepped deeper into the mist, the first attack came.