The Formation of Team Minato

Obito catches other shinobi grumbling about how Kakashi charges through missions without regard for teammates, a picture that clashes with the Kakashi he thought he knew. Uneasy, he vents to Rin and then tries to open a conversation with Kakashi himself, only to be brushed off with a curt dismissal. Undeterred, Obito trains through the rain to close the gap, cheered on by Rin. Hiruzen quietly asks Minato to instill some warmth in Kakashi, and Rin, exasperated that Obito missed his own graduation ceremony, walks him through a private re-enactment and hands over his certificate along with the news that they are on the same team.

Team Minato assembles for the first time and clears Minato's bell test. He starts them on humble odd jobs, and Obito breezes through them with help from the elderly villagers he regularly assists, which earns Minato's respect for the boy's kindness. Having exhausted every D-rank task available, the squad is bumped up to a C-rank escort for foreign shinobi carrying a message.

On the road, Minato senses that enemies are closing in and orders Rin and Kakashi to press forward while he and Obito hang back to meet the attackers. Obito and Minato fight, and Minato has to intervene to pull Obito clear of a strike. A second wave overtakes Kakashi's group, prompting Kakashi to tell Rin to keep moving while he holds the line, but one of the escortees is hit and tumbles off a bridge into the river.

Near the destination, one of the escorted shinobi thanks Rin and Kakashi, yet the other two drop their cover as traitors and turn on their own. Betting that Minato cannot arrive in time, they set up to strike Rin and Kakashi.

The two shinobi Obito questions in the opening scene bear a strong likeness to Riichi and Tsuzumi Sarugaku. The episode sits within the Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki arc and fleshes out the early days of Team Minato before the events that shape Obito's future.