[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 26 Flappy Bird

It had been months.

Months of missions. Months of training. Months of war.

And somewhere in all of that, I had… kind of, maybe, completely forgotten about a certain tiny, hyperactive bird.

It wasn’t on purpose. I mean, obviously. Who could ever intentionally forget about Taka? He was loud. He was persistent. He had the energy of a sugar-high toddler.

But war didn’t leave a lot of time for thinking about small, adorable eagles.

So when a familiar tug in my chest signaled an incoming summon, I barely had time to react before—

POOF!

A cloud of smoke exploded in my room.

And then—

“KAKASHIIIIII!!!”

A feathery missile slammed straight into my face.

I barely managed to peel him off before I found myself staring into two huge, glistening eagle eyes.

“YOU REMEMBERED ME!! YOU REALLY, REALLY REMEMBERED ME!!!”

Taka flapped excitedly, his tiny wings batting my cheeks. His entire body vibrated with pure, uncontainable joy.

…Oh no.

I had completely forgotten how ridiculously cute he was.

“Taka?” I blinked, still processing the small, fluffy menace in my hands. “How did you—?”

“I KNEW IT! YOU MISSED ME!!”

He wiggled out of my grip and landed on my lap, puffing up proudly. “It’s been sooooo long! I waited forever! I thought you were never going to summon me again!”

I opened my mouth—then hesitated.

I had missed him. I just… forgot.

And now that he was here, hopping around with that bright, innocent look on his face, I felt a little guilty.

“…Sorry, Taka,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “Things got… busy.”

Taka tilted his head. “Busy? With what?”

“…The war.”

Taka’s excitement dimmed for a brief moment. His big eyes softened, and he gave a quiet chirp.

“Oh,” he said, his voice suddenly small. “I… I saw stuff about that.”

My fingers curled slightly. “Yeah.”

Taka was silent for a moment. Then—

“Kakashi.”

I glanced at him. “Yeah?”

Taka spread his wings as wide as he could (which, in reality, wasn’t very wide at all) and puffed out his little chest.

“I WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ALL FUTURE BAD THINGS!!!”

I blinked.

And then—before I could react—he launched himself into my chest and snuggled in as tightly as he could, wrapping his tiny wings around me.

My heart actually clenched.

“…Taka.” I sighed, shaking my head. “You’re too small to fight anything.”

“Nuh-uh!” he said into my vest. “I’ve been training! I can fly way longer now! Like—like forty seconds!!”

I huffed out a quiet laugh. “That’s barely an improvement.”

Taka pulled back just enough to stare at me with a determined look. “It’s called growth, Kakashi.”

I rolled my eyes, but the corner of my mouth twitched upward.

Yep. Same old Taka.

He fluttered onto my knee, finally settling down.

“So, what did I miss?” he asked, tilting his head. “Any cool ninja stuff? Did you fight any super strong bad guys? OOOH, did you meet any cool animals?!”

I gave him a flat look. “Taka, I barely had time to breathe.”

Taka gasped. “NOOOOO!! My Kakashi has been suffering!!!”

“I haven’t been suffering,” I muttered, but he was already flapping in distress.

“I KNEW I SHOULD’VE BEEN HERE EARLIER! YOU NEEDED ME!!”

“No, I really didn’t.”

“Yes, you did! You didn’t have me around to keep you company! Or to give you moral support! Or to—”

“Eat all my snacks?”

Taka froze.

Then, very slowly, he looked up at me.

“…Do you have snacks?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

I sighed. “You live in a literal palace of eagles. You are not starving.”

“But the food is sooooo boring!!” Taka flopped onto my knee dramatically. “Do you know how long I’ve been suffering? The old eagles talk about feather maintenance every single day.”

I raised a brow. “And?”

Taka looked at me like I had personally betrayed him. “Kakashi. Three hours. On beak hygiene.”

I snorted. “Sounds like a you problem.”

“It was torture!” he whined. “I had to escape!!”

“Escape?” I deadpanned. “Taka. Did you run away from your clan just to come here?”

Taka looked away. “I wouldn’t call it running away…”

“Taka.”

He let out a tiny chirp. “…Maybe a little.”

I groaned. “You can’t just abandon your clan because you’re bored!”

“But I missed you!”

I froze.

Taka stared at me, his big, shiny eyes filled with so much pure, unwavering sincerity that I almost forgot how to breathe.

…Oh, man.

How was I supposed to argue with that?

I sighed, running a hand down my face. “Okay. Fine. You can stay for a little while.”

Taka gasped. “REALLY?!?!”

“But only until you get sleepy,” I added quickly.

Taka beamed and immediately dove back into my chest, nuzzling against me like a tiny, feathered heater.

“You’re my bestest friend in the whole world,” he mumbled sleepily.

I sighed, my fingers twitching slightly before I gave in and patted his tiny head.

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Welcome back, Taka.”

The little bird let out a happy chirp, snuggling deeper into my lap.

With Taka finally unsummoned, I had reclaimed my peace.

For about five minutes.

Because now, instead of dealing with an overly enthusiastic baby eagle, I was dodging kunai at high speed while sparring against Minato-sensei and Obito.

The training ground was a blur of movement. Minato flickered from spot to spot like a ghost, appearing behind me in an instant. Obito came at me with a barrage of fire jutsu, forcing me to weave through the smoke and debris. The air crackled with energy, the ground was scorched from our battle, and my muscles screamed from exertion.

Honestly? It was kind of fun.

I leapt back, flipping midair as I countered one of Obito’s kunai with my own, the metallic clang ringing through the field. Minato-sensei watched us carefully, likely assessing our progress.

Then, in a brief moment between attacks, I spoke.

"Hey, Obito," I said, dodging another kunai. "You still planning to be Hokage?"

Obito’s face lit up instantly, like I had just handed him a victory. "Of course!" He dodged a kick and grinned at me. "Who else is gonna do it? You?"

"Absolutely not," I replied, throwing a kunai past his head. He barely managed to duck. "Too much paperwork. Too many responsibilities. I'd rather be out here actually doing something."

Obito huffed. "That’s exactly why I need to be Hokage—so people like you don’t slack off!"

I smirked. "Big words for someone who overslept and almost missed training today."

"That was one time!"

Minato chuckled from the sidelines but said nothing, letting us continue our banter as we fought.

I observed Obito as we sparred. His punches were sharper, his movements faster—he had improved. He wasn’t the same clumsy, over-eager kid from before. He was getting stronger.

But… would it be enough?

I thought about him. About the man Obito was supposed to become. About Madara. About Black Zetsu. About the twisted, catastrophic plan lurking beneath the surface of history, just waiting for its pieces to fall into place.

What if I could stop it?

What if I could change things?

I had spent so much time just living here, reacting to what was in front of me, trying to survive. But this wasn’t just about survival. This was about preventing something.

And then, another thought hit me—one that sent a cold chill down my spine.

Rin.

Her kidnapping.

It was going to happen. Soon.

Maybe months. Maybe weeks. But it was coming.

And I had been so caught up in missions and training that I hadn’t even thought about how close we were to that moment.

Obito was still talking, probably about how great of a Hokage he’d be, but I wasn’t listening anymore. My mind was running through every possibility, every variable.

How could I stop it?

How could I change fate without making things worse?

I didn’t know.

But one thing was clear—time was running out.

I barely heard what Obito was saying anymore. His words faded into the background, drowned out by the whirlwind of thoughts in my head.

Rin is going to be kidnapped.

Not someday. Not years from now. Soon.

Maybe a few months. Maybe weeks.

The Hidden Mist. The Three-Tails. The trap.

And then, the moment that changed everything—Obito watching Rin die.

I exhaled slowly, steadying myself as I tightened my grip on my kunai. There was no point in panicking. I wasn’t the same person I was months ago. I wasn’t just a promising prodigy—I was strong.

Almost Hokage-level strong.

I wasn’t being arrogant. It was just a fact.

Minato-sensei had trained us relentlessly, pushing me further than I thought possible. My chakra reserves had grown, my reflexes were sharper, and my mastery of Seamless Sublimity meant my every move was near-perfect. My lightning techniques had evolved beyond anything a normal shinobi could dream of—Raikiri, Chidori, and soon… maybe even something more.

I could keep up with Minato in a fight. Not beat him, obviously—I wasn’t delusional—but I could push him.

I was faster than Obito. Stronger. My techniques were deadlier.

But even with all of that…

Would it be enough?

A kunai whizzed past my face, barely missing my cheek. I blinked, snapping back to reality just in time to see Obito charging at me, his fist glowing with chakra.

Right. I was still in a fight.

I sidestepped, twisting midair as I flipped over his attack, planting a foot on his back and launching myself toward Minato-sensei.

He was expecting me.

In an instant, he was gone, his form flickering like a mirage. Before I could react, a hand clamped down on my shoulder, and a flash of yellow filled my vision.

"Got you."

A split second later, I was slammed into the ground. Hard.

Dust flew everywhere. My back ached. My pride? Gone.

Minato-sensei crouched beside me, looking far too amused. "You hesitated," he pointed out.

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered, wincing.

Obito jogged over, hands on his hips. "For someone who loves lecturing me about focus, you sure seemed distracted, huh?"

I ignored him, my thoughts still tangled.

How could I stop Rin’s kidnapping? How could I stop the chain reaction that led to Obito’s downfall?

The problem wasn’t just knowing the future. It was changing it.

Minato-sensei studied me for a moment, his expression shifting from amusement to concern. "Kakashi," he said, his voice softer. "Something on your mind?"

I hesitated. I couldn't just say it.

"Yes, sensei, actually, I was thinking about how in a few weeks Rin is going to be kidnapped, used as a Jinchūriki, and then die in front of Obito, which will cause him to become one of the biggest war criminals in history."

Yeah. That wouldn’t go over well.

So instead, I just shook my head. "Just thinking about the war," I lied. "And what comes next."

Minato-sensei held my gaze for a moment longer, then gave a small nod. "I see."

Obito, of course, had zero idea anything was wrong. He threw an arm around my shoulder with a grin. "Come on, what’s with all the doom and gloom? I mean, yeah, the war sucked, but we made it through! We just gotta keep moving forward, right?"

I stared at him.

The irony was unbearable.

He was so full of life. So determined. So Obito.

And I knew—if I didn’t do something—this version of him would be gone forever.

So I nodded.

"Yeah," I said, forcing a small smile. "We just gotta keep moving forward."

For now.