A perfect operation!

(Please recommend and bookmark!)

"Teacher Inoichi, the enemy's internal organs are badly damaged, and he's lost too much blood. I'm afraid he won't last much longer." Shizune did everything she could to keep Gari alive, at least preventing him from drawing his last breath so soon. But his injuries were ultimately too severe for her to sustain him.

"I see. Understood..." Inoichi stopped regulating his own Chakra. His face was still somewhat pale. "Then there's no helping it. Let's start extracting the information now."

"But Teacher Inoichi, your injuries haven't..." Seeing that Inoichi was injured yet had no choice but to push himself, Shizune felt a jolt and silently made up her mind: she had to master Medical Ninjutsu!

There was no time to lose. Inoichi had to steal the information from Gari's brain before he died.

The Stone Ninja's military operation this time was truly baffling. Why had they chosen to attack a small civilian village? Was this really nothing more than a provocation aimed at Konoha? Inoichi had to get to the bottom of the truth. That was also his duty as a ninja of Konoha's Intelligence Division!

Inoichi formed several special hand seals and first used a secret technique of the Yamanaka Clan to forcibly stimulate his exhausted spiritual energy. Although doing so would harm him to some extent, he had no other choice if he wanted the information Gari possessed.

He pressed his palm against the top of Gari's head and channeled all the spiritual energy in his body through it!

"Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique!"

Inoichi invaded Gari's mental world.

"Hm?! This is..."

A vast expanse of white stretched before him. He could see nothing.

Inoichi formed a seal with one hand and intensified the invasion of spiritual energy!

Passing through the boundless white void, Inoichi arrived before a gate. It was tightly shut, its surface covered in densely packed Sealing Jutsu formulas.

"A defensive barrier to prevent an enemy from invading his mind?" Inoichi frowned deeply. This kind of barrier caused a certain degree of harm to the person on whom it was placed, so it was generally reserved for spy ninja in high-risk positions. Gari was the captain of the Stone Ninja's famous Explosion Corps, clearly not a spy ninja lying low in secret. Why would there be such a defensive barrier in his brain?

Considering the Stone Ninja's bizarre surprise attack on a civilian village, Inoichi had a faint feeling that a greater conspiracy must be concealed within.

Inoichi continued squeezing out what little Chakra he had left, converting it all into spiritual energy and forcibly assaulting the mental defense barrier in Gari's brain.

Thud! Exhausted, Kakashi dropped to one knee. He was so spent that he could no longer lift his blade.

"Hmph! Out of Chakra? What a boring ending. Still, for someone so young to push me this far, you've earned the right to be proud, Konoha Ninja!" The Stone Ninja drew a Kunai and walked slowly toward the immobilized Kakashi.

"Kakashi! Thud!" Obito tried to help, but with both legs broken, he fell to his knees after only a couple of steps. "Rin, sorry for the trouble, but please heal my legs enough for me to move!"

Rin formed hand seals, but the conspicuous pale green Chakra of Yang Release in her palms had grown so faint that it gradually disappeared. Her face turned pale, and she panted heavily. "Sorry, Obito... my Chakra is already..."

The Stone Ninja glanced at them and said disdainfully, "Genin should just lie down and stay out of the way!"

"You!" Obito glared at him in anger, but unable even to stand, he was helpless and really could only lie there.

Kakashi was also gasping for breath, but there was no trace of despair in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he actually forced himself back to his feet.

The Stone Ninja frowned slightly at the sight and said coldly, "This has dragged on a little too long.

The next strike will finish you!" Whoosh! Gripping his Kunai tightly, the Stone Ninja charged straight at Kakashi.

Kakashi stood there without moving an inch—or perhaps he no longer had the strength to move?

"Finally accepted your fate?" The Stone Ninja thrust his Kunai mercilessly toward Kakashi's heart.

But just then, a cold glint was faintly reflected in Kakashi's dead-fish eyes. At the same time, a barely perceptible, steely look appeared on the Stone Ninja's face!

"Whoosh!"

With an almost inaudible whisper through the air, a black sword flew toward the Stone Ninja's back under cover of moonlight!

"So that's what's kept you calm all this time?" The Stone Ninja sneered, then turned and reached out with his bare hand to grab the sword flying at him from behind.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Boom!

A tremendous blast wave erupted from his palm, sending the flying sword hurtling away!

"You rat, hiding in the shadows. Did you really think I hadn't noticed you?" the Stone Ninja said with a cold smile.

"Yes. That's exactly what I thought." Shunren's voice came slowly from behind the Stone Ninja, making his pupils contract.

"What?!" He spun around and was startled to discover that Kakashi had somehow turned into a red-haired young man holding a white sword in his right hand!

The keen blade slashed down at the Stone Ninja's head-

Miss!

The Stone Ninja used his agility to narrowly evade the red-haired young man's attack at the last possible instant.

With a chop of his hand, the Stone Ninja broke the red-haired young man's arm, causing Kanshou to fall. Then he sent him flying with a powerful kick.

"The thrown sword was a feint, and you used Genjutsu to conceal yourself while sneaking around behind me?" The Stone Ninja shook his head and said mildly, "A nice idea, but still too naive... Hm?!"

No sooner had he spoken than the Stone Ninja suddenly noticed the red-haired young man he had sent flying blur and take on Kakashi's appearance. Kanshou, lying at his feet, also turned into Kakashi's White Fang blade.

"Cough, cough..." Blood spilled from Kakashi's mouth as he murmured weakly, "The rest is up to you, Shunren..."

Puchi! A white blade pierced the Stone Ninja's body, protruding from his chest!

Shunren's figure slowly appeared behind the Stone Ninja. "The plan to lure him in went very smoothly, Kakashi Hatake."

"How on earth did you..." The Stone Ninja's eyes widened almost to the point of splitting. He knew he had been tricked by Genjutsu, but he could not understand how Kakashi, who had remained silent the whole time and had not even exchanged a glance with anyone, had communicated with the others, much less discussed such an elaborate battle plan.

Retracing the course of events, after Shunren arrived on the battlefield, he had not acted rashly. Instead, he had used the Mind Transmission Technique to formulate a battle plan with Kakashi. First, he diverted the enemy's attention by throwing a sword at him from behind. Then he used the Mirage Technique on Kakashi, making him look like "Shirou Emiya." The Stone Ninja mistakenly believed that the Konoha Ninja who had come as backup had circled behind him to attack. After dodging the attack, he easily sent him flying. He had never imagined that the one he sent flying was none other than Kakashi!

Finally, Shunren himself appeared and delivered a fatal blow to the unguarded Stone Ninja!

"Damn it... do you think this is enough to kill me?" The Stone Ninja had been stabbed in a vital spot and grievously wounded, but he forced himself to endure on sheer will, reaching out to grip Shunren's sword and stop him from pulling it free.

Seeing that he could not pull it out, Shunren decisively abandoned the sword and flicked Kakashi's fallen White Fang blade up with his toe.

As though he had reached a moment of life or death, the Stone Ninja unleashed unprecedented potential, concentrating all his Chakra in his right hand as he prepared to throw a punch-

"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Technique!" Kurenai, who had been lying in wait for a long time, made no move until she struck, and when she did, she locked down her opponent's movements-for 1.5 seconds.

The Stone Ninja's all-out punch stopped less than a centimeter from Shunren's forehead, yet that single centimeter became an impassable chasm!

The White Fang blade flashed.

Shunren raised the blade and brought it down, severing the Stone Ninja's head!