It Seems Someone Else is Approaching!

"By the sound of your voices, you're not old. Has Konoha run out of people? Sending brats like you here? Are you here to die?" Biwa Juzo pulled the Executioner's Blade from his back and charged straight at Kakashi, swinging the massive sword down in a brutal slash!

He could tell that Kakashi was the captain of this Konoha Anbu squad, likely the strongest among them.

"You damn bastards, you want to reignite war just for your own selfish desires!" Kakashi's expression darkened as his left Sharingan eye slowly rotated, tracking Juzo's attack. He sidestepped in a flash.

With a boom, Juzo's strike cleaved the tree Kakashi had been standing on clean in two.

"Reignite war? Heh, war never stopped! And how many wars has Konoha started itself? Don't act so righteous!" Juzo snorted dismissively. Catching a glimpse of the Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye, he rolled his neck and looked at him. "A Sharingan? Are you from Konoha's Uchiha Clan? No, you only have one Sharingan eye. Are you Konoha's genius, Kakashi Hatake?"

"..." Kakashi said nothing, hurling a kunai at Juzo.

Juzo raised the Executioner's Blade, blocking the kunai, and sneered coldly at Kakashi. "Looks like I'm right. I've heard that the son of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, is a genius, but I never ran into him on the battlefield. Now that I have, let's see how much of your father's skill you've inherited!"

The White Fang's reputation was fearsome across the shinobi world, even more so than the Konoha Sannin. His Hatake Swordmanship had made the very name of the White Fang send tremors through anyone who heard it back then.

"Hmph!" Kakashi's eyes flickered at the mention of his father's name, but it only turned into a cold snort. He brandished his short blade and charged straight at Juzo.

Kakashi had inherited his father's Hatake Swordmanship, making him no slouch in close combat. With the insight of his Sharingan, he clashed with Juzo, who swung the Executioner's Blade!

The blades collided, and as their forms flashed, the sharp clang-clang-clang of dense metal rang out!

On the other side, Yei was locked in battle with the enemy Jonin, Kota. The two exchanged blows, entangled in a fierce struggle.

"Gentle Fist? From Konoha's Hyuga Clan?" Kota judged the taijutsu Yei was using as Gentle Fist the moment they clashed, quickly identifying his opponent's background.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Yei's eyes were focused as chakra surged in his palm. He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a powerful shockwave that tore through the air!

"Heh, your attack reminds me of the battlefield. I faced a Hyuga Clan member back then. Your Gentle Fist is strong, but its weakness is obvious—just don't let you get close..." Kota sneered. Now that he knew this Konoha Anbu was from the Hyuga Clan, he kept his distance, attacking Yei with tools and long-range jutsu.

He had encountered Hyuga members on the battlefield before and learned their weakness: their close-combat attacks were formidable, but their only long-range option was the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.

As long as he stayed far enough to prevent the Hyuga from leveraging their strengths, he could wear them down!

But he was clearly mistaken. Yei was different from other Hyuga members.

He didn't focus solely on Gentle Fist; he learned other jutsu too. And more importantly, he had a cheat!

"You know your stuff, but... don't underestimate any Konoha shinobi!" Yei just laughed, forming a single hand seal. He aimed his fingers at Kota and shouted, "Lightning Release: White Lightning!"

Crackle!

With Yei's low cry, a beam of lightning shot from his fingers like a spear, piercing the air at lightning speed toward Kota's chest!

"Huh? Lightning Release?" Kota was clearly startled, but his reaction was quick. He rapidly formed hand seals: "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Splash! Moisture in the air gathered around him, forming a shield of water in front of his body.

Being near the lake, the air was rich with water vapor, giving a water-release user a natural advantage!

They could freely draw on the moisture in the air to perform water jutsu!

But Kota clearly underestimated the power of Yei's attack. When the lightning beam collided with his Water Formation Wall, the Lightning Release Chakra within it suddenly surged!

Boom! The violent Lightning Release Chakra erupted into a terrifying explosion, blasting the Water Formation Wall into scattered spray. Kota inside was caught in the blast!

But the next moment, Kota's form dissolved into water and vanished—it was a Water Clone!

"Useless. None of your moves can escape my eyes!" Yei showed no surprise. In his vision, the enemy's actions were laid bare. While forming the Water Formation Wall, Kota had also used a Water Clone, hiding his real body elsewhere.

After using the Water Clone to leave his spot, Kota crouched behind a nearby large tree, beginning to form hand seals as chakra surged around him.

But Yei saw it all.

Watching Kota's hand movements, Yei smirked and rapidly formed his own seals: "Chidori!"

With the chirping sound of a thousand birds, lightning flickered across Yei's body. Lightning Release Chakra stimulated his cells, enhancing his physique and boosting all his abilities.

"Soru!" He tapped the ground several times with his feet, vanishing as if teleporting, shooting toward Kota's position at incredible speed!

Kota had already finished his jutsu. Seeing Yei charging in with lightning in hand and blinding speed, shock flashed across his face.

Why was this Hyuga Clan member not following the script?

Not only did he have a powerful long-range Lightning Release jutsu, but he also had this kind of assault technique?

And his speed was this fast, with a Lightning Release jutsu that sounded like a thousand birds—could it be Chidori?

But time was tight. He didn't hesitate, completing his seals and shouting, "Daring to get close to me? You're already in my jutsu's range! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

As his words fell, moisture in the air suddenly condensed into a fierce water dragon, roaring as it charged at Yei!

"Underestimating people can get you killed!" Yei glared coldly at the roaring water dragon, not dodging. He thrust his right hand, wreathed in Chidori, straight at the incoming dragon!

Boom! Yei's Chidori collided with the Water Dragon Bullet. In an instant, the water dragon was pierced clean through by the Chidori, sending water spraying everywhere!

Yei didn't slow down, charging straight at Kota!

His Chidori had been developed further, with Lightning Release Chakra more concentrated, the sound quieter, and almost no stray electricity leaking out—reminiscent of the Third Raikage's Hell Stab!

In other words, his Chidori was a further-developed version of the technique!

Its power could even rival Kakashi's S-rank Lightning Cutter!

Kakashi's Lightning Cutter was, at its core, a Chidori developed with stronger, more concentrated Lightning Release Chakra—essentially the same thing...

Just a difference in power...

Yei charged in with his Chidori. Under Kota's horrified gaze, Yei's right hand, wreathed in lightning, plunged into his chest and burst out through his back, blood spraying everywhere!

Kota opened his mouth, letting out a couple of "uh-uh" sounds before falling silent, his life extinguished!

Having effortlessly killed a Jonin, Yei pulled out his blood-soaked right hand, ignoring the dead man. He turned his gaze elsewhere, eyes narrowing slightly. "Looks like... someone else is approaching..."