Demon Leech's pupils contracted, and a deep wariness rose in his heart. "Leaf brats."
That white-haired brat was the son of the Hidden Leaf's White Fang, the young genius Kakashi—the youngest jonin recognized in the shinobi world.
The other brat wore goggles. His unique way of controlling shuriken could only mean he belonged to the Uchiha Clan, the clan with the Sharingan.
As for the girl... Though she hadn't joined the fighting, she'd kept pace with the other two through such a fierce battle without becoming a burden. That alone spoke volumes about her abilities!
Kakashi aimed his short blade at Demon Leech, his killing intent unmistakable.
"Heh... Stop putting on a show. You're all out of chakra by now, aren't you?" Demon Leech said with absolute certainty. After the fierce battle, Minato's team had exhausted their chakra.
Their bodies and minds wouldn't let them squeeze out any more chakra to perform another technique—
Not even one as basic as the Three Basic Techniques.
The remaining Rock Ninja also began closing in.
There weren't many "remaining" foes, though—only thirteen. Most of the Rock Ninja had already died here, their bodies strewn throughout the maze.
"Then do you think I still have chakra?" Nohara Rin pressed her hands together and formed the Snake seal with practiced composure, though a little awkwardly. She followed it with Ram, then Monkey... The Rock Ninja, who had been moving in to surround them, instinctively stopped.
Nohara Rin called out, "Kakashi! Obito!" The two turned and charged in the opposite direction.
Demon Leech cursed, "Damn it!" He quickly formed hand seals and slapped the ground. A wall of rock rose before the three, blocking their way.
They had no choice but to turn back. Kakashi said to Nohara Rin and Obito, "We were going to leave one person behind to cover our retreat while the other two went to blow up the bridge. But it looks like that won't be necessary—we can take them all out, then blow up the bridge."
He clearly didn't have any chakra left, yet he spoke with complete confidence. And those words were meant for Demon Leech and the Rock Ninja.
What he meant was that with that Earth Style technique, Demon Leech and the Rock Ninja had put themselves at a disadvantage.
Kakashi asked again, "Rock Ninja jonin, how much chakra do you have left?" His question made the Rock Ninja hesitate.
Demon Leech knew how to fight with words and manipulate his opponents psychologically. Kakashi did too—and he was even better at it.
Meanwhile, sharp-minded Nohara Rin had just pulled off a masterful bluff against the Rock Ninja. She had already stopped forming hand seals.
Hikaru emerged from underground and stood on the other side. "You don't know Fire Style, do you?" he asked, then answered himself. "Everyone knows that in the Hidden Leaf, apart from the Three Basic Techniques, only a handful of elites chosen by their teachers get the chance to learn the techniques those teachers know...
"Everyone else is stuck with the Three Basic Techniques for life. And where would you have found the opportunity to learn Fire Style? The Hidden Leaf, huh? Hah...
"You think your village is like our Rock Ninja? If you can learn, you can learn everything we have. Want to study techniques? You'll get support." He had the Hidden Leaf figured out, and what he said was true. Everyone present—including Kakashi, Obito, and Nohara Rin—had to admit it.
In the Hidden Leaf, getting access to ninjutsu was difficult.
His words gave the Rock Ninja confidence too.
"Damn it, we were fooled!" The Rock Ninja closed in again, furious. Hikaru and Demon Leech moved among them, shifting their positions with every step. Then, in an instant, both men vanished.
"Careful!" The three lightly touched one another's arms, warning each other to stay alert.
It was the Rock Ninja Village's secret technique: Camouflage Invisibility Technique.
"Clang!"
Kakashi focused on the subtle sounds and currents of air, listening and feeling for anything out of place. He suddenly raised his blade to block an attack, then his expression changed. He thrust an arm in front of Nohara Rin. A kunai plunged into his arm with a wet thud.
"Kakashi!" Nohara Rin hurriedly stabbed with her kunai. She didn't have Kakashi's ability to pinpoint enemies by sound, so she could only take a guess.
She stabbed empty air.
"Kakashi!" Obito shouted too. A hail of shuriken flew toward the three of them. He threw his own shuriken, knocking each one out of the air.
"I'm fine!" Kakashi's reply was as clipped as the blade in his hand. The kunai in his arm tugged with his movements, leaving a burning itch, but the pain wasn't too bad.
"Damn bonds," Hikaru taunted. "I've found your weakness." He attacked again, this time with Demon Leech joining in. The two of them targeted Nohara Rin. Kakashi and Obito reacted quickly and stopped the attack, but not without paying a price.
A heavy blow landed on Obito's shoulder, leaving him with only one usable arm. Another cut appeared on Kakashi's arm.
"Forget about me!" Nohara Rin cried. "You two, get out of here!"
"Okay."
Kakashi turned and made a break for the ordinary Rock Ninja, actually abandoning Nohara Rin.
"Kakashi, you jerk!" Obito shouted furiously.
Suddenly, Kakashi used the Substitution Technique to double back. The substitute had been Nohara Rin. He'd switched her into the spot where he'd just stood, while he himself now occupied her former position. His short White Fang blade swept upward with ruthless precision.
"Pfft!"
With a single stroke, Kakashi's blade pierced Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru grinned viciously and swung his blade down. "Pfft!"
"Ka-Kakashi..." When Obito saw Hikaru raise his blade, he froze, his pupils quivering wildly. Move! Come on, move, you idiot! Move...! He tried to move, but found that he couldn't.
Obito didn't realize that his eyes had changed. His originally dark-brown irises had turned red, and two comma-shaped tomoe revolved around his pupils.
It wasn't that he couldn't move. Everything he saw had slowed down.
With a slow, strained movement, he grabbed Kakashi's clothes and pulled him back.
But the blade still fell, slashing across Kakashi's left eye. It cut open his eyelid and pierced the eyeball.
Only then did Obito realize, I... I awakened my Sharingan? His scarlet eyes turned toward the disturbances in the wind.
Before, he hadn't been able to see them. Now, with his two-tomoe Sharingan, he could.
He reached into his ninja tool pouch, then slipped a stack of kunai over his fingers. Clenching his fist, he looked as though he were wearing a set of vicious knuckle blades.
"I'm going to kill you!"
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