Cat and Mouse Game

At nine o'clock sharp, Namikaze Minato arrived fashionably late.

Master Minato scanned his surroundings, clapped his hands to summon his three students, and said, "No one is late, which pleases me greatly."

"Without further ado, I will be training you in teamwork over the next few days, as well as arranging specialized training plans tailored to your individual traits."

"Before that, I need to know what your strengths are, and you also need to have a certain understanding of your teammates' capabilities."

"Now, let us begin today's training exercise."

"Yosh!" Might Guy clenched his fists, his expression brimming with excitement.

When his father, Might Duy, learned last night that his son had become a student of the elite Jonin Namikaze Minato, he was so overjoyed that he cracked open two bottles of sake and performed a set of Drunken Fist on the spot.

Before leaving this morning, Might Duy had warned Might Guy: not everyone gets the chance to join an elite squad, and Lord Minato is a ninja of immense power.

He must train hard, perform well, and not bring shame upon Lord Minato.

Might Guy was already fired up; with training from an elite Jonin, wouldn't he just take off?

Uchiha Mai remained expressionless. The first training session after assembly would likely be a three-on-one against Namikaze Minato, most probably fighting his Shadow Clones.

Honestly, the odds of winning were slim.

A traditional ninja like Master Minato, with his extreme mobility, might not be great at fighting Tailed Beasts, but he was a master of ninja civil wars.

3v1, and against Shadow Clones at that—Uchiha Mai had no confidence in winning.

Master Minato pulled an alarm clock from his pocket, fiddled with it, placed it on a nearby rock, and turned to explain the rules to his three students.

"Today's training exercise is a team pursuit. Aside from the restriction that you cannot leave a 500-meter radius of this lake, there are no other limitations."

"Kakashi is a one-man team, playing the cat. Mai and Guy are a team, playing the mice."

"The goal for both teams is to obtain this alarm clock before it rings at 11 o'clock, under the condition that it must not be damaged."

"At 11 o'clock sharp, whichever team holds the clock when it rings wins. If the clock is damaged, both teams lose. Do you understand?"

It wasn't a fight against Master Minato's Shadow Clones?

It seemed Master Minato had great confidence in Kakashi's strength; even after seeing him defeat three Genin in a minute yesterday, he still believed that he and Might Guy combined were needed to contend with Kakashi.

"Understood! So as long as we can beat Kakashi, we win, right?" Might Guy scratched his head, not quite grasping the deeper meaning behind Master Minato's move.

It was just a fight; why make it so complicated?

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and gripped his short blade. This internal confrontation was not as simple as just fighting.

The alarm clock could be likened to a piece of intelligence or a protected target. When the clock was in the opponent's hands, it became a rescue mission.

For the side that secured the clock, it became a defensive battle.

"Minato-sensei, do we need a ten-second countdown?" Uchiha Mai asked.

"No need." Master Minato shook his head.

No sooner had he spoken than Uchiha Mai and Kakashi moved simultaneously, rushing toward the alarm clock on the rock. As he ran, Uchiha Mai pulled out several Shuriken and threw them at the clock, intending to destroy it.

What the hell!

Kakashi's eyelid twitched violently. He retracted his hand just as it reached for the clock, pulled the short blade from his waist, and struck out again, knocking away the Shuriken Uchiha Mai had thrown.

Does this guy not want to win at all?

Might Guy, a step slower in his reaction, realized the training had begun only when he saw the two move. He launched a flying kick toward Kakashi.

"A-dah!!"

Forget about grabbing the clock or protecting it; in Might Guy's eyes, it was just one word: Fight!

Kakashi wielded his short blade, executing Hatake Style Kenjutsu. Every strike aimed for Might Guy's vitals, and after a few exchanges, he had completely suppressed him.

All this time, Kakashi had only used Taijutsu to spar with Might Guy to hone his basic skills.

Over the past year, Might Guy had improved rapidly; in terms of pure Taijutsu, he was almost on par with Kakashi, often forcing him into difficult battles.

But one must not forget: at this stage, Kakashi's greatest strength was his swordsmanship, followed by his Taijutsu and Lightning Style.

After suppressing Might Guy, Kakashi took a moment to look back at the alarm clock. His pupils contracted—while he was being held up, Uchiha Mai had already taken the clock into his hands.

Was the exercise over?

No, it had only just begun. Getting the clock didn't mean winning; only by ensuring the clock was in his hands when it rang at 11 o'clock would he win.

But one thing was certain: whoever held the clock had the advantage.

Kakashi forced Might Guy back with a slash, performed a quick series of hand seals, and slammed his palm onto the ground. Chakra surged out, manifesting as several lightning snakes that slithered toward Uchiha Mai.

Lightning Style: Earth Flash!

The alarm clock was just an ordinary one; a heavy blow, water, or a circuit failure could easily destroy it.

Uchiha Mai held the clock and now held the advantage; he only needed to protect it until 11 o'clock to win.

Therefore, Kakashi was certain that Uchiha Mai would never accept the clock being damaged, which would result in a mutual loss.

"It won't be that easy to destroy the clock," Uchiha Mai chuckled, retreating rapidly with the clock in hand to dodge the Lightning Style: Earth Flash.

And that wasn't the end of his evasive maneuvers; Uchiha Mai actually turned around, accelerated once more, and vanished into the woods.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched. This guy had actually abandoned his teammate and bolted—did he really have to be so shameless?

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

At that moment, Might Guy, who had just been forced back, let out a roar and launched another flying kick toward Kakashi, completely unaware that he had been abandoned by his good brother.

Damn it!

Kakashi's eyes grew impatient. With Uchiha Mai having entered the woods, if he was determined to escape, he might very well drag this out until 11 o'clock, a situation that would be extremely disadvantageous for him.

He couldn't afford to drag this out any longer.

Chakra surged forth, manifesting as lightning-natured chakra that coated his other hand. With a blade in his left hand and a fist in his right, Kakashi subdued Might Guy in under ten moves and sat him down beneath his backside.

I got up, and now I'm down again.

It could only be said that at this stage, there was still a significant gap in strength between Might Guy and a Kakashi who had pulled out all the stops.

Might Guy looked indignant; how had he been taken down so quickly? Just as he tried to struggle, his wrist was pierced by Kakashi's blade and pinned to the ground.

Kakashi struck with his blade again, consecutively piercing Might Guy's other wrist as well as both of his ankles.

With his tendons and fasciae completely severed, Might Guy had entirely lost the ability to fight.

This was the intensity of training during Konoha's preparation for war; every move was aimed at crippling the opponent. If they were nearly dead, they'd just be tossed into Konoha Hospital, and a few days later, they'd be as good as new.

Sigh, having medical ninjas really makes one reckless.

Kakashi straddled Might Guy's waist, his short blade pressed against Might Guy's neck, his eyes scanning every blade of grass and tree in the vicinity, wary of a sudden sneak attack from Uchiha Mai.