What a Drag

"Found you."

Kakashi's mouth curled slightly beneath his mask as he gripped his short blade and charged into the woods, following the ninja hound Pakkun.

Though Pakkun lacked combat prowess, his stamina and sense of smell were exceptional. His tracking ability was top-tier, making him one of a ninja's best partners.

Just as he entered the forest, before he could continue tracking Uchiha Mai, Kakashi sensed a wave of heat. He looked up to see a Great Fireball over a meter in diameter hurtling toward him.

This Uchiha Mai was no weakling.

From this single Great Fireball, Kakashi could roughly gauge Mai's strength.

The Uchiha clan excelled in Fire Style, but even among them, an eight-year-old capable of spitting a Great Fireball over a meter wide was a rare prodigy.

Yet, "no weakling" was all he was. A ninja who relied solely on rigid ninjutsu could never be considered a true powerhouse.

Kakashi slammed his feet into the ground to halt his momentum, then leaped away with the agility of a nimble leopard cat, narrowly evading Uchiha Mai's ambush.

Even Pakkun, who had charged into the woods ahead of him, rolled across the ground to dodge the Great Fireball.

The merciless flames swept past Kakashi, slamming into the earth and igniting weeds and fallen leaves, filling the air with the sharp scent of sulfur.

Starting a forest fire is a one-way ticket to prison.

Kakashi looked up in the direction the fireball had come from. His target, Uchiha Mai, stood atop a giant tree, looking down at him with an air of disdain.

"You're too impatient."

Kakashi's eyes showed contempt as he mocked, "The power of the Great Fireball is indeed second to none among all C-rank ninjutsu."

"But the flaw in this technique is fatal: its slow flight speed makes it easy for an opponent to dodge, posing no threat to a true master."

"Furthermore, because the flight trajectory is fixed, using this technique only serves to expose the attacker's position."

"If it were me, I would never use a technique that consumes so much chakra unless I had confirmed the enemy was severely injured and their mobility was greatly reduced."

You, the white-haired guy who spent two episodes chatting while holding a Raikiri and whose Earth Style Wall always gets its head smashed in, have no right to lecture me!

Setting that aside, the Uchiha clan's chakra reserves were indeed higher than those of average ninjas. Chakra is a fusion of spiritual and physical energy, and the Uchiha's spiritual energy was particularly potent.

Hatake... essentially had no advantage in chakra volume compared to the average ninja.

Uchiha Mai smiled slightly. Instead of turning and running as he had before, he looked down and sneered, "And so what?"

"The distance between us is about 20 meters. This is a chasm you will never be able to cross, no matter how hard you try."

"Kakashi, can you break through the Uchiha clan's world-renowned Fire Style and the web of shuriken I've woven to reach me?"

Outside the forest, Namikaze Minato, who was observing the movement within, wore a strange expression. The Uchiha's Fire Style and shuriken techniques were indeed formidable, but when had Mai ever practiced these things?

He was bluffing.

Uchiha Mai was exploiting the common perception of the Uchiha to lull Kakashi into a false sense of security, causing him to ignore the threat of Mai's taijutsu so he could launch a surprise, lethal strike.

How despicable.

Kakashi fell for the trap. He took a step forward, short blade in hand, and said dismissively, "Easily."

Throughout the ninja world, no true master had ever made a name for themselves through shuriken throwing; that sort of thing was only good for bullying students who had just graduated.

Uchiha Mai reached back and pulled out four Shuriken. With a flick of his wrist, he threw them using a peculiar technique, sending them flying toward Kakashi in trajectories that were difficult to predict.

Kakashi's eyes were cold. Ignoring the incoming Shuriken, he charged toward Uchiha Mai with his blade drawn.

As the four Shuriken reached him, he raised his hand in a measured, leisurely motion, batting them away with his short blade as if taking a stroll.

People are destined for heaven, and Shuriken are destined to be thrown at enemies.

Kakashi had practiced Hatake Style Kenjutsu for years and was also proficient in Lightning Style, allowing him to use lightning-attribute chakra to further stimulate his cells and achieve a faster strike speed than the average ninja.

Mere shuriken throwing was not enough to impress him.

No matter how flashy they flew, as long as you swatted them down when they were about to hit, it was simple enough for anyone with hands, wasn't it?

Uchiha Mai remained calm. He bent his knees, pushed off, and leaped to another tree behind him. He pulled out another handful of Shuriken and Kunai, throwing them at Kakashi in a flashy display, playing the part of a typical Uchiha.

Don't ask where he pulled all those ninja tools from; the answer is they were all hidden under his cloak and in his pockets. After all, for a man, pulling an electric scooter out of his pants pocket wouldn't be that strange.

"That's all the tricks you have?"

Kakashi continued his charge, clanging and clattering as he knocked away all the incoming tools. For the ones he couldn't deflect, he twisted his body to avoid his vitals.

Uchiha Mai ran, and Kakashi pursued. After a few minutes of this back-and-forth, the distance between them slowly closed.

While running, Uchiha Mai was calculating the frequency of his throws. As time went on, he threw fewer and fewer, creating the illusion that he was at his wit's end and his resources were exhausted.

And that was, in fact, the truth.

His parents had both been Jonin, and the inheritance they left behind—aside from property, ninjutsu scrolls, and some wealth—consisted of a large number of high-quality ninja tools.

High-quality tools could save one's life at a critical moment, and ninjas were particularly extravagant in this regard. It was just like a fisherman: no matter how many times they came back empty-handed, they would always want to buy better gear whenever they had the money.

"Clang."

Kakashi knocked away the final Shuriken, stepped right in front of Uchiha Mai, and swung his short blade toward Mai's neck.

At the same time, he said, "You have nowhere left to run."

It was the same neck-slashing move he had used earlier; he hadn't gone through with it against Might Guy, but now he swung with such decisiveness. This was a matter of whether or not the sparring opponent still had the capacity to act.

Just like now, Uchiha Mai still had the ability to move, and Kakashi reckoned that Uchiha Mai would dodge, so this strike would at best leave him severely wounded.

If Mai were scared stiff and failed to dodge, Kakashi would not be punished even if he didn't pull his blade and killed him on the spot.

But Might Guy had already lost the ability to resist; if Kakashi were to strike him down, he would certainly face severe punishment from the village.

A brilliant flash of the blade swept past, and Uchiha Mai could even see the reflection of his own blood-red eyes in the passing edge.

"That's not necessarily true."

Sore wa dou kana!

At the critical moment, Uchiha Mai activated his One Tomoe Sharingan, capturing the weakest point of force in Kakashi's strike.

He gripped his Kunai tightly in his left hand and swiped it rapidly, meeting the descending short blade.

"Clang!"

The sound of weapons colliding rang out as the Kunai scraped against the edge of the short blade, throwing off a trail of brilliant sparks. The recoil traveled to Kakashi, leaving his wrist numb.

Kakashi was shocked. How could this Uchiha Mai's attack speed be barely slower than his own?

He had practiced the Hatake Style Kenjutsu for many years and had been a loyal fan of Icha Icha Paradise since it was first published over a year ago.

Only through this had he trained a hand speed that surpassed all his peers.

My father finished his business trip, but because of the pandemic, passenger transport has been suspended. I have to drive to the neighboring KF City to pick him up, so there is only one chapter today...