"Boom!"
Blue flames and a water dragon collided violently in the narrow alley. The heat that erupted instantly vaporized the rain, and a thick wall of white steam swallowed both sides' vision.
"Spread out! Don't bunch together!"
Uchiha Fugaku roared as he retreated in a flash.
However, their opponents were clearly more accustomed to this environment.
"Too slow."
The squad captain's voice came from all directions, cold and sinister.
Water Style: Mist Concealment Technique.
Chakra-made mist mingled with the steam, which had already obscured their vision.
Even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's field of view was severely restricted.
"Swish!"
A blade flashed through the mist without warning, aimed straight at Fugaku's throat.
Fugaku's battle instincts made him jerk his head aside, but the sharp Kunai still slashed his shoulder, drawing a string of blood droplets.
"Damn it."
Fugaku clutched his wound and leaned against the wall, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The six of them worked together too seamlessly.
Two used Water Release to suppress them, two used Lightning Release to paralyze and pin them down, and the remaining two carried out silent assassinations in the mist.
"Gah!"
A muffled groan came from the flank.
Namikaze Minato's figure flew out of the mist and slammed heavily into a trash can.
A charged Senbon was stuck in his left leg. The intense numbness had greatly diminished the speed he was so proud of.
"Minato!" Nishikawa Tetsu tried to rush to his aid, but two streaks of Lightning Light instantly cut off his path.
"Worry about yourself first!"
Two Rain ninja charged down the center, their long swords wrapped in Lightning Chakra as they crossed their blades toward Nishikawa Tetsu.
Gritting his teeth, Nishikawa Tetsu didn't try to block them. Instead, he threw a smoke bomb behind him and used the blast's recoil to barely dodge the attack. But the blade wind still tore open his shirt and left a gash across his chest.
In just one exchange, every member of Team Five had been injured.
That was the vast difference between an ordinary ninja squad and a personal guard unit led by an Elite Jonin.
"It's not just the difference in Chakra reserves. The environment is suppressing us, too."
Nishikawa Tetsu leaned beside Fugaku, panting as his mind raced. "Rainwater conducts electricity, expanding the range of their Lightning Release several times over. And in the mist, our vision is limited, so Minato can't take advantage of his speed."
"Enough talk. Do you have a plan?" Fugaku stared intently at the faint shadows in the mist, gripping his short sword until his knuckles turned white.
"The captain's a Lightning Release expert. He's been standing in the deepest puddle, using the water to conduct electricity and block our movements."
Nishikawa Tetsu pulled a coil of extremely fine copper wire from his Ninja Tool Pouch, his gaze turning fierce.
"If he likes playing with electricity, then let's give him all he can handle."
"Minato! Can you still move?" Nishikawa Tetsu called in a low voice.
"My leg's a little numb, but I can still manage one burst." Minato pulled the Senbon from his leg. Not a hint of retreat showed in his azure eyes.
"Good." Nishikawa Tetsu tossed one end of the copper wire to Minato and wrapped the other around one of his specially made Kunai.
"Fugaku, use Fire Release on the ground beneath that captain! You don't need to hit him. Just dry up the water for an instant!"
"Move!"
At Nishikawa Tetsu's command, all three sprang into action.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Ignoring his injuries, Uchiha Fugaku poured out his Chakra. Blue flames roared forth again, rushing toward the spot where the captain stood.
"Hmph. Foolish. The same trick won't work on me!"
The captain sneered and formed Hand Seals. "Water Style: Water Wall!"
A wall of water rose up and blocked the fireball.
"Now, Minato!" Nishikawa Tetsu shouted.
Namikaze Minato endured the searing pain in his leg, his body becoming a streak of golden lightning.
He didn't attack the captain. Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique to circle behind the two Rain ninja guarding the flank.
As he moved at full speed, the copper wire stretched into an invisible net and wound around the two Rain ninja's ankles.
The other end of the wire was in Nishikawa Tetsu's hand.
"Lightning Style: Earth Run!"
The captain launched his counterattack just then. Violent lightning raced through the puddles, spreading in every direction in an attempt to take out Fugaku and Nishikawa Tetsu.
But the instant the lightning surged forth—
Nishikawa Tetsu thrust the copper wire into the puddle at the captain's feet, while driving a "lightning rod" in his hand hard into the ground.
"Bzzzzzt—!!!"
The lightning, which had been spreading indiscriminately, suddenly surged along the copper wire as if drawn by a magnet. It bypassed Fugaku and Nishikawa Tetsu and poured straight into the two Rain ninja caught in the wire!
"AAAAAAH!"
The two Rain ninja never expected an attack to come from beneath them—or for it to be their own captain's Lightning Release.
The high-voltage current tore through their bodies. Before they could even scream, they were charred black and collapsed, foam spilling from their mouths.
"What?!"
The captain's pupils contracted.
Had that brat without any Chakra really "borrowed" the Lightning Release he was so proud of?
"Now!"
Namikaze Minato didn't let the fleeting opening go to waste.
The instant the two enemies fell, he darted back.
His Kunai sliced precisely across one man's throat.
"Splurt."
Blood sprayed.
At the same time, Uchiha Fugaku moved. Rather than go after the powerful captain, he lunged toward the other Rain ninja, who was still paralyzed by the electricity.
"Sharingan Genjutsu!"
The Rain ninja tried to fight back, but his movements froze as the scarlet eyes locked onto him.
The next instant, Fugaku's short sword pierced his heart.
"Two."
Fugaku pulled out his short sword and retreated to Nishikawa Tetsu's side, his expression still grave.
They had turned their opponent's Lightning Release against them and killed two enemies, but the situation remained dire.
Four enemies remained.
The captain in particular was still unharmed after their trick had cost him two subordinates. Now, a suffocating aura of killing intent radiated from him.
"Good... very good."
Looking down at the two bodies on the ground, the captain's voice twisted with madness beneath his mask.
"You managed to kill my men. Looks like you're not ordinary rats."
He slowly raised his long sword. Terrifying Chakra gathered along its blade, and the surrounding rainwater began to float from the static charge.
"But the game is over."
"Lightning Style: Lightning Fang!"
A bolt of lightning several times thicker than before came crashing down. It moved so fast that even Minato couldn't react in time.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Nishikawa Tetsu summoned every ounce of strength to raise an earthen wall, but against that raging bolt of lightning, it was torn apart like paper.
"Boom!"
The tremendous impact sent all three of them flying, slamming them hard into the wall at the end of the alley.
"Cough, cough..."
Nishikawa Tetsu spat out blood, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted.
The gap was too great.
The captain was slightly stronger than Kazama Sousuke had been, and his Lightning Release countered Earth Release. He was also nearly as fast as Minato.
"You're still alive?"
The captain approached step by step. The three surviving members of his unit had also sealed off every escape route.
"Finish them."
Before you continue