Timely Arrival

While Uchiha Kei was lost in thought and preparing for battle, Kakashi was feeling unusually exhausted.

The strain of using the Sharingan, combined with the Chidori, had nearly drained Kakashi's chakra.

But at that moment, Kakashi had no chance to rest—in fact, he had no intention of resting.

His overwhelming guilt had plunged him into darkness, and his desire to die was growing without limit.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten his promise. To protect Nohara Rin, and for Uchiha Obito, who was "already dead," he had decided to fight to the bitter end.

Chakra gathered in his right hand, its piercing chirps spreading across the battlefield. His left hand gripped the kunai his teacher, Namikaze Minato, had given him, and a small amount of chakra flowed into it.

As his chakra reached its peak, the Iwa Ninja launched their attack. Kakashi, now in a state where he didn't care whether he lived or died, charged straight at them.

And just then, Uchiha Kei and the others reached the edge of the battlefield.

"What a brutal sight." Watching Kakashi fight as if he were determined to trade his life for an enemy's, Uchiha Kei couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Kakashi really was impressively fierce, and Lady Luck seemed to favor him, too. Though the Iwa Ninja managed to hit him, their attacks weren't fatal.

Kei also noticed that the Iwa Ninja didn't seem intent on killing Kakashi. More than anything, they wanted to capture him alive.

After all, Kakashi was a genius. There probably weren't many on the battlefield who hadn't heard of him, and capturing him alive would surely yield plenty of intelligence.

"What should we do now?" Hyuga Aya frowned as Kakashi killed one Iwa Ninja, only to be surrounded again. She asked in a low voice, "There are quite a few of them, and they're not weak. If they weren't trying to capture Kakashi alive, he'd probably be dead by now. Besides, I don't think they have much patience."

"Should we go cover Rin's retreat?" Imai Kenta asked. "Rin's in a dangerous position right now."

"You two go protect Nohara Rin," Uchiha Kei said after a moment's thought. "Don't let the enemy get close. I'll cover Kakashi."

"Are you really that confident that Minato Jonin will arrive in time?" Hyuga Aya couldn't help interjecting, but from Uchiha Kei's attitude, she knew there was no point asking.

There really was no point. Uchiha Kei had already moved without giving them a chance to say anything.

Hyuga Aya and Imai Kenta had no choice but to follow. All they could do now was pray that Namikaze Minato would make it to the battlefield. Otherwise, they'd be in real trouble.

Kakashi used a kunai to force an Iwa Ninja backward until he was against a large tree. Then he completely ignored the attacks behind him and thrust the Chidori in his right hand toward the man's chest, its piercing chirps ringing out.

Suddenly, a vicious look flashed across the man's face. He drew a kunai and lunged at Kakashi, ready to risk his life.

He was going to trade his life for Kakashi's!

But Kakashi remained calm—or rather, he didn't take the attack seriously at all.

With Obito's Sharingan helping him, his dynamic vision was astonishing, and his control had reached a new level.

In the midst of his charge, Kakashi abruptly changed direction and dodged the kunai. The Chidori, surging with powerful chakra, pierced straight through the man's chest as he stared in shock and terror. Blood and flesh flew in every direction. One strike, one kill!

But now Kakashi was surrounded. The Iwa Ninja behind him were closing in, and it was clear they still wanted to capture him alive.

What troubled Kakashi most was that his chakra was beginning to run low.

"Is it over?"

Kakashi sighed inwardly. He was so tired—exhausted to the point of collapse. He really wanted to stop.

But when he thought of Obito, and Rin still behind him, Kakashi could only force himself to keep going. His fight wasn't over yet, because he was still alive!

He yanked his right hand out of the man's chest and turned around. To his astonishment, a figure had suddenly appeared behind the enemies!

The figure was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, the kunai in his hand slashed across one man's throat. The movement was clean, simple, and effective.

Then, without hesitation, the figure threw his kunai, pinning another Iwa Ninja who was closing in on Kakashi.

A moment later, the figure landed in front of Kakashi. Seeing the emblem on the man's clothes, Kakashi couldn't help relaxing—but at the same time, his guilt only grew stronger.

"Are you all right?" Uchiha Kei glanced back at Kakashi. "Where's Minato Jonin?"

"He went to support the front lines." Kakashi sighed. "You should leave. I'll hold them off. Take Rin—take Rin somewhere safe."

"What about your mission?" Uchiha Kei frowned. "All right, my teammates have gone to support Rin. Get some rest. Once you've recovered your strength, we'll break through. We can't stay here any longer."

After saying this, Uchiha Kei didn't say another word to Kakashi. Actually, he wanted to say more, but he didn't have the chance.

After a brief moment of shock, the Iwa Ninja quickly regrouped and launched another attack.

Uchiha Kei took a deep breath. He had no idea how long he could hold them off—or, more precisely, how long Kakashi had held out in the Original work before Namikaze Minato arrived to rescue him.

But in enemy territory, a chance to keep someone safe was worth taking a risk for!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

With that, Uchiha Kei formed Hand Seals without hesitation and used a Fire Release Ninjutsu.

There were indeed a lot of enemies, but even if he couldn't beat them, he still had to fight. Whether he could win was a question of strength; whether he chose to fight was a question of attitude.

Uchiha Kei might usually have a problem with his attitude, but right now he was taking this seriously.

But the moment he made his move, Uchiha Kei regretted it. As it turned out, in a ninja battle, the one who struck first usually ended up at a disadvantage.

The Iwa Ninja hit by the Great Fireball Technique vanished in a puff of smoke.

A clone—or a Shadow Clone?

Uchiha Kei hadn't activated his Sharingan, but that didn't mean he was helpless.

At that moment, Uchiha Kei seemed to realize the situation was bad and was about to use the Substitution Technique. But a kunai had already pierced his back, and Uchiha Kei instantly crumbled into dust.

As a "battlefield survival expert," Uchiha Kei knew quite a few Ninjutsu, especially techniques for staying alive!

The next moment, Uchiha Kei's real body appeared behind his attacker and drove a kunai hard into the man's back, mirroring his earlier move almost exactly.

But something felt wrong as the kunai pierced the Iwa Ninja's body, and the other Iwa Ninja were closing in as well.

Faced with this situation, Uchiha Kei immediately used the Substitution Technique.