The Iwa Ninja in front of Uchiha Kei suddenly shattered into a cloud of smoke. It was clearly a Shadow Clone!
The Shadow Clone Jutsu had indeed been invented by the Second Hokage of Konoha, but it had long since become commonplace throughout the entire ninja world.
Perhaps some unlucky ninja who was gathering intelligence had been captured, and the jutsu was discovered from his memories.
In any case, the situation now was that any ninja with a bit of skill, regardless of which country they served, would know this jutsu invented by the Second Hokage.
Just after Uchiha Kei used the Substitution Technique, his substitute was cut in half and turned into two pieces of wood.
A bead of cold sweat appeared on Uchiha Kei's forehead. These guys were really an unbearable bunch.
Even though Uchiha Kei had reacted quickly enough, he still suffered a minor injury, and blood seeped from his left shoulder.
But Uchiha Kei had no chance to worry about a small wound like that. The Jonin's relentless attacks alone kept him scrambling for his life, leaving him no time to form Hand Seals and use Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Kei remembered that in the manga, the brats who were only Genin-level could beat Jonin as easily as swatting flies. Once they got fired up, they could even take down formidable Kage Level boss characters.
Uchiha Kei, who hadn't even activated his Sharingan, was stronger than a Chunin, yet he was getting thrashed by an unknown Iwa Ninja. One moment of carelessness, and another Iwa Ninja could get close and kill him before he even knew what had happened.
Why was the gap between people's fortunes in life so huge?
Especially since Uchiha Kei didn't dare reveal his Sharingan. It made him feel awful.
Without the Mangekyo, he had almost no way to protect himself. Uchiha Kei didn't want Konoha keeping a close eye on him. Maybe he'd reveal that he had a Sharingan once he obtained the Mangekyo.
He glanced over at Nohara Rin, and the sight made him breathe a little easier. Hyuga Aya and Imai Kenta might be unreliable, but they had followed Uchiha Kei's instructions.
Their arrival had also taken some of the pressure off Uchiha Kei, as quite a few Iwa Ninja had turned to attack them.
"At least they're of some use!"
Uchiha Kei muttered to himself, then focused again on fighting the Iwa Ninja around him. This battle was proving more difficult than he'd imagined.
It wasn't that these guys were especially powerful—though they were strong—but Uchiha Kei couldn't handle being surrounded by so many Iwa Ninja at once.
Without using his Sharingan, Uchiha Kei could only rely on basic combat techniques to keep them at bay. Fortunately, he knew Namikaze Minato should arrive soon, and he was fast enough to hold out.
By then, Kakashi seemed to have recovered some of his strength. With Uchiha Kei drawing the enemies' attention and keeping the Iwa Ninja off him, Kakashi had gained a precious few minutes to rest.
It hadn't done much for his Chakra, but at least his breathing had steadied.
Soon, he leaped back into the fight, giving Uchiha Kei a little room to catch his breath. He really couldn't take on so many Iwa Ninja at once.
"We need to move faster. You're in bad shape." Standing back-to-back, Uchiha Kei spoke quietly to Kakashi. "Don't get bogged down. Our reinforcements are a few kilometers away. We'll break through and meet them, understand?"
"Yeah," Kakashi replied softly. "Which unit are you with? Why are you here?"
"We'll talk after this is over." Uchiha Kei glanced around. "To the right. Hyuga Aya is over there. We'll meet up with them, then break through."
"Got it," Kakashi said crisply.
Now wasn't the time for talk. As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Uchiha Kei charged forward and engaged an Iwa Ninja.
Kakashi was considerably slower, though. He already had plenty of wounds, and even after catching his breath, he was still exhausted.
But Kakashi didn't seem to care. Even covered in wounds, he fought fiercely. He even helped Uchiha Kei sneak an attack on an Iwa Ninja and wound him, then Uchiha Kei slit the man's throat.
Unfortunately, the Iwa Ninja's will to fight was just as strong. Who knew if they had something like the "Will of Earth"?
Uchiha Kei also keenly noticed that the Iwa Ninja seemed to have reached some kind of understanding. They were no longer holding back!
That made things even more miserable for Uchiha Kei. Kakashi had it even worse. His limbs were growing heavier, and his vision was starting to blur. As he lost blood, his strength rapidly dwindled. He was probably at his limit.
"Damn it, these guys are guarding each other so closely."
Uchiha Kei cursed quietly. As he watched an Iwa Ninja quietly approach Kakashi, an idea suddenly came to him.
Dodging an Iwa Ninja's attack, Uchiha Kei immediately pulled several Smoke Bombs from his pocket and hurled them toward Kakashi.
The Smoke Bombs exploded around Kakashi. Uchiha Kei used the Body Flicker Technique to dash into the smoke, and when he faced the Iwa Ninja who had ambushed Kakashi, he activated his Sharingan.
There was no denying the Sharingan was incredibly useful. The Iwa Ninja, who had been moving extremely fast, seemed as slow as an ant to Uchiha Kei.
With a slight sidestep, he casually shoved Kakashi. In an instant, both of them dodged the Iwa Ninja's deadly attack.
Taking advantage of the opening, Uchiha Kei grabbed the Iwa Ninja's arm and deactivated his Sharingan at the same time.
Uchiha Kei shoved Kakashi into a faceplant, but he quickly got back up. The smoke obscured the vision of his right eye, but it couldn't block his Sharingan.
He clearly saw Uchiha Kei somehow transform the Iwa Ninja into his own likeness, then kick him away!
At the same time, Uchiha Kei transformed into the Iwa Ninja's likeness and took a step back toward the two Iwa Ninja.
The move left Kakashi completely dumbfounded. Could the Transformation Jutsu be used like that?
Uchiha Kei had neither the time nor the inclination to explain. The Iwa Ninja he'd kicked away hadn't noticed the Iwa Ninja behind him. A moment's distraction was all it took for a Kunai to pierce his heart!
The unlucky man returned to his original appearance, his face filled with shock. He tried to open his mouth and say something, but he died before he could utter a word.
Uchiha Kei knew he didn't have much time. While the two Iwa Ninja who had come to back him up weren't paying attention, he instantly pulled out two Kunai and plunged them into their chests!
They met no resistance at all. Clearly, the two hadn't been on guard either.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Kei couldn't see their expressions. They must have been shocked too!
But before he could even feel pleased, Uchiha Kei's expression changed dramatically as a yellow figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
The Kunai whistled through the air as it slashed straight toward Uchiha Kei's throat!
"Damn it, I've lost control!"
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