Lost Control

The Iwa Ninja in front of Uchiha Kei shattered and turned into a cloud of smoke, clearly a Shadow Clone!

The Shadow Clone Ninjutsu was indeed a creation of Konoha's Second Hokage, but this Ninjutsu had long become a Common Item throughout the ninja world.

Perhaps some unlucky ninja collecting Intelligence was captured, and this Ninjutsu was discovered from their minds.

In any case, the current situation was that any ninja with some strength, regardless of their country of origin, basically knew this Ninjutsu invented by the Second Hokage.

After Uchiha Kei just used the Substitution Technique, his substitute was cut in half, turning into two sections of Branches.

This caused a drop of Cold Sweat to appear on Uchiha Kei's forehead. These guys were truly incredibly annoying.

Moreover, even though Uchiha Kei's reaction was fast enough, he still sustained a minor injury, with some blood oozing from his Left Shoulder.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Kei had no chance to bother with such a minor injury. The Jonin's attack, like a storm, had already left him exhausted, without even time to form hand seals to release Ninjutsu.

Uchiha Kei remembered that in the Manga, Rookie Genin fighting Jonin was like swatting flies, and some could even take down Boss Characters as powerful as Shadow-level ninjas in a frenzy.

Uchiha Kei, even without activating his Sharingan, possessed strength above that of a Chunin. Yet, he was being beaten to a pulp by a Nameless Iwa Ninja, and if he wasn't careful, he would be approached by other Iwa Ninja and die inexplicably.

Why was the gap in life's Encounters so vast?

Especially since Uchiha Kei dared not casually expose his Sharingan, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Without the Mangekyo, he had almost no ability for Self-Preservation. Uchiha Kei did not want to be tightly watched by Konoha. Unless he had the Mangekyo, Uchiha Kei might reveal the fact that he Possessed Sharingan.

He glanced back at Nohara Rin's situation, which made Uchiha Kei slightly relieved. Although Hyuga Aya and Imai Kenta were unreliable, they had done as Uchiha Kei asked.

Moreover, their appearance had also shared some of the pressure on Uchiha Kei, as many Iwa Ninja had already attacked them.

"Still somewhat useful!"

Uchiha Kei muttered to himself, then continued to focus his mind and entangle with the Iwa Ninja in front of him. The difficulty of this battle was somewhat beyond Uchiha Kei's imagination.

It wasn't that these guys were particularly powerful—in fact, they were quite strong—but facing the pincer attack of so many Iwa Ninja at once, Uchiha Kei couldn't handle it.

Without using the Sharingan, Uchiha Kei could only rely on basic combat methods to maneuver. Fortunately, Uchiha Kei knew that Namikaze Minato should be arriving soon, and his speed was fast enough.

At this moment, Kakashi also seemed to have recovered some stamina. With Uchiha Kei drawing aggro and covering him from being attacked by the Iwa Ninja, he gained a few Precious Minutes of rest.

Although it was useless for his Chakra recovery, it at least made his Breath much steadier.

Soon, this guy jumped up again and rejoined the battle, which also gave Uchiha Kei some breathing room. Facing so many Iwa Ninja at once was truly unbearable for him.

"We need to move faster, your condition isn't ideal," Uchiha Kei said softly to Kakashi as they had their backs against each other. "Don't get bogged down in a fight. Our Support is a few kilometers away. Break out, understand?"

"Mhm," Kakashi replied softly. "Which unit are you from, and why are you here?"

"We'll talk after this is over." Uchiha Kei scanned their surroundings. "To the right, Hyuga Aya is in that direction. We'll rendezvous with them, then break out."

"Okay," Kakashi said crisply.

Now was not the time for idle chatter. As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Uchiha Kei immediately charged out and engaged an Iwa Ninja.

Kakashi, however, was much slower. He already had many wounds, and while he had recovered slightly, it didn't mean he wasn't tired.

But Kakashi didn't seem to mind. Even with his body covered in injuries, he fought bravely. He even helped Uchiha Kei sneak attack and wound an Iwa Ninja, who was then finished off by Uchiha Kei slitting his throat.

It was a shame the Iwa Ninja's fighting will was so tenacious. Who knew if they had something like the "Will of Earth" or not.

Furthermore, Uchiha Kei keenly noticed that these Iwa Ninja seemed to have reached some sort of unspoken understanding. They were no longer holding back their attacks!

This made Uchiha Kei's situation even more miserable. But Kakashi was suffering even more. His limbs were growing heavier, and even his vision was starting to blur. As he lost blood, his strength plummeted. He had truly reached his limit.

"Damn it, these guys' defense is so tight."

Uchiha Kei cursed inwardly. Seeing an Iwa Ninja stealthily approaching Kakashi, a sudden idea struck him.

Dodging an Iwa Ninja's attack, Uchiha Kei immediately pulled out several smoke bombs from his pocket and quickly threw them towards Kakashi.

The smoke bombs exploded instantly near Kakashi. Uchiha Kei then used a Body Flicker Technique to dash into the smoke. Facing the Iwa Ninja who was launching a surprise attack on Kakashi, Uchiha Kei directly activated his Sharingan.

The Sharingan was undeniably useful. The Iwa Ninja, who was originally moving at extreme speed, now appeared as slow as an ant in Uchiha Kei's eyes.

With a slight sidestep, he casually pushed Kakashi. Both of them dodged the Iwa Ninja's fatal blow.

Seizing this opportunity, Uchiha Kei grabbed the Iwa Ninja's arm. At the same time, Uchiha Kei deactivated his Sharingan.

Kakashi was sent faceplanting by Uchiha Kei's push, but he quickly got back up. Although the smoke obscured his right eye's vision, it couldn't block the Sharingan.

He clearly saw Uchiha Kei, without anyone noticing, transform into the appearance of the Iwa Ninja and then kick him away!

At the same time, Uchiha Kei also took on the appearance of that Iwa Ninja and retreated towards the other two Iwa Ninja.

This maneuver completely stunned Kakashi. Could the Transformation Jutsu be used like this?

Uchiha Kei had no mood or time to explain. The guy Uchiha Kei had kicked away was completely unprepared for the Iwa Ninja behind him. With just a second of distraction, he was directly pierced through the heart by a kunai!

The unfortunate ninja reverted to his original appearance, his face full of shock. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but before he could, he died.

Uchiha Kei knew his time was limited. While the two Iwa Ninja who came to his aid were not paying attention, Uchiha Kei instantly pulled out two kunai and stabbed them into their chests!

There was no resistance, clearly they were completely unprepared.

It was a shame Uchiha Kei couldn't see their expressions. They must have been very shocked!

But before he could feel triumphant, Uchiha Kei's expression turned incredibly complex. A yellow blur suddenly appeared in front of him.

The kunai, accompanied by a whistling sound, slashed directly towards Uchiha Kei's throat!

"Damn it, I lost control!"