The Unlucky Guy

"Kakashi's already made his move, but he was spotted almost immediately."

In the forest some distance from Kakashi, Hyuga Ayama carefully watched the situation.

At the same time, she did her best to recover her chakra. Even Ration Pills had side effects when used to restore chakra.

Although Ration Pills didn't restore much, and their side effects were relatively mild, everyone knew that small amounts added up.

Use a little each time, and given enough time, it could still accumulate. Eventually, those side effects would become apparent.

Uchiha Kei and Imai Kenta were doing the same. Since they had time to recover their chakra, they naturally wouldn't rely too heavily on medicine.

Of course, when things were so desperate that they might not even survive, they wouldn't care about side effects.

Uchiha Kei opened his eyes slightly. He had the Sharingan, but when it came to observing things at a distance, he could never compare with those Byakugan users.

"How's the situation?" Uchiha Kei paused to think, then asked, "Have you figured out how they're sending messages?"

"Summoning Technique," Hyuga Ayama answered promptly. "They're relying on the Summoning Technique to pass along information. I think we'll be discovered on the other side soon, too."

"Our plan worked, Captain." Imai Kenta grinned and rubbed his head. "Since Kakashi's surrounded by Iwa Ninja, how about we head over there ourselves?"

"No! That—" As soon as Imai Kenta finished speaking, Nohara Rin couldn't hold back. But Hyuga Ayama quickly interrupted her. "It's definitely worth considering. Hatake Jonin already made peace with this possibility, didn't he?"

"But... but he's our comrade!"

"Don't forget what kind of mission we're carrying out, Chunin Nohara. Do you want Kakashi to watch you go down the same path his father once did?"

Watching the two women argue, Uchiha Kei grew irritated. Hyuga Ayama's suggestion was excellent, but did they really think the enemy was stupid?

There might only be four people guarding this area, but charging straight at them would inevitably cause trouble.

Still, Uchiha Kei couldn't bring himself to give up without trying. As Hyuga Ayama had said, this mission really was important.

If Kakashi could hold everyone off and they managed to get through by sheer luck, then everything would be easy.

But as he considered it, Hyuga Ayama suddenly fell silent. Her face looked pale and troubled.

Nohara Rin and Imai Kenta soon looked the same. Uchiha Kei didn't feel anything himself, but he had a good idea what had happened.

Sure enough, information soon appeared in Uchiha Kei's mind. One of their clone squads had failed. Uchiha Kei had dispelled his own clone, while everyone else's had been "killed."

"Looks like we can't hesitate any longer." Uchiha Kei sighed. "How's Kakashi doing?"

"Hmph. He's almost done for." Hyuga Ayama snorted. "While we were arguing! What's with this guy? Why has he used up so much chakra? Even with Shadow Clones, it shouldn't be that bad!"

"Enough. Looks like we have no choice." Uchiha Kei spoke bluntly. He wasn't about to tell Hyuga Ayama it was because of the Sharingan. "Move quickly. We'll help Kakashi, then break through before the others can get here."

"Damn it!" Hyuga Ayama cursed under her breath, but she had no choice either.

Uchiha Kei ignored Hyuga Ayama's complaints. Imai Kenta stayed quiet; he probably knew that if they didn't go, his own comrades might take him out.

Uchiha Kei took a deep breath and charged out. Hyuga Ayama and Imai Kenta had no choice but to follow him.

Nohara Rin came last. As a Medical Ninja, she knew exactly where she belonged. The four of them dashed forward, covering the few hundred meters in an instant.

Uchiha Kei had already activated his Sharingan as he ran. At that moment, it seemed as though everything had slowed down.

It was an indescribable feeling. Uchiha Kei had experienced it before, but his worries had kept him from using it openly.

But with Namikaze Minato's "help," Uchiha Kei had already gotten what he wanted. He wasn't going to keep making things hard for himself.

The Iwa Ninja immediately noticed Uchiha Kei and the others charging in. Through the Sharingan, Uchiha Kei could clearly see the shock on their faces!

But Uchiha Kei wasn't going to give them time to react. When they were only a few dozen meters away, the chakra inside him erupted.

Uchiha Kei held a Kunai in one hand and raised the index and middle fingers of the other. In the next instant, he vanished. When he appeared again, he was right in front of an Iwa Ninja!

"So fast!"

The Iwa Ninja had already been startled by Uchiha Kei and the others' sudden arrival. Now Uchiha Kei's sudden burst of speed made his face turn deathly pale.

The other Iwa Ninja quickly recovered from their brief shock, but by then, it was too late for them to help.

The Iwa Ninja Uchiha Kei had targeted suddenly wore a crazed look. He charged straight into Uchiha Kei's Kunai!

But Uchiha Kei had seen through his trick long ago. Under the gaze of the Sharingan, every move the man made was plain to him.

Uchiha Kei turned slightly and thrust the Kunai into the air, completely ignoring the enemy directly in front of him.

As soon as he thrust the Kunai forward, Uchiha Kei used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his spot. Kakashi seized the opportunity to retreat and quickly ran to Uchiha Kei's side.

"Why... why did you come?" Kakashi asked weakly. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, we found a few things." Uchiha Kei looked at the Kunai stuck in midair, blood steadily spilling from it, and took a deep breath. "Don't waste time talking. You've got Ration Pills, so take one and recover your chakra. We need to finish this quickly."

As he spoke, a figure appeared behind the Kunai hanging in midair. It was the Iwa Ninja who had used Secret Technique: Camouflage.

The Iwa Ninja who used techniques like this really were unlucky. This secret technique could be incredibly effective on any battlefield, but he happened to run into Kakashi and Uchiha Kei.

And he wasn't the only one. Another Iwa Ninja named Oishi had also been taken out by Uchiha Obito, who had the Sharingan.

Just then, Hyuga Ayama and Imai Kenta caught up with them.

Uchiha Kei looked at the three Iwa Ninja before him, their expressions grave, and took a deep breath. "Chunin Nohara, look after Kakashi. Aya-kun, Kenta-kun, let's take them down."