"This is... Chidori!"
The moment Uchiha Kei heard that voice, he immediately figured out what was going on. He didn't think Kakashi had recovered his chakra yet, but if Kakashi could fight, then that was all the better.
In a three-on-three situation, Uchiha Kei and the others really shouldn't have chosen to fight one-on-one.
Their best option would have been to team up and take one opponent down by force, then figure out how to deal with the other two.
Unfortunately, the three of them didn't seem to trust one another at all. As a result, they'd rarely fought in pairs, and no matter how strong their opponents were, they'd rather each fight their own battle.
At that moment, all three of them looked battered and exhausted, yet none of them had any intention of helping the others.
No wonder Konoha would later instill the concept of teamwork in Genin from the moment they were selected. Perhaps they'd been forced to do so because of people like Uchiha Kei.
But that had nothing to do with Uchiha Kei. He, Hyuga Aya, and Imai Kenta didn't trust one another, but they had no choice but to work together.
If they'd had a choice, none of them would have wanted to take this mission. And if they absolutely had to, they'd have much rather teamed up with some "sweet, harmless" types.
With no teamwork, all they could do was fight separately. But Uchiha Kei seemed to be luckier than the others, because Kakashi had come to his rescue!
As soon as Uchiha Kei landed, Kakashi charged at Kitsuchi and thrust a Chidori toward his chest.
Kitsuchi's attack was indeed disrupted, but the man reacted incredibly quickly, raising an Earth Wall in front of himself to block the Chidori.
Uchiha Kei breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to do something when he saw Kakashi pull back his right hand, leap into the air, and attack Kitsuchi again!
Uchiha Kei stared, dumbfounded. Had this guy come to help or just make things worse?
Kakashi's sudden appearance had disrupted Kitsuchi's attack, but his reckless assault had thrown Uchiha Kei's own attack off, too!
There was no denying that a complete lack of coordination could be deadly. Or perhaps Kakashi was simply used to having others coordinate with him.
With no other choice, Uchiha Kei tried to coordinate with Kakashi, but it was a difficult task. He wasn't Uchiha Obito, after all.
"What a reckless guy."
There was nothing for it. Uchiha Kei could only try to keep up. Chidori was an incredibly unusual and fearsome Ninjutsu, with astonishing penetrating power and explosive force!
But the technique had one fatal flaw: it needed room to build up speed, as well as exceptional dynamic vision while moving at high speed.
Thanks to Uchiha Obito's sacrifice, the issue of dynamic vision had been resolved. In fact, the technique might as well have been invented for the Uchiha Clan.
But the other problem wasn't so easily solved: the technique needed room to build up speed.
Chidori might have been effective against Earth Style, but Kitsuchi was no ordinary opponent. As the Third Tsuchikage's son, he hadn't risen through the ranks on his father's reputation alone.
He'd spotted the technique's advantages and weaknesses almost immediately. Naturally, he wouldn't give Kakashi room to build up speed. Facing Kakashi's second attack, he remained calm. If he could just block this one, he'd be able to deal with Kakashi with ease!
But Uchiha Kei wasn't about to let him have his way. Kei knew what he needed to do: keep the damn Kitsuchi occupied and give Kakashi a chance to land a fatal blow!
Uchiha Kei knew full well that once they took Kitsuchi out, the remaining two Iwa Ninja wouldn't pose much of a threat.
Kitsuchi was the Tsuchikage's son, and quite possibly his only son. If anything happened to him, they'd be in serious trouble.
"Now that really was a 'good deed.'"
In a way, whether Uchiha Kei and Kakashi liked it or not, their attacks were keeping the other two Iwa Ninja occupied as well.
But at that moment, Uchiha Kei couldn't be bothered to think about it. He glanced at the others and breathed a small sigh of relief.
Hyuga Aya certainly lived up to her Hyuga Clan heritage. She was also far more fierce than Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata, whom he remembered. The battlefield really was the best catalyst for a Ninja.
Though she was being pushed back badly, her Hyuga "turtle shell" was holding up surprisingly well. Blood was already trickling from the corner of her mouth, but she was still hanging on.
As for Imai Kenta and Nohara Rin, their situation didn't seem too bad. He had to admit, Imai Kenta, who looked like he could only "fake-smile," seemed to have been hiding a lot.
Even while carrying Nohara Rin around like a "tagalong," he was still managing to hold off another Iwa Ninja's attacks. That showed just how capable he was. No wonder he'd survived eight years on the battlefield!
At that thought, Uchiha Kei charged at Kitsuchi again. Kakashi's second attack had already reached him, but Kitsuchi calmly dodged the Chidori.
A Chidori launched from that close was never going to hurt Kitsuchi. Kakashi seemed a little impatient, though that was understandable. He wasn't in good shape, and he wasn't yet the future "Copy Ninja" who always managed to draw.
Kakashi was kicked away, and just as Kitsuchi moved in to follow up, Uchiha Kei stepped into his path.
Kei thrust his Kunai hard at Kitsuchi's chest. The attack was fast, precise, and vicious, forcing Kitsuchi to stop. Irritated, Kitsuchi dodged the Kunai and punched Uchiha Kei hard once more.
Uchiha Kei immediately leaped backward, but Kitsuchi demonstrated his impressive skills as a Ninja.
He formed Hand Seals at incredible speed, then slammed both hands onto the ground. Chakra surged into the earth.
Uchiha Kei was far calmer than Kitsuchi had expected. His Sharingan turned slightly. Just before he hit the ground, he pressed his right hand down hard, sending himself drifting sideways. The Earth Spears pierced the ground where he would have landed, stabbing through his afterimage.
Uchiha Kei touched down and began weaving around again, his movements sometimes fast and sometimes slow as he constantly changed his speed and angle, stopping abruptly, accelerating in an instant, and shifting direction.
He performed all kinds of difficult maneuvers so smoothly that he looked as if he'd practiced them thousands upon thousands of times. Nothing about his movements seemed awkward or out of place.
Whether it was the Earth Spears or the Kunai Kitsuchi later threw, each tagged with an Explosive Tag, Uchiha Kei dodged every single one.
There was no denying it: Uchiha Kei with the Sharingan and Uchiha Kei without it were Ninjutsu users on completely different levels.
But Kitsuchi seemed to realize that there was nothing to gain by continuing to fight Uchiha Kei. Once again, he shifted his attention to Kakashi.
Before you continue