A Deadly Sneak Attack

"Hm? Changed targets?"

Uchiha Kei keenly noticed that Kitsuchi didn't seem interested in dealing with him anymore. He felt slightly relieved, but was also trying to figure out how they could escape.

By this point, their group had practically given away their objective. If the Iwa Ninja weren't so confident, they could simply retreat to the area around Kannabi Bridge.

However, based on the Shadow Clone's earlier reactions and assessment, Uchiha Kei had concluded that these Iwa Ninja probably wanted to leave them all here!

If that was the case, could it mean the Iwa Ninja were already short on manpower?

The Cloud Ninja weren't any more reasonable than Konoha. Especially with the Third Raikage being the Fourth Raikage's father, there was no way the Fourth Raikage would let his father's death go unanswered.

Of course, there was another key factor: the Cloud Ninja had already withdrawn from Konoha. With that huge headache out of the way, they could have a proper "conversation" with the Iwa Ninja.

In that case, it was only natural for the Iwa Ninja to feel pressured. They were probably gathering a large force to defend the coast and the Land of Waterfalls, to prevent that pack of crazies from the Cloud Ninja from attacking their homeland.

If that was true, did it mean the forces guarding their rear weren't all that numerous? Was that why they didn't want Kei's group to reach the very back and wreak havoc?

After all, if they really made it that far, the Iwa Ninja would probably have a hard time finding them.

I don't know if Kakashi and the others ran into such bad luck in the Original work, but I know I did. So I'm not going to do things the way they did in the Original work. I'll just do what I have to.

Uchiha Kei thought to himself. He glanced at Kakashi, who was in a sorry state, then turned to look at the other two Iwa Ninja.

Although Kakashi was in rough shape and had used up a lot of chakra, his Sharingan was helping him. As long as he wasn't surrounded, he probably wouldn't die anytime soon.

So Uchiha Kei decided to go after the other two first, then have everyone gang up on Kitsuchi!

If the plan worked, Kitsuchi alone might not be able to make much trouble. They might even be able to kill him!

"Kitsuchi is wary of me now, so a sneak attack is out of the question. Then..."

With that thought, Uchiha Kei attacked Kitsuchi again, but Kitsuchi was no longer his main focus.

He quietly shifted his gaze to the other two Iwa Ninja, and quickly chose his target: the one currently beating Hyuga Aya.

It wasn't because Uchiha Kei was a gentleman. If he wanted to be chivalrous, he'd rather save that for Nohara Rin. At least Rin was much more innocent than Hyuga Aya.

What Kei was really watching was how focused the other man was. Clearly, aside from using the Byakugan to scout enemies and examine corpses for information, the Hyuga Clan also had remarkable defensive abilities.

At that moment, Hyuga Aya was like a tortoiseshell that the Iwa Ninja couldn't crack. That forced him to focus entirely on fighting her.

That level of concentration made him an ideal target for a sneak attack. But the other Iwa Ninja, who was fighting Imai Kenta, seemed to have the same idea as Kei.

Uchiha Kei gritted his teeth. As he watched Kakashi still fighting, he quietly signaled to him.

Then, without even checking whether Kakashi had seen it, Kei formed Hand Seals. Chakra gathered around him in a blue arc, and the next moment, a massive fireball hurtled toward Kitsuchi.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

After using the Ninjutsu, Kei seized the opening to create a Shadow Clone and sent it to keep attacking Kitsuchi, while his real body temporarily concealed itself.

However, Uchiha Kei knew there wasn't enough space here for him to hide for long, and his Shadow Clone wouldn't last much longer either.

Staring at the Iwa Ninja who was relentlessly attacking Hyuga Aya, Uchiha Kei quickly spotted an opening!

The Iwa Ninja punched through Hyuga Aya's defense, then threw another punch at her chest. The blow carried a terrifying gust of wind, and even Uchiha Kei felt his chest tighten just watching it. Hyuga Aya's face turned even paler at the sight. She could easily imagine what would happen if that punch landed. Gritting her teeth, she immediately gathered all the chakra she had left and braced it in front of her chest.

Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to stop a punch with such immense penetrating force.

The shinobi of the Land of Earth might not enjoy hand-to-hand combat as much as those savage shinobi from the Land of Lightning, but that didn't mean the Iwa Ninja were physically weak.

On the contrary, their physiques were frighteningly strong. Perhaps it suited their nature: their strength was a real headache.

The punch made Hyuga Aya feel as though her entire lower abdomen had been twisted by a knife. Worst of all, she felt the bones in both her hands shatter under the blow!

"Damn it!"

Hyuga Aya cursed under her breath. With that, she had completely lost her ability to fight!

Watching the Iwa Ninja continue to press the attack, Hyuga Aya was filled with despair. She couldn't accept that she was going to die now, when she still had so many wishes left unfulfilled!

At the same time, she resented Uchiha Kei. Why hadn't he summoned Namikaze Minato? Did he only consider the situation truly urgent when his own life was in danger?

In fact, that was exactly what Uchiha Kei thought. Hyuga Aya had guessed right.

But at that moment, Uchiha Kei stopped hiding. As the Shadow Clone was pierced by Kitsuchi's Earth Spear, he burst straight out of the ground!

The Body Flicker Technique was so fast that even Uchiha Kei found it hard to breathe, but he didn't care about any of that.

Chakra coated the Kunai in his hand. Giving the Iwa Ninja no chance to react, Uchiha Kei drove it viciously into the man's chest!

The Iwa Ninja truly hadn't seen it coming. He had been completely focused on fighting Hyuga Aya, confident that his Captain could handle two brats without any trouble.

But he never imagined that the Captain he'd trusted so completely would let a brat slip right under his nose, only for the kid to launch a vicious sneak attack.

Unfortunately, the Iwa Ninja didn't have time to think about it. Uchiha Kei plunged the Kunai into his upper left back and gave it a hard twist. The Iwa Ninja's eyes closed for good!

"A Shadow Clone? Genboku! Ah! You bastard!"

Uchiha Kei's sneak attack enraged Kitsuchi. It was as if Kei had slapped him hard across the face!

Kitsuchi looked up at Uchiha Kei in fury. Genboku had been his longtime subordinate, practically an old friend. Their Bonds ran deep.

But now Uchiha Kei had done something like this. How could Kitsuchi possibly let him get away with it?

He had originally planned to leave them alive and interrogate them for information, but now he had abandoned that idea completely.