The Final Battle (2)

Uchiha Kei had never thought this mission would be easy. Even if it had seemed not particularly difficult in the Original work, reality was vastly different from the story.

The Kannabi Bridge mission had long since changed beyond recognition. The front lines were suffering defeat after defeat, and now a huge problem had cropped up in the rear. How could the Iwa Ninja possibly fail to notice Konoha's movements?

Besides, even in the Original work, it probably hadn't been that simple. The fact that it hadn't been described in detail didn't mean Kakashi and the others' later missions would be easy.

Uchiha Kei took a deep breath, his gaze turning sharp. If they were going to fight, he wasn't about to waste time talking.

"I'll draw the Five-Tails away for now," Namikaze Minato said quietly. "You have four enemies. Handle them carefully, and try to hold out until I get back."

"Don't worry, Captain Minato." Uchiha Kei's voice had turned cold as well. "I may not be as strong as you, but I'm not that easy to deal with."

"Then..." Namikaze Minato nodded. "I'm counting on you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Namikaze Minato vanished from the spot. The next time he appeared, he was already above the Five-Tails' head!

The blue Rasengan spun rapidly, and Namikaze Minato was even faster now than he had been when fighting Han!

So he really had been holding back.

Watching this, Uchiha Kei thought to himself that, after all, this was the man who had fought the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the future Fourth Raikage to a standstill. If he had struggled that much against a mere Han, Uchiha Kei would have wondered if this was some fake Namikaze Minato.

Under Namikaze Minato's assault, the Five-Tails turned its attention to him. Perhaps Han had been beaten badly enough by Minato earlier, because the Five-Tails locked right onto him.

Uchiha Kei had considered whether to lure the Five-Tails into attacking Kannabi Bridge, but he didn't dare bring up the idea lightly.

Regardless of whether the Five-Tails and Han had a good enough relationship for the ploy to work, there was also Imai Kenta beneath Kannabi Bridge. Namikaze Minato would never agree to Uchiha Kei's plan.

"Good for nothing but making trouble."

Uchiha Kei didn't want to do anything that would sour their relationship. He was the one who had sent Imai Kenta down to plant the Explosive Tags. At the time, they truly hadn't expected the Five-Tails to show up, and that was why they had made those arrangements.

After all, apart from the Land of Wind's lousy Fuinjutsu, the other great nations' sealing techniques were quite reliable. The Land of Clouds was especially known for the incredible bond between the Eight-Tails and its Jinchuriki.

Turning his head, Uchiha Kei stared coldly at the Iwa Ninja who had suddenly appeared, tightening his grip on the Kunai in his hand.

"You were quite a pain to track down." The Iwa Ninja had just landed, and they were already sneering at Uchiha Kei. "Looks like your mission is Kannabi Bridge."

"That's right. I have to say, you strays sure react quickly," Uchiha Kei said calmly, looking at them. "How does it feel to have Konoha's main force chasing you? Or how does it feel to have Kannabi Bridge right at your fingertips, only for your lifeline to be severed?"

"Sharp words won't do you any good, brat from the Uchiha family." The Iwa Ninja showed no reaction to Uchiha Kei's taunts. "Take a good look at this bridge. It'll be your grave. Still, I have to admit you're impressive. You even managed to force the Five-Tails out. You've done pretty well."

"You'll find out soon enough what I can do, because this will be your grave. You'll be staying here forever."

Uchiha Kei raised his right hand, holding the black Kunai in front of his face. "All right, you two have stalled long enough. Let's see what makes you think you can act so smug. Oh, by the way, there was a guy named Gari who was a lot like you. He's already been reduced to ashes."

Uchiha Kei's words made the Iwa Ninja's expressions turn vicious. It was clear they knew Gari.

But that had nothing to do with Uchiha Kei. As his chakra continued to rise, the Iwa Ninja immediately took up fighting stances. Their blazing gazes remained fixed on Uchiha Kei, utterly focused.

Uchiha Kei swept his eyes over them. There were four in total, and their chakra levels looked about the same through his Sharingan. They were all dangerous opponents.

Uchiha Kei remembered that they were called the Ishi-mizu-shu Squad, a team that had given many Konoha Ninja a headache and killed quite a few of them.

Still, Uchiha Kei didn't worry too much about them. As the battle between the Five-Tails and Namikaze Minato intensified and moved farther away, he had already made up his mind.

The Body Flicker Technique burst into action, and Uchiha Kei charged straight at the first Iwa Ninja. His Three Tomoe Sharingan flared, releasing a surge of chakra.

The chakra made the Iwa Ninja in front of Uchiha Kei falter for a moment. In that instant, Uchiha Kei thrust his Kunai forward!

"Clang!"

Unfortunately, Uchiha Kei's swift sneak attack failed. Just as his Kunai was about to pierce that damn Iwa Ninja, an earthen wall suddenly rose in front of him.

Looking through the wall with his Sharingan, Uchiha Kei immediately spotted an Iwa Ninja behind it, covered with at least ten Explosive Tags!

Uchiha Kei immediately kicked the wall hard and leaped backward.

"Boom!"

A few seconds after Uchiha Kei got away, the earthen wall erupted in a violent explosion. Uchiha Kei landed on a tree and watched coldly.

These Iwa Ninja really fought dirty. They'd stoop to any shameless sneak attack!

If Uchiha Kei's Sharingan hadn't been able to see through the earthen wall formed from chakra, he might have fallen for that trick.

But Uchiha Kei had no time to think about it. Several more Kunai came flying toward him, each one tied to an Explosive Tag!

"Watch out, Takeda. He's from the Uchiha family. Avoid looking him in the eyes, and attack from the sides and behind!"

Uchiha Kei had barely dodged the Kunai when the four Iwa Ninja charged at him again. This time, they were clearly much better prepared.

Uchiha Kei remained relatively calm. He might not have faced four opponents at once very often, but that didn't mean he had no way to deal with them!

Besides, he had already made up his mind. If things went badly, he would use the power of the Mangekyo!

"Even though I've never wanted to use this power..."

He dodged an Iwa Ninja's attack and gave him a hard kick for good measure, but the next moment he had to leap away from another attacker coming at him from behind.

"But even if I go blind, that's better than dying!"