You Are the True Heroes

"Perfect, time for a warm-up."

Before the words even faded, the body possessed by Renegade Kiyohara moved, its speed so great that it left an afterimage behind.

He did not charge in a straight line, but rather took an arc, rushing toward the three Chunin first.

"So fast!"

One of the Iwagakure Chunin only had time to exclaim before throwing a punch in a hurried attempt to intercept.

The possessed Kiyohara did not dodge or parry; he simply reached out with his right hand, hooking and grabbing with deceptive ease, using the opponent's own momentum to fling him into his comrade nearby.

He then ducked to avoid a Kunai thrust from the third man, landing a kick squarely on the joint of his lower leg.

"Snap!"

A chilling sound of bone fracturing rang out, and the Iwagakure ninja collapsed to the ground, screaming.

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears!"

Seeing this, Sumashi immediately formed hand seals, and several sharp stone spears erupted from the ground beneath Kiyohara.

Yet, Kiyohara seemed to possess foresight; the moment before the spears emerged, he tapped his feet lightly and leaped away.

At the same time, he casually threw the Kunai he had snatched toward Sumashi's face, forcing him to interrupt his follow-up seals to block.

"What on earth... is going on with this guy?!"

Sumashi was shocked to his core. The movements, the gaze, and the combat experience of the brat before him were like those of a completely different person compared to a moment ago!

It was a combat instinct born only from thousands of trials.

Kurenai Yuhi and Nohara Rin watched, dumbfounded.

Nohara Rin covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Kiyohara... how did he suddenly become so strong?"

Kurenai Yuhi's beautiful eyes were wide open, equally astonished.

In the center of the fray, Kiyohara traded a heavy blow with Sumashi, using a clever technique to deflect most of the force from the rock-hard fist.

However, given the limited Chakra and physical strength of this body, he was still knocked back several steps, his arm tingling with numbness.

Dealing with multiple opponents simultaneously was also taking a massive toll on him.

The past me was still too weak...

While Renegade Kiyohara was possessing him, he could always feel the limits of this body.

Even fighting at full capacity, it was difficult to maintain this for long.

Sumashi also noticed Kiyohara's fatigue and sneered:

"At the end of your rope! All together now, finish him!"

The remaining dozen or so Iwagakure ninja closed in once more, unleashing their lethal techniques!

Just at this critical juncture.

A golden light appeared in the center of the battlefield as if teleporting!

There was no warning, as if he had always been meant to be there.

The newcomer had dazzling blonde hair, wore a green flak jacket, and his handsome face bore a reassuring sense of composure.

It was none other than Namikaze Minato!

Without even looking, the special Kunai in his hand had already turned into streaks of afterimages.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Three Iwagakure Chunin had their throats slashed by the Kunai almost simultaneously, collapsing powerlessly while expressions of shock still lingered on their faces.

Sumashi's pupils constricted; a intense sense of crisis made the hair on his body stand on end as he shouted:

"Yellow Flash!!"

He tried to instinctively use Earth Release to dive underground and escape.

But Minato's movements were faster!

"Flying Thunder God: Second Step!"

With a flash, Minato appeared behind Sumashi, and the special Kunai in his hand mercilessly slashed across his back.

Boom!

Sumashi flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing through a large tree before losing all signs of life.

Following that, Namikaze Minato repeated the process, dealing with the remaining enemies.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The battle, which had been precarious just moments ago, was instantly reversed by the arrival of one man.

At this moment, Renegade Kiyohara also released his possession, returning control back to Kiyohara himself.

Kiyohara had an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, as if his armor were falling apart...

"Hoo..."

Kiyohara panted. Renegade Kiyohara had just pushed his body to its absolute limit, and now that it was over, his entire body ached.

As expected of Namikaze Minato.

Kiyohara thought to himself, watching Namikaze Minato standing before him.

These Iwagakure ninjas, who had exerted such immense pressure on them, were nothing more than cannon fodder that Namikaze Minato could clear away with a casual flick of his wrist.

After all, Namikaze Minato was one of the three strongest commoner ninjas.

As for the two people behind him, Kiyohara considered them to be Might Guy and Sage Kabuto.

These three individuals possessed no Kekkei Genkai whatsoever, relying purely on their own talent and grit to reach the pinnacle.

It was just a pity that in the later stages, they could only be reduced to supporting roles, buying time for Naruto and Sasuke and creating opportunities for them.

Minato turned around, looking at the gasping, nearly exhausted Kiyohara, then glanced at the shocked Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, Nohara Rin, and Genma Shiranui.

An apologetic expression appeared on his face as he spoke:

"Sorry, I'm late."

Looking at the collapsed rocks behind them and the Sharingan on Kakashi's left eye, Namikaze Minato had already guessed what had happened.

Obito had likely... sacrificed himself.

"Thanks to you, Kiyohara."

Namikaze Minato looked at Kiyohara.

While he was still in the distance, he had seen Kiyohara holding off multiple Iwagakure ninjas all by himself.

If not for Kiyohara, Kakashi and the others would never have been able to hold out until his arrival.

Kakashi wouldn't even be standing right now; he would have fainted from Chakra exhaustion.

"This is what I should do. I will not abandon any of my comrades; that is my ninja way, Lord Minato."

Kiyohara shook his head.

Now that Namikaze Minato had arrived, it could be said that 99% of this mission was complete.

All that remained was for Namikaze Minato to take them to blow up the bridge, and Kiyohara could go back to collect his war merits.

Now, he just needed to put on a good display of his Will of Fire spirit.

Sure enough, hearing these righteous words from Kiyohara, Namikaze Minato was stunned for a moment.

He felt a sense of admiration in his heart for Kiyohara's high level of awareness.

"It's a good thing Lord Minato arrived, otherwise we definitely wouldn't have escaped."

Genma Shiranui wiped the Senbon that had fallen to the ground with the corner of his sleeve and put it back in his mouth.

He felt as though he had taken a round trip to the gates of hell and had nearly checked into the Pure Land.

Namikaze Minato was silent for a moment at Genma Shiranui's words, and after a while, he said:

"No, I am not the true hero."

Namikaze Minato actually felt a bit of guilt in his heart.

The greatest contribution of Team Kakashi and Team Kiyohara was actually gathering enemy intelligence and bringing his specially marked Kunai into the enemy-controlled area.

Only then could these Iwagakure ninjas be wiped out in one fell swoop, saving a massive amount of time and energy.

"Who is the true hero, then?"

Genma Shiranui was a bit dazed.

"It is Kiyohara, it is Kakashi, it is also Obito, and even more so, it is all of you. You are the true heroes."

Namikaze Minato shook his head.

Especially Kiyohara; his outstanding performance in this mission had completely surpassed Obito, who possessed the Uchiha bloodline, and Kakashi, the son of the White Fang.

This made Namikaze Minato see a reflection of himself in Kiyohara, as he too had gradually become excellent bit by bit back in the day.

"Alright, we should go. Once the bridge is destroyed, we can return to the village."

Namikaze Minato said.

"We can finally go back to the village."

A smile appeared on Kurenai Yuhi's young face, a look of relief.

Would they be able to set off on the road back to the village by tomorrow at the latest?