Paper Bullet Chariot

Hikari's eyes widened in utter disbelief. Before he could even struggle, he was sent straight to the Pure Land to reunite with his good brother, Taiseki.

The two were as close as brothers; at least they could keep each other company in death, which was perhaps the only silver lining in this misfortune.

After finishing off Hikari, Kakashi stumbled back a few steps, leaning against a tree trunk and gasping for air, his face deathly pale.

The Chidori might look impressive, but it was incredibly dangerous to execute.

The speed of the Chidori was so fast that the user couldn't even track the opponent's reactions; it was essentially charging into a life-or-death struggle blindfolded.

Furthermore, Kakashi lacked the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode, meaning he couldn't achieve a balance of offense and defense.

Others could charge in recklessly without a care for their own safety, but Kakashi could not.

In actual combat, the Chidori was a gamble with one's life; the slightest carelessness would allow an opponent to exploit an opening and strike first.

Even if that didn't happen, there was always the risk of mutual destruction.

If Hikari hadn't been caught off guard just now, giving Kakashi the opening he needed, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Even if Hikari were ultimately killed by the Chidori, he would have undoubtedly dragged Kakashi down with him before he died.

However, Kakashi had been entangled with Hikari for so long precisely waiting for this one opportunity—a chance for a lethal strike.

As the battle concluded, Nohara Rin immediately stepped forward, hurrying to Kakashi's side to carefully inspect his injuries.

"Kakashi, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

On the other side, Aragaki Yasushi had already entered "looting mode."

After all, on the battlefield, looting corpses was one of the few ways to earn extra income.

The energy scroll had been too powerful; there wasn't even a scrap left of Taiseki.

Fortunately, Hikari's body remained. Aragaki Yasushi squatted down and rummaged through it, but the harvest was meager.

As expected, no ninja participating in the war would carry large sums of money or ninjutsu scrolls on their person.

After searching for a long time, Aragaki Yasushi only found a few kunai, explosive tags, and miscellaneous items like military rations.

The only things worth taking were the two short blades on Hikari's arms.

Aragaki Yasushi weighed them in his hand; the texture was indeed good, clearly crafted with chakra-infused metal.

Although they were expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary ninjas, they were nothing special in Aragaki Yasushi's eyes.

They weren't unique ninja tools, and compared to famous blades like Samehada, they were far inferior.

Moreover, the power such a weapon could unleash depended entirely on the user's skill.

Take the short blade White Fang, left behind by Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo; it was also forged with chakra-infused metal.

In the hands of Hatake Sakumo, it was a legendary blade that struck terror into the hearts of enemies.

But in Kakashi's hands, it had become unremarkable, and was even easily snapped by Hikari.

When it came down to it, Kakashi's swordsmanship was still nowhere near his father's level.

Aragaki Yasushi disposed of Hikari's body, picked up one of the short blades, and tossed it toward Kakashi: "Catch."

Kakashi didn't have the Sharingan yet; he wasn't the Copy Ninja who would later dominate the ninja world, so his primary means of combat was still the swordsmanship inherited from his father.

Without a weapon, Kakashi's strength would be significantly diminished.

Kakashi reached out and caught the short blade, weighed it twice, and said nothing, merely nodding at Aragaki Yasushi.

The kid was used to being aloof; getting him to say "thank you" was harder than getting Obito to stop talking back.

Aragaki Yasushi brushed the dust off his hands and his expression turned serious: "Everyone, be careful. We haven't even reached Kannabi Bridge yet and we've already encountered two Iwagakure jonin. You can imagine that there must be no shortage of Iwagakure ninjas guarding the bridge."

"This mission is not as simple as we thought."

As soon as these words were spoken, both Asuma, who was in his rebellious phase, and the usually boisterous Obito fell silent, not even daring to mutter a word.

The cruelty of the battlefield would not show leniency just because you were the son of the Hokage or a member of the Uchiha clan.

Carelessness cost lives.

The group continued to head toward Kannabi Bridge.

Unlike the noisy atmosphere from before, the team was now deathly quiet, the air thick enough to be wrung out like a wet cloth.

The appearance of the two Iwagakure jonin had completely woken Obito and the others up.

Obito, in particular, followed the group with his head hanging low, having lost all his previous arrogance. His heart was pounding as he secretly wondered if Kannabi Bridge might be hiding several more jonin.

If they really ran into them, even with Kakashi and Aragaki Yasushi, it would be hard for them to hold their ground.

Even if they managed to win, it was likely that a few people would die.

Walking on eggshells, it wasn't long before Aragaki Yasushi and the others quietly crept near Kannabi Bridge, found a concealed bush to hide in, and poked their heads out to observe.

A squad of Iwagakure ninjas was indeed guarding the bridge—seven of them in total.

Fortunately, after Aragaki Yasushi observed them carefully, he realized something.

In this squad, only the leader was a jonin; the rest were all chunin and genin.

Compared to Hikari and Taiseki from just a moment ago, their overall strength was even worse.

Aragaki Yasushi turned his head to look at Kakashi, only to see Kakashi slowly draw his short blade and point it at that Iwagakure Jonin.

Not a single word was spoken throughout the exchange, yet Aragaki Yasushi caught his meaning perfectly.

After all, they were classmates; a certain level of tacit understanding still existed.

Kakashi's intent was clear: I will hold off that Jonin, leave the rest to you.

Aragaki Yasushi nodded secretly and signaled to Yuhi Kurenai, Obito, and the others, indicating they should prepare themselves, before charging out first.

In mid-air, his body rapidly folded and flipped, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant paper hedgehog covered in sharp paper spikes, then immediately curled into a ball and rolled toward the Iwagakure camp.

Paper Bullet Chariot!

Aragaki Yasushi had casually given his technique a bootleg name.

Regardless of whether it sounded good or not, it was already a massive improvement over Minato's naming sense.

In an instant, two Genin who hadn't reacted in time were directly crushed by the paper hedgehog Aragaki Yasushi had become.

Their bodies were first pierced by the dense array of paper spikes, then crushed into meat patties by the immense force, not even leaving them time to utter a final word.

Sumashi, the Iwagakure Jonin leading the team, saw this and his expression changed drastically; he immediately moved to weave hand signs for a Ninjutsu, intending to force the paper hedgehog to a halt.

But just as he raised his hands, a black shadow instantly appeared before him.

Kakashi gripped his short blade and slashed fiercely toward his neck, moving with such speed that it gave him no time to react.

Terrified out of his wits, Sumashi hurriedly dodged to the side, barely avoiding the fatal blow.

Kakashi did not let up, swinging his short blade in rapid succession; amidst the flash of steel, he pressed Sumashi hard, driving him toward the distant woods and away from the battlefield at Kannabi Bridge.

The two traded blows, instantly locked in fierce combat.

And just as Aragaki Yasushi and Kakashi began their respective battles, Yuhi Kurenai and the others did not remain idle, each acting according to their clear division of labor.