"Shh!" Minato Namikaze suddenly stopped as they traveled, raising a hand for silence.
Kakashi, who had been walking ahead, immediately became alert as well, lowering into a half-crouch. "Enemies."
Kakashi's senses are sharp too. Minato Namikaze glanced at him in silent praise. The four of them stopped, guarding against their surroundings as they surveyed the area.
"There are twenty enemies. From what I can sense, they seem to be shadow clones. Don't act rashly."
What happened afterward needed no further explanation. Kakashi launched a surprise attack with his newly created ninjutsu, Chidori, but was injured by the enemy. However, with Minato Namikaze present, the Iwagakure Jonin serving as the vanguard was easily taken down.
That night, they spent their final evening before splitting up on an open grassland. Minato also told Obito the story of Hatake White Fang, allowing him to understand the origins of Kakashi's extreme personality.
"Alright, this is where we part ways. Be careful in all things." Within a bamboo grove, Minato Namikaze spoke to his three disciples. This grove shared the Land of Grass's usual botanical trait—its bamboo grew exceptionally tall, with the stalks alone surpassing most trees.
"I'll emphasize this one more time. A ninja's strength comes from teamwork. Kakashi, Obito, do you two understand?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
After receiving their affirmative answers, Minato Namikaze swiftly departed using the Flying Thunder God Technique. The situation at the front lines along the Land of Grass's border was far from good, and he needed to get there quickly.
For this mission, Konoha had coordinated the deployment of ninja forces to attack in this direction, putting immense pressure on Iwagakure and forcing them to concentrate their strength on resisting.
This had certainly created favorable conditions for the mission, but Iwagakure's forces in this area still held the advantage. A