Before Yahiko could finish speaking, Mirai's shadow clone had already arrived. "Yahiko, has no one ever told you that you must never let your guard down when facing any enemy?!"
Mirai threw a powerful punch straight at Yahiko's face. Yahiko's face went pale with fright; he thought Teacher Mirai was really going to hit him!
Fortunately, Nagato gave him a hand from behind, and he narrowly avoided Mirai's sudden blow.
Konan leaped behind Mirai, preparing to launch a sneak attack.
"Paper Shuriken!"
Mirai sprang out of the water, spun around, and formed the hand seals. "Fire Style—Flame Bullet!!!"
Whoosh...
Konan's Paper Shuriken failed in its sneak attack. Seeing her teacher's flames coming at her, she immediately turned and fled. However, since she ran in the opposite direction from Nagato and Yahiko, Mirai quickly caught her.
Mirai pulled Konan up and said to them, "Teamwork means, first of all, allowing the three of you to cover and reinforce each other, and secondly, attacking together. Konan, your timing was good, but your attack power was lacking. Once your attack was blocked, you were left in a bad position! Remember, never rush out alone to attack an enemy. Understand?"
"Y-Yes, Xixi..."
"And Yahiko, you were far too distracted. If I had used nothing more than a kunai or a sword, you'd already be a corpse! Listen, a qualified ninja must not only learn to patiently wait for an opportunity to attack the enemy, but also possess keen observation and analytical skills in order to defend effectively! Do you understand?"
"Ah, yes! I'll be more careful, Xixi..."
Yahiko thought to himself, *No wonder Teacher Mirai never let me go out to train. There's such a huge gap between us. I thought my Water Style was impressive, but I didn't even have time to use