In Grave Danger

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(Wu Yue bows in thanks!)

"Hatake Kakashi, you're such an idiot!"

Seeing Hatake Kakashi charge into the heart of enemy territory, Uchiha Yue quickly gathered up the kunai scattered on the ground and hurried after him.

Clearly, Uchiha Yue had never imagined that Hatake Kakashi would lose all reason just to win their bet.

Their mission was to eliminate the Gale Bandit Group's lookouts. Once they were all gone, the members of the group who were fast asleep would be sitting ducks, ripe for the slaughter. But who could have guessed that Hatake Kakashi would charge into the enemy's heartland and use a jutsu to kill the bandits there?

It was true that Hatake Kakashi could kill a whole bunch of the Gale Bandit Group's members if he made it into their territory and used a jutsu.

But he hadn't considered that if he used a jutsu in the middle of enemy territory, every member of the Gale Bandit Group would know they were under attack. And then, instead of facing a sleeping bandit group, Uchiha Yue and Hatake Kakashi would be up against the entire group, fully armed!

Even if Uchiha Yue and Hatake Kakashi were both strong, could they really win against a hundred or more members of the Gale Bandit Group?

There was no doubt about it. To win the bet, Hatake Kakashi was practically asking to get himself killed!

But Uchiha Yue couldn't just watch Hatake Kakashi die. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were watching from the sidelines, after all. If Uchiha Yue abandoned Hatake Kakashi right from the start, it would certainly leave them with a bad impression of him. So, even though he knew the way ahead was fraught with danger, Uchiha Yue still had to go save the idiot who was asking to get himself killed.

"Hatake Kakashi, if you get me hurt today, I swear I won't let you off!"

He was furious with Hatake Kakashi, but this was the only way Uchiha Yue could vent his anger. After all, Hatake Kakashi was his teammate.

Then...

Right before Uchiha Yue's eyes, Hatake Kakashi charged straight into the heart of enemy territory. The moment he reached the bandits' stronghold, he had already finished forming his hand seals. The next instant, Hatake Kakashi used a Lightning Release Ninjutsu right in the middle of the enemy's ranks, and Uchiha Yue saw dazzling bolts of lightning flash across the ground.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"

Hatake Kakashi's Lightning Release Ninjutsu was powerful. It was hard to imagine a Genin being able to use a technique like that.

In an instant, silver-white lightning flashed across the ground. Even the Gale Bandit Group members' screams couldn't drown out the thunderous crackle. When Hatake Kakashi's jutsu had finished, at least twenty of the bandits had been killed by it.

Unfortunately, even after losing so many men, the Gale Bandit Group still had a hundred or so members who were completely unharmed.

Worse still, because Hatake Kakashi had charged deep into enemy territory, he was now completely surrounded!

By this point, even if Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had wanted to save Hatake Kakashi, there was nothing they could do. The bandits surrounding him could kill him before Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had any chance to reach him.

At last, Hatake Kakashi realized just how stupid what he'd done had been.

But there was no such thing as a cure for regret. Seeing the bandits charging toward him, Hatake Kakashi gritted his teeth and gripped the White Fang Blade, ready to attack. But he had already used up every last bit of chakra in his body with that jutsu. With no chakra left at all, how could he possibly stand against the Gale Bandit Group?

In the bandits' eyes, a chakra-less Hatake Kakashi was nothing more than an ordinary child!

But...

Just as despair appeared in Hatake Kakashi's eyes, several sharp whistles suddenly rang out overhead!

"Whoosh..."

"Whoosh..."

In a flash, seven kunai dropped from above, killing the Gale Bandit Group members beside Hatake Kakashi.

Clearly, Uchiha Yue was the only one who could save him now.

And to rescue Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Yue could no longer hide his true strength. He had to unleash his chakra and fight. Chakra Threads controlled all seven kunai he had just thrown. The moment they killed five bandits, Uchiha Yue used them to kill three more!

"Falling Moon Style: Kunai Manipulation Technique!"

Uchiha Yue's use of hidden weapons was practically an art. In the blink of an eye, he killed several of the enemies surrounding Hatake Kakashi. But Hatake Kakashi was still in a very bad situation. So Uchiha Yue gritted his teeth and, when one of the bandits attacked him, formed a hand seal with one hand.

"Falling Moon Style: Afterimage Fist!"

"Whoosh..."

Leaving an afterimage behind, Uchiha Yue could only use the Falling Moon Style: Afterimage Fist to reach Hatake Kakashi's side and protect him. When Uchiha Yue arrived beside him, a flicker of remorse appeared in Hatake Kakashi's eyes. Even someone as proud as Hatake Kakashi couldn't help giving a bitter smile. "Sorry, Uchiha Yue. I dragged you into this!"

"Idiot. Save it until we're out of here alive!"

Facing a seemingly endless number of enemies, Uchiha Yue didn't even have the strength to yell at Hatake Kakashi. His situation was dire.

To save Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Yue had charged into enemy territory just like him. And when he saw the vicious bandits attacking with hostile expressions, his heart sank. Still, until the enemy had actually killed him, Uchiha Yue wasn't about to give up!

Kunai flew from his ninja pouch one after another, with barely an instant between throws...

In just a few minutes, Uchiha Yue had no time to control his kunai with Chakra Threads. He could only hurl them desperately at the bandits. Fortunately, his skill with hidden weapons was excellent; otherwise, he would never have been so accurate. Almost every kunai took down an enemy in front of him.

Bodies of the Gale Bandit Group members covered the ground within twenty meters of Uchiha Yue!

Every corpse had a fatal kunai embedded in its throat!

He never missed. Uchiha Yue had managed not to miss a single throw. Clearly, he had made a new breakthrough in the middle of battle!

But when Uchiha Yue threw the last kunai in his hand, he was so exhausted that he couldn't even lift his arms.

A wave of soreness surged through his hands. Uchiha Yue didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead; he had to keep his eyes on the bandits in front of him. At that moment, even though he had killed more than sixty members of the Gale Bandit Group, forty of them remained completely unharmed, surrounding him and Hatake Kakashi.

After throwing so many kunai, Uchiha Yue had almost no strength left to fight. He was even struggling to replenish the chakra in his body. And now, while facing those forty bandits, he also had to protect Hatake Kakashi behind him. The task was beyond his abilities. At this point, simply keeping himself alive would be an achievement!

But...

Even though Uchiha Yue was in grave danger, his eyes still burned with the fire of battle!

In fact, by now, Uchiha Yue had completely cast aside thoughts of his own survival. There was only one conviction in his heart...

That was to kill every enemy in front of him!