"Crack..."
Qi crunched the last piece of hardtack and swallowed it...
After several days on the road, they had finally crossed the border. They were now resting in a forest, which was also the closest place to their destination...
At that moment, Qi, Kakashi, and the others were resting in the woods, while the Fourth Hokage had gone ahead to scout out the target.
"Why hasn't the teacher come back yet?"
Obito grumbled and looked up.
"This rain couldn't have come at a worse time. How are we supposed to burn anything?"
"If you can't burn the target in weather like this, it only proves your Fire Style isn't good enough."
Kakashi cut in coldly from the side.
"Got anything better to suggest?"
"Kakashi, you..."
Obito's face flushed red at the jab, but luckily he knew this wasn't the time to argue. He forced down his anger and didn't lash out.
Watching this, Qi couldn't help shaking his head...
Honestly... He knew Kakashi had gone to extremes because he was struggling with his father's suicide, but did he have to act like a porcupine?
White Fang's death had affected far more than just Kakashi. It had been a thunderbolt to all of Konoha. The people who had initially spread the rumors could never have imagined that the inner world of a legendary killer, the White Fang of the Leaf, was so delicate, so... fragile...
Among the top fighters who came after the Third Hokage, the loss of three people had a profound impact on Konoha's development. Those three were White Fang, Orochimaru, and the Fourth Hokage.
Kakashi was arguably the unluckiest person alive. He had been born at such a "convenient" time. During those years, wars raged both within and beyond Konoha. His family, teacher, and companions died one after another, until almost no one was left. No wonder that, more than ten years later, he would advise Sasuke to give up his revenge.
Sasuke had done what Kakashi had done, and even what he hadn't done. So Kakashi knew exactly how revenge felt—and how it ended...
"Should I say something? Looking at these two, who would believe they were friends?"
Qi watched Kakashi and Obito continue their silent "standoff." If he didn't know the story, he'd never believe these two were friends. He'd be more likely to think they were enemies...
Still, he didn't need to handle this anymore. Or rather, there wasn't time for him to do so...
"Looks like everyone's ready."
Minato, who had gone out to scout the enemy, suddenly appeared among them without warning.
"Teacher!"
Ling was genuinely delighted. Their savior had arrived at just the right time...
"Teacher, can we set out?"
Kakashi rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off his backside. His tone was perfectly calm, but there was a hint of excitement in his eyes.
As for Obito... Excited wasn't the word for it. Thrilled was more like it...
"There are seven temporary supply stations built by the Rock Ninja nearby. We're going to destroy every last one of them."
Minato looked with some amusement at the four completely different expressions before him, a faint smile on his face.
"The village has recently launched a large-scale counterattack against the Rock Ninja. Their main forces are now facing our army at the front, so they shouldn't have many ninjas left here."
"In other words, just like our elite squad, the Rock Ninja will have capable ninja teams guarding this area to protect their supplies at the front. There may even be an Elite Jonin."
Kakashi spoke flatly, his expression as lifeless as ever.
"That's what you mean, right, teacher?"
"That's right. And there is an Elite Jonin among them. After all, these supply stations support the Rock Ninja's forces on the front lines."
Minato nodded.
"I'll handle their Elite Jonin. Kakashi, Obito, and Qi, the three of you will deal with their Chunin and Genin. Ling will provide support from the rear. With your abilities, that shouldn't be difficult."
"It shouldn't be."
There was a note of dissatisfaction in Kakashi's voice. After several days together, Qi had already grown familiar with his personality and glanced over.
He knew Kakashi was about to "open fire" again...
"I don't know how many Elite Jonin they have. If there are two, just let me kill one. The other three can deal with everyone else."
Sure enough, he was about to start...
"Kakashi, are you ever going to stop?"
This time, it wasn't Obito who spoke. It was Qi. He didn't mind Kakashi's constant sarcasm and brooding on the road, but he couldn't stand it when Kakashi acted this way while they were assigning missions.
I don't want to die here just because you enjoy being a brooding little weirdo!
"Even with the White Fang Short Blade, you're no White Fang. Do you think Elite Jonin are made of mud? You want to kill one? Wait until you become an Elite Jonin yourself. And if you want to die, don't drag the rest of us down with you!"
Qi's words were merciless. He could put up with anything except someone putting his life at risk, whether that person was an enemy or a comrade.
As far as he was concerned, Kakashi could brood all he wanted; it was none of his business. But if Kakashi tried to put his life on the line too, Qi wouldn't stay silent.
"What did you say!?"
Kakashi was practically the perfect example of someone with no sense of teamwork. His gaze turned cold as he looked at Qi. The words "White Fang" had cut straight into the most secret wound in his heart.
"Don't mention that man in front of me! Someone who can't even follow the rules is trash!"
He practically shouted the words, his eyes blazing as if he was ready to fight Qi right then and there.
"That man was your father! If he was trash, does that mean you were born in a trash heap? You're a brat. You're nowhere near old enough to act all brooding and mysterious. We're assigning missions right now. Do you understand? If you have a problem, bring it up after the mission!"
Qi sneered. He wasn't about to fall for Kakashi's act. His bloodline limit had just advanced to a new level, and he was itching for a fight with a strong opponent. If Kakashi wanted to throw down, Qi would be more than happy to oblige!
"Following orders is also a shinobi's rule. You nitpick and refuse to obey orders—that's breaking the rules too. How is that any different from being trash?"
He might not have been clever enough to outwit people like Orochimaru, but dealing with Kakashi, who was only in his early teens, was easy enough.
You're always going on about rules? Fine. Let's use the rules to shut you down!
"I'll follow orders, of course. Just don't get in my way!"
Kakashi was furious, but he had no way to refute Qi. In the end, he gave a muffled snort, conceding the point.
"Enough, both of you. We're about to fight. What you need now is to work together."
Minato hadn't expected Qi to become "close friends" with Kakashi right away. In truth, Kakashi's personality made him difficult for almost anyone to tolerate.
Still, since Kakashi wasn't insisting on challenging an Elite Jonin anymore, Minato let it go.
Just as Qi had said, Elite Jonin weren't made of mud. Kakashi had been nominated as a candidate for promotion to Elite Jonin, but that was because Konoha was starting to run short on manpower and wanted to encourage the younger generation. That was why the village was considering promoting Kakashi, who was barely into his teens.
In terms of actual strength, Kakashi was only an elite Chunin, still a long way from being a true Elite Jonin. Minato, an Elite Jonin himself, knew this all too well. He would have turned down the promotion outright if he hadn't been worried about damaging Kakashi's pride.
"Hmph!"
At Minato's words, Kakashi stopped giving Qi the cold shoulder. The two of them snorted at each other, calling a temporary "truce."
Honestly... Kakashi and Obito were already like that, and now Qi had a temper too...
Minato felt a little exasperated, but he still trusted the combat skills of the people under his command.
"Then it's settled. We'll split up and move. I'll engage their Elite Jonin first. You'll move in afterward, eliminate the other Rock Ninja, and burn the granaries!"
Everyone had to eat, whether they were ninjas or ordinary people. Without food, they'd be as good as dead. Minato had specifically ordered them to burn the granaries. It was a ruthless plan.
If the Rock Ninja didn't want their people to starve or resort to eating grass roots, tree bark, or even other people, they would have no choice but to withdraw. In any case, Konoha didn't care what happened to the Rock Ninja when they ran out of food. The civilians who would suffer weren't from the Land of Fire...
After that, Minato went over many more details. Only then did he wave his hand and disappear.
"The teacher's already gone. We should get ready to fight too."
Kakashi shot Qi a resentful glare, then slipped into the bushes on the left.
They were very close to the target—no exaggeration at all. The thicket to their left stood right beside a massive outcropping of rock, and the Rock Ninja supply station lay beneath the cliff.
Getting this close without being spotted was naturally Minato's doing. Under his guidance, they had managed to approach the supply station without the Rock Ninja noticing...
"Five people in plain sight. I just don't know if there are any hidden sentries. Those five don't look like Elite Jonin."
Kakashi lay on the ground, carefully watching the figures inside the supply station.
"There are hidden sentries, right below us."
Qi suddenly cut in.
"Ridiculous. How would you know? You don't have the Byakugan!"
Kakashi snapped irritably.
"Don't tell me wild guesses count as evidence!"
Was this kid really that petty? Qi had only teased him a couple of times...
Qi rolled his eyes...
"I can sense the enemy's chakra. This distance is no problem."
He gave up trying to explain things to Kakashi and turned to Obito and Ling.
"The Elite Jonin should be inside the building, but even if he is, I can't sense him, and I don't dare try. An Elite Jonin would definitely notice me sensing chakra, and then he'd realize where we are."
"How many people can you sense among the hidden sentries?"
Unlike Kakashi, who looked thoroughly displeased, Obito was delighted.
"Can you pinpoint their exact locations too?"
"Of course. Look..."
Qi drew in the dirt with his hand, marking the positions of several hidden sentries and their own location.
"I can immobilize them. If you move fast enough, we can take out these sentries before the others notice. They're all on the perimeter!"
"You really can sense them?"
Seeing how certain Qi sounded, Kakashi put his doubts aside. He was an excellent shinobi, after all.
"I'm not worried about myself. I just want to know whether you can kill them before they have a chance to call out and alert their comrades!"
This time, Qi looked Kakashi straight in the eye as he spoke, one word at a time.
Of everyone there, Obito and Ling weren't suited to silent kills. Only he and Kakashi had the ability to kill swiftly and quietly.
White Fang had died early, but just the things he'd left behind had been enough for Kakashi to learn a few of his skills.
Qi hadn't forgotten that, in the original story, Kakashi had become top-notch in both speed and Earth Release: Stealth Technique more than ten years later. The latter had even allowed Kakashi to set a trap underground at close range without Pain noticing.
Those two skills were the essence of the White Fang of the Leaf's Instant Kill Technique. Who would believe Kakashi hadn't inherited something from his old man?
"Three seconds!"
Kakashi replied coldly.
"If they're only Genin, I won't let them live for more than three seconds!"
"Then we're fine..."
Qi's mouth curled into a smile.
"See the person in the middle of the camp? Of all the Rock Ninja currently stationed outside, only he has the chakra of a Chunin. Everyone else, including the hidden sentries, is a Genin."
He raised both hands and formed a rather strange seal.
"I'll use my jutsu in ten seconds. That should give you enough time to get close to the first hidden sentry, right?"
"Go ahead and use your jutsu. If I can't keep up with your speed, then I, Hatake Kakashi, am useless!"
Kakashi sneered. Then he disappeared from the side of the cliff...