Did You See That?

"What an idiot!"

Kakashi hadn't expected Obito to be so stupid. He reached out to grab him, but didn't even manage to touch the hem of Obito's clothes.

He hurried to his feet to chase after him, but stumbled as soon as he took a step.

"Kakashi." Nohara Rin quickly helped him up.

"Rin, hurry and stop that idiot! That Sand Ninja is a Jonin. He's no match for him!" Kakashi said anxiously.

"I know." Nohara Rin understood how serious the situation was. After setting Kakashi down, she immediately chased after Obito.

Meanwhile, the three Sand Ninja had regrouped.

"Captain, what should we do?" one of them asked.

The Sand Hidden Jonin wore a grim expression as he carefully scanned the surrounding forest.

A breeze swept through, stirring the leaves into a rustling dance.

The entire forest seemed like a cage, and they were trapped beasts inside it—yet they couldn't even spot the hunter hiding among the trees.

Tightening his grip on the long blade in his hand, he finally gave the order. "Move out!"

He was reluctant, but the situation was dire.

At first, he'd thought they'd merely run into an arrogant Konoha prodigy. Now he knew he'd been wrong.

Judging by the way Konoha trained its ninja, those three brats clearly belonged to the same team, and their teacher was probably lurking nearby.

The white-haired brat was already hard enough to deal with. Add a Jonin to the mix, and staying here would only invite danger. One misstep, and they might never make it out.

The temptation to kill these Konoha brats was strong, but the risk was too great!

After weighing his options, he decided that leaving immediately was the best choice.

He was decisive. Once he'd made up his mind, he acted at once.

The other two Sand Ninja exchanged glances but didn't object.

As ninja, they only needed to follow orders. They had no right to question their superior.

The three of them set off immediately.

This time, the two subordinates went first, while the strongest among them, the Sand Hidden Jonin, brought up the rear.

He needed to guard against a possible surprise attack.

If the enemy attacked from behind, he was the strongest and could handle it—at least until his two subordinates had time to react and come to his aid.

And if the enemy attacked from the front, then his two subordinates could...

The Sand Hidden Jonin's gaze turned icy as he ran through one contingency after another in his mind. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.

At the same time, an agitated yell rang out. "Damn it, you're not getting away!"

The Sand Hidden Jonin glanced back. The Konoha brat who'd appeared last, all empty-headed and clumsy, was chasing after him.

He didn't care. He didn't even want to spare the kid a second glance.

The brat was obviously no threat. Under normal circumstances, he might have humored him for a bit, but right now, even looking at him felt like a waste of time.

"Obito, come back!"

Nohara Rin's anxious voice rang out, but Obito seemed not to hear her. He looked as if he'd been swept up in a wave of enthusiasm.

Ever since the day they'd enrolled, there had only been one name on everyone's lips: Kakashi.

After Team Minato was formed, that guy was still the one always stealing the spotlight. Even the girl Obito liked had been drawn to him.

But this time, it was finally Obito's turn to show off!

Once he took down these Sand Ninja, Rin would definitely turn her attention back to him!

With that thought in mind, Obito picked up speed and finally caught up with the last Sand Ninja.

"I told you to stop, so stop for me!"

He pulled out several shuriken and hurled them at the Sand Ninja. At the same time, he gripped a kunai tightly, bent forward, and charged.

At last, the Sand Hidden Jonin reacted. He twisted aside several times to dodge the shuriken, then turned and swung his blade down at Obito. An impatient look remained on his face.

"Crap, I'm going too fast!" Obito hadn't seen it coming. He was about to crash right into the Sand Hidden Jonin, as if he were delivering himself straight into the enemy's blade.

Once he realized what was happening, he hurriedly stopped and raised his kunai to meet the Sand Hidden Jonin's blade.

Clang!

The long blade collided with the kunai, and Obito's face lit up.

He'd blocked it!

In the next instant, a leg shot out with incredible speed and kicked him hard in the body, sending him flying.

The force was so great that it felt as if a wild boar had slammed into him. His stomach hurt terribly, and his whole body went weak.

"Ow." He clutched his stomach and was just about to get up when a pair of feet appeared before him.

As he looked up, he met the Sand Hidden Jonin's eyes.

Cold, indifferent, vicious, and filled with killing intent!

Fear flooded Obito in an instant. He felt as if he'd plunged into an icy abyss, as if thousands of needles of cold were piercing his body. His mind went blank.

His legs gave way, and he dropped to the ground in terror, sitting there dazed and helpless as he waited for death.

"You asked for this, brat!" the Sand Hidden Jonin snarled. He was just about to swing his blade when several kunai flew straight at him.

He casually knocked the kunai aside and looked up. Brown hair fluttered into view.

It was the girl who'd made him miss his chance to kill the white-haired brat earlier.

"Don't make me laugh. A trick like this could never stop me!" the Sand Hidden Jonin sneered, bringing his blade down without hesitation.

"Obito!" Nohara Rin cried out in terror.

She was a medical ninja, not skilled in Taijutsu. Aside from the Three Body Technique, she only knew two other ninjutsu.

None of them could save Obito now.

She'd been born into an ordinary family. She'd become a ninja after witnessing the horrors of war, hoping that one day she could help the wounded.

But now she realized that she couldn't even save her closest teammate.

As she watched the Sand Hidden Jonin's blade come down toward Obito, she didn't hesitate or stop to think. She instinctively rushed forward, spread her arms, and shut her eyes as she shielded Obito.

Splurt!

The breeze stirred, and blood sprayed through the air.

Nohara Rin lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Several seconds passed, but she never felt the pain of a blade cutting into her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw someone standing in front of her.

Drip, drip...

Blood fell to the ground, staining the earth red.

Nohara Rin looked up. Sen Chisato stood in front of her with his left hand raised, gripping the blade firmly in his palm. Their teacher, Namikaze Minato, had appeared too, one hand resting on Sen Chisato's shoulder.

"It's all right now, Rin," Minato said, turning to reassure her with a smile.

"We can talk about that later. I'll handle this one, and you take the other two." Despite being injured and still gripping the blade, Sen Chisato looked calm, as though he couldn't feel the pain. He turned to Namikaze Minato and divided up their opponents.

"All right." Namikaze Minato had no objections. Without even glancing at the Sand Hidden Jonin, he charged toward the other two Sand Ninja.

Feeling the force of the Ninja Blade, Sen Chisato finally turned to look at the Sand Hidden Jonin. "Don't resist for nothing. If you surrender now, you'll suffer a little less."

"Tch. You think I'd believe that?" the Sand Ninja sneered, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

He was furious!

Those two had appeared so suddenly that he hadn't even had time to react.

At that speed, they could have killed him in the blink of an eye. He wouldn't have been able to fight back at all.

Yet they hadn't made a move.

The reason was that this brat wanted to fight him alone, and the blond Jonin had actually agreed!

"What a joke!"

With a roar, he yanked hard on his blade. If the brat didn't let go, he'd lose that hand.

Sen Chisato let go at once. His face held a smile that was infuriatingly provocative and mocking. "Don't get so worked up. You're going to die anyway. Wouldn't it be better to die without too much trouble?"

As he let go, he turned aside to dodge the Sand Hidden Jonin's blade and pulled Nohara Rin behind him.

While the Sand Hidden Jonin's swing missed, Sen Chisato closed in and kicked him. He hurled shuriken even as his hands swiftly formed seals.

Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

Now that he'd started fighting, he wouldn't stop attacking until his enemy was dead.

Bang!

The tremendous force sent the Sand Hidden Jonin flying several meters.

"That brat's got some serious strength!" The Sand Hidden Jonin landed and clutched his stomach, pain bringing cold sweat to his brow.

He took a deep breath and had barely straightened up when hundreds of shuriken came flying at him.

The Sand Hidden Jonin's expression changed. He immediately leaped to the side to dodge them.

Seeing that, Sen Chisato curled his lips into a smile. He'd already finished forming the seals for another technique.

He aimed for the Sand Hidden Jonin's landing spot and slapped a hand against the ground. "Earth Release: Earth Splitter Palm!"

The earth cracked apart, and the ground instantly collapsed.

"Does this brat have no fear of burning through too much chakra?" The Sand Hidden Jonin hurriedly formed hand seals. He used "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," opening his mouth and spitting out a blast of wind. The reverse thrust let him forcefully change his landing spot in midair.

But that left him unable to control his body.

Sen Chisato formed more seals. "Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears!"

Sharp Earth Spears suddenly burst from the ground, filling a wide area in a crisscrossing mass.

The Sand Ninja's face turned ashen. If he fell down into that, he'd be skewered for sure!

He twisted around with all his strength and slashed at one of the Earth Spears. The others carved a series of wounds into his body, but he managed to survive.

But before he could catch his breath, Sen Chisato attacked again. A colossal torrent crashed down from above, sweeping him off his feet and smashing several Earth Spears along the way.

Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!

After releasing the technique, Sen Chisato finally stopped forming hand seals. He drew the short blade from behind his waist and charged forward along the rushing water.

The torrent receded, and the Sand Hidden Jonin struggled to his feet.

That string of ninjutsu attacks had broken several of his ribs.

He turned his head. Sen Chisato was already right in front of him.

Sen Chisato sidestepped the Sand Hidden Jonin's feeble swing, bent low as he passed by him, and flicked his short blade, nimbly severing the tendons in the man's leg.

Bang!

The Sand Hidden Jonin dropped to one knee, his face twisted in terror as he swung his blade around.

He knew it. The brat would take the opportunity to circle behind him and deliver a fatal blow!

But he was wrong.

"Wrong choice," Sen Chisato said with a smile. As the man turned, he circled back around to face him and swung again, cutting off the arm he was using to brace himself.

"Argh!" the Sand Hidden Jonin screamed as he toppled sideways.

But before he hit the ground, the short blade had already swept across his throat.

As blood spurted, the Sand Hidden Jonin stopped breathing.

Kakashi dragged his weakened body over to Nohara Rin and Obito just in time to see this.

Agile, swift, efficient, and beautiful!

Sen Chisato could have killed his enemy the moment he first swung his blade, but he'd made two extra attacks—one to sever the man's tendons, and one to cut off his arm. It seemed he was trying to show Kakashi something.

"Did you see that?" Sen Chisato asked as he turned around, as if he'd seen right through Kakashi's thoughts.

One of his hands was bleeding, while the other held his short blade, its edge stained with blood as well.

One belonged to him; the other belonged to his enemy.