Surrounded

"Hey, little guy, you're a bit slow. I'll carry you instead."

Ye Yuexin spoke to the little dog at his feet.

Although Ye Yuexin was keeping his speed slow enough to recover his chakra,

Kakashi's ninken still seemed to be having trouble keeping up. Its little tongue lolled out as it panted heavily.

After all, their main base wasn't going anywhere, but Kakashi and the others might be fleeing.

So, to find them faster, Ye Yuexin had brought along the little dog that had been staying beside Rin Nohara.

After picking it up, Ye Yuexin smoothed its fur.

Not knowing how intelligent the dog was, he simply told it, "From now on, follow your nose. I'll go in whichever direction it points."

The little dog in his arms actually nodded when it heard him.

Ye Yuexin couldn't help but be amazed.

Watching anime was one thing, but this was the first time he'd seen an animal in real life that was so intelligent it could understand human speech.

He wondered how Kakashi had trained it. He even wanted to ask him for the training method.

And so, Ye Yuexin continued racing toward Kakashi and the others.

"Hey! Kakashi, don't die on me!"

Seeing Kakashi close his eyes while slumped over his back, Obito Uchiha cried out anxiously.

But after he said that, Kakashi opened his eyes again, his gaze full of helplessness.

"You're the one who's going to die. I just closed my eyes to recover some chakra faster. Could you stop yelling in my ear?"

Kakashi's injuries seemed truly severe. Even his voice sounded weak.

Still, he'd managed to speak in a complete sentence, so he wasn't about to die just yet.

Obito Uchiha let out a heavy sigh of relief, then shouted, "What the hell? If you're not dead, why'd you close your eyes? You scared me!"

They were in a sorry state. Not one of them was free of bloodstains.

Obito Uchiha's clothes were already in tatters.

A wound on his thigh was still bleeding, though it wasn't too large or deep. It looked like it had been caused by a jutsu.

Up ahead, Genma Shiranui's clothes were in even worse shape.

He was covered in scratches, apparently inflicted by blades.

They weren't very deep, but there were so many that they looked terrifying—at a glance, there must have been more than a dozen.

Still, they had stopped bleeding.

They must have healed so quickly because Rin Nohara had already treated them.

Rin Nohara was said to be quite skilled at Medical Ninjutsu.

The most seriously injured of them all was Kakashi, slumped over Obito Uchiha's back.

Kakashi's clothes were in the best condition of the three, but he was also the weakest.

From behind, it was clear he had a wound three fingers wide across his back.

It had been wrapped in bandages, but blood was still soaking through them.

The wound had probably stopped bleeding, since no fresh blood was coming out.

Because he was being carried on Obito Uchiha's back, they couldn't see his front.

If he stood up, they would see that his chest had a matching wound. It had gone straight through him.

It had missed his heart by only a little.

The three of them were heading toward the border of the Land of Fire.

Since Kakashi couldn't handle any jarring movements, they were keeping their pace slow.

Their pursuers could come after them at any moment, but none of the three was in a hurry. Kakashi's injuries came first.

Kakashi had noticed that, and his heart was filled with conflicting feelings.

His outlook hadn't fully changed yet. He was still like a cold, emotionless tool.

That was why it clashed so sharply with the principle he'd come to understand: a ninja's mission came first.

And it had all happened to him.

Just as Kakashi was deciding to stay behind and stop any pursuers who might come after them,

they suddenly found themselves surrounded.

None of the three had sensory jutsu, and Kakashi was too badly injured to use chakra.

So they had no idea how they'd walked right into the encirclement.

They looked at the enemies surrounding them. There were eight of them in all.

Had everyone from the main base come? Genma Shiranui gave a bitter smile.

It seemed they were doomed this time.

"Obito, put me down," Kakashi said quietly.

"Not a chance!"

As soon as Kakashi said it, Obito Uchiha immediately snapped back.

Ignoring the enemy's strength, he shouted at the people surrounding them, "Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you! I'll teach you a lesson today!"

"Heh. Looks like you've still got plenty of fight in you," sneered a middle-aged man in a yellow combat uniform.

He looked at Obito Uchiha, still putting on a brave face, and added with a grin, "But how long can you keep struggling?"

The middle-aged man's outfit was clearly different from the others'. He was probably the leader of the group.

"Who are you? I'll teach you a lesson myself!"

Obito Uchiha kept up his bravado.

As far as the story went, Obito Uchiha was truly a kind and deeply loyal person.

His sharp tongue could be irritating, but that was all it was. If a friend he cared about was in danger, he was absolutely the kind of person who would risk his life for them.

"I'm Tugang, an elite jonin from Iwagakure. Have you heard of me?"

"What! An elite jonin?!"

"What, Iwagakure's Tugang!"

As soon as Tugang spoke, both Obito Uchiha and Kakashi exclaimed in shock.

Obito Uchiha was shocked that his opponent was such a terrifyingly powerful elite jonin.

But Kakashi was different.

He seemed to know quite a lot about him. Seeing Kakashi just as shocked, Obito Uchiha turned to him and asked, "What is it? Is that name famous?"

"Tugang is one of the top ten members of Iwagakure's Earth Style Group. Like the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, it's a special group devoted to researching Earth Release techniques. There are twenty members in all."

Kakashi said no more, but Obito Uchiha could figure out the rest for himself.

After hearing Kakashi's explanation, Genma Shiranui tightened his grip on his blade.

His bitter smile turned grim. His eyes held no fear, only the resolve to face death together.

As far as he was concerned, they had no hope left.

Even if reinforcements came from the Land of Fire's main base, they couldn't possibly include an elite jonin.

And the elite jonin they were facing wasn't an ordinary one. This time, they might truly be doomed.

[New book out... Recommend "collecting" it first... Let it build up before you binge. Your support is needed... Thank you, everyone!] Another chapter is coming today at 1 p.m. Please show your support.