Konoha Genin Is a Title for the Strong

"I didn't expect you to have heard of me. Not bad. Too bad you're about to die."

His tone suddenly changed.

"But if you give up resisting now, I might consider taking you alive."

Tugang addressed the three surrounded ninjas.

"Prepare to fight!"

Kakashi climbed down from Obito Uchiha's back and spoke coldly.

He slowly drew the short blade from his back. Maybe he'd moved too much again. Blood began seeping from his chest once more.

Obito Uchiha said nothing, drawing his last kunai as he warily watched the people around them.

Though he usually acted as if he didn't care about anything, he would never surrender.

He cared a great deal about the Uchiha name.

"Stay behind me. I'll lead the charge." Genma Shiranui said this as he pointed his long blade at Tugang.

Seeing the three of them take their positions, Tugang knew they had rejected his offer.

He smiled. "Why can't you accept my kindness? Are you really willing to die here? I still have plenty of things to do, after all."

"I won't die before I finish them."

With victory all but assured, Tugang continued trying to tempt them.

In his eyes, these three young ninjas were no threat—especially since they were injured.

He could take them down without breaking a sweat.

But right now, he was more interested in taking Kakashi and the others without a fight.

So he continued, "Think of those dreams you absolutely have to fulfill. Are you really willing to fall here? Nothing matters more than staying alive."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Obito Uchiha unexpectedly lost his temper.

"You bastard, don't underestimate us! What's with that tone, like you've already beaten us? Let this Genin see just how capable you are!"

As he spoke, Obito Uchiha stepped in front of the other two.

"Oh? You're still Genin? Then you must be Konoha prodigies. Otherwise, there's no way you'd have killed that Ino fellow with Genin-level strength."

"Thanks for sharing such useful information with me."

His tone changed again.

"Goodness, in that case, I really can't let you go back alive." Tugang's expression slowly turned cruel.

But the next instant, his face changed dramatically.

"Yamamura, look out!" Tugang suddenly shouted, quickly adopting a guarded stance.

But by the time they reacted, it was already too late.

Yamamura felt a gust of wind brush past his cheek.

Then his throat was slashed open.

"Konoha Genin is a title for the strong, you bastard. Don't get it wrong."

Ye Yuexin had appeared beside Kakashi and the others. He spoke calmly to Tugang,

then slipped the flying knife that had suddenly appeared in his hand back into its sheath.

"Thud. Thud." Two bodies hit the ground.

The two Rock Ninjas in the direction Ye Yuexin had come from had lost their lives just like that.

"Th-that was so cool, Yuexin!" Obito Uchiha exclaimed excitedly, his face turning red.

"How did you get here?" After seeing Ye Yuexin dispatch two enemies so quickly, Kakashi looked astonished.

But his gaze grew even more serious, as if Konoha had suffered another great loss.

Just then, the little Ninja Dog slowly poked its head out from the collar of Ye Yuexin's shirt.

That made it obvious: Rin must have found Ye Yuexin and the others. It also meant Rin Nohara was safe.

"You shouldn't have come." Kakashi stared into Ye Yuexin's eyes.

Obito Uchiha seemed to realize it too.

"Yuexin, get out of here! The three of us will hold them off. You should still have some chakra left—you can definitely escape."

As the three of them spoke, Tugang's gaze turned serious.

He had only noticed Yamamura, but he hadn't sensed the danger posed by the other person at all.

Judging by the other man's wound, it must have been caused by the flying knife Ye Yuexin had just put away.

With that speed and decisiveness, on top of Ye Yuexin's age, he was clearly another Konoha prodigy.

And he seemed even more talented than the three they had surrounded.

Facing that kind of speed, even Tugang had to take him seriously.

It was enough to make anyone furious. The other nations wanted to demand an answer from Konoha: why was their village the only one that kept producing prodigies?

The other Rock Ninjas weren't thinking that far ahead. Besides being shocked, they were mostly furious.

The two dead men had been comrades who shared a cooking pot with them at the border.

So they gritted their teeth and glared at Ye Yuexin, waiting for Tugang to give the order. Then they'd all charge in and hack him to pieces.

Hearing Obito Uchiha say that, Ye Yuexin's opinion of him improved a little.

He smiled. "You should go first. I'll handle things here. Rin Nohara and the others have gone to get reinforcements."

"Head straight back. At your current speed, you should run right into them." Seeing Kakashi's wound, Ye Yuexin was surprised.

It wasn't an ordinary wound. It looked as if someone had run a sword straight through him.

The wound was so close to his heart that it was a miracle Kakashi was still standing. Anyone else would probably already be unconscious and close to death.

"Yuexin, you—"

"Put Kakashi on your back and go."

"But we—"

"Don't forget, Rin is waiting for you." Ye Yuexin cut Obito Uchiha off twice.

This was what Ye Yuexin hated most.

He wasn't stupid. Why would he come here just to die?

He had come because he was confident he could escape, and because he wanted to test the difference between his now-mastered footwork and an elite Jonin.

Perhaps he noticed Ye Yuexin's gaze. Kakashi's eyes filled with conflict.

But in the end, Ye Yuexin's determined stare convinced him to agree to retreat.

The moment Kakashi and the others tried to leave, the remaining Rock Ninjas prepared to attack.

Not so fast.

"Thump!"

The Rock Ninja nearest them suddenly crumpled to the ground without warning.

A flying knife was stuck in his neck.

No one had seen how Ye Yuexin had attacked. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Tugang grew even more cautious.

With his skill, he had only caught a glimpse of Ye Yuexin's hand moving.

He hadn't seen how the flying knife had hit its target.

But against these Rock Ninja Chunin, Ye Yuexin's flying knives were certain death.

Whenever Ye Yuexin attacked, there was no chance for these Chunin to dodge.

Between the journey back and the time he'd spent with Might Guy and the others, Ye Yuexin had finally recovered half his chakra. He had some confidence now.

"Yuexin, when you get back, we'll have barbecue together."

After seeing Ye Yuexin's uncanny abilities, Obito Uchiha's downcast expression—he'd felt as though he were abandoning Ye Yuexin—brightened with surprise.

"You'd better come back."

Genma Shiranui was the one who said that.

Kakashi said nothing, but beyond the surprise in his eyes, there was mostly concern.

"From now on, anyone who crosses this line before I fall will die."

Ye Yuexin drew a line with his foot, his words brimming with authority.

At the same time, a flying knife flashed into his hand once more.

Seeing the knife suddenly appear between Ye Yuexin's fingers, and the one that had vanished from their comrade's neck, the Rock Ninja Chunin all looked wary. Including Tugang, five of them remained.

"Take him down first," Tugang ordered.

"Attack together! He can only throw one flying knife at a time!"