Kakashi Gets Serious

On the high ground.

Naruto clenched his fists.

"What will those three do?"

"Keep watching."

Uchiha You replied calmly.

"This is the first lesson you need to learn today."

"Don't rush to make a move."

"First, understand the enemy's rules."

Kakashi closed his book.

"Then..."

"Are you ready?"

Kimimaro lowered his body slightly.

Haku's hands had already begun forming seals.

Karin quietly took half a step back, placing herself behind the other two.

"Begin."

As soon as the words fell.

Kimimaro launched the first attack!

Whoosh!

Ten white bone spikes shot from his fingertips, tearing through the air and instantly sealing off every route Kakashi could use to evade.

"Ten-Finger Bullet Barrage!"

Kakashi's pupils contracted slightly.

He clearly had not expected Kimimaro to open with such a wide-area attack.

Chakra burst beneath his feet.

Kakashi's body instantly leaped backward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The bone spikes struck the ground one after another, sending shattered stones flying.

Almost the moment Kakashi landed, Haku had finished forming seals.

"Ice Release: Ice Pillar Swallow!"

Dozens of crystalline ice swallows formed in midair, swooping toward Kakashi from every direction with piercing whistles.

Kakashi quickly formed seals.

"Earth Release: Earth-Flow Wall!"

Boom!

A thick earthen wall surged up from the ground.

The ice swallows crashed against the wall, erupting in a dense series of explosions.

But in the next instant.

Several bone blades suddenly pierced through the earthen wall.

Kakashi twisted aside, but a bone blade sliced a tear into his sleeve.

"Nice teamwork."

He glanced down at his damaged sleeve.

"Kimimaro is responsible for forcing me into position, while Haku handles the lockdown."

"Then you must be the one looking for openings."

Kakashi raised his head and looked toward Karin in the distance.

Karin did not answer.

She pressed both hands against the ground, and