Battle Against a Chunin

A ninja's battle was often decided in an instant.

Kakashi separated Obito and Uchiha Retsu, while Hideki charged straight at Uchiha Retsu with a Rasengan in hand.

But the gap in strength was right there. Facing the charging Hideki, Uchiha Retsu remained exceptionally composed.

He planted his feet, twisted aside to evade Hideki's attack, then drove a knee into Hideki.

The knee struck solidly, slamming into Hideki's face and sending him flying backward. Yet Uchiha Retsu frowned.

"A clone..."

Sure enough, in the next moment, with a puff, Hideki's body turned into white smoke and vanished.

Kakashi's Earth-Style Wall dropped, revealing three boys standing shoulder to shoulder.

The Woodland Trio of Progress, also known as Konoha Ninja School's First-Year Truancy Squad, had arrived!

"Hideki... damn Kakashi..."

Obito, whose head was still spinning, stared blankly at the two who had appeared beside him and muttered under his breath.

Kakashi's face darkened. Why was this guy still so punchable at a time like this?

"Your cleaning job is pretty abstract, Obito." Hideki smiled calmly. "Did your grandma know about this?"

"Hideki, I..." Obito's eyes reddened slightly, and even his voice choked up.

But Hideki's expression turned serious. "I'll settle the score with you later. Get your head in the game and deal with this bastard first."

Though the one defeated had only been a clone, part of the pain had still been fed back to him. It hurt badly. Coupled with that unexpected speed, the guy before them was definitely no pushover.

Hideki felt somewhat stifled.

First there had been Uchiha Beiying and his cousin Uchiha Ruohuo, and now there was this guy.

These characters who did not even deserve names in the future kept coming at him like nesting dolls. After fighting a cousin, now an older brother had shown up, and he had been given headaches time and again.

They really hurt.

"His name is Uchiha Retsu. He's Uchiha Ruohuo's older brother, at least a Chunin, and possibly even a Jonin."

Obito had finally recovered. The choked-up tone from before was gone. Whenever there was a fight—especially a group fight—Obito could always pull himself together.

"He's probably not a Jonin. Otherwise, your clone wouldn't even have had a chance to get close." Kakashi analyzed, "This is an Uchiha, after all. Don't forget the Sharingan and genjutsu."

The Uchiha's three great hallmarks were Fire Release, Sharingan genjutsu, and their hairstyle... Uchiha Kenjutsu.

Hideki nodded in agreement. "Still, even if he isn't a Jonin, he may have awakened the Sharingan. Be careful!"

Not everyone was as bizarre as Obito.

Even after becoming a Chunin, he had failed to awaken the Sharingan. Right before his "death," he had only possessed a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

Yet afterward, he had jumped from two tomoe straight to the Mangekyo Sharingan in one go—a medical miracle.

Hideki was not sure whether the Uchiha before him had awakened the Sharingan, but he could not exactly fight with his eyes closed, so all he could do was gamble.

Uchiha Retsu looked at the three of them.

He neither mocked them nor displayed fury. He remained as aloof as ever, faithfully carrying out the Uchiha way.

His gaze swept over Obito and Hideki, his disgust undisguised. Yet when he looked at Kakashi, there was a trace of caution in his eyes.

Yes, caution, though it was not obvious. He merely took note of Kakashi's identity as White Fang's son, without taking it too seriously.

This was the Uchiha district!

He was only teaching a few brats a lesson. There was no need to be overly cautious.

Still, Uchiha pride also meant that Uchiha Retsu would not take them too seriously.

"So you three were the ones who injured Beiying and Ruohuo... Even White Fang's son is here. No wonder."

Uchiha Retsu folded his arms, looking as if he had no intention of making the first move.

Kakashi's expression immediately turned somewhat strange.

What should he do? He was starting to regret coming along.

They were the ones fighting, not him!

If his father found out... Well, given his father's twisted sense of humor, he would probably ask whether Kakashi had fought over a girl.

Kakashi sighed, feeling as though he had boarded a pirate ship.

"Kakashi..." Hideki called Kakashi's name in a complicated tone, making him pause.

Is he planning to let me leave? Does he not want to drag me into this?

It was only natural for Kakashi to think that way. The situation before them was obvious. Obito might be unreliable, but he was loyal.

Hadn't he come here alone just to protect Hideki?

Kakashi naturally assumed that Hideki was the same sort of person—seemingly scheming, but actually loyal.

But Hideki was destined to disappoint him.

"This guy won't be easy to handle. We may only get one chance to attack. Obito and I have an insanely powerful move. It's our strongest strike!"

"But this move needs some time, so... please! Kakashi!"

Hideki spoke with deep sincerity.

In truth, he was already thinking that he needed to quickly work out Hydrogen Release coordination with Kakashi afterward.

There was strength in numbers. Only then could they bring out Hydrogen Release's power as much as possible.

But Kakashi did not know anything yet. He was still stuck at the stage of "that isn't an Explosive Tag," so Hideki had no way to have Kakashi use it with them.

Thus, he could only have Kakashi buy them time!

"..."

Kakashi was speechless.

He shot Hideki a disdainful look, only to see eyes full of sincerity. Not just Hideki—Obito looked the same.

You two planned this together, didn't you? Damn it!

Kakashi nearly cursed out loud. Why had he given up being a perfectly good top student to join these two idiots?

Still, Kakashi suppressed the urge to turn around and leave. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Then hurry up!"

With that, he bent slightly at the waist like a little cheetah, looking at Uchiha Retsu with reluctant eyes.

"Come on. Let me see just how great the gap is between Ruohuo and White Fang's son."

Uchiha Retsu still did not draw his sword, as though the long blade were nothing more than decoration.

Kakashi sighed, then charged forward beneath Hideki and Obito's admiring gazes!

"Excuse me, Senior!" Kakashi was still very polite, remembering to greet him before attacking.

Uchiha Retsu responded with the Uchiha Clan's signature courtesy. He raised a hand to block Kakashi's fist, then kicked toward Kakashi's chest.

"You haven't reached the level where you can offend me."

"..."

Kakashi was speechless again. He nimbly spun aside to evade, turned his hand into a blade, and unleashed the Hatake Swordsmanship he had trained in since childhood.

Yet inwardly, he was baffled. Why were all Uchiha Clan members so full of themselves?

Compared to the guy in front of him, Obito was almost cute... Damn it! Obito was even more punchable!

Kakashi fought fiercely through his frustration.

Meanwhile, Hideki and Obito had already finished preparing!

"Kakashi! Move!"

Hideki shouted as the Hydrogen Release: Atmospheric Balloon, which had consumed nearly all his chakra, was ready!

Obito puffed out his cheeks and completed his hand seals, his Great Fireball poised to launch!

Kakashi immediately stopped pressing the attack and hurriedly retreated. When he landed, he even rubbed his arms.

This guy truly was from the Uchiha Clan. His strength was immense, his taijutsu exceptionally ferocious, and every strike was precise. That was without even activating the Sharingan!

At the same time, however, Kakashi secretly began to look forward to it.

"So that technique is their combined ninjutsu?"

"Hideki said that ideally, it would be used by three people working together. Then in the future..."

Before Kakashi could think any further, the two men's combined ninjutsu had already targeted Uchiha Retsu!

First came Hideki's Hydrogen Release: Atmospheric Balloon. It was a full size larger than before, yet it moved even faster.

Obito's Great Fireball followed close behind. Both of them controlled their techniques with great precision, avoiding the possibility of an early explosion.

Obito was serious about this, because last time he had made an operational mistake. He had failed to throw away the cotton swab used to light it properly, nearly cooking Hideki's right hand.

There was some worry in Hideki's eyes, but there was even more confidence.

He had held nothing back. The explosive power might not have been enormous, but it was definitely equivalent to ten Explosive Tags.

He could practically see the light of victory already!

However, Hideki had still imagined ninja battles too simply.

When ninjas fought to the death, they used every means available. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, swordsmanship, and genjutsu were merely tools of the trade.

And the most important things in a ninja battle, aside from strength, were intelligence.

Uchiha Retsu might not have known the molecular formula of Hydrogen Release, but he knew exactly how his younger brother had been blown into the hospital.

"You're thinking too much, brats."

Uchiha Retsu stood unmoving as he formed hand seals with both hands, so fast that they became afterimages.

"Wind Release: Wind Assault Technique!"

In an instant, violent winds rose. Before Hideki's stunned eyes, his Hydrogen Release: Atmospheric Balloon was blown back a considerable distance, colliding with Obito's Great Fireball and erupting in an explosion and wave of flame!

"BOOM!!!!"

The explosion sounded right on cue, but its effect fell far short of expectations.

Uchiha Retsu raised one hand before him, blocking the limited force of the explosion. His sleeve had been scorched into tatters, but...

That was all.

The combination technique that had never failed Hideki and Obito was broken on the spot by Uchiha Retsu's utterly ordinary Wind Release!

This was what a Chunin was.

Even if he was still some distance from being a Jonin, and not particularly impressive within the Shinobi World or Konoha.

His strength and experience were still far beyond what two brats who had not even graduated could compare to.

If all of Hydrogen Release's power had hit Uchiha Retsu, perhaps it would have been another story.

But there were no such things as so many what-ifs. Uchiha Retsu was a Chunin. He had both strength and brains.

In fact, the fact that Uchiha Retsu had suffered even a minor injury was enough for Obito and Hideki to be proud of.

But before the two could recover and congratulate themselves—

"It's over. Remember this from now on: when you encounter an Uchiha, stay far away."

A cold voice rang out from behind them.

At some unknown point, Uchiha Retsu had used Body Flicker and appeared behind them!

His hands formed knife-hands and swung high. In the next instant, he could make both of them collapse on the spot!

But right at that moment—

A hoarse yet alluring voice quietly rang out...

"Ninja Art: Great Serpent."