Hidden Danger in the Dense Forest

"Summoning Technique!"

As a cloud of smoke rose and the white mist dispersed, everyone on the field vanished along with it.

The enemies whose vision had been obstructed by the smoke activated a signal flare after discovering that their targets had disappeared. They then hurried toward the next ambush point.

Before coming here, they had already set up several major interception points along the routes their targets might take. Now that the targets had vanished using a diversion, they had certainly changed course. But no matter how they detoured, there were still several unavoidable passes they could not bypass.

Five people and one snake moved quietly through the dense forest.

Kakashi had summoned Kōsei. After receiving permission, the merchant Oda hugged the little fleshy horn on its head with both arms. Inuzuka Kawa then used bandages to tie him securely to Kōsei's body.

The group advanced swiftly through the jungle. Minato, who led the way, focused all his senses on their surroundings, while Kakashi, guarding the rear, remained equally vigilant.

Aburame Haru and Inuzuka Kawa were positioned in the middle of the group. One on each side, they protected Oda.

During this time, Aburame Haru released the greatest number of scout insects she could control, sending them farther ahead of the group for the first round of reconnaissance.

Soon, the sun set. From time to time, the sounds of nocturnal beasts searching for food echoed through the forest.

For safety's sake, they did not light a fire. They ate in the dark.

It had been an exhausting day. The four ninja were holding up well enough, but Oda had long since reached his limit. He barely took a few hurried bites before falling asleep.

"Sensei, the insects have sent word. There are no traces of ninja activity anywhere nearby."

Carefully sensing the swarm that had just returned from gathering intelligence, Aburame Haru nodded to Minato.

"Good work, Haru. We'll rest here tonight and take turns keeping watch. I'll take the first half of the night. Kakashi, you'll have to take over when it's time to switch."

"Alright, Minato-sensei." Kakashi nodded without objection.

Just as Kakashi was about to dismiss Kōsei's summoning, his unrelenting vigilance allowed him to notice that something was wrong even before Minato did.

"Watch out!"

Minato had relaxed slightly after hearing Aburame Haru's report, but at Kakashi's startled cry, the chakra within him reacted instinctively and surged at once.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted kunai gleaming in the air beneath the moonlight.

"Earth Release: Earth-Flow Wall!" An Earth Wall shot up in an instant, blocking the vast majority of the ambushing kunai.

"What? How had they caught up so quickly?!"

With no time to think further, Minato swiftly assessed the situation.

They had currently identified seven enemies. Four of them possessed chakra signatures no weaker than a Jonin's. One of them even gave him a sense of danger. Worse still, the strongest among them had remained hidden in the shadows, never revealing himself.

Though he had not shown himself, he continued locking onto Minato with his presence from the darkness.

He was forcing Minato not to go all out. Otherwise, the enemy would surely seize any opening with a thunderous assault.

"Where had such a powerful opponent come from?"

"Minato-sensei, if it comes to it, take those two and Mr. Oda and leave first. Kōsei and I will break through from another direction."

Minato was gratified that Kakashi could make such a self-sacrificing decision in a crisis like this. But he was not the kind of person who could abandon his comrades.

"Don't say that, Kakashi. I'm your captain. I will never leave any one of you behind. In a moment, I'll hold off their Jonin. You can fight the remaining three without restraint. Inuzuka and the others will protect Mr. Oda and withdraw first. Wait for us near Point B."

Minato, who had already mapped out this new route along the way, began issuing orders.

As expected of those born into Konoha's great clans, even Inuzuka Kawa and Aburame Haru, who had only recently graduated, were tense but not panicked.

After carefully listening to Minato's instructions, Inuzuka Kawa stepped forward and tightly gripped the rope tied around Oda's waist.

With a fierce battle ahead, Kakashi's summoned beast, Kōsei, would have to remain behind. Only he, with his greater stamina, could take Oda onward.

"Go!"

Seeing that everyone was ready, Minato had no intention of giving his opponents more time to prepare. He used the Body Flicker Technique to close in on the enemies and launch his attack.

At the same time, Kakashi used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to stop the three Chunin who were preparing to rush in and surround him, covering Inuzuka and Aburame's retreat.

Before leaving, Aburame Haru left two sensing insects with Kakashi and the others. Even if they got separated later, they would be able to find each other through the insects' mutual senses.

Minato was clearly stronger than the three Jonin disguised as wandering ninja. But the three enemies supported one another in formation, and for the moment, Minato could not find an opening through taijutsu alone. The battle fell into a slight stalemate.

Kakashi's battle, meanwhile, entered a fever pitch from the very beginning.

Battles below the Jonin level did not have much room for flashy techniques. With everyone possessing limited chakra, offensive ninjutsu was generally reserved for the decisive blow.

Kakashi was surrounded by the three enemies who had charged back in.

Man and snake exchanged a glance, then acted in perfect sync.

Kōsei opened its enormous maw, drawing the enemy at its front left to focus on it.

In that instant, it unleashed Senjutsu: Bewilderment! without the slightest hesitation.

This technique worked better when enemies were clustered together, but in order to catch them off guard and reduce their numbers at the outset, Kōsei cast it in a flash.

The enemy's figure swayed. He had been hit.

His companion at the side sensed that something was wrong, but had no time to rescue him.

Because an even faster blade flashed past.

As Kōsei used Senjutsu, Kakashi had already drawn his sword and closed in at high speed.

"Squelch!"

The sound of a sharp blade cutting into flesh rang out.

Under the moonlight, bright, warm blood sprayed several meters into the air from his carotid artery...

Without pausing, Kakashi seized the initiative with a fierce attack while the other two enemies were still stunned. His fluid swordsmanship unfolded in an unbroken stream.

The enemies, already at a disadvantage from the start, could only defend passively. Under the overwhelming barrage of sword strikes, they did not even have a chance to form hand seals or retreat and widen the distance.

The remaining Chunin was held back by Kōsei and was also in grave danger. He could only rely on nimble footwork to evade, powerless to offer aid.

If there was a flaw in the mastermind's plan against their group, it was most likely Kakashi.

As a registered ninja and Konoha's current rising star, Minato's strength was fairly well understood by Danzo and the others. Any discrepancy would not be too great.

But Kakashi had only one official record of fighting in the village, so the enemy's intelligence on him was severely lacking.

When he had returned to the village with Orochimaru last time, he had only reported that he was learning Senjutsu and possessed the potential to master it. During the graduation exam, Kakashi had coasted through the entire process.

It was not to play weak and catch others off guard, but to prepare for the crises that could arise at any moment.