One Step Too Late

"Ah!!"

Kakashi let out a miserable groan, and as he retreated, he covered his left eye with one hand, blood flowing from between his fingers.

"Kakashi!!"

Obito's face was pale, and his eyes were wide open in terror.

Kakashi tore a bandage from his wrist and casually wrapped it around his left eye.

He looked at the broken White Fang in his hand with his only remaining eye, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

White Fang was his father's knife, but in the end, it broke in his own hand.

"Impressive! So it's the White Fang Sword Technique! It seems your background isn't so simple."

The speaker was an elite Jonin who had severed White Fang's Elite Jonin.

He didn't immediately strike, but instead watched Kakashi with great interest.

The weapon used to sever White Fang's teeth was a blade strapped to his right arm, which gleamed with a chilling white light in the sunlight.

"Obito, we're destined to die here today! But I won't surrender easily. What about you?"

Blood stained the bandages, making his face appear covered in blood.

With Obito on his face and a look of guilt:

"Kakashi, you... you finally came! You lost an eye saving me. If we get out of here alive, I'll give you your eye in return. I always keep my word."

Kakashi smiled.

The same smile appeared on the faces of the surrounding Iwagakure, but a different kind of smile.

"Kid! You're about to die, and you're talking about the future? You're incredibly stupid." The Jonin his arm, wiped a trickle of blood from the blade with his fingers and said mockingly.

Obito glanced at the cave not far away, a resolute look on his face. "If I can't rescue Rin today, I'm willing to die here."

He was the first to rush forward.

Kakashi came to save people, so he had no intention of running away. He sheathed his broken sword and used Lightning Release.

The four Elite Jonin the Iwa Ninja stronghold did not make a move; the others alone had already cornered the two, putting them in grave danger.

"You brats, just die!"

The Elite Jonin his arms, suddenly attacked without warning. His incredibly fast blades sliced towards the necks of the two men, seemingly intending to kill them both with a single strike.

He attacked from behind, leaving the two men, who were surrounded and unable to fight back, with no extra ability to retaliate.

A life-or-death situation!

Sudden!

A fierce wind swept through, carrying sand and stones.

A giant creature, three meters tall, fell from the sky.

Boom!!

The earth trembled three times.

The Elite Jonin, who was about to succeed, was startled by this sudden scene and stopped moving abruptly, because the monster had landed directly in front of him.

What is this?

Upon seeing what was coming, all the Iwagakure were terrified.

This thing was over three meters tall. Although it was humanoid, it didn't have a human face. It had black wings on its back and carried a long sword. Its aura was somewhat frightening.

No one answered their questions. As soon as the Tengu landed, the long sword slashed diagonally upwards, meeting their faces head-on.

The person who was killed was naturally the Elite Jonin who was standing nearby.

"My blade can even cut through White Fang!"

The Elite Jonin his skills, swung his sword to defend himself.

But as soon as he touched it, he sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.

Tengu's Chakra Blade clashed with his sharp blade, there was no sound of weapons colliding; instead, a deafening explosion rang out, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. One arm was the first to be severed.

"Ah!!!"

The Elite Jonin in agony as his body was torn to shreds and sent flying like a tattered sack, crashing into a rock wall and burying him in the rubble. He was clearly beyond saving.

"Who goes there!"

The sudden turn of events startled all the Iwagakure, who reacted like cats whose tails had been stepped on, snapping into their fighting stances.

Having narrowly escaped death, Obito and Kakashi, still shaken by their near-death experience, looked at the enormous creature blocking their path.

Once everyone calmed down, they realized that behind the monster was a Chakra tail that stretched deep into the forest.

Having easily dispatched an Elite Jonin, no one dared to make a move rashly, and they all stared intently into the depths of the forest.

Long Ye walked out slowly.

Chakra surged around him.

At the end of the Tengu's tail was the Chakra rising from his body.

"I'm still a step too late!"

Long Ye saw Kakashi's injured left eye, she sighed inwardly.

He had arrived as quickly as possible, but before he came, he did not know that Rin had been captured, so he went to Kannabi Bridge at first in order to rescue Obito.

However, on the way, he encountered a squad of Iwagakure and heard from them that Rin had been captured and taken to the Iwa Ninja camp's stronghold.

Upon hearing that Rin had been captured, he already guessed that Kakashi and the other person would definitely go to rescue her. Despite his Lightning Flash speed, he was still a step too late.

Obito and Kakashi, seeing the divine weapon descend from the sky, revealed expressions of wild joy.

"As long as we're alive, you're not too late!"

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

History has already proven how strong Long Ye was; after all, the title of Konoha Lightning wasn't bestowed upon him by Konoha itself.

His arrival not only saved them from certain death, but also greatly increased the chances of rescuing Lin.

"Another one coming to die!"

On the Iwagakure side, Elite Jonin an afro stepped down from a rock.

He glanced at the Jonin, whose body was mostly buried in the rubble, Jonin oblivious to his fate, and his face turned extremely gloomy.

In his view, the opponent's arrival was too sudden, catching everyone off guard. The heavy damage to his teammates was more due to being caught off guard and ambushed, rather than a lack of skill.

Moreover, the key point is that this is currently within his Iwa Ninja camp, and there are dozens of experts right in front of him, all of whom are elite Elite Jonin. Even if one is lost, there are still three left.

Such a fighting force has no chance of losing against these three kids who look to be no more than teenagers.

"This person seems to be Konoha Lightning."

Among the Iwagakure, someone recognized Long Ye's face.

"What, it's him?"

"Is that the Konoha who got S-rank Bounty from the higher-ups of Iwagakure?"

There was a stir among the Iwagakure, a mixture of curiosity, timidity, and excitement.

Three Elite Jonin stepped forward in a single line.

The three of them have very unique hairstyles.

Aside from the one with the afro, the other person had a neat hairstyle, with what looked like a flatbread on their head. The last person had their hair styled in a fan shape, like a fan stuck on top of their head, swaying back and forth in the wind.

The three of them are the type that you can easily recognize after meeting them once or twice.

"I never imagined you were Lightning Flash. This is truly a one-time solution. If I take your life, not only will I quickly become famous, but I will also do a great service to the village, enhance my reputation in the Land of Earth, and perhaps even have the opportunity to succeed the next Tsuchikage in the future."

He was tall and thin with an afro, showing no signs of nervousness and exuding confidence.