The Kirigakure battlefield

A cold, damp sea breeze swept across the battlefield, and shadows of trees swayed in the dim light.

"Kakashi, you take the Jonin leading them. Leave the chunin to me," Asami Ri said in a low voice.

"No problem."

Kakashi pushed up his forehead protector, and his Sharingan gleamed in the darkness.

Two figures skimmed across the water, charging straight at the enemy formation.

"Little Konoha brats with a death wish!" The Kirigakure Jonin gave a low chuckle as he watched Kakashi charge toward him.

He was a survivor of the Bloody Mist Village's brutal elimination trials, and the ninja blade in his hand had drunk the blood of countless shinobi.

"Hidden Mist Technique!"

He formed hand seals, and thick mist erupted, swallowing the entire battlefield. The mist not only obscured vision but also contained turbulent Chakra. It was the Ninjutsu Kirigakure took the greatest pride in.

Kakashi plunged into the dense mist, but even his Sharingan could not see through that barrier. His surroundings fell deathly silent, with only faint footsteps on the water echoing through the fog.

Kakashi stopped and took a guarded stance, listening for information about his enemy.

Behind me, to the left... no, straight ahead.

Clang!

Kakashi drew his kunai with a reverse grip and blocked a blade slashing out of the mist. Sparks flashed through the fog, illuminating a face twisted with murderous intent.

"Even the Sharingan can't see through this mist." The Kirigakure Jonin's cold voice came from every direction.

Kakashi closed his right eye. Guided by shifts in the air and sounds on the water, he traded furious blows with his opponent at close quarters. Steel clashed as rapidly as a driving rain.

Once, twice, three times...

Despite his obstructed vision, Kakashi never faltered. His mind raced, using the faint traces caught by his Sharingan and ears to work out his opponent's attack rhythm.

There's an opening in his attack pattern now. He'll reposition to strike my back.

His opponent's movements played out in Kakashi's calm mind, every action laid bare by his analysis.

The Kirigakure Jonin blurred into an afterimage and launched a killing blow from behind and to the side. Kakashi, who had stayed on the defensive until now, suddenly withdrew his kunai.

"It's over."

Bzzzz—!!!

A piercing thunderous screech erupted, like a thousand birds crying out together. Dazzling lightning pierced the mist, bathing their surroundings in brilliant light.

Kakashi turned in an instant, the Chidori in his right hand becoming a bolt of azure lightning that plunged straight into his opponent's heart.

The Kirigakure Jonin stiffened. His eyes widened as he stared at the lightning in his chest, as though he had run into it himself.

"How... is this possible...?"

The lightning faded. Expressionless, Kakashi pulled out his right hand and let the blood splash onto the water.

On the other side of the battlefield, five Kirigakure chunin spread out in a fan around Asami Ri.

"Kill him!"

Two Kirigakure ninja formed hand seals simultaneously, their chests swelling. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Raging torrents roared in from both sides like two enormous water pythons, closing in on the center.

At the same time, the other three chunin drew their ninja blades and used the torrents as cover to attack from his blind spots.

Asami Ri remained calm in the face of their encirclement and pressed one hand to the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."

With a thunderous rumble, a thick stone wall burst from the earth, blocking both torrents.

The waves crashed against the rock, sending spray everywhere, but failed to shake the wall in the slightest.

One Kirigakure chunin seized the moment when Asami Ri was immobilized after casting his technique. He blurred into an afterimage and slipped through a gap in the wall, his long blade flashing coldly.

"Die!"

He laughed wildly and swept his ninja blade across.

Shhk—!

"Asami Ri's" body was sliced into three pieces as easily as paper. Yet the expected blood never sprayed out. His severed body collapsed into a puddle of water.

"What?! A Water Clone?"

The chunin's face filled with horror. Before he could retreat, a blinding burst of blue-white light erupted from the collapsing water.

The instant the clone burst, violent electrical currents coursed through the water and climbed the ninja blade into the chunin's body.

Bzzzt—

Amid the piercing electrical hiss, the high-voltage current tore through the chunin before he could even scream.

Countless serpents of lightning bored into his body, instantly charring his organs and muscles. A scorched smell filled the air.

The real Asami Ri appeared in a treetop nearby, looking down at the four terrified survivors. He flexed his fingertips slightly, a faint electrical arc still lingering there.

"Next."

Asami Ri dove down, lightning flaring from both palms and extending into two long, brilliant blue whips.

The whips sliced through the dense mist with a piercing hiss.

One Mist ninja took the metal mechanical umbrella from his back and frantically spun its handle.

"Ninja art: Rain Shower Senbon!"

A dense barrage of senbon shot out like a torrential downpour, blocking every route Asami Ri could use to attack.

Without a change in expression, Asami Ri rapidly coiled the Lightning Whip in his right hand into a spinning circular shield of lightning. A series of sharp clangs rang out as the poisoned steel needles struck the lightning shield and snapped.

"My turn."

Using the umbrella canopy to hide his movements, Asami Ri twisted and swung both Lightning Whips. Two electrical arcs curved through the air and instantly wrapped around the necks of two taijutsu chunin.

Bzzzt—!!!

Terrifying currents erupted in an instant, filling the air with blinding blue light.

Neither man could even cry for help. Their bodies convulsed violently, and in the blink of an eye they were burned into blackened husks that toppled into the mud.

At the sight of their comrades' gruesome deaths, the two remaining Water Release ninja glared in fury. Taking advantage of the brief opening as Asami Ri withdrew his Lightning Whips, they frantically formed hand seals and poured in every last bit of their Chakra.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

Two enormous spheres of water abruptly gathered around Asami Ri, trapping him tightly inside.

The highly compressed water pressure was enough to crush an ordinary person's internal organs.

Yet before the two Mist ninja could show any sign of triumph, the "Asami Ri" inside the water prison dissolved into a puff of white smoke.

"A shadow clone? When did he...?"

"When you blinked."

An icy voice sounded behind them. The two Mist ninja turned stiffly, only to find that Asami Ri had somehow appeared in midair.

Using the momentum of his fall, he spun his entire body like a top, whipping up violent gusts.

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"

The kick carried astonishing force as it swept hard across both men's necks. With sharp cracks of breaking bone, the two Mist ninja flew backward like kites with snapped strings, already dead.

When the last enemy hit the ground, the battlefield fell deathly silent once more.

Asami Ri landed steadily on the damp grass, straightened his sleeves, and turned to look at Kakashi.

The two nodded, swiftly erased the traces of battle, sealed away the enemies' heads, and withdrew from the scene, returning quietly to the Konoha Camp.