The Late-Arriving Ye Liang

"Ah!"

A shout suddenly rang out in the distance!

Several drops of blood suddenly fell onto the land that had been empty moments ago.

"How is that possible?! How could you possibly detect my presence?!"

After that demand, the invisible ninja suddenly reappeared beside Rin Nohara, looking utterly bewildered. A rigid Shuriken was lodged in his chest.

He staggered back several steps in disbelief before collapsing.

"Heh, don't underestimate me."

Obito, supported by Rin, gave a bitter smile, his hand still held in the motion of throwing a Shuriken.

"Oishi!"

"Damn it! You actually saw through Oishi's ninjutsu! Kakkō, Mahiru! Go kill those two brats together! I'll hold off this jonin!"

The leader immediately issued his orders.

Kakashi was also somewhat incredulous.

Then he suddenly noticed Obito's eyes.

Two dark red tomoe spun tightly beside his pupils!

"It's the Sharingan! Obito awakened the Sharingan! That explains it—since the Sharingan is the bane of all Genjutsu, it can definitely see through invisibility techniques!"

Kakashi's fighting spirit immediately flared.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

Rows upon rows of sharp Shuriken flew toward the enemy leader.

"Hmph, you think such a low-level trick can affect me?" The leader casually threw out a kunai, blocking the Shuriken in front of him.

Yet the instant the weapons collided, a violent explosion erupted in midair.

"Explosive Tags? How laughable. How could something so low-grade possibly affect me?" The leader laughed and immediately charged at Kakashi.

But a cold smile appeared on Kakashi's lips.

The plan had succeeded!

The two swiftly clashed.

"Haha, brat, you may be clever enough, but you're still just a child. With all my years of experience, you're no match for me!"

The leader laughed wildly. As soon as they exchanged blows, Kakashi fell into a disadvantage.

Just as he said, although Kakashi was a genius, he was still too young. Konoha's Taijutsu was refined, but his immature combat experience was nowhere near enough to defeat the leader before him.

After several moves, Kakashi was already struggling to hold on.

Rin Nohara in the distance was also starting to falter.

She had never been a combat ninja to begin with. If not for Obito's Sharingan guiding her, she might not even have been able to throw her Shuriken accurately.

"Give up, brat! You're all dead today!"

The leader taunted them once more.

But at this moment, Team 7 showed not the slightest sign of wavering. Although they were losing the fight, their will to battle only grew fiercer.

Because they all understood one thing.

The Explosive Tags had detonated!

That was right. The sound of the Explosive Tags was enough to bring them reinforcements.

"Where victory lies is still unknown, and life and death have yet to be decided!"

Kakashi stubbornly endured the leader's attacks. Just as he was about to die, a figure abruptly appeared on the battlefield.

His eyes were stern.

A glimmer of cold light swept over everyone present.

"Who is it?!"

The Earth Village Leader cried out, but before he could react, a Shuriken had been driven deep into his throat.

"Your daddy!"

The figure kicked him to the ground, then flashed over to Rin Nohara's side in an instant.

"Shinra Tensei!"

With an angry roar, a white barrier suddenly appeared around Rin Nohara. A wall of force swiftly blasted the two nearby ninjas away.

Their heads lolled to the side.

They were dead.

"Teacher Ye Liang! You finally came! I knew you would come save us."

Rin Nohara excitedly threw herself into Ye Liang's arms, leaving him rather awkward.

"Holy crap! Team 7 almost got wiped out. Scared the hell out of me!"

Cold sweat ran down Ye Liang's back.

Only now did he finally remember what this mission was about.

The famous Kannabi Bridge incident!

It had been mentioned in Shippuden before, but since it was Minato's memory, Ye Liang had not remembered it in time.

In the original story, Minato led a team to disrupt Kannabi Bridge. Though the mission had seemed simple, something had still gone wrong.

Team 7 had been ambushed by Hidden Stone Village here!

In this battle, Rin Nohara had Isobu sealed inside her and ultimately died tragically!

Kakashi lost an eye.

After giving his eye to Kakashi, Obito had half his body crushed by a boulder, eventually falling into darkness and becoming Tobi!

"Damn it, I actually forgot such an important plot point! What a massive miscalculation!"

Ye Liang was filled with regret.

How could someone who had played Naruto to death forget such an important plot point?!

He shouldn't have!

Fortunately, it had still ended well. Otherwise, Ye Liang would probably have regretted it to death.

"Phew, since everyone's fine, let's get out of here. I found a large number of Land of Earth ninjas nearby earlier. They'll probably arrive here soon."

Ye Liang spoke with great conviction.

It was all a lie.

If not for Kakashi's Explosive Tag, Ye Liang would still have been sleeping soundly.

Lie or truth, Ye Liang only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

If this really was Kannabi Bridge, then this was the center of the war. Whether or not there were other ninjas lying in ambush now, it would eventually become a battlefield!

"Alright, we'll leave right away."

Kakashi replied tensely. He quickly threw several Explosive Tag Shuriken toward Kannabi Bridge, then came over and carried Obito on his back.

"Let's go."

The group reached an agreement, but just as they were about to leave, the Earth Village Leader, whose heart Ye Liang had pierced, suddenly charged straight at Ye Liang.

His heart had been wounded, yet he was still alive!

"I won't let you ruin my master's plan! Die!"

He tightly gripped a Shuriken and rushed at Ye Liang.

"Teacher, watch out! There are Explosive Tags on that Shuriken!" Kakashi immediately warned him.

Clearly, this Shuriken was the tool Kakashi had originally planned to use to blow up Kannabi Bridge.

Before Ye Liang could react, the Earth Village Leader had already grabbed hold of him.

"Fuck!"

He was a modern man, so his combat instincts were still lacking. He hurriedly activated Shinra Tensei, intending to blast away the leader clinging to him.

But before he could activate it, the Explosive Tag on the Shuriken detonated.

The Explosive Tag had actually been triggered before it even got close to Ye Liang! Judging by this, the Earth Village Leader had intended to die together with Ye Liang.

"Motherfucker!"

After the explosion, Ye Liang's body turned into half a tree branch!

"Good thing I learned the Substitution Technique from little Anko before leaving. Otherwise, I really would've died here today!"

Ye Liang panted heavily in lingering fear. The scene just now had nearly scared him senseless.

Being willing to give up one's life for a mission was certainly a spirit worthy of respect, but when the target was himself, it was truly terrifying.