Two tomoe awakened in fury

Before Minato Namikaze, a squad of fifty Jonin was no different from fifty ordinary people. They could mount no effective counterattack, and he soon killed them all.

After killing the Iwagakure ninja, Minato Namikaze found the four retreating Konoha ninja and told them to deliver a message to Jiraiya on the main battlefield. He had blown up Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's supply line. There was no need to launch any more offensives; they only needed to hold off Iwagakure's counterattack and wait for its forces to exhaust their supplies and withdraw!

Once they understood, Minato Namikaze sensed his Flying Thunder God marker again, preparing to return to Kakashi.

While Minato was displaying his overwhelming power, Kakashi had become locked in a bitter struggle.

Holding off two Jonin alone was still a strain for Kakashi.

Rin Nohara was not strong enough, either. Rather than saying she and Obito were fighting two Chunin, it was more accurate to say Obito was holding both of them off alone. But without awakening his Sharingan, Obito was only an ordinary Chunin. Against two Chunin attacking together, he could only stall them for a while.

"Brat, your teammates are about to give out, you know?" an Iwagakure Jonin taunted as he swung his sword at Kakashi.

Kakashi raised his blade to block the attack, then glanced toward Obito. Just as the man had said, Obito had suffered several wounds and looked ready to collapse.

"Brat, you fell for it!" the ninja who had just warned Kakashi shouted smugly.

The Iwagakure ninja struck again, his blade coming in at a vicious angle. Kakashi had no time to react beyond holding his sword across his body to block the slash.

Clang!

The blades collided. Kakashi was too young, and his defense had been purely instinctive, so the impact sent him flying.

Kakashi found himself airborne. Before he could form hand seals, the other Jonin suddenly appeared behind him, his fist encased in rock as he punched toward Kakashi's lower back.

Just as the Iwagakure ninja behind him was about to land his blow, his legs suddenly buckled, and he fell facedown beneath Kakashi.

Kakashi's eyes lit up in midair. He aimed his Short Blade at the Stone ninja's neck below him and slashed.

"Taiseki!" the ninja who had knocked Kakashi back shouted, immediately swinging his sword at Kakashi's arm.

Seeing the blade coming toward him, Kakashi barked under his breath, "Chidori Stream!"

A layer of electrical armor instantly enveloped Kakashi!

Kakashi's blade sliced across Taiseki's neck, killing him on the spot.

The sword aimed at Kakashi struck the Chidori Stream without injuring him. Instead, the current raced along the blade toward the Iwagakure ninja!

The ninja acted decisively, releasing his sword at once and leaping back some distance.

"What happened? Why did Taiseki suddenly fall?" He quickly scanned his surroundings, but saw no one else!

"Lord Mahiru, should we..."

"Shut up!" the ninja facing Kakashi snapped. "You'd better deal with the enemy in front of you, or I can't guarantee you'll make it back safely!"

The Iwagakure Jonin called Mahiru cut off the nearby Chunin.

Kakashi looked at Taiseki's body beside him. His opponent was not the only one confused; Kakashi was puzzled, too. He thought he had just seen a small pebble strike the back of Taiseki's neck, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Mahiru formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof! Poof! Poof!

More than a dozen clones appeared, surrounding Kakashi.

Kakashi tightened his grip on his Short Blade and watched the shadow clones, panting slightly.

Although Kakashi did not yet have the Sharingan and his chakra reserves were still adequate, fighting two Jonin and then using Chidori Stream, an A-rank ninjutsu he had not fully mastered, had left him with little chakra.

Watching the shadow clones charge, Kakashi glanced toward Obito, gritted his teeth, and formed hand seals again.

"Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!"

He unleashed another Lightning Release ninjutsu he had yet to master.

A blue shaft of energy more than ten meters long, formed from compressed lightning, instantly extended from Kakashi's right hand.

Kakashi swept his right hand sideways. Every shadow clone it touched vanished. Only one retreated instead of taking his attack head-on.

Seeing Mahiru retreat another few dozen steps, Kakashi quickly dismissed the technique, turned, and rushed toward Obito, forming hand seals once more.

"Lightning Release: Chidori!"

Kakashi's speed surged. Before the two Chunin in front of Obito could react, he passed between them and reached Obito's side.

The two Chunin Kakashi had just struck were left paralyzed where they stood by Chidori's current.

Obito wasted no time. He stepped forward and took their lives with two slashes.

"Damn brat!" After being played for a fool by Kakashi, Mahiru flew into a rage.

"Earth Release: Yellow Spring Swamp!" Mahiru cast the ninjutsu as he raced toward Kakashi.

Kakashi had nearly exhausted his chakra. Hunched over and panting hard, he took a food pill from his ninja tool pouch and swallowed it.

"You two, go! I'll hold him off!" Kakashi shoved them both out of the Yellow Spring Swamp's range, then turned to face the charging Mahiru.

Kakashi struggled to steady his breathing. With the food pill restoring a little of his chakra, he prepared to attack again.

But Mahiru gave him no such chance. He formed hand seals and unleashed another ninjutsu.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

Mahiru stopped ten meters in front of Kakashi and, having finished his seals, slammed his hands against the ground.

The earth before Mahiru began to flow like water.

Trapped in the Yellow Spring Swamp, Kakashi could barely move and had no time to dodge. The Earth Flow River swallowed him in an instant, and he disappeared beneath the ground.

But Mahiru did not leave it at that. He formed hand seals again.

"Earth Release: Fissure Fissure Palm!"

Mahiru slammed his hands against the ground again. Several great fissures opened in the earth that had swallowed Kakashi. Mahiru intended to tear his body apart.

"Kakashi!" After Kakashi pushed Obito and Rin Nohara out of the attack's range, they had only run a short distance before hearing one Earth Release ninjutsu after another erupt behind them.

They turned to see that Mahiru had buried Kakashi underground. It looked as though he had been killed.

Obito Uchiha stared fixedly at the spot where Kakashi had vanished. More than ten seconds passed, but no one emerged from the ground.

"Kakashi! I won't let you die!" Obito roared. "Damn it!"

Obito closed his eyes. Bloody tears ran down from their corners, and when he opened them again, both eyes had turned blood-red.