Blowing Up Kannabi Bridge

Obito settled Rin Nohara in a nearby tree, then picked up the sword from the ground and ran toward Mahiru.

"Hahaha, brat, you dare come back to die? You should treasure the chance to escape that the brat who just died gave you!" Mahiru watched Obito charge back, not taking him seriously at all.

Obito raised his head, looked at Mahiru, and shouted, "Kakashi was my best friend! I'll make you join him in death!"

Mahiru's grin widened when he saw Obito's upturned face. "Hahaha! I really didn't expect this little bonus. If I get your Sharingan, I can become even stronger!"

"You're not worthy of taking my eyes!" Obito roared, swinging his sword at Mahiru's neck.

Mahiru casually raised the sword in his right hand to block. He had been about to mock Obito again, but to his surprise, his block met nothing. Obito's blade had changed course and slashed across his chest.

As a veteran jonin, Mahiru reacted quickly, immediately jumping back to put some distance between them.

"Your movements can't hide from these eyes!" Obito flicked the blood off his blade onto the ground beside him, delivering the line with an air of swagger.

Rather than getting angry at the cut across his chest, Mahiru burst out laughing. "Hahaha! To think a child who only just awakened his Sharingan could use it so well. Now I'm looking forward even more to how much stronger I'll become once I get those eyes!"

"Grandpa Ziyan, my injuries have mostly healed. I want to go help Obito!" Kakashi said, standing beside Hatake Ziyan in a tree not far from the battlefield.

"Oh? Can't bear to see your boyfriend get hurt?" Hatake Ziyan teased.

"Uncle Ziyan, what are you talking about? He's my teammate. I can't let him face such a powerful enemy alone!" Kakashi said, a little embarrassed.

Seeing Kakashi's face turn slightly red, Hatake Ziyan couldn't resist teasing him again. "If he's not your boyfriend, why are you blushing?"

Kakashi looked at Hatake Ziyan, speechless. He hadn't expected Grandpa Ziyan to be this childish.

Hatake Ziyan felt as though Kakashi was looking at him like he was an idiot, and suddenly felt rather awkward.

"Ahem, all right! Go on!" Hatake Ziyan coughed twice to ease his embarrassment.

Kakashi paid Hatake Ziyan no further attention. He drew the Short Blade from his back and jumped down.

Concealing himself, Kakashi slowly approached the two combatants.

"Brat, I'm liking you more and more. Be careful not to damage my Sharingan!" Mahiru said as he fought Obito.

Mahiru's words stoked Obito's anger even further. He jumped back some distance and formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Obito sharply drew in his belly, then held two fingers to his lips and spat out a huge fireball.

Mahiru remained completely calm. His hands rapidly formed seals before he crouched and slammed both palms against the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A wall rose from the ground, shielding him.

The huge fireball slammed straight into the earthen wall, sending clouds of smoke billowing across the battlefield.

Watching from the side as the smoke obscured the two fighters, Kakashi quickly formed hand seals and waited for it to clear.

The instant the smoke cleared, Kakashi charged out.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi appeared behind Mahiru in an instant and thrust his right hand forward, plunging it straight through his back toward his heart.

"Kakashi! You're alive!" Obito exclaimed in delighted surprise at his sudden appearance.

But Kakashi's expression remained grave. The strike hadn't felt right.

Sure enough, Mahiru slowly turned into a figure made of earth.

"An earth clone!" An uneasy feeling came over Kakashi. "Oh no!"

Just as Kakashi tried to leap away, a hand reached out of the earth and seized his ankle, dragging him underground until only his head remained exposed.

Mahiru sprang out of the ground, holding the blade Kakashi had been carrying. "Brat, I knew you were nearby all along. With skills like yours, you thought you could pull off a sneak attack?"

"Do you know how you died?" Kakashi asked calmly.

Mahiru asked in bewilderment, "How I died? You can still ask me that in your position? I can tell you right now how you're going to die!"

Mahiru raised the blade in his hand, ready to bring it down.

Kakashi watched Mahiru prepare to strike while Obito desperately rushed toward him. Now Kakashi was starting to panic too, and was about to call out to Hatake Ziyan.

Suddenly, a yellow flash appeared. Kakashi abandoned his call to Hatake Ziyan, while Mahiru leaped backward.

As soon as he landed, Mahiru felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he discovered that a kunai had already pierced his heart!

He collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Minato, who had just appeared, pulled Kakashi out of the ground.

"Are you all okay? Where's Rin?" Minato asked the two boys as Obito ran over.

"Sensei, I'm here!" Rin called, walking out of the woods.

"You did a great job on your mission. Now all we need to do is go blow up Kannabi Bridge together!" Seeing that all four of them were unharmed, Minato breathed a sigh of relief.

With that, Minato took the lead and ran toward Kannabi Bridge.

Obito and Rin immediately followed. After the others had leaped away, Kakashi glanced at the woods behind him. Seeing no sign of Hatake Ziyan, he turned and followed them.

Kakashi and the others had already been close to Kannabi Bridge. The enemies they had just fought were Iwagakure ninja guarding the bridge. They had taken the initiative to attack because they feared that, once Kakashi's team reached the bridge, they would risk their lives to destroy it and sever Iwagakure's supply line!

What they hadn't expected was that a shameless powerhouse like Hatake Ziyan was following the group, or that Minato Namikaze would return so quickly.

When the group reached a spot not far from the bridge, they saw more than a dozen Iwagakure ninja charging toward them across it.

But when those ninja were still fifty or sixty meters away from Minato's group, one of them recognized Minato Namikaze.

"Retreat! The Yellow Flash is with them! We can't possibly beat them!"

The group that had been so aggressive a moment earlier immediately turned and sprinted away when they heard Minato Namikaze was among their opponents.

Minato Namikaze didn't pursue them. Their main task now was to destroy the bridge, and since the enemies had fled on their own, it saved them a fight. Minato hadn't rested throughout the journey, either, and he had little chakra left.

Minato directed the others to place explosive tags at several load-bearing points on the bridge.

Once they had all finished placing them, a series of explosions rang out, and Kannabi Bridge plunged into the ravine.