Obito froze in terror, staring blankly as kunai flew toward him.
At that moment, a figure dropped from the sky, landing heavily on a Rock ninja's body and slamming it back to the ground. The attacker drove a short blade into the ninja's neck, killing him instantly.
Kakashi then hurled his short blade forward. It whizzed past Obito's head and struck another Rock ninja standing before him.
Somewhat sarcastically, Kakashi said to Obito, "Hey coward, if you're too scared to move, you can hide with Rin. You're just holding me back, and it's really annoying."
After saying this, Kakashi picked up a fallen ninja blade and rejoined the fight.
Obito had now snapped out of his shock, clenching his fists tightly. In his mind echoed Kakashi calling him a coward and telling him to hide. He felt deeply resentful.
"I'm not a coward! I'm an Uchiha!"
Suddenly emboldened, Obito pulled out a kunai and charged at the Sand and Rock ninjas.
Meanwhile, Shindai was completely stunned.
That guy with white hair and a mask looked incredibly cool.
And that other guy with wild spiky hair and goggles looked kind of goofy.
Could those two actually be Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha?
If they really were them, then...
Holy crap! Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, might be here too.
Dangerous! Extremely dangerous! Need to run away quickly!
If Minato Namikaze was really here, there'd be no way he'd survive.
Since no one was guarding him right now, this was the perfect time to escape.
"Damn it! How exactly does this Escape Binding Technique work!"
Shindai wanted to break free from the ropes, but these damned ropes only tightened the more he struggled.
With no choice, Shindai could only twist his body, trying to crawl away from here.
Though moving very slowly, at least he was making progress.
Driven by sheer survival instinct, Shindai started crawling away like a worm.
On the other side, Kakashi and Obito found themselves surrounded.
There were ten enemies altogether—Sand and Rock ninjas combined. Kakashi had already killed four, leaving six remaining.
As for Obito…he only added difficulty for Kakashi.
Obito's sudden burst of courage was purely emotional; none of his actual abilities had improved.
Standing back to back, Kakashi and Obito faced the Sand and Rock ninjas with serious expressions.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Obito asked, "Kakashi, what do we do now?"
Without answering Obito, Kakashi charged straight ahead, attempting to break through the encirclement.
However, three Sand ninjas directly in Kakashi's path forced him back.
"Finish off these two brats fast! More Konoha ninjas might be closing in!"
"All of us, attack together!"
Just as the six Sand and Rock ninja were preparing to gang up on Kakashi and Obito, a uniquely-shaped kunai dropped from the sky, impaling itself in the ground right in front of them.
The next instant, Minato Namikaze appeared at the location of the Flying Thunder God Kunai.
Seeing Minato, the six Sand and Rock ninja wore expressions filled with terror, for they all recognized who he was.
"Namikaze Minato? Aren't you supposed to be fighting the Cloud ninja in the Land of Hot Water?"
The Rock ninja who spoke had his voice trembling with fear.
Minato's face revealed a warm smile: "As you can see, I'm currently on a little getaway in the Land of Rivers."
To the Sand and Rock ninja, that smile of Minato's looked just like the grim reaper's grin.
Despite hailing from different nations and villages, they all came to the same conclusion at once—run!
The reputation of Minato's Yellow Flash shone brightly across the entire shinobi world. With just their small group, there was no way they could stand against Minato.
The six scattered immediately, with one Rock ninja even trying to take Shindai along. But Shindai, curled up like a larva, had already burrowed into the bushes. The Rock ninja couldn't locate him right away, so he had no choice but to abandon the attempt and flee for his life.
But could their fleeing speed possibly match Minato's?
Minato pulled out six Flying Thunder God Kunai, simultaneously hurling them toward the directions where the six Sand and Rock ninja had fled.
Then, [Flying Thunder God Technique]. He vanished and reappeared six times in quick succession with sharp *swoosh* sounds, visible only because of his signature yellow hair. Had Minato been bald, no one might've even realized he'd moved at all.
When Minato returned beside Kakashi and Obito, suddenly blood spurted from the necks of the six Sand and Rock ninja before they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Once Minato intervened, the battle ended easily.
Minato first turned to Kakashi and praised, "Kakashi, your performance during this mission was excellent. You fought decisively and efficiently, and your timing was also spot-on."
Kakashi's eyes remained calm and unshaken, as if silently saying, "It was nothing special."
Next, Minato turned his attention toward Obito. Obito gazed at Minato with hopeful anticipation.
However, Minato's expression became serious as he said, "Obito, your mental fortitude completely failed during the battle. When two enemy ninja charged at you earlier, after blocking your ninjutsu, only one ninja should've still been approaching you. At that time, you should've noticed this point. If you couldn't figure out where the missing ninja had gone in that situation, you should've prioritized falling back immediately."
"But you didn't notice at all. And even after Rin Nohara warned you, you just froze in place. If Kakashi hadn't saved you, you'd already be dead."
Obito lowered his head slightly in shame. After hearing Minato Namikaze's words, he felt his performance had been terrible—nowhere near as good as Kakashi's.
Minato Namikaze suddenly changed his tone and smiled: "However, Obito, your courage deserves praise. You didn't lose your fighting spirit afterward. The whole point of this mission was to give you some training. As long as you can grow from it, this trip has been worthwhile."
Obito raised his head in surprise, never expecting to hear any praise directed at him.
Minato Namikaze pointed at Obito's shoulder and said, "Alright, Obito, go find Rin Nohara and have her treat your wound."
Obito glanced at his own shoulder, only now noticing the deep cut there that was bleeding heavily.
Obito shouted toward Rin Nohara's direction: "Rin Nohara! The battle's over—you can come out now! I'm injured! Hurry and heal me quickly—it hurts like hell!"
Rin Nohara emerged from her hiding spot and immediately came over to tend to Obito's injury.
Minato Namikaze turned to Kakashi: "Kakashi, search those bodies. I'll go bring him over."
Kakashi nodded: "Yes, sensei!"
Shindai crouched silently in the bushes, barely daring to breathe, desperately pleading that they wouldn't discover him—please, don't let them find him.
Yet the moment that flash of yellow appeared before Shindai's eyes, his heart almost skipped a beat.
Forcing a stiff smile onto his face, Shindai said, "Uh… hey there. I'm just a regular civilian passing by. Believe me?"
Upon hearing Shindai's words, Minato Namikaze raised one eyebrow slightly.
Then, suddenly.
A sharp pain shot through Shindai's neck. In the last moment before losing consciousness, his mind screamed in rage:
"What is wrong with them?! Why does everyone go for the back of my neck?!"
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!