Thick mist wrapped around the canyon, reducing visibility to less than a few yards.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin stood back to back, their rapid breathing sounding especially clear in the silent fog.
"There are more and more of them!"
Obito covered his still throbbing shoulder as his two tomoe Sharingan slowly spun, trying to catch the faint figures hidden within the mist.
"There were only a dozen of them just now. Why does it feel like they're everywhere now?"
Kakashi gripped his short blade tightly, his face extremely serious.
"Something isn't right. Their chakra feels... very strange. Their coordination is completely chaotic, yet they just keep coming."
His instincts were screaming at him. This was definitely not an ordinary Kirigakure pursuit force.
Green medical chakra glowed in Rin's hands as she pressed them against Obito's wound and said anxiously, "Obito, don't move around. Your wound is still bleeding!"
"We're out of time!"
Kakashi shouted in a low voice as he swung his blade, cutting down several senbon that shot out from the mist.
"Follow me! There's a cave over there!"
The three of them fought while retreating, relying on Kakashi's quick thinking and the little bit of prediction that Obito's newly awakened Sharingan could provide.
They barely managed to dodge the attacks coming from every direction.
Kunai, water bullets, and even the occasional bone spikes and ice crystals came at them with no pattern at all.
Yet the pressure kept increasing, as if Kirigakure had sent an entire company to hunt down the three Genin.
Finally, they stumbled into the entrance of a narrow cave.
Kakashi quickly placed several simple trap tags at the entrance. Although he knew they would not hold for long, they could at least buy a little time.
"Rin, hurry! Stop Obito's bleeding!"
Kakashi leaned against the cave wall, watching the entrance with full alertness while listening carefully to every sound outside.
Rin immediately focused all of her attention on treating Obito.
Under the green glow, the wound on Obito's shoulder slowly began to heal.
"Kakashi..."
Obito gasped, his face pale from blood loss and pain.
"About earlier... thank you."
He was referring to how Kakashi had trusted him at the critical moment and worked together with him to kill the Mist ninja who had launched the sneak attack.
Without turning around, Kakashi simply replied, "Mm," then his tone became extremely serious.
"Obito, Rin, listen carefully. That 'Minato Sensei' was probably not the real one."
"What?!"
Rin's hands trembled, and her medical chakra almost broke off.
"That's impossible!"
Obito cried out immediately.
"That was clearly Minato Sensei's appearance and voice..."
"That's exactly because he was too perfect!"
Kakashi interrupted him urgently.
"Minato Sensei would never lead us into such an obvious trap without first explaining the full plan."
"And the way he left..."
"It was slightly different from Flying Thunder God."
"I already thought it was strange back then, but I couldn't explain why."
"Now that I think about it, it was most likely an incredibly advanced Transformation Jutsu or Genjutsu!"
Obito and Rin looked at each other, their faces filled with shock and confusion.
Thinking back carefully, that "Minato Sensei" really had seemed less calm and reassuring than usual.
Instead, there had been a trace of impatience and...
Emptiness?
Only after Kakashi pointed it out did all those suspicious details suddenly become obvious.
"Who was it... and why would someone pretend to be Minato Sensei to trick us?"
Rin's voice trembled with fear.
"I don't know. But the purpose is obvious. They wanted to lure us here and hand us over to Kirigakure."
Kakashi's eyes turned cold.
"Someone who can perfectly imitate Minato Sensei has appeared near the village. Today it's Minato Sensei. Tomorrow it might even be Lord Chiya!"
"That's far too dangerous. We have to return immediately and report this!"
"But outside..."
Obito looked toward the cave entrance. Countless vague figures could be seen moving in the mist.
"We can only fight our way out."
Kakashi tightened his grip on his blade.
"I'll lead the two of you out."
The instant he finished speaking.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The trap tags at the entrance were triggered all at once with several muffled explosions before being completely destroyed.
"We've found you, little Konoha rats."
The leader of the Mist ninja spoke with a mocking tone.
Immediately afterward, more than twenty figures rushed into the narrow cave, completely sealing off the three of them.
Even more frightening was that most of these newly arrived Mist ninja had dull, lifeless eyes, yet their movements were unbelievably swift and vicious.
"Take the medical ninja alive. Kill the other two."
The leader gave the order coldly.
"In your dreams!"
Kakashi snorted coldly and charged forward on his own.
His blade flashed like snow as he instantly became entangled with several Mist ninja.
The narrow space limited his speed, but it also meant he only had to face the enemies in front of him.
Obito forced himself to stand as well.
Relying on the Sharingan's perception, he awkwardly blocked attack after attack while desperately protecting Rin behind him.
But there were simply too many enemies.
And several of them were clearly Jonin level fighters.
"Lightning Style, Earth Walk!"
Kakashi attempted to paralyze the enemies with Lightning Style, but his chakra had already been consumed too heavily, making the technique only mildly effective.
One Kirigakure Jonin seized the opportunity and slashed down on the arm Kakashi was using to block.
The wound was so deep that the bone could be seen.
Kakashi let out a muffled groan, and his short blade nearly slipped from his hand.
"Kakashi!"
Obito instinctively looked over.
His back was left completely exposed.
"Got you!"
Another Mist ninja grinned viciously as his kunai stabbed straight toward Obito's back.
"Obito!!!"
Rin screamed and instinctively rushed forward, trying to push Obito away.
At that very critical moment.
Buzz!
An enormous, icy cold wave of chakra instantly enveloped the entire cave.
Time itself seemed to freeze.
Every Mist ninja suddenly stiffened for an instant, including the Jonin who was about to strike.
The next moment, a figure as fast as black lightning shot into the battlefield.
No one saw how she had appeared.
Slash!
The Kirigakure Jonin attempting to kill Obito had his arm, still holding the kunai, severed cleanly from the shoulder.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Before he could even scream, a perfectly aimed shuriken pierced straight through his chest.
His eyes widened as he collapsed to the ground.
Only then did the figure become clear.
Her long black hair flowed like ink.
She wore the dark blue high collared robes of the Uchiha Clan.
Her posture was tall and straight.
Most eye catching of all were the slowly rotating patterns within her eyes.
They were not ordinary three tomoe.
Instead, they formed an even more complex and mysterious four leaf pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan radiated suffocating ocular power.
"Lady Uchiha Mikoto?!"
Kakashi recognized her immediately and was completely stunned.
What shocked him was not her arrival.
It was the completely different aura surrounding her, cold and powerful like a towering iceberg.
And those legendary eyes.
Mikoto did not turn around.
Her cold gaze swept across every Mist ninja inside the cave.
It paused briefly on the few ninja with dull, lifeless eyes.
A trace of understanding flashed across her own eyes.
"Uchiha... the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
The Mist leader's dry voice was filled with fear.
"Why are you here?!"
"This is the Land of Fire. I should be asking you that."
Mikoto's calm voice carried overwhelming pressure.
"Kirigakure's methods are becoming lower and lower."
"Everyone attack! Kill her!"
The leader forcefully suppressed his fear and roared.
Seeing that Mikoto was alone, he still held onto a sliver of hope.
The remaining Mist ninja charged together.
Every kind of ninjutsu and ninja tool poured toward her.
Mikoto did not even form a single hand seal.
Her Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated.
Her figure instantly became blurred as she moved through the narrow cave like a ghost.
The Sharingan granted her perception beyond common sense.
Every enemy movement.
Every attack trajectory.
Even the next flow of their chakra.
Everything appeared perfectly clear in her eyes.
Kunai, Water Dragon Bullets, bone spikes...
Every attack missed her by the smallest margin.
Her movements were graceful yet efficient.
Every strike she made brought down another Mist ninja.
Some had their vital points pierced by kunai.
Some had their throats crushed by what looked like a light palm strike.
Others were burned black by simple Fire Style techniques.
She never even used powerful ninjutsu.
Relying only on taijutsu, basic ninjutsu, and the overwhelming advantage of the Sharingan, she shattered the Mist ninja formation in mere moments.
"M... Monster!"
The surviving Mist ninja completely broke down.
This was not a battle at all.
It was one sided slaughter.
Seeing the situation turn hopeless, the Mist leader immediately turned into flowing water and tried to escape.
"Trying to run?"
Mikoto's left Mangekyō Sharingan instantly focused.
"Amaterasu."
A strand of black flames silently ignited on the leader's body.
"AAAAAH!"
An inhuman scream echoed through the cave.
Within only two or three seconds, he was reduced to ashes in unbearable agony.
The cave instantly fell silent.
Other than the corpses scattered across the ground, with some still burning beneath the black flames, only Mikoto remained standing, along with the three stunned children behind her.
Mikoto slowly turned around.
The Mangekyō faded from her eyes, returning to ordinary black pupils, though the icy aura surrounding her had not completely disappeared.
She wiped away the blood at the corner of her eye.
She looked at the injured Kakashi and Obito before finally turning her gaze toward Rin.
"Is everyone alright?"
Her tone softened somewhat, but it still carried unquestionable authority.
"Y... Yes..."
Rin answered instinctively, her voice still trembling.
Obito had already passed out from exhaustion, shock, and his injuries.
Kakashi forced himself to remain standing.
Blood continued flowing from his arm as he looked at Mikoto with a complicated expression.
"Lady Mikoto, you..."
"We'll talk after we return."
Mikoto interrupted him.
She quickly checked Obito's injuries and confirmed that his life was not in danger for the moment.
"This place isn't safe. There may be more pursuers. Can you still walk?"
Kakashi gritted his teeth and nodded.
Without saying anything else, Mikoto easily lifted the unconscious Obito onto her back before speaking to Kakashi and Rin.
"Stay close to me."
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