The next day.
After a night of rest, everyone's chakra and stamina had fully recovered. Shinji and the others packed up simply and set off once more.
Minato walked at the front, leading the way, but suddenly stopped and turned around.
"At the fork ahead, I will head to the front lines to provide support. I will do my best to draw the attention of the Iwagakure ninja and create an opportunity for you."
His gaze swept over the group, his tone steady and resolute:
"I hereby appoint Shinji and Kakashi as the leaders of two separate teams. Shinji's team will be responsible for auxiliary containment, disrupting any enemies that may appear; Kakashi's team will continue with the original mission, proceeding to Kannabi Bridge to destroy it completely."
"Once the mission is accomplished, withdraw immediately. Do not linger in battle."
Minato's expression was serious as he gave clear instructions, word by word.
Everyone responded in unison, their expressions solemn.
From the battle the previous night, Minato had clearly seen Shinji's strength. His Body Flicker Technique was sufficient to easily disrupt the battlefield, and his own combat prowess was not lacking. Combined with Kurenai Yuhi, a genjutsu specialist within his team, he was the most suitable to handle flanking containment.
As for Kakashi, he was the only Jonin among them, possessing the strongest overall abilities. Having him lead the bridge-destruction mission was the most reliable choice.
Moreover, he had already spoken deeply with Obito last night. He believed that this time, Obito would cooperate properly with Kakashi.
Minato looked at Obito, his tone gentle yet carrying an entrustment: "Obito, I'm counting on you."
Obito looked awkward but still nodded heavily. "I understand, Minato-sensei. I'll cooperate with Captain Kakashi."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze focused on Obito, especially Kakashi, whose eyes clearly flickered with surprise and astonishment.
Feeling uncomfortable under the stares, Obito gave a light snort, said nothing more, and silently followed the team as they continued forward.
...
After dealing with several more sporadic groups of Iwagakure ninja, Minato Namikaze's footsteps suddenly halted sharply. His expression instantly turned grave as he stared intently into the depths of the dense forest ahead.
"Enemies!" Almost at the same time, Kakashi also tensed up and spoke.
Shinji drew the ninja sword from his back in one fluid motion, his Sharingan instantly activating. He vigilantly scanned every shadow in the surroundings, not missing the slightest chakra fluctuation.
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy once more.
"Tch, discovered already, huh?"
From behind a large tree not far away, a figure slowly peeked out. It was the Iwagakure Jonin, Mochizuki.
His tone was full of disappointment. He had originally planned a sneak attack from behind, never expecting to be detected in advance.
Mochizuki's gaze swept over the Konohagakure group, a trace of disdain curling at the corner of his mouth. "A young brat leading six burdens. A lineup like this dares to barge into the front lines?"
"Konoha is really getting more and more arrogant."
He recognized the Konoha headbands at a glance, but he didn't connect the blond-haired, blue-eyed youth with the "Yellow Flash," Minato Namikaze, at all.
If he had recognized him, he would have already turned and fled without a moment's hesitation.
Simply put, he didn't know what the Yellow Flash looked like.
After all, the Tsuchikage, Onoki, had repeatedly instructed that anyone who encountered Minato Namikaze should not engage in prolonged combat but withdraw immediately. Even abandoning a mission would not be considered a dereliction of duty.
But in Mochizuki's view, he was an Iwagakure Jonin. How capable could this Konoha youth, who was even younger than him, possibly be?
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
As the low shout fell, a puff of white smoke suddenly exploded. Twenty figures identical to Mochizuki instantly appeared, each wielding a long sword, charging uniformly towards the Konoha group.
"Since we've been discovered, we'll attack head-on!"
This was his most commonly used tactic.
First, use numerous shadow clones to confuse the opponent and disrupt their formation. Then, take the opportunity to conceal his true body and launch a fatal sword technique sneak attack. It had never failed him before.
"Over there!" Kakashi's eyes sharpened, immediately locking onto the shadow clones charging at the forefront. "Perfect timing to test my newly developed ninjutsu."
Before his words even finished, his left hand tightly gripped his right wrist. Pale blue lightning-natured chakra instantly gathered and swirled in his palm, crackling currents continuously intertwining.
"Chidori!"
Kakashi shouted lowly, his right hand, wrapped in violent electrical currents, shot forward like an arrow from a bow, fiercely thrusting towards those shadow clones.
Wherever the Chidori passed, the ground was plowed open into a deep furrow, its power astonishing.
"No, Kakashi!"
Minato's expression changed, instinctively moving to stop him, but it was already too late.
He saw through it at a glance. Although this Chidori was powerful, it had a fatal flaw: when activated, it required complete concentration on the attack, resulting in a narrow field of vision, making the user extremely vulnerable to sneak attacks.
The others, seeing this, wanted to move forward to support Kakashi. But at that moment, the ground in front of them suddenly began to writhe violently. Four of Mochizuki's shadow clones abruptly burst from the earth, instantly closing in right before them.
"Die, Konoha brats!"
The enemy was within arm's reach; the wind from the blades already brushed their cheeks. The sudden sneak attack caught the group off guard, instinctively freezing in place, their defenses a beat too slow.
"Damn it!"
"Lightning Style: Earth Rampart!"
Shinji's figure moved, both palms slamming into the ground. Dozens of slender yet violent electrical currents rapidly spread across the ground, instantly enveloping the four shadow clones that had just emerged from the earth.
Zzzzt—
The currents ran rampant. The shadow clones were instantly struck by the lightning jutsu and then dissipated into white smoke.
Shinji slowly raised his head, the Sharingan still slowly rotating in his pupils. "No matter how skilled you are at lurking, you can't escape these eyes of mine."
Just moments ago, using the Sharingan's perceptive power, he had detected the faint yet abnormal chakra fluctuations underground. He had already anticipated the opponent would seize the chance for a sneak attack and was thus able to respond successfully just in time.
"Well done, Shinji!" Minato breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze towards Shinji full of approval.
On the other side, facing the continuously converging shadow clones, Kakashi's palm erupted with surging lightning. The Chidori pierced straight through, clones being destroyed one after another, dissipating into wisps of smoke.
"One, two, three... eighteen, nineteen, twenty."
He counted off all the destroyed clones, but failed to notice that, outside his blind spot, Mochizuki had silently closed in. His long sword swept horizontally, aiming directly for Kakashi's midsection, intending to cut him in two.
"Lost your cool, brat? Die!"
Kakashi's pupils abruptly contracted, his heart leaping in shock.
"Damn!"
At the very moment the blade was about to touch his body, his figure abruptly paused, narrowly dodging past the edge of the blade.
In the next instant, his body swayed, and he had already flickered back into the midst of his own team.
Kakashi gasped heavily, looking towards the person beside him with lingering fear. "Minato-sensei."
Minato gave a slight nod, his tone calm yet leaving no room for doubt. "Kakashi, don't use that ninjutsu of yours for now."
He said no more, his gaze sweeping over the dense forest before his figure vanished from the spot once again.
Mochizuki only felt a chill on his neck. With difficulty, he turned his head to look. That blond-haired youth who had been in the distance just moments ago had now appeared silently behind him.
"You... you're the Yellow Flash!"
He had never imagined the legendary Yellow Flash would be so young. The Tsuchikage-sama's warning echoed in his ears, but now, it was all too late.
The kunai in Minato's hand slid, passing over the other's neck.
A line of blood sprayed out. Mochizuki's eyes widened, his body stiffly plummeting from the tree branch, devoid of life.