The next day arrived.
Uchiha Shisui and Itachi watched as Takeshi's squad departed.
According to the plan, Takeshi and the others arrived early at the frontlines and began waiting for the command to begin the full-scale assault.
"Yo, Takeshi. Still full of energy, I see."
Not far from Takeshi's position, Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, flashing his bright white teeth.
"Mm. You guys are here too, Guy. And you as well, Choza-san."
Takeshi nodded in reply to Guy and politely greeted Choza.
"Hahaha, stay sharp. The general assault is about to begin."
Choza's laughter remained hearty, though he deliberately lowered his tone a bit.
"Whoosh~~~"
As a purple flare soared into the sky, the kind smile on Choza's face disappeared, replaced by unprecedented resolve.
"Super Multi-Size Technique!"
Choza enlarged his entire body, transforming into a giant and using his massive frame to kick off the offensive.
Seeing Choza swing an unknown weapon and smash a massive crack into the Kirigakure defense line, Takeshi and his squad followed the main force and charged in through the gap.
Just as they were focused on advancing, Obito suddenly asked,
"Why is it that when Choza-san gets bigger, his clothes get bigger too?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Takeshi and the others instinctively began to think.
Yeah… why do Choza's clothes enlarge with him—wait, no!
This is a battlefield! Who has time to think about this nonsense?!
"You idiot, Obito! Is this really the time to be thinking about that?"
Kakashi, realizing the same thing, snapped at Obito with an annoyed look.
...
"The mist is getting thicker."
No one knew how long they had been charging forward, nor how many Mist shinobi they had killed. The scenery around them gradually faded into a blur, and only the sounds of battle remained.
Takeshi tried to use Wind Release to disperse the mist, but it failed—something that had never happened when facing Mist shinobi before.
"This seems to be a Hidden Mist Technique cast by several, maybe even dozens of Mist shinobi."
Thankfully, the external brain kicked in at that moment.
Kakashi calmly analyzed the situation and instructed Obito to stay alert, using his Sharingan to spot enemy outlines through the mist.
"If the enemy dares to use the Hidden Mist Technique at a time like this, then either there's a master of silent killing among them, or they're planning to retreat and are using the mist as cover."
Hearing Kakashi's analysis and feeling the moisture in the air, Takeshi licked his lips and decided to act.
"If it's the latter, it works in our favor. But if it's the former..."
"In any case, let's test their strength! Ice Release!"
Wanting to show off in front of his teammates, Takeshi drew his blade and unleashed a newly learned jutsu.
A massive ice dragon roared and charged forward, kicking up dust and knocking down trees. Cries of pain echoed from within the mist.
"Whizz!" "Whizz!"
Soon after Takeshi launched his attack, two kunai shot through the air toward the group. Sensing danger, Takeshi raised his hand and formed a simple ice wall to block the attack.
"Nice aim... Looks like there's either a silent killing specialist among them, or someone who can see through this thick fog."
Narrowing his eyes, Takeshi stared at the two kunai embedded in the ice wall and spoke coldly.
If he hadn't blocked them, the kunai would have hit his vital points dead-on. This was no random throw.
With that realization, Takeshi didn't hesitate. He hurled a shuriken toward where the attack came from and quickly formed hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
They had quality—he had quantity.
A dense flurry of shuriken flew toward the target area, then fell silent.
The group stood back-to-back, guarding against another unknown attack.
"Over here!"
Another two kunai came flying toward them, this time aimed not at Takeshi but at Rin.
Standing to Rin's right, Obito used his Sharingan to spot the kunai and knocked them down with a shuriken.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Unwilling to be passive, Obito followed up with a Fire Release. Flames roared across the battlefield—but again, there was no response.
"This is too passive. Let's find some cover—"
Kakashi didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he immediately crouched down and slammed his hands on the ground after forming hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A stone wall carved with a dog's head surged up from the ground—then exploded.
This time, the kunai had paper bombs attached.
The blast scattered the group's formation, but also allowed Obito to glimpse the outline of the enemy.
Now wasn't the time to hesitate!
"Kamui!"
"Urgh!"
A muffled grunt rang out. The long-range dojutsu prevented the enemy from teleporting to their next location, sending them crashing to the ground.
"Ice Release!"
Takeshi seized the opportunity and used his Ice Release to skewer the enemy Obito had knocked down, impaling them midair in a twisted pose.
Seeing his attack land, Takeshi remained cautious. Just as he was about to lead the others over to check whether the enemy had used a Body Replacement Technique, a subconscious warning prompted him to instantly activate Flying Thunder God.
Teleporting to Obito's side, Takeshi reflexively threw several senbon back at the spot he had just left.
"Roar... So that's how it is. This level of Ice Release... you're the Ice Release ninja of Konoha. The Reaper."
A young voice rang out. The newcomer easily batted away the senbon Takeshi had thrown and eyed him with curiosity.
"Who are you?"
Although the mist still hung in the air, the group was now close enough to see the intruder's face clearly.
The person wasn't that old, had blue hair, and a rather average face—except his right eye was covered by an eyepatch.
He looked familiar, but Takeshi couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"So that's it... No wonder you can see us in the mist. It's because of the Byakugan, isn't it?"
Kakashi was the first to catch on. From the bulging veins around the intruder's eyepatch, he deduced the truth.
"S-rank wanted criminal—Ao, who stole the Byakugan from the Hyūga clan."
"This eye is my precious trophy."
Ao didn't deny his identity. His gaze remained locked on Takeshi.
"But Ice Release kekkei genkai users are also a precious bloodline of Kirigakure. We cannot allow you to be used by Konoha."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Takeshi is our comrade from Konoha. Always has been, always will be."
Obito spoke up, annoyed at the arrogant stranger. He reached out and hooked his finger with Takeshi's, using their secret signal to ask if he had permission to use his dojutsu and finish Ao off.