Karotto slashed at Kannazuki, but to his surprise, it was a Sand Iron clone.
Kannazuki's voice rang out from above.
"Idiot, how could I possibly put myself in danger!"
Kannazuki was currently standing on a tree trunk.
Kannazuki had already completed the hand signs and aimed his open palm at Karotto.
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Binding Coffin!"
Kannazuki used the Sand Iron that had fallen to the ground after his Sand Iron clone dispersed, and it rapidly shot towards Karotto.
Although Karotto reacted very quickly and immediately dodged, he was too close to the Sand Iron on the ground.
Kannazuki manipulated the Sand Iron to successfully entangle Karotto's ankle.
Karotto lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The Sand Iron spread rapidly over Karotto's body.
Karotto was shocked and roared at Rumoda, who was still hiding: "Rumoda, what are you doing! I told you to go up with me, why are you still hiding? Do you want to see me die?!"
Rumoda's eyelid twitched.
So that's what Karotto's nod to him earlier meant.
"Shadow Lightning Thrust!"
Rumoda's body erupted with lightning, using it to stimulate his body as he charged towards Karotto.
Rumoda wanted to use his ninja blade to cut open the Sand Iron covering Karotto.
Kannazuki, of course, wouldn't just watch Rumoda rescue Karotto.
Kannazuki pulled out three Kunai and threw them at Rumoda.
The now incredibly fast Rumoda dodged the three Kunai Kannazuki threw with three easy side-hops.
Rumoda quickly rushed in front of Karotto, raising the ninja blade in his hand, ready to strike.
Karotto closed his eyes and didn't dare to move, afraid that Rumoda would miss.
However, Karotto didn't wait for Rumoda's strike; instead, he heard a muffled grunt from Rumoda.
Karotto opened his eyes and looked at Rumoda, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?!"
Rumoda's expression was distorted, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Three Kunai were embedded in his back.
Kannazuki immediately manipulated Kannazuki, who charged towards Rumoda, his ninja blade slashing at Rumoda.
Rumoda ignored his injuries and immediately blocked with his blade.
But the anomaly happened again.
Kannazuki's ninja blade slashed down vertically, and after being blocked by Rumoda's horizontal blade, that section of the blade suddenly extended, piercing Rumoda's throat.
Rumoda clutched his neck, his mouth moving as if to say something, but not a single word came out.
He fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lost his life.
Karotto was stunned by this sudden scene.
Why, why were three Kunai suddenly embedded in Rumoda's back?
There were clearly no other people around; who threw these three Kunai?
The three Kunai that pierced Rumoda's back were naturally Kannazuki's doing.
And these three Kunai were the same ones Kannazuki had thrown earlier, which Rumoda had dodged.
As for why the Kunai returned to pierce Rumoda's back, it was because Kannazuki had used Magnetic Release: Magnetization Technique before throwing the Kunai.
After using Magnetic Release: Magnetization Technique, Kannazuki can magnetize objects he touches, or transfer magnetization from objects he touches to other objects, then use the magnetic force to attack enemies.
Just now, Kannazuki had touched the Kunai, making them magnetic.
Then, because Kannazuki had used Magnetic Release: Magnetization Technique, he himself possessed magnetism.
So, after the three Kunai were dodged by Rumoda, Kannazuki used the magnetism of his body to attract the three Kunai back, piercing Rumoda's back.
Finally, he used Kannazuki's ninja blade, extending the blade unexpectedly to pierce Rumoda's neck, successfully eliminating Rumoda.
Kakashi looked at Kannazuki in astonishment.
Kakashi hadn't expected Kannazuki, who was so decisive in battle, to have such high battle intelligence.
At this moment, Karotto's entire body was covered in Sand Iron, enveloped by high-density Sand Iron, making it difficult for Karotto to breathe.
Kannazuki extended his palm again, aiming at Karotto.
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Funeral!"
The Sand Iron encasing Karotto squeezed inward, emitting muffled sounds of bones breaking.
Karotto was crushed to death by the Sand Iron.
Three Cloud Ninja were dealt with by Kannazuki.
Kannazuki wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, took a deep breath, and said, "That was an extremely difficult battle!"
"Uh..."
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara looked at Kannazuki speechlessly.
Difficult?
No matter how you looked at it, this battle didn't seem very difficult for Kannazuki, did it?
It was almost a complete crushing victory from beginning to end; what was so difficult about it?
Kakashi now had a definite general understanding of Kannazuki's strength.
If Kannazuki wasn't thinking about running away, fighting like this, he definitely had the strength of a Jonin.
Among these three Cloud Ninja, one was an elite Chunin, and the other two were Chunin; they certainly wouldn't be a match for Kannazuki, who had Jonin-level strength.
However, if Kannazuki was thinking about escaping, the strength he could display would be uncertain.
Kannazuki walked over to Obito, who was closest, and looking at Obito's severely swollen cheek, his expression was hard to describe, saying, "Obito, you look hideous right now, like a squash."
Obito retorted unhappily, "You're the squash! If you had come to help earlier, we wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Kannazuki immediately retorted, "I'm not taking the blame for this; Kakashi himself said to retreat, I was just following Kakashi's orders!"
Obito rolled his eyes at Kannazuki, then ran to Kakashi's side and asked Rin Nohara, "Rin, how is Kakashi?"
Rin Nohara looked worriedly at Kakashi's injuries and said, "Kakashi is quite seriously injured. I can only give Kakashi emergency treatment right now, to temporarily stop the bleeding. Further treatment will have to wait until we return to the Konoha Garrison."
Kannazuki also came to Kakashi's side, and seeing Kakashi's miserable state, he remembered what Kakashi had just said about them being surrounded by Cloud Ninja, and said anxiously, "Rin, are you done? Let's hurry and escape. It'll be over if the Cloud Ninja surround us!"
Rin Nohara nodded and said, "It's done."
Kannazuki directly ordered Obito: "Obito, you carry Kakashi on your back, let's hurry and get out of here!"
Obito pointed at himself in disbelief: "Hey, I'm injured too. Kannazuki, you're not injured, can't you carry him?"
Kannazuki said righteously, "Me? My Chakra is overdrawn right now, I'm completely exhausted. Hurry up, stop talking nonsense, if we don't leave now, I'll run off first and leave you guys!"
"What the heck, talking so loudly, you don't look like your Chakra is overdrawn at all."
Obito's face darkened as he grumbled and carried Kakashi on his back.
Kakashi said weakly, "Let's retreat quickly. I've already had Grukku rush to the Konoha Garrison to report the intel. Lord Jiraiya and the others should already be in action."
Kannazuki, Obito (carrying Kakashi), and Rin Nohara hurried towards the Konoha Garrison.