"I have to be careful," Kiyohara reminded himself, his muscles tensing.
Mahiru was a bona fide Iwagakure Jonin. In terms of raw stats, he outclassed everyone here except Minato. In the original timeline, Kakashi had nearly died trying to solo him.
Thinking this, Kiyohara decided to embrace the "Support Main" lifestyle. He discreetly shifted his position, moving to the rear of the formation to shield Rin and Kurenai.
"Everyone, stay sharp. There are twenty signatures," Minato Namikaze warned, his eyes scanning the tree line. "However, most of them are likely Shadow Clones."
Twenty enemies had appeared out of nowhere. Unless an entire platoon had teleported, it was a diversion.
"Sensei... let me take point," Kakashi said, stepping forward. His hand hovered over his holster. "Please cover me."
He was itching to test his new jutsu in live combat.
"Don't be rash, Kakashi. Stay in formation," Minato ordered.
He glanced back at Kiyohara, who had already positioned himself defensively. Minato nodded in approval.
'Kiyohara understands survival. Kakashi is too eager to prove himself.'
In Minato's philosophy, a Ninja's rank didn't matter. A Kunai to the throat killed a Kage just as dead as a Genin. Unknown numbers required caution, not bravado.
"Sensei... I am the Captain today, aren't I?" Kakashi countered, his voice stubborn. "I need to know if this works!"
He ignored Minato's warning.
He dropped into a sprinter's crouch, his left hand gripping his right wrist.
Ox. Hare. Monkey.
Crackle!
Blue lightning erupted in his palm. The sound was deafening, like a thousand birds chirping in unison.
Chidori.
"So that's the Chidori," Kiyohara observed from the backline.
At this stage, it was an unstable A-Rank assassination technique. Later, after Kakashi mastered it and famously split a bolt of lightning, he would rename it the Lightning Cutter (Raikiri), elevating it to S-Rank.
Technically, they were the same move—a high-speed thrust combined with lightning nature transformation—but the mastery level differed.
"Even with numbers, this speed will end it instantly!"
Kakashi's confidence surged. He kicked off the ground.
CRACK-BOOM!
He tore through the forest in a straight line, leaving a trench of scorched earth in his wake.
"He actually charged straight at me?"
Mahiru, hiding in the trees, was startled. Usually, scouts retreated when spotted. This kid was insane.
"Die!"
Mahiru threw a volley of shuriken to intercept the lightning boy.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
But before the blades could reach Kakashi, another volley intercepted them.
Clang! Clang!
Kiyohara's shuriken knocked Mahiru's projectiles out of the air with pinpoint accuracy.
"How is Kiyohara's shurikenjutsu better than mine?" Obito gaped. "I'm the Uchiha!"
Obito had reached for his pouch to help, but his hand was still mid-air when Kiyohara's weapons had already done the job.
Unimpeded, Kakashi closed the distance. The Chidori screamed.
SQUELCH.
His hand pierced Mahiru's chest. The Jonin gasped—and then exploded into white smoke.
Poof.
Shadow Clone.
Everyone's heart sank.
Shadow Clones were solid. They had mass, shadows, and disrupted chakra flow. Even the Byakugan struggled to differentiate them from the original because the chakra was split evenly.
While the others panicked, looking left and right, Kiyohara stared at the ground.
'He's an Iwa-nin. He'll use Earth Release.'
The earth beneath them shifted.
'There!'
Mahiru burst from the soil like a trapdoor spider, Kunai drawn.
Obito yelped, thinking he was the target.
But Mahiru twisted mid-air. He ignored the Uchiha and lunged for the black-haired boy who had countered his shuriken.
'Kill the smart one first!'
Clang!
Kiyohara didn't flinch. He raised his Kunai, blocking the strike perfectly. Sparks showered his face, but his footing held.
"What?!" Mahiru's eyes widened.
'He blocked it? It's like he knew I was coming!'
While Mahiru was momentarily stunned by the parry, Kiyohara didn't waste the opening. He flicked his wrist, driving a shuriken into the enemy's neck.
Poof.
Another cloud of smoke.
"Another clone?" Kiyohara scoffed. "He's spreading himself too thin."
The biggest weakness of the Shadow Clone Jutsu was chakra division.
Mahiru had created twenty clones. That meant each clone possessed only 5% of his total chakra. One hit was all it took to dispel them. Only monsters like Naruto Uzumaki could spam hundreds of durable clones.
"Tch. Failed again."
On the far side of the clearing, the real Mahiru frowned. He had intended to take out a support member, but Kiyohara was a fortress.
"Found you!"
Kakashi, moving like a blur of blue light, tore through the remaining clones.
"Eighteenth..."
He zeroed in on the real body.
"Don't push your luck, brat!"
Mahiru roared. He was done playing.
He drew his Tachi.
He noticed something critical: Kakashi was moving too fast. The boy couldn't turn. The tunnel vision of the Chidori made him a linear target.
Mahiru side-stepped the lightning thrust and raised his sword for a decapitating counter-strike.
Slash—
Swish.
Minato Namikaze vanished.
In the fraction of a second before the blade connected with Kakashi's neck, Minato appeared. He grabbed Kakashi by the vest and teleported them both to safety.
Minato dropped the stunned boy and turned. He didn't even look angry. He just looked efficient.
He dropped his heavy travel pack.
Before it hit the ground, he was gone.
Zip.
He appeared behind Mahiru. A special three-pronged Kunai was pressed against the Jonin's throat.
"Are you... Konoha's Yellow Flash?"
Cold sweat poured down Mahiru's face. He finally understood the standing order in the Bingo Book: Flee on sight.
Slick.
Minato drew the blade across his throat. Mahiru crumpled to the forest floor, dead before he hit the dirt.
"And that is the reality of our world," Kiyohara observed silently.
The kind, smiling Minato Namikaze was also a ruthless killer. The main story often masked it, but being a Ninja was a dark profession.
"Ugh..."
Kakashi clutched his shoulder. Mahiru's counter had missed his neck, but it had grazed his arm.
Rin rushed over, her hands glowing green with medical chakra.
"You idiot!" Obito shouted, his fear turning into anger. "You ignored Sensei's orders! You almost died trying to show off!"
"I don't need a lecture from a crybaby," Kakashi snapped back, though his voice lacked its usual bite.
"Enough. Both of you."
Minato flicked the blood off his Kunai and sheathed it. His voice was stern.
"This time... the only person who truly satisfied the mission parameters was Kiyohara."
The team fell silent. Everyone looked at the Genin standing calmly in the back.
"Kakashi," Minato began his lecture, his eyes sad. "Rules are important, yes. But I told you not to be reckless. Your technique is flawed. You move too fast to see the enemy's counter."
He looked at the group.
Kakashi was reckless.
Obito froze in fear.
Rin and Kurenai were support, so their inaction was excusable.
Genma was average—he didn't mess up, but he didn't help either.
"Kiyohara detected the ambush, protected the formation, and successfully countered a lethal strike from a Jonin clone," Minato said. "That is how a Ninja survives."
....
.....
.....
Support my patreon
patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter