Bab 31: Kannabi Bridge (6)
On the other side, in the forest near Kannabi Bridge.
"Wait, Obito!"
"Kakashi?"
Obito, who was marking an inconspicuous tree stump, stopped with a puzzled look on his face. The previous successful infiltration had clearly made him relax his vigilance.
"Get down!"
Sensing a sudden murderous aura, Kakashi quickly rushed towards Obito, helping him avoid an enemy's horizontal slash.
"Oh? You're quite a sharp kid. You managed to dodge Dashi's sudden attack."
At some point, an Iwa ninja stood on a tree trunk behind Kakashi and Obito, looking down at them.
"Damn it, was my murderous intent too obvious just now?" Said another ninja while emerging from the transparency with a look of annoyance on his face.
"Two enemies?"
Without having time to thank Kakashi, Obito quickly got up from the ground, standing behind Kakashi with a kunai in his hand and a nervous look on his face.
"Be careful, they may both be Jonin." Kakashi didn't expect to meet these kinds of enemies here. "Watch out, they could turn invisible," he added, thinking of Yami. After witnessing Yami's battle during the assessment, Kakashi had been contemplating how he would fight an enemy with similar abilities. He didn't expect to face this situation so soon.
"Jonin?"
Hearing this, Obito's nervousness increased. The chakra and murderous aura of the two Iwa ninjas made him feel danger, comparable to the reconnaissance ninja they encountered before.
"The enemies are actually two Jonin!?" He and Kakashi are just... Well, Kakashi was a jonin too, but at this moment, Obito didn't find that reassuring.
"I thought the rats that infiltrated would be some big fish, but they're just two little brats."
The two Iwa jonin were Dashi, who knew the secret ninjutsu Camouflage, and Kita, who used the hidden blade. There had been three of them initially, but the one who could use shadow clones had been killed by Minato.
"Seeing that they left marks on the tree, there must be other companions behind them. And Ryu might have been killed by them. It's better not to be too careless, Dashi."
Kita glanced at the Konoha ninja below but had no intention of taking action for the time being.
"You gotta be kidding. Even though Ryu isn't that powerful, there's no way he was killed by a little brat like that, right?" Dashi looked unconvinced. Although the sneak attack had failed, he didn't think the opponents could be that strong.
"Anyway, I'll leave this to you. I'll go catch their companions. If we let one or two of these lurking rats escape, we won't be able to return to the village with pride."
"Got it. I'll come find you after I've dealt with them."
As they were talking, the two jonin assigned tasks. Dashi used his camouflage ninjutsu again, blending with the forest.
"Don't worry, I'll solve it faster than you."
Kita waved the hidden blade on the back of his hand, then quickly turned into a black shadow and left.
"We can't let him go, Kakashi!"
Despite his fear, Obito thought of Rin behind them, and unimaginable courage surged in his heart. However, Kakashi and the enemy saw it as a foolish act of hot-bloodedness.
"Don't move, Obito!"
Seeing Obito rushing toward the direction where the Iwa ninja had just left, Kakashi knew it was a trap. The enemy had locked onto their chakra and used a secret technique to become invisible. Any rash movement could be fatal.
"Obito, behind me!"
Sensing the wind pressure from the enemy's attack and the sound of footsteps on the ground, Kakashi found the invisible ninja again. But he realized that Obito was in danger of being beheaded.
In a critical moment, Kakashi could only push Obito away causing the enemy to suddenly change the target of attack.
Despite leaning back, Kakashi, relying on instinct, could only watch as the opponent's kunai slashed through his eye and Konoha's headband.
"Kakashi!?"
It wasn't until Kakashi fell to the ground with blood splattering from his face that Obito finally snapped out of his fervor. He quickly ran back to Kakashi, but Kakashi could no longer open his left eye.
"What an immature kid." At some point, Kita reappeared nearby, showing that he never left. "It seems like you guys have companions waiting behind you."
"How despicable!"
Obito realized that his recklessness had not only confirmed the enemy's intelligence but also caused Kakashi to be injured. He regretted not keeping calm.
"A ninja is someone who can endure to the end. I can only say that as true ninjas, you two brats are still too inexperienced."
Kita, standing on the tree trunk, looked at the white-haired kid who had lost his fighting ability and the goggle-wearing kid who didn't look like a ninja at all and felt contempt.
He didn't choose to kill the two Konoha brats with his companion Dashi but became more determined to find other Konoha ninjas who had infiltrated.
"Enjoy them, Dashi."
"Hehehe, I'll deal with them without you telling me. Go chase their companions. You aren't needed here, Kita."
Dashi, feeling no pressure, signaled to his companion to leave first.
****
"You won't light a fire tonight?"
After setting the trap and spreading out the sleeping bag in preparation for nightfall, Rin sat on a raised rock and asked Yami another question.
"Well, there is still some dry food and water left, and the moonlight should be bright enough tonight."
As usual, Yami had no intention of making a fire. This could greatly reduce the probability of being attacked at night.
"You're too cautious..."
Although there was enough dry food and water, Rin, who hadn't cleaned herself for several days, couldn't help it anymore. It would be nice if she could wash up and then dry her clothes by the fire. The dew had been quite heavy these days, and there had been little sunshine, leaving her clothes perpetually damp.
"Can't I light a fire to warm my clothes and then put it out?"
"When the Minato jonin joins us, you can start a fire however you want, but not now." As if noticing the discomfort on the girl's face, Yami spoke to comfort her.
"All right."
Seeing that Yami was still so strict, Rin had no choice but to agree and said no more. However, she was now more curious about why so many of Yami's companions had died. He was so careful along the way...
"Go to bed early. I'll guard the first half of the night."
"Okay."
But Rin, who hadn't lacked sleep in the past few days, wasn't sleepy at all at this moment.
"Hey..."
After two days and two nights of boring travel, Rin finally started chatting with Yami again.
"What's up?"
Yami, who was sitting on the grass with his eyes closed, looked at her.
"You seem to look up to Minato-sensei as well, don't you?"
"Well... it's more a recognition of his strength."
To say respect was a bit inaccurate. Perhaps because two days of continuous traveling were boring, Yami no longer acted indifferently as before.
"Then you'll probably join our Minato team, right?"
Yami's response made Rin smile. Finally, she could chat with this person for a while.
"Not sure yet."
"Why?"
Rin couldn't think of any reason why Yami would refuse.
"Because..."
The mission isn't over yet, and Yami has already experienced the consequences of celebrating prematurely. Maybe this time the whole group will be wiped out...
Because many things have begun to deviate from the script he is familiar with, Yami is no longer arrogant enough to think that everything will develop as he expects. Also, even with his high perception, facing a creature like Black Zetsu, which could almost completely hide from others' perceptions, was a challenge. So, he couldn't confirm whether Uchiha Madara or Black Zetsu was targeting this mission.
"Coming!"
Feeling a slight breeze, Yami, who had been on alert the whole time, quickly spotted the approaching figure.
"What..."
Hearing Yami's sudden low shout and the gesture indicating an enemy, Rin, who was still surprised a second ago, quickly reacted. The two of them quickly found cover and hid behind a big tree.
***
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Status Power Mingguan
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Power 
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