"We need to be more careful,"
Kiyohara murmured to himself.
Mahiru's strength was formidable—it was, without question, a fully capable jōnin-level opponent.
Kakashi was actually nowhere near its match; in the original story, he survived only because Minato arrived in time to save him. Without Minato, Kakashi would have died.
Thinking of this, Kiyohara decided it was better to keep a low profile.
His brows tightened slightly, yet without revealing any change in expression, he quietly moved to shield everyone behind him.
"Everyone, be cautious. There are twenty enemies—but most of them are likely just shadow clones,"
Minato said.
Suddenly, twenty distinct chakra signatures appeared. It was clear the enemy had used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create multiple physical doubles.
"Sensei… let us charge in. Please cover us,"
Kakashi said.
He wanted to try out a new technique he had recently developed.
"Don't be reckless. Kakashi, you should stay at the rear,"
Minato instructed firmly.
He then cast a brief glance at Kiyohara, who had already retreated a few steps back to the guard position.
He couldn't help but nod.
Kiyohara's awareness was excellent—whereas Kakashi was far too impulsive.
Right now, with the enemy's true numbers unclear, they needed to stay alert and adopt a defensive stance.
In Minato's eyes, no matter how strong a shinobi was, a single kunai driven into a vital spot would still be fatal.
"But sensei… I'm the squad leader today, aren't I? And it just so happens I want to test my new jutsu!"
Kakashi ignored Minato's warning completely.
Lowering his body, he placed his right hand against the grass.
Crackle—!
Thick arcs of lightning burst from Kakashi's hand, the sound sharp and violent—like the chirping of a thousand birds.
Chidori!
'So that's the 'Chidori'…?'
Kiyohara watched the Lightning Release technique forming in Kakashi's hand.
At this stage, the technique was still called "Chidori." Later, when Kakashi joined the ANBU and used Chidori to cut through a bolt of natural lightning, the technique would be renamed Raikiri—the Lightning Cutter.
"Chidori" and "Raikiri" were actually the same jutsu with the hand signs being identical.
The difference lay in reputation. In the official databook, Chidori was listed as an A-rank technique, while Raikiri was listed as S-rank.
"Even if there are many enemies, I can finish them all in the blink of an eye with this!"
Kakashi said confidently. Then, ignoring Minato's attempt to stop him, he charged forward.
Zzzzzzzzt!
The sharp, piercing noise tore through the silent forest.
"He actually charged straight at me?"
Mahiru was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Kakashi to locate his position and still dare to rush in head-on.
Seeing this, he threw out several shuriken to slow Kakashi down.
Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—!
Just then, Kiyohara also threw a shuriken.
His shuriken collided with Mahiru's in midair, knocking them aside before they fell to the ground.
"How is Kiyohara's shuriken technique better than mine—me, an Uchiha?"
Obito muttered in disbelief.
He had originally intended to throw a shuriken to help Kakashi create an opening, but before he could even throw his, Kiyohara had already acted.
With no obstacles left in front of him, Kakashi's body was propelled forward by the intense force of Chidori. His speed surged dramatically—like a bolt of lightning tearing through the forest.
Bang!
Kakashi pierced Mahiru—only for the enemy to burst into a cloud of smoke.
A shadow clone.
Everyone's hearts tightened.
Shadow clones could not be distinguished, not even with the Byakugan.
A shinobi could only rely on experience to guess which one was the real body.
Because a shadow clone evenly divided the user's chakra, there was no difference in chakra signature—making it impossible to identify the original.
While everyone else was stunned, Kiyohara kept his eyes fixed on the ground.
He knew Mahiru would attack from below next.
Sure enough, the earth began to shift.
Mahiru burst out with a kunai in hand.
Obito panicked, thinking the enemy was going to attack him.
But instead, Mahiru suddenly changed direction and lunged toward Kiyohara.
Originally, he had planned to kill the one wearing the fan-patterned crest knowing the danger of an Uchiha.
But remembering that Kiyohara had been the first to detect him earlier, he switched his target.
Clang!
Their blades collided, sparks bursting outward.
"What?!"
Mahiru froze.
This kid… actually blocked his attack?
It was as if the boy had been waiting for him the whole time!
While Mahiru was still stunned, Kiyohara threw another shuriken.
Poof!
Another shadow clone vanished.
Most shinobi faced a major drawback with shadow clones—they drained enormous amounts of chakra.
Mahiru clearly suffered from the same weakness.
Splitting into twenty clones meant dividing his chakra into twenty shares—each clone held only one-twentieth of his chakra.
Only someone like Naruto, with absurdly massive chakra reserves, could casually create hundreds or even thousands of shadow clones without any issue.
"Did my sneak attack fail…?"
The real Mahiru frowned deeply.
He had intended to kill one of the brats first—but things had not gone as planned.
"Number eighteen…"
Kakashi circled back around, having already defeated most of the shadow clones, and now rushed straight toward the real Mahiru.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, you little brat!"
Mahiru was losing his composure.
First the black-haired kid could sense his stealth attack, and now this white-haired brat was charging in with a calm face—it was infuriating!
Mahiru quickly swung his blade at an angle. Kakashi, already struggling to maintain control over Chidori, could barely react.
Mahiru saw this.
Minato saw this as well.
A heartbeat later, Minato vanished from sight.
Reappearing instantly, he grabbed Kakashi and whisked him away, narrowly avoiding Mahiru's downward strike.
After placing Kakashi safely aside, Minato removed the pack strapped to his back.
Just before hitting the ground, he teleported behind Mahiru using the Flying Thunder God Technique, slamming a kunai toward him.
"You—are you the one they call… Konoha's 'Yellow Flash'?"
Cold sweat poured down Mahiru's face as he stammered.
He finally understood why the higher-ups had ordered that, should they ever encounter Minato, they should escape immediately.
Slash!
A spray of blood rose into the air.
Mahiru collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"So, this really is the world of shinobi…"
Kiyohara watched the always-kind Minato dispatch the enemy without the slightest hesitation.
The shinobi profession had always been a dark one. Killing was routine—Naruto's upbeat tone simply masked that reality.
"Ugh…"
Kakashi groaned, clutching his wound.
Rin hurried over to heal him.
Seeing Kakashi fail spectacularly after trying to show off, Obito immediately started scolding him for acting without permission and ignoring Minato-sensei's instructions.
"I don't need to hear that from you,"
Kakashi shot back.
"You two, that's enough."
Minato flicked off the blood from his kunai.
"This time, the only one who truly impressed me was Kiyohara."
At his words, everyone turned their gaze toward Kiyohara.
"Kakashi, rules are important, yes—but I told you all before: depending on the situation, we sometimes have no choice but to adapt on the spot…"
Minato began to explain his disappointment in this mission.
Kakashi had been reckless.
Obito had been so frightened that he froze in place.
Kurenai and Rin were not combat-type shinobi, so their performance was understandable.
Genma was mediocre—average in every aspect. He neither detected the enemy nor hindered anyone, but didn't contribute meaningfully either.
This time… the only one who satisfied Minato was Kiyohara.
(End of Chapter)