"We need to be careful."
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Mahiru was strong—a bona fide jōnin.
Kakashi wasn't really a match for him; in the original timeline, Kakashi only survived because Minato stepped in and saved him.
With that in mind, Kiyohara decided to keep a low profile.
He frowned slightly and, without drawing attention to it, shifted to subtly shield the others behind him.
"Everyone, stay sharp. There are twenty enemies, though most of them are likely shadow clones," Minato said.
Out of nowhere, around twenty presences had appeared.
Very likely, the enemy had used Shadow Clone Jutsu to create physical duplicates.
"Sensei… let us rush in. Please cover me," Kakashi said.
He wanted to test out the new jutsu he'd developed.
"Don't be reckless, Kakashi. You stay in the backline," Minato said.
His gaze swept over to Kiyohara, who had quietly moved to the rear.
He couldn't help nodding.
Kiyohara's vigilance was solid; Kakashi was too impulsive. With the enemy still unclear, they needed to treat this like a minefield.
In Minato's view, no matter how strong a ninja is, a kunai to a vital spot can still kill them.
"Sensei… I'm the squad leader today. I want to try my new jutsu in a real fight!"
Kakashi ignored Minato's warning.
He dropped his stance low, right hand pressed to the grass.
Crackle!
Lightning arced and hissed in his hand, like a thousand birds crying at once.
Chidori.
"So that's Chidori, huh…"
Kiyohara watched the Lightning Release building in Kakashi's hand.
At this stage, the technique was called Chidori. Later, after Kakashi joined the Anbu and used it to slice through a bolt of lightning, he'd rename it Raikiri—Lightning Cutter.
Chidori and Raikiri were really the same jutsu; even the hand seals were identical.
Funny thing: according to the databooks, Chidori is ranked A-rank, while Raikiri is S-rank.
"Even if they're many, I can finish this in an instant with this jutsu!"
Kakashi said confidently—and, brushing off Minato's attempt to stop him, he charged.
Skrrrraaaack!
The shrill sound tore through the quiet forest.
"He's rushing straight in?" Mahiru froze for a moment, surprised Kakashi had not only found him, but chose to charge head-on.
He flicked several shuriken to try and stop Kakashi.
Swish, swish, swish!
As the shuriken sliced through the air, Kiyohara threw his own.
His shuriken collided with Mahiru's mid-air and knocked them down.
"How is Kiyohara's shuriken control better than mine—and I'm an Uchiha?"
Obito had been about to throw some to help feint for Kakashi, but Kiyohara beat him to it.
With nothing blocking him, Kakashi was dragged forward by the momentum of Chidori, his speed spiking—he became a streak of lightning.
Bang!
Kakashi pierced Mahiru—only for the body to burst into smoke.
A shadow clone.
Everyone's heart clenched.
Shadow clones can't be seen through—not even by the Byakugan. Shinobi can only rely on experience and intuition to pick out the real body. Because chakra is evenly split among all the clones, there's no easy way to tell.
While the others were stunned, Kiyohara kept his eyes on the ground.
He knew Mahiru's next attack would come from below.
Sure enough, the ground shifted—and Mahiru burst out with a kunai, lunging.
Obito panicked, thinking Mahiru was aiming for him.
But Mahiru abruptly changed direction and went for Kiyohara instead.
At first he'd planned to kill the ninja wearing the Uchiha fan crest. Then he remembered Kiyohara was the first to sense him—and changed his target.
Clang!
Steel met steel, sparks flaring.
"What?!"
Mahiru was startled.
The brat had actually blocked him?
It was like the kid had been standing there waiting for him.
While he hesitated, Kiyohara flicked another shuriken.
Pop!
The clone Mahiru was using dispersed into smoke.
The biggest weakness most ninja have with Shadow Clone Jutsu is chakra shortage.
Mahiru was no exception. Splitting into twenty clones meant his chakra was divided into twenty shares—each one only had a twentieth of his original strength.
Only someone like Naruto, with absurd chakra reserves, could casually create hundreds or thousands of clones without feeling a thing.
"Failed the surprise attack, huh…"
The real Mahiru frowned slightly.
He'd meant to kill one of the brats right away—and failed.
"Number eighteen…"
Kakashi, having looped around, cut down most of the clones and was now heading straight for Mahiru.
"Don't push your luck, you little punk!"
Mahiru was starting to lose his cool.
It was bad enough that the black-haired brat had sensed his ambush. Now this white-haired brat, face calm and composed, was just as irritating.
Mahiru chose his angle and swung his sword in a quick arc. Kakashi was clearly having trouble controlling Chidori's speed.
Mahiru saw it.
So did Minato.
The next moment, Minato vanished.
He reappeared an instant later, grabbing Kakashi and blinking them out of the path of Mahiru's downward strike.
After dropping Kakashi in a safe spot, Minato shrugged off his rucksack. Just before he hit the ground, he flashed behind Mahiru with Flying Thunder God and pressed a kunai to the jōnin's back.
"You're… Konoha's… 'Yellow Flash'?" Mahiru stammered, cold sweat streaming down his face.
Now he understood why his superiors had told them that if they ever encountered Minato, the correct move was to run.
Slice.
A spray of blood, and Mahiru collapsed, lifeless.
"So it really is the shinobi world," Kiyohara thought, watching the usually mild Minato kill Mahiru without a second's hesitation.
Being a ninja was always a dark profession—killing was routine. Naruto's adventure-hero tone just hid that fact.
"Ugh…"
Kakashi clutched his wound, and Rin rushed in to treat him.
Seeing Kakashi's attempt to show off blow up in his face, Obito didn't hesitate to scold him for acting on his own and ignoring Minato's orders.
"I don't need commentary from you," Kakashi said with a sideways look.
"You two, that's enough."
Minato flicked the blood off his kunai.
"This time, the only one who truly satisfied me was Kiyohara."
At his words, everyone's gaze shifted to Kiyohara.
"Kakashi, rules are important—but as I've told you, depending on the situation, we have to adapt…"
Minato began laying out his disappointment with this engagement.
Kakashi had been reckless; Obito had frozen in fear. Kurenai, as a genjutsu specialist, and Rin, as a medical ninja, weren't combat types, so that was understandable. Genma was middling at best—he hadn't sensed the enemy, but at least he hadn't dragged them down under attack.
This time, the only one who truly impressed Namikaze Minato—was Kiyohara.
~~~
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