The flock of crows still circled through the forest, but under Yamashiro Aoba's control, they gradually dispersed.
Seeing that signature fighting style earlier, Kakashi and Rin had already had a vague guess. But only after clearly seeing who had arrived did they finally let out a breath of relief.
"Haori? And… Guy and Aoba."
"Are you all right?"
Seeing that Guy and Aoba had already brought Nohara Rin over, Haori asked in a low voice.
"Haori, we're fine, but…"
Rin turned her head toward a collapsed cave not far away. Her eyes reddened, and she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Kakashi stood up in silence. Lightning crackled once more in his hand before he spoke:
"I'm fine. I'll hold them back. You take Rin and leave, quickly."
"Seeking death isn't the answer—at least not now. Recover a bit first."
Haori shook his head. He could more or less guess what Kakashi was thinking.
After suffering so many mental blows, Kakashi was probably bent on dying here.
"It's you?!"
Haori's group appearing caused a brief moment of shock among the Iwa-nin, but they were well-trained and quickly regained their composure.
Yet when they clearly recognized Haori and the others, delight and fury surged through them at the same time.
Delight—because these three had delivered themselves right into their hands.
Fury—because after daring to evade pursuit, they still had the nerve to come and support others?!
"Surprised?"
Though inwardly cautious, Haori still revealed a faint smile.
"I wonder—did you enjoy last night's explosion?"
Explosion?
Kakashi and Rin were both startled. Instantly, they recalled the massive blast from the previous night.
They had never imagined that the culprits were actually Haori and his team.
"Attack! Watch that kid's eyes!"
Whether out of sheer rage or not, the Iwa squad leader roared and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Barrage!"
"Spread out! Aoba, Guy—cover them!"
Haori leapt aside while issuing commands.
The Iwa-nin had already begun using ninjutsu. That meant they were no longer holding back.
"Die!"
The instant Haori landed after dodging the earthen spikes, two Iwa-nin rushed up behind him, kunai stabbing straight for his back.
But when their blades pierced through him, they immediately realized something was wrong.
Bang!
Haori's body burst into crackling electricity. The current surged into their bodies, instantly paralyzing them.
"A Lightning Clone? When did he—?!"
Their faces twisted in shock, but they couldn't move at all. At that moment, Haori emerged from the shadows.
The ninja blade in his hand flashed coldly, slicing across both of their throats in an instant.
Yet just as he sheathed his blade, he was forced to leap away again—another Iwa-nin had appeared behind him.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Driven into a frenzy, the Iwa squad leader wasted no time. Seeing Haori jump, he immediately formed seals again.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Midair, Haori had no room to dodge. He hurled his ninja blade toward one of the Iwa-nin below, then rapidly formed seals.
In the blink of an eye, a massive fireball erupted from his mouth.
Boom!
The fireball collided with the earth dragon bullet in midair, producing a muffled explosion. As Haori landed, the Iwa squad leader had already closed in with several other ninja, surrounding him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Haori instantly drew a kunai. A rapid series of shrill metallic clashes echoed through the forest.
A close-range exchange wasn't bad for Haori at all. These Iwa-nin weren't fools—they knew exactly how to fight an Uchiha.
They kept him engaged from the front while maintaining constant threats from behind.
Such tactics would have been highly effective against an ordinary Uchiha—even one with three tomoe.
But against Haori, they only raised the danger level; they were far from lethal.
Forced long ago into becoming a well-rounded fighter, Haori had dabbled in all kinds of abilities.
More importantly, his Sharingan's evolution hadn't relied on emotional trauma, but on the passive skill [Exceptional].
That passive didn't merely strengthen his Sharingan—it subtly enhanced his very bloodline.
"Still… Iwa-nin really are tenacious."
Watching the enemy continue their relentless assault under the squad leader's command, Haori frowned slightly.
This fight was proving more troublesome than he had anticipated.
Even in just a few minutes, several Iwa-nin had already fallen to him—yet the rest fought on like madmen.
Was this truly the so-called Will of Stone?
Or were they simply enraged beyond reason by what he had done?
And while Haori himself was holding up fairly well, the others were not.
Guy fought fiercely, still burning with passion, but the wounds on his body were steadily increasing.
Kakashi had recovered a little and rejoined the fight, but his condition was terrible—he could no longer maintain Chidori.
Aoba continued using his crows for cover while protecting Rin, but his chakra had already been heavily drained; his situation was far from good.
"Looks like we can't rely entirely on Minato-sensei anymore. What's he doing? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"
Haori's frown deepened.
In the original timeline, it was never clearly stated, but when Kakashi launched his final desperate attack, he was clearly at his limit.
When he woke up, Minato had already saved them and the battle was over.
Now, with Haori's involvement, Kakashi could last longer—but that hardly explained Minato's continued absence.
Was this some kind of 'intelligent delay'?
"No point counting on him. I have to think of something myself."
Haori's original plan was to stall until Namikaze Minato arrived to end the battle.
But now, he had to take matters into his own hands.
His gaze locked onto the Iwa squad leader.
He knew one simple truth—
To capture the bandits, first seize their king.
——
"Sorry, I have to leave!"
On the front lines, Namikaze Minato looked anxious.
He had long sensed chakra activity from the kunai he'd left with Kakashi, but he hadn't been able to move immediately.
According to intelligence, an Iwa supply base had suffered a massive explosion.
No one knew the exact extent of the damage, but it had clearly dealt Iwagakure a heavy blow.
And reality soon proved it.
Perhaps due to trouble in their rear, Iwa's attacks that day were especially desperate, putting tremendous pressure on Konoha's defenses.
But when Konoha held firm and inflicted heavy casualties in return, Iwa's morale collapsed spectacularly.
Seeing an opening, Konoha's command immediately pressed the advantage.
Minato had to take part in that battle.
Even with Iwa's morale shattered, there were still those fighting to the death—and with Minato present, those resistance pockets could be eliminated more quickly, further crushing the enemy's spirit.
But it also cost him precious time.
Now, as the battle finally ended, he only had time to briefly acknowledge the cheering ninja around him before instantly activating Flying Thunder God.
"Kakashi, Obito, Rin… I'm sorry. I'm late. Please, hold on…"
Minato silently prayed.
Yet when space twisted and the scenery changed, his expression turned strangely stiff.
Because among a group of Iwa-nin, he saw a young Uchiha holding a kunai—
Casually drawing it across an enemy's throat, as the surrounding Iwa-nin shouted in panic, "Captain!"
A strange thought surfaced in his mind—
Did I… really arrive too late?
~~--------------------------------
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