Chapter 18 — The Plan to Defeat Minato Namikaze
As soon as Minato Namikaze finished speaking, he tapped his foot and leapt into the air, landing on the thick trunk of a tree a hundred steps away.
He grabbed a branch behind him and tied the three bells one by one, spacing each about a meter apart.
A gust of wind rustled through the trees, and the bells jingled, their sound carrying far.
"The bells are on the tree behind me. Let's see how you manage to defeat me and take them. Once you're ready, you may begin."
The four exchanged glances, each clearly eager to act.
"Watch me!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Obito split off a clone, grabbed a kunai with his other hand, and was the first to rush toward the tree where Minato waited.
Seeing Obito's sudden move, the remaining three had no choice but to follow, rushing forward together.
Minato perched calmly on the tree, drew a kunai from his waist, but not to attack. Instead, he slashed the space beneath his feet.
A rope, the same color as the trunk, snapped.
A "shhh-shhh" sound split the air, and hundreds—no, thousands—of kunai shot out from hidden compartments.
The four charging forward collided head-on with this rain of flying kunai.
"Traps!"
Obito, at the front, was the first to meet the onslaught.
Unnoticed by Obuya and the others, Obito's left eye suddenly turned red, a tomoe appearing in his pupil.
The single-tomoe Sharingan allowed him to perceive movements and trajectories clearly.
No one knew when he had awakened this power.
Obito and his clone used kunai defensively while cleverly dodging thanks to the Sharingan.
But the rain of kunai was too dense; the clone was pierced within a single breath and vanished with a "poof."
Their momentum was halted.
Yet the kunai continued to fire relentlessly, increasing in number rather than decreasing.
Focused on evasion, they failed to notice that Minato had cut a second rope with his kunai, explaining why the attack seemed endless.
"No organization, no coordination, just brute force, and you think you can snatch the bells? You four are far too naive. Do you really think it would be that easy?"
Watching them struggle and retreat under pressure, Minato's lips curved into a satisfied, conspiratorial smile.
"Retreat!"
Obuya shouted.
Kakashi, thinking quickly, realized brute force wouldn't work. Deflecting a few incoming kunai, he leapt onto a nearby tree and moved off toward a distance.
Obuya and Rin followed closely.
Obito, having charged most aggressively, fell behind during the retreat.
Once they were out of range of the kunai, Minato's relaxed voice called out behind them:
"Remember, you are going to participate in the Chunin Exams. If you cannot even pass this trial, the first preliminary round will surely end in failure due to lack of coordination…"
…
Elsewhere in the forest, the three, aside from Kakashi, looked somewhat disheveled.
Though Minato had dulled the kunai blades to prevent injury, the indiscriminate, "hornet nest" style attack still left blood spots all over them.
"That was insanely dangerous! Luckily, it's Minato-Sensei 's trial. If it had been an enemy, falling into that formation would have made escape far from easy," Obito said, still shaken.
"It's all your fault for being reckless, bumping headfirst into danger. Who else would've survived? Your antics even kept me from casting any jutsu." Kakashi's sarcasm was blunt.
"Kakashi, your incompetence aside, trying to shift the blame onto me? Shameless…"
"Ah, enough, enough. Stop bickering. Our primary task now is to figure out how to repel Minato-Sensei and seize all three bells."
Obuya nodded. "Rin's right. If none of us has the confidence to defeat Minato individually, we must cooperate."
"Minato-Sensei is too strong. In the ninja world, he's known as the Yellow Flash. Enemies often don't even know how they die. There's no way the four of us could defeat him alone." Obito was the first to speak his mind.
Obuya agreed. "That's true. We all understand, and I'm sure Minato-Sensei does too. After all, this is just a trial. I believe he will control his strength, and ultimately, his goal is simply to test our cooperation…"
Hearing this, the others silently agreed, their confidence rising.
Kakashi said, "Conventional methods won't work. The only way is to disrupt his footing. We need to destroy the tree he's on, ideally separating the three bells. Only then will our chances improve."
Obuya nodded in agreement.
"This requires a detailed plan—from start to finish. Every jutsu cast, its expected effect, and how the next person compensates if it doesn't work. Only then can the plan succeed until we secure the bells…"
The four huddled together, discussing for hours.
Two hours later.
"Hahaha! Perfect! If we all follow the plan exactly, nothing can go wrong. So, what are we waiting for? Let's move!" Obito could hardly contain his excitement.
Obuya glanced at the sky.
It was exactly noon.
"When one is waiting, impatience grows. Minato-Sensei will surely be anxiously waiting for us. Since that's the case, let's make him wait a little longer. We'll act at dusk, when the sky is dimming."
Obito frowned, not understanding.
Kakashi nodded. "When someone is impatient, they are most likely to act unpredictably. Some of his planned defenses might not even be used."
Obuya added, "Regardless, when the enemy is stronger, moving under dim light is always wise."
"You two make it sound mystical. To me, it hardly matters, but fine—let's do as you say. I'll just take a nap," Obito said, climbing a tree to rest.
In contrast, Kakashi, a true genius, pushed himself tirelessly.
He repeatedly practiced hand seals, seeking the most efficient method to cast his jutsu when the time came.
"Obuya, I saw your arm was cut by a kunai. Let me heal it for you."
Rin approached him, her voice gentle.
"It's fine, it's nothing," Obuya replied.
Among the four, Obuya had sustained the most minor injuries from the kunai.
His body's original owner came from a tiny, unnamed village and had barely trained chakra, so his physical aptitude was average at best.
Since Obuya had taken over, he had been training for less than a year. His agility, reflexes, and overall physical quality naturally could not compare to Kakashi or Obito, who hailed from prestigious clans and had trained from childhood.