Pff! Pff!
Water splashed and condensed, forming two water clones identical to the original. They appeared on Mikami Yuu's left and right. The three spread out by a few meters, standing in a triangular formation, three pairs of eyes alertly sensing the surroundings—and the faint tremors from the ground beneath their feet.
"Here!"
One water clone suddenly pointed at a tiny bulge in the ground to the left.
Almost at the same time, Kakashi's figure sprang out of the earth like a leopard from behind that water clone's side-rear! Kunai in hand, he stabbed straight for the clone's back!
Whoosh!
And at the exact instant Kakashi launched the ambush, Mikami Yuu's real body flicked his wrist—as if he'd predicted Kakashi's position in advance—sending three kunai screaming through the air, perfectly aimed at Kakashi's throat! The timing and angle were flawless!
"Tch…"
Kakashi frowned.
To be honest, he hadn't deliberately targeted the water clone. He simply didn't have Byakugan or Sharingan—he couldn't tell which of the three Mikami Yuus was real. So he picked a "lucky audience member" at random, planning to test first.
But he didn't expect the real body to react so fast—like he had eyes in the back of his head.
A water clone with only 10% of the main body's chakra wasn't scary. But if Kakashi got hit and injured his wrist, it would seriously affect his combat ability. So he had to change tactics on the fly—abandon the close water clone and block the incoming kunai first.
In that split-second delay—
the attacked water clone and the other water clone both lunged in! One clamped down on Kakashi's kunai arm, locking his right forearm in a death grip, while the other wrapped from behind and locked his legs!
Meanwhile, Mikami Yuu's real body had already finished forming seals:
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
"Got him!!"
That shout came from Obito, still buried underground. His eyes were wide as he watched the fight between Mikami Yuu and Kakashi, acting like he was the one landing the move.
Kakashi actually panicked a bit. He burst chakra violently, shaking off the two water clones with two puff sounds, then in a hurry drew the White Fang short blade from his back and slashed forward!
Shing!
A streak of blade light flashed.
Normally, that slash should've split the fireballs apart—but those Phoenix Sage flames moved as if they were alive, twisting and hopping with nimble agility, narrowly avoiding the blade and continuing to slam toward Kakashi!
"…?!"
Kakashi's expression shifted. He dove sideways into an awkward roll, and rapidly formed three seals:
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
Whoooosh!
A stream of water blasted from his mouth, barely extinguishing a few fireballs that were chasing him down.
But Mikami Yuu—using Partial Transformation: Might Guy's Body—was already on top of him, kunai stabbing toward Kakashi before he could even regain his footing! Kakashi swung White Fang to respond, and a dense storm of metallic clashes and flying sparks erupted in an instant!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Two figures collided, separated, then collided again at high speed in the center of the clearing!
"One inch longer, one inch stronger"—and Kakashi's swordsmanship was a complete system, refined and vicious, far above Mikami Yuu's. But because it happened so suddenly—and because Mikami Yuu seized the initiative—his relentless, storm-like pressure didn't let up, and for a moment they were actually evenly matched!
[Ding! Detected high-quality potential romanceable target: "Hatake Swordsmanship"! ]
"…?!"
Mikami Yuu's eyelid twitched—and Kakashi seized the opening. A sharp chain of attacks instantly flipped the situation. In a dangerous moment, Mikami Yuu used Substitution—
Whoosh!
—returning to his original position, now dozens of meters away from Kakashi, and took a breath to steady himself.
Kakashi recovered even faster. With a flick of his wrist, he drew White Fang back behind him. His hands began forming seals at blistering speed—so fast it made your eyes blur. In just a few seconds he'd already formed more than twenty seals!
"…Uh…"
Mikami Yuu's eyelid jumped. What kind of jutsu needs that many seals? Was it that Water Release that required 44 hand seals?
"That's enough!"
Minato's figure appeared between them. Smiling gently, he raised a hand to signal a stop.
The purpose of the drill had already been achieved—no need to keep fighting. They'd have plenty of chances to spar in the future.
At the order, Kakashi's hand seals stopped instantly. The sharpness in his eyes withdrew, returning to that dull, lifeless look. He silently put his hands back in his pockets.
Mikami Yuu also exhaled in relief and released the partial transformation.
"Yuu-kun, are you okay?"
Rin came over with Obito, looking worried at Mikami Yuu, then glancing toward Kakashi in the distance.
"I'm fine."
Next,
Minato began summarizing:
"That concludes the drill. Yuu's battle plan itself was fine, and his tactics against Kakashi were excellent—but executing a plan requires reliable teammates.
"Obito, your Great Fireball was reckless and direct. You didn't consider your teammates' positions or follow-up changes, and you were countered easily. Rin, your shuriken cover wasn't strong enough, and your close-combat ability needs urgent improvement. After Yuu saved you, you didn't reorganize quickly enough to provide effective support."
Obito lowered his head in shame, digging mud out of his hair.
Rin nodded seriously. "Yes, Minato-sensei. I understand."
Minato finally looked at Mikami Yuu:
"Yuu, your individual quality is excellent. Even though you don't know many jutsu, you use what you have extremely well—almost on par with Kakashi. What you lack is combat experience and taijutsu fighting ability, which we can target with special training later.
"But I also need to remind you: ninja fight as teams. An individual's weakness becomes the team's weakness. How to cover your teammates' shortcomings and bring out the team's strength will be your key lesson going forward. Against real enemies, even a small flaw can be fatal."
"I understand."
Mikami Yuu nodded earnestly.
He'd been deliberately distancing himself from Obito before, afraid he might someday stab him in the back—but now that they were in the same squad, there was nothing he could do. Even if Obito still went dark later, for now Mikami Yuu could only play his role as a teammate properly.
Besides, the real crisis was still years away—the Kannabi Bridge mission. If it came to it, he'd find a way to avoid that mission and not go.
After the critique ended,
Minato paused, then smiled again with his signature warmth.
"Alright, the objective of this drill has been perfectly achieved. Starting tomorrow, our squad will officially begin. Missions and training won't be easy, so…
"Let's take the rest of today off. Later we'll go to Yakiniku Q—my treat. Eat as much as you want."
"Woo!!"
~~~
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