https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-241-A-Terrifying-Combination-of-Jutsu/12558249/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-243-The-Tailed-Beasts-Fearsome-Chakra-Levels/12558251/
Chapter 242: Support at the Top Battlefield
Chapter 242: Support at the Top Battlefield
As Mu Yue stepped in to rescue the injured Konoha ninjas, her disciples also sprang into action, aiding the Konoha forces and striking against the Iwagakure ninjas.
Lacking Mu Yue's prowess, the three worked as a team, sticking close to their teacher.
Initially, they seemed a bit bewildered by the sheer chaos of the battlefield, a scale unlike anything they had experienced before, with over a thousand ninjas clashing.
However, their recent brush with death had honed their combat skills, and they quickly shook off their confusion.
Spotting their youthful appearances and novice demeanor, a group of Iwagakure ninjas lunged at them with kunai in hand.
Might Guy instantly activated his Rock Breathing, coupled with the Eight Inner Gates.
"Eight Inner Gates, Open!"
The combination of breathing techniques and the Eight Inner Gates amplified Guy's physical prowess.
Whoosh!
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Guy's chakra erupted from his feet as he vanished in a blur, delivering a swift kick that sent the Iwagakure ninja flying.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"
Using his Fire Breathing to enhance his fire jutsu, Obito swiftly threw three kunai engulfed in flames at the airborne Iwagakure ninja.
BOOM!!
The fire kunai found their mark, erupting in a blaze that engulfed the ninja.
The intense heat of the fire jutsu, coupled with the explosive force and penetrating power of the kunai, reduced the enemy ninja to a charred corpse that plummeted to the ground.
"Just fight like we usually do," Obito said, his eyes losing their confused look as they successfully took down an opponent.
"You shouldn't have used ninjutsu just now," Kakashi shook his head. "You could have just thrown your shuriken and kunai."
He had been about to attack with his shuriken but held back when he saw Obito's fire jutsu, knowing that most ninjas wouldn't withstand such an assault.
"Why? I feel like using just weapons wouldn't be enough to finish them off," Obito questioned, puzzled.
He believed that if they could take down an enemy, they should ensure they were completely incapacitated to prevent any unexpected comebacks.
"That's fine in a spar or against a handful of enemies, but look at how many we're up against here," Kakashi explained. "We need to conserve our chakra as much as possible."
While he hadn't experienced a battle of this magnitude, Kakashi understood the importance of preserving stamina and chakra to achieve the greatest results with minimal exertion.
Even without Obito's fire jutsu, their combined weapon attacks would gravely injure their opponents, which was as good as killing them in the midst of battle.
"That goes for you too, Guy. Don't overexert yourself," Kakashi added.
Both the Total Concentration Breathing and the Eight Inner Gates were powerful strength-boosting techniques, but they took a toll on the user's stamina.
Surveying the battlefield, littered with countless enemies, Obito had to concede that Kakashi's advice made perfect sense.
Warfare was vastly different from their previous skirmishes, and he knew that depleting their chakra and stamina here would be detrimental.
Guy nodded in agreement, deciding to refrain from using Total Concentration Breathing and the second gate unless faced with exceptionally formidable foes.
Kakashi had another point he didn't voice—expending more energy to take down a highly skilled, high-ranking enemy could be worthwhile, but that wasn't something they needed to concern themselves with at their current level.
Kakashi drew his White Fang katana, finding it more efficient to dispatch enemies with the blade than with ninjutsu.
He mentally ruled out Purple Electricity and False Darkness, two chakra-intensive jutsu with immense power but too draining to use repeatedly.
Obito retrieved a standard-issue kunai from his ninja tool pouch, intending to conserve chakra for crucial moments when ninjutsu might be necessary.
He had also brought along the special kunai Mu Yue had given him for his birthday but was hesitant to use it in battle for fear of damaging it.
Even without ninjutsu, the trio was adept at taijutsu, and their seamless coordination ensured victory against an equal number of Iwagakure chunin.
However, Mu Yue's efficiency far outstripped theirs. With a single Grand Fire Dragon jutsu, she effortlessly eliminated an Iwagakure jounin, then swiftly cut down several others with a standard-issue kunai, her movements as smooth as slicing through vegetables.
"As expected of Teacher Mu Yue," Obito marveled, but a seed of curiosity sprouted in his mind. "Why isn't she using that massively powerful fire jutsu from before? Is she worried about hurting allies?"
"Teacher Mu Yue surely has her reasons," Kakashi replied. "We should focus on ourselves. I think we're being targeted."
Kakashi's heightened awareness detected several Iwagakure ninjas edging closer to their position.
His warning proved timely, as five Iwagakure ninjas abruptly charged at them.
One was intercepted by a passing Konoha ninja, but four continued their relentless advance.
"Such prodigies at such a young age, they must be Konoha's geniuses. Take them out!" the leading ninja shouted.
Mu Yue, ever vigilant of her disciples' welfare, assessed the four approaching Iwagakure ninjas with her Appraisal, identifying one five-thousand chakra jounin with no specialized skills and three three-thousand chakra chunin. Satisfied, she continued her own battle.
The Iwa-nin's right fist was covered in a yellowish-brown rock, significantly increasing its hardness and power.
But Might Guy was prepared. He focused his chakra on his feet and burst forward at extreme speed, covering several meters in an instant.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Obito and Kakashi quickly threw their shuriken.
Clang! Clang!!
The Iwa-nin's Rock Fist was exceptionally hard, and he wildly swung his rocky fist, deflecting all the incoming shuriken.
Just then, the remaining three chuunin reached an effective attack distance and spat out sharp stones with incredible speed.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Bang! Bang!!
Kakashi quickly formed the necessary hand seals and caused the ground to rise, creating a thick wall with a dog's head on it to block the incoming stones.
Although it was he who initially suggested conserving chakra, it was clear that this was not the time to hold back.
"Bullying a few kids, what a feat," remarked a Konoha ninja who saw the young ninjas from his village being surrounded and wanted to help Kakashi's group against the Iwa-nin.
However, he clearly overestimated his abilities. Engaging the Iwa-nin in close combat, he was punched and sent flying, spitting blood. The Iwa-nin chuunin also spat out more flying stones to finish him off.
"Eight Inner Gates, Second Gate: Rest, Open!"
Seeing the injured Konoha ninja who tried to help them, Might Guy immediately opened the second gate of the Eight Inner Gates and focused his breathing, bursting into extreme speed to catch the falling ninja.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!"
Obito swiftly formed the necessary hand seals, concentrating chakra in his throat, and spat out a multitude of tiny fireballs that skillfully maneuvered around Might Guy's body, detonating the incoming stones.
Might Guy landed behind the Earth Flow Wall and gently placed the injured Konoha ninja on the ground.
"Sorry, that was reckless of me. I didn't expect the enemy to be so strong," the injured Konoha ninja apologized to the trio, his face filled with remorse.
He had only made things worse. Not only had he failed to lessen their burden, but he had also forced them to use ninjutsu for the rescue.
"Senior, you did your best. Leave the rest to us!" Might Guy gave the Konoha ninja a thumbs-up, his face radiant with a brilliant smile.
"Never mind that he has a Rock Fist. Even if he had an Iron Fist, I'd melt it away," Obito said, full of confidence in his fire-style ninjutsu.
Kakashi exchanged a glance with Might Guy, and both nodded.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito suddenly leaped and spat out a three-meter-high ball of scorching fire.
"Rock Breathing, Full Concentration Breathing!"
Immediately after, Might Guy focused his breathing to the limit, enhancing his physical prowess to the utmost limit, and seized the cover of the fireball to charge out.
Kakashi created a shadow clone that also burst out from the Earth Flow Wall, while his main body used Earth Style ninjutsu to slowly approach the Iwa-nin from underground.
Taking advantage of the distraction created by Obito's fireball, three Iwa-nin chuunin made their way behind the Iwa-nin jounin.
They joined forces to use an Earth Style ninjutsu to block Obito's fireball but, in doing so, failed to react to Might Guy's sudden assault.
"Extreme Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"
Might Guy appeared beside the four Iwa-nin, channeling all his strength into his legs and delivering a devastating kick.
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
Three of the Iwa-nin were kicked and sent flying, spitting blood. Only the Iwa-nin jounin managed to withstand the attack, but his Rock Fist now bore a slight crack.
"How is this possible? He's so fast!"
"What incredible strength! Could he be a middle-aged ninja who just looks short?"
The injured Iwa-nin chuunin were filled with bewilderment. Might Guy appeared to be no older than ten years old, yet his physical prowess was abnormally strong.
They thought that even if someone started training from before birth, it was impossible to attain such a formidable physique.
"The sheer power of pure taijutsu! We must kill him at all costs!" The Iwa-nin jounin was also extremely astonished.
He realized that if it came to a purely physical confrontation, he might be beaten up by this child before him, and he was supposed to be a jounin!
The Iwa-nin jounin had a premonition that if Might Guy survived this war, he would undoubtedly become a renowned taijutsu master in the ninja world.
To eliminate this future threat, the Iwa-nin jounin unleashed his most powerful attack, a heavy offensive aimed at Might Guy.
But Obito and Kakashi were not idle bystanders; they would not let the Iwa-nin jounin harm Might Guy.
"Flame Breathing, Full Concentration Breathing!"
Obito, too, focused his breathing to the limit, harnessing the utmost strength he could muster.
He swiftly threw two shuriken imbued with flames. If the Iwa-nin jounin wanted to attack Might Guy, he would have to take the brunt of these two scalding shuriken.
There were more shuriken in his ninja tool pouch, but Obito was concerned about distracting Might Guy with too many projectiles.
However, what Obito had not anticipated was that the Iwa-nin jounin would choose to withstand his shuriken just so he could land a Rock Fist on Might Guy, who had just exerted himself with his powerful attack and couldn't move away quickly.
"As long as I kill this guy, it'll be worth it even if I get injured," the Iwa-nin jounin thought.
With no opportunity to dodge, Might Guy burst his chakra and focused all his strength into his fist, meeting the massive Rock Fist of the Iwa-nin jounin.
BOOM!!
The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and the powerful force caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble, sending up a cloud of yellowish dust.
Might Guy's right fist was now bloody, and the Iwa-nin jounin's gigantic Rock Fist was covered in cracks.
At the same time, Obito's flaming shuriken pierced the Iwa-nin jounin's body.
But Kakashi wouldn't let him have his way. He lunged at the Iwa-nin's head with a kunai in hand.
The Iwa-nin was forced to divert his attention to deal with the attacking Kakashi.
And Might Guy didn't take this opportunity to retreat. Instead, he once again gathered his strength and attacked with his uninjured arm.
The Iwa-nin barely managed to block the attacks from the two of them but suddenly felt a tremendous pulling force from underground, pulling him into the earth.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!"
Obito hurled a kunai engulfed in blazing flames at the Iwa-nin's head, which was the only part of his body that was still exposed.
BOOM!! A blast rang out, and the Iwa-nin's head disappeared from view, buried beneath the ground.
"What a brilliant combination!" exclaimed the injured Konoha ninja, who had intended to help but instead witnessed the trio's clean and efficient disposal of their opponent.
Throughout the fight, the three had worked seamlessly as a team: Might Guy engaged in close-quarters combat and took care of the weaker Iwa-nin chunin, while Obito provided fire-style cover and finished off weakened opponents, and Kakashi bided his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike a fatal blow.
He couldn't help but marvel at the vast difference in skill levels. He, an adult ninja, had intended to help but almost got taken out himself. Instead, the three youngsters he thought were in danger had rescued him and eliminated their enemy.
Having dispatched a formidable foe, Kakashi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then his attention was drawn to a familiar figure in peril—it seemed to be one of his former teammates.
"Lightning Breathing, Full Concentration Breathing, Flash!"
Kakashi immediately maximized the power of his breathing technique, unleashing a lightning-fast strike.
Ryuuken only felt a flash of yellow lightning streak by, and then the enemy before him was cleaved in two.
As he was about to thank this powerful ninja, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with the person's silhouette. When Kakashi turned around, his former teammate couldn't help but exclaim in extreme shock.
"Kakashi, is that you?"
"Why wouldn't it be me?" Kakashi warily scanned their surroundings as he replied nonchalantly.
"You're not..." Ryuuken stopped short of bringing up the past and instead offered Kakashi a simple "thank you."
Kakashi nodded slightly, then quickly rushed over to Might Guy to check on his condition.
"Haha, it's just a minor injury. It won't affect my combat abilities." Might Guy quickly wrapped his injured hand with a bandage and then laughed heartily.
"He's really changed. He's completely different from before," Ryuuken remarked, observing the interactions between Kakashi, Might Guy, and Obito.
In fact, he had sensed something different about Kakashi during their two encounters on the road, but he never expected such a significant transformation.
"Be extra careful from now on," Kakashi advised. "Our priority is to rescue our comrades."
As Kakashi finished speaking, the ground suddenly shook, and a blinding explosion lit up the distance.
"Is that ninjutsu? But what kind of ninjutsu could have such power?" Kakashi wondered aloud, his eyes fixed on the distant light.
Taking advantage of the commotion, many Iwa-nin rushed out, desperate to rescue the badly wounded Iwa hunter.
The Konoha ninjas mercilessly unleashed various ninjutsu on the Iwa-nin, taking out numerous foes. The already heavily injured Iwa hunter's fate was left unknown amidst the chaos.
Mu Yue joined in, tossing out a standard fire-style jutsu, and then began to recover her chakra.
She had accomplished her primary goal for coming to the battlefield. Once she returned to Konoha, her status would elevate from being known as a talented teacher to being recognized as both an exceptional teacher and a formidable ninja.
Moving forward, Mu Yue wanted to witness the battle at the top battlefield and observe Jiraiya and the jinchuriki in action.
She was curious about how much chakra a jinchuriki could amass in battle and wanted to gauge Jiraiya's current strength when fighting with all his might.
After recovering for a while, Mu Yue drew her kunai and swiftly eliminated every Iwa-nin she encountered.
An Iwa-nin jounin, accompanied by eight chunin, attempted to gang up on Mu Yue, but they were all incinerated by her fire jutsu.
The Iwa forces had already lost the powerful asset that was the Iwa hunter, and now, in their desperate attempt to rescue him, they had suffered further losses. With no one capable of stopping Mu Yue, the once evenly matched battle now tipped in Konoha's favor.
"Retreat!"
The Iwa commander reluctantly issued the order to fall back and fired a signal flare to convey the same message.
Although the outcome of the battle at the top battlefield was still undecided, if they didn't retreat now, they might not get another chance to escape.
The Iwa-nin began to fight while gradually retreating.
Mu Yue nodded in approval. It was good that they were retreating; now she could justifiably move on to the other battlefield.
The Konoha ninjas pursued their foes for a while before halting, cautious about the possibility of ambushes if they ventured too far.
"You three, return to the camp and get some rest. I'm going to go support Jiraiya-sama and the others," Mu Yue instructed her disciples.
She left a shadow clone to protect them and then followed several other Konoha ninjas to provide backup for Jiraiya.
(End of Chapter)
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