Bridge (Third Update)

"That made sense. I’ve learned something."

After hearing Xu Yue’s suggestion, Kakashi’s face, which had become somewhat numb after Obito’s death, showed a thoughtful expression.

If anyone else had offered advice at a time like this, Kakashi would have ignored it ninety-nine times out of a hundred. But since it was Xu Yue—and because of those words he had spoken back when White Fang died—he was bound to take it seriously.

"Not at all. You’re the one with the talent to develop it. I’m only offering a reminder from an observer’s perspective."

Xu Yue spoke with a smile. To Rin and Minato, it looked like Xu Yue was trying to distract Kakashi from his grief over Obito’s death by having him develop a new technique, so neither of them said anything.

In truth, after obtaining Chidori, Xu Yue had begun instilling Kakashi with ideas for Chidori Sharp Spear and Chidori Stream.

These were the two most practical extensions of the Chidori line of ninjutsu.

When it came to developing ninjutsu, Xu Yue, who had only been exposed to it for such a short time, was certainly no match for Kakashi. Back then, he had only managed to meet the standard with Rasengan because he had a foolproof guide.

Kakashi, who had developed Chidori on his own, would undoubtedly find further improvements even easier than Sasuke would!

It was just that, because this was the technique that killed Rin, Kakashi would probably develop a slight aversion to it afterward. He might even fall into a slump, leaving only Lightning Blade as an upgraded version with improvements across the board.

By the end, once he had untied the knot in his heart, Kakashi had even incorporated Kamui into Lightning Blade and given Kaguya a taste of it…

The place where Kakashi and the others were had already been quite close to Kannabi Bridge.

With the four of them traveling together, they soon caught sight of the bridge’s massive structure.

But as they were about to approach, Minato Namikaze raised a hand to stop them. His expression grew solemn.

"It seems they’ve discovered the front line’s total annihilation. There are quite a few people over there…"

Thanks to his new ability, Force Sense, Xu Yue could sense that something was wrong ahead as well, though he could not describe that mysterious, almost mystical feeling.

"If there are a lot of them, should I use that one?"

Xu Yue pointed at a huge tree beside them and asked Minato Namikaze.

"No need. We cleaned up the survivors and traces from last time, so we haven’t been exposed yet. Let’s wait and use this instead."

Minato Namikaze pulled out a kunai and smiled at Xu Yue.

"I happened to notice you made a breakthrough when you took Rin away earlier. Practice it some more."

Clearly, Minato Namikaze was planning to teach Xu Yue some new practical combat applications. Xu Yue naturally had no objections and obediently activated his Sharingan.

Fortunately, Flying Thunder God proficiency was not lumped in with the Sharingan’s tedious upgrades. It seemed to depend only on familiarity, and the space had not gone so insane as to charge him a second time.

Clink! Clink!

Two kunai fell from the sky and embedded themselves on the Land of Earth side of Kannabi Bridge.

The ninjas there, who were preparing themselves and seemed ready to depart at any moment to reinforce the front line, along with the guards, all looked over warily.

On both rocky sides, within the gorge beneath the bridge, there were Iwagakure ninjas everywhere, their forehead protectors clearly visible.

Then, under the gaze of this force of more than two hundred, one golden and one black figure appeared at the locations of the kunai at the same time!

"Konoha ninjas?"

"Enemy attack?"

"The Yellow Flash?"

The sudden appearance of the two figures stunned the Iwa ninjas for a moment. Then they flew into a rage. According to the scouts who had gone to the foremost front line, there was seemingly no one left who could be contacted. There was a ninety percent chance that the entire force had been wiped out.

That was why the next reinforcement unit had yet to leave. There were both guard troops and reinforcement troops at the bridge right now.

"They chose this moment?"

"Our defenses are at their strongest right now."

"Are they looking down on us?!"

"How naive."

"They’re courting death."

Once everyone reacted, a barrage of attacks came pouring toward them amid angry shouts.

Kunai, shuriken, ninjutsu—everything was there!

Yet as they watched the dense wave of ranged attacks, nearly identical smiles appeared on Minato Namikaze’s and Xu Yue’s faces.

No wounded soldiers. No allied burden to hold them back…

We are looking down on you…

Golden and black flashes erupted, dazzling to the eye, terrifying to the heart, and enough to leave shadows in one’s mind.

The true slaughter began!!

Terror.

Helplessness.

Despair.

As the killing began, negative emotions spread among the Iwagakure ninjas…

"Damn it! Group up! Group up!"

"We can’t catch their positions at all! Our numbers can no longer form a blanket attack, and we have no way to deal with them!"

"Retreat for now! Report the information to the Third Tsuchikage!"

"What about the bridge?!"

"…"

The five remaining elite jonin of the Iwagakure force watched their numbers continue to dwindle, their eyes filled with both anger and helplessness.

Other than watching their comrades die one after another, they could do nothing!

Even one of their elite jonin comrades had been instantly taken down by the two of them working together because he had failed to adapt to their methods at the start!

Just two people, facing a hundred times their number, had carried out a one-sided slaughter!

And there was nothing they could do about it?!

They could only watch them kill!

Other than retreating, they truly could think of no other solution. They needed a Kage-level powerhouse to restrain them. Even elite jonin were far too inadequate!

"Hey, Senior Brother Minato, they’re running. Are you really not going to use that?"

Xu Yue teleported behind a Chunin who bore one of his marks, casually slit the man’s throat with the kunai in his hand, and still had the leisure to ask Minato Namikaze a question.

He now understood why Minato, despite already possessing Rasengan, still liked using kunai. It saved time and effort, with barely any expenditure!

Against ordinary Chunin now, as long as they had no unique life-saving methods, he could kill them instantly!

Although his absolute strength against powerful opponents had not increased by much, dealing with fodder had become far too easy and convenient.

"Even if we use it, it’ll be difficult to keep all five leaders here. Their confidence has already been crushed. Let them go back and plant the seeds of this defeat. On the battlefield, try not to put yourself in a state where your Chakra is depleted."

Minato Namikaze, having likewise dealt with an opponent, answered Xu Yue even while moving at Body Flicker speed.

"All right. Kakashi and the others should have finished setting things up by now…"

Xu Yue had already mastered the ability to leave spatial markers during the pressure of this battle, aided by his growing familiarity through combat and the boost from Force Sense. He had no complaints anymore. His gains had been great enough; there was indeed no need to risk draining all his Chakra…

Boom!

A tremendous explosion rang out. A large number of specially made Explosive Tags, intended specifically to demolish the bridge, detonated and blew apart the crucial piers of Kannabi Bridge. The grand engineering structure immediately cracked and collapsed amid clouds of dust and falling rubble.

The entire ground trembled.

The Iwagakure commanders, who watched the bridge collapse with their own eyes, looked at the two Konoha ninjas now standing revealed in the center, and could not help but feel melancholy.

Konoha truly had no shortage of talent. Beneath the Third Hokage were the Sannin; beneath the Sannin, the Yellow Flash had immediately emerged. More terrifying still, the Yellow Flash had yet to officially become a central pillar, yet beneath him were already young geniuses like the boy before them, the famed Konoha prodigy Kakashi, and Body Flicker Shisui.

By comparison, Iwagakure relied entirely on the Third Tsuchikage to hold it together…

Alas…

The Iwagakure commander, his face filled with helpless bitterness, could only issue the final retreat order.

"Retreat!"

With the bridge already destroyed, the Iwagakure ninjas no longer had any target or reason to fight. Rather than continue, they might as well preserve their remaining strength.

But over two hundred men had been defeated by only two people, leaving behind nearly a hundred corpses and dozens of wounded. How could he return and face the people of the village…