Splitting Up

"Obito! You’re late again!"

"Sorry, sorry. I ran into a lost old lady on the road, and she was carrying a lot of things."

Obito kept clasping his hands together in apology, making Kakashi feel thoroughly unaccustomed to it.

Wouldn’t he usually argue back at a time like this?

Caught off guard by the sudden change, Kakashi even forgot to press his advantage for the moment.

Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze spoke gently.

"It seems that old lady was carrying quite a lot."

Obito responded with an awkward laugh.

"All right. Before the mission begins, let’s first congratulate Kakashi on becoming the second Jonin of Team Minato. Here, this is my gift to you."

Minato Namikaze handed over a Kunai engraved with a special Flying Thunder God formula.

Rin, meanwhile, presented a custom-made Medical Kit.

"What a coincidence. My gift is the same as Senior Brother Minato’s."

Xu Yue smiled and handed over a Kunai similar to Minato Namikaze’s. Kakashi accepted them all without hesitation.

Then Xu Yue extended a hand toward the utterly bewildered Obito and beckoned him over.

The inertia of the plot was powerful. Xu Yue had no idea why Obito had missed this news in the original story, but this time, Xu Yue had evidently distracted him by telling him about some of Kakashi’s experiences, causing him to forget it as well.

The difference was that this time, no argument broke out between them. For now, Obito forcibly held himself back.

Though he kept muttering under his breath, he was still much better than before.

"Iwagakure has already invaded our territory under the cover of the Land of Grass. It is said that there are already over a thousand ninja at the front lines. Our objective this time is to destroy their supply route, Kannabi Bridge…"

At the mention of that name, the calmness in Xu Yue’s heart began to stir with an indescribable fervor.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge—the heroes of two Sharingan!

And…

The decrepit Madara Uchiha!

"Because our combat strength is stretched thin, I plan to split our team into two groups. Kakashi will lead Rin and Obito on the bridge demolition mission. Lord Yue and I will head to the front lines for support using our speed, while also drawing enemy fire."

Minato Namikaze swiftly laid out the plan.

This arrangement caught Xu Yue slightly by surprise. He had thought Minato would assign him to accompany Kakashi and the others, since their side was clearly somewhat lacking in strength. He had not expected Minato to bring him to the front lines instead.

Other than the fact that his speed could keep up with Minato’s, there was probably some change he did not know about. Was it because of the Reincarnators…?

Reincarnators capable of entering a mission of this intensity could not be underestimated!

Tch.

Whose legion was assigned to the Land of Earth again?

It seemed to be the fifth-ranked domestic faction, Bear Power, as well as German Eagle, whose patron had fallen from power and who was barely holding on through its foundations, yet was still gradually declining.

In theory, the patrons of those two factions were practically at each other’s throats. If they had both chosen the same country, internal conflict should have been constant.

But an employer’s enemy was not necessarily one’s own enemy. Especially when their patron had lost power, German Eagle had probably made certain compromises.

Otherwise, with internal contradictions like that, the Reincarnators could not possibly have caused interference on this scale.

Among Konoha’s major legions, even the most successful ones had pitifully little say when fighting on the front lines. At most, they could decide whether cannon fodder units lived or died, and they might not even be able to affect that.

"It deviates a little from the plan, but it shouldn’t matter much. This really isn’t the best time yet."

Xu Yue still lacked the motivation to completely alter the plot by saving Obito for benefits. The potential gains were too uncertain. It was better to follow the plan he had set.

Besides, even if he intervened, he might not be able to save Obito. Unless he became the substitute himself—and he was still a little short on strength for that…

According to the battle plan, Xu Yue and Minato Namikaze would escort Team Kakashi to the border of the Land of Grass before separating.

Even Rin, the weakest among them, possessed Chunin-level strength and had decent recovery abilities, so the team moved quickly, leaping continuously through the forest.

As the vegetation began to change, enormous mushrooms the size of rooftops appeared atop towering trees like skyscrapers, signaling that they had reached the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire.

Just as they were about to split up, Kakashi raised a hand in warning.

Enemies!

After spotting traces of the enemy, Xu Yue made his own judgment. One person? Hmm, there did seem to have been enemy harassment along the way in the remembered plot. Was this it?

If the Reincarnators had not interfered, there should not have been any major changes on Kakashi’s side. Even if they had, Madara lurking in the shadows would correct those changes.

"Good work, Kakashi."

Minato Namikaze praised Kakashi’s vigilance as well.

"The number of enemies has clearly increased. Around twenty, perhaps. They should be Shadow Clones."

Minato Namikaze possessed the greatest experience and ability among them. The moment the enemy began using Shadow Clones, he immediately noticed.

"Anyone daring to scout alone is at least a Special Jonin, so be careful."

Even at a moment like this, Minato Namikaze did not forget to instruct his students. They were about to carry out a mission on their own, and this would be Team Kakashi’s final lesson before operating independently.

"Sensei, cover me. I’ll handle this one."

Perhaps because of the pressure Xu Yue brought him, Kakashi was acting somewhat aggressively now.

But Minato Namikaze did not say anything. With the speed of both himself and Uchiha Yue present, even if something went wrong, they could forcefully turn the situation around.

Kakashi was about to stand on his own. It would be good to let him temper himself at a time like this.

"All right. Remember to be careful."

"I developed a new ninjutsu. I’ll use them to test its effectiveness."

As he spoke, lightning burst from Kakashi’s hand, accompanied by a piercing chirping sound that made Xu Yue sigh in admiration.

Chidori, was it? Unfortunately, the original story had not explained its principles too clearly. It was not as easy to learn as the Rasengan, but since it was in Kakashi’s hands, Xu Yue had a good chance of learning it from him.

Chidori focused more on piercing power, making it different from the Rasengan’s explosive method. Its later techniques were also fairly practical.

But your Chidori was not complete yet.

I don’t intend to give you the head of a Jonin…

Xu Yue twirled the Kunai in his hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face…

This was the bonus chapter in thanks for everyone’s support in bringing the average subscriptions to 1,800. There will be two more guaranteed chapters later today. As for the bonus chapter for 1,900, that will be tomorrow…

Weekdays were miserable for working dogs. This shameless fellow had done his best. The gap since the last release had been a little short, and there was really no stockpile left.

The pose is ready. Come at me, everyone…