Chapter 228 Enemy in the River

Minato Namikaze put down the injured Kakashi and took the backpack off his shoulders. Under the effect of gravity, the heavy backpack fell very quickly, but Minato Namikaze was even faster!

"Oh!"

The sound of the backpack falling to the ground could be clearly heard in the silent jungle. When the ninjas present came to their senses, Namikaze Minato had already come behind the Iwagakure, with the sharp kunai in his hand across the other's tender throat.

The Rock Ninja felt a chill all over his body, and before he could react, a body full of murderous intent appeared behind him, and a kunai was placed at his throat. Even if he had all the means to do so, he was powerless to turn the situation around.

Victory or defeat was decided in a split second. Namikaze Minato had even arrived behind the Iwagakure ninja before his backpack hit the ground, but the opponent didn't notice it.

"Several elders in the village have repeatedly emphasized and ordered us to abandon the mission if we meet a yellow-haired Konoha ninja, claiming that we are no match for him. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do." The Iwagakure was sweating profusely, but he was a senior ninja who had experienced the test of life and death after all. The fear before death did not make him lose his composure. Instead, his words were filled with admiration.

If you are not as skilled as others, your death will be in vain. We are all ninjas who live on the edge of a knife. We are in this line of work, so what is there to be afraid of?

Minato Namikaze remained silent, his right hand kunai scratched the fragile throat, blood gushed out instantly, and a strong life was cut off.

Hara Rin placed her hands on Kakashi's arms, and the green chakra condensed into a ball, quickly repairing the damaged cells. Uchiha Obito and Yamashiro Hoshi held their weapons and were cautious and alert.

There was still no sound of breaking air, and no defense, and Minato Namikaze appeared again, relaxing the tense team.

This is the power of space-based ninjutsu. Once it is used, the enemy will be completely unable to defend. It was with this unique skill that Minato defeated the Iwagakure, who was known for his strong will.

Kakashi was in a very low mood. The development of events was completely predicted by Yeshan. It turned out that the secret technique called Chidori was not suitable for him.

Namikaze Minato checked Kakashi's injuries, and after confirming that he was not seriously injured, he breathed a sigh of relief. His tone was rarely filled with blame: "Kakashi, you are too reckless. As the captain, your responsibility is to maintain the stability of the team's formation. Killing the enemy is secondary. I hope you can remember this lesson. Next time, no one can save you."

Kakashi bowed his head and said nothing. Instead, Yamashirohoshi stepped forward and softly defended him, "Lord Minato, please calm down. Captain Kakashi has realized his mistake. We are a team. We all agreed before we took action."

"Don't do it again! Remember, personal heroism is the worst thing on the battlefield. You are not alone, you have something more important to protect!"

Kakashi nodded, enduring the pain in his arm. The mask on his face was wet with sweat, and it was obvious that he was in pain.

Minato Namikaze felt a little distressed, but for the sake of the team's safety, he ultimately did not say anything to comfort them.

"This place is not suitable for hiding. We need to find another place. A few dozen kilometers to the north is a bamboo forest. We need to move there in a short time." Minato said calmly.

During the war, any ninja who disappeared without reason would be classified as killed in action, let alone a Jonin who was missing. The Rock Ninja would certainly conduct a large-scale search, but fortunately, the terrain here was complex and the vegetation was dense, so it was unlikely that the enemy's sensory ninja would be able to search in all directions, so it was not a big problem to continue lurking.

After the five of them cleaned up the battlefield carefully, the dead body of Iwagakure was also sealed in the scroll. This was a valuable trophy, so they had to keep it carefully. When they returned to the village, they could exchange it for a powerful ninjutsu. In recent years, the policies of Konohagakure have changed a lot. The most pleasing thing for the frontline ninjas is the policy of exchanging military merit for ninjutsu. Many civilian ninjas with decent talents have become middle and upper ninjas with this policy, which is much easier than Yeshan's original one. However, it also caused opposition from many family ninjas, but that's all later.

As the sky gradually darkens, the warm climate of the Grass Kingdom is famous far and wide. Even in the cold winter, it is as warm as spring. The bamboo forest is lush and green, and several streams run through it. The scenery is extremely pleasant, making it a great place for leisure and entertainment.

Kakashi and his three companions chose a hiding place. Minato Namikaze looked at the sky and knew that they could not delay any longer. The time of separation had finally arrived: "Kakashi, saying something three times is as dull as water. I feel annoyed when I say the same thing too many times, but for your safety, I have to emphasize it again. You are a team, and your responsibility as the captain is to protect your teammates and complete the mission. Remember this!"

Kakashi remained silent, but his eyes revealed regret. He was an extremely smart man and easily understood the meaning of Minato's words.

"Take care of yourselves, you four. I'm going back to the camp." Namikaze Minato put on his backpack and disappeared into the bamboo forest in the sunset.

Kakashi called Parker to arrange a patrol and warning, and then whispered: "We will spend the next two days here. If you are hungry or thirsty, you must solve it on the spot. You are not allowed to light a fire to expose your location. You should know these basic precautions without me saying it."

The three of them nodded in agreement with serious expressions, then packed up their belongings and hid themselves.

Uchiha Obito used the transformation technique to turn into a moss-covered stone embedded in the river, Yamashiro Hoshi and Kaka XZ lay in the bamboo, and Yuan Yelin hid underwater with a special tube in her mouth. The four people hid in a very particular position, forming a cubic battle space that could support teammates at any time and monitor the movements within the largest range.

Although the four of them are young, they have become very mature under the catalysis of war, and they also cooperate with each other to perfection. This is formed over a long period of time, not put together overnight. In ninja battles, close-knit teams have a greater right to survive. It is not uncommon in the ninja world that one plus one is greater than two. This is also the main reason why the team system is so popular among the five major countries, without a doubt.

The sun rose and set, from night to day and then back to night to day, Kakashi's team was very lucky to spend two days. For some reason, the Iwagakure never searched this bamboo forest, allowing them to rest enough to cope with the next task.

Parker and his friends searched non-stop, and only after they confirmed that there was no trace of the enemy within dozens of kilometers did Kakashi and his three companions remove their disguises and gather together.

"According to the agreement, the battle on the front line has already turned into a mess. What's happening there has little to do with us. We have more important things to do. I'm sure you all know that, which is to blow up the Kannabi Bridge that the enemy relies on for supplies!"

A top-secret map was placed on the ground. Four people sat around it, focusing their attention on the map that the Rock Ninjas were flocking to, waiting for Kakashi to deploy the route.

"I suggest that we approach the Kamnubi Bridge from the dense forest. The trees here are tall and the terrain is complex, which is very suitable for hiding our bodies. The disadvantage is also obvious. The enemy can also ambush us well and wait for us to fall into their trap. Do you have anything to say?" Kakashi said as he drew a semicircular route on the map with his finger.

Uchiha Obito stroked his chin and said thoughtfully: "I don't have anything to say for now. I completely agree with your arrangement, but what should we do if we encounter the enemy? Should we annihilate them with all our strength or get away quickly?"

Kakashi thought for a moment and said, "It depends on the battle situation. If the number of enemies is less than three and their strength is around Chunin, we can choose to annihilate them quickly and give the enemy a false impression!"

"What do you mean...?" Uchiha Obito asked with his eyes lighting up.

"That's right. We can disguise ourselves as enemies and sneak up on Kannabi Bridge, but the possibility is very small, and we don't know what their secret codes are to each other, so it's very easy to fall into a passive position. But it's a stupid method after all." Kakashi said.

The three nodded, agreeing with Kakashi's words. In fact, each team had its own method of contact, and ninjas would recognize the contact method rather than the person during battle. After all, sometimes the ninjas' methods were too dirty.

"Parker and the others will also help us grope our way forward in secret, but you also know that searching with the nose alone is not reliable. The enemy has many ways to evade their perception, so we still have to be careful."

"Obito, you must stay by Rin's side for the rest of the journey. Leave the combat mission to me and Xing." Kakashi said seriously, "Rin is the core of the team. Without her, we may not be able to get out of the range of the Kannabi Bridge. We must ensure her safety at all costs!"

It is customary to prioritize killing the enemy's perception ninjas and medical ninjas during missions, especially in stealth sabotage missions. Once an elite team loses their medical ninjas, they are almost half useless. The importance of protecting Yuan Yelin is self-evident.

Uchiha Obito's eyes were firm, and he secretly looked at the girl beside him with admiration in his eyes: "Don't worry, Captain Kakashi, I will complete the mission at the risk of my life!"

"Well then, I declare that the Kannabi Bridge mission has officially begun. The team will infiltrate deeper in the 211 formation. Parker, I'll have to trouble you again."

The ninja dog Parker was lying on the grass. Hearing this, he stood up and said with an anthropomorphic smile, "It's a small matter. Just prepare the reward afterwards."

At this time, the sun was setting, and orange-red clouds dominated the sky, which looked quite stunning through the gaps between the bamboo forests. It was in this unparalleled scenery of nature that the four men set out on the journey to blow up the Kammubi Bridge.

They had an unexpectedly smooth journey, until they were less than five kilometers from the Kannabi Bridge, when this apparent peace was interrupted.

This is a small river about tens of meters wide, flowing from west to east. On both sides of the river are rows of upright bamboos. When the breeze blows, the rustling sound of the leaves trembling is extremely pleasant to the ear.

Kakashi gestured to stop. He vaguely sensed something was wrong, but he looked around and saw nothing. Time did not allow them to stay too long. Every minute they stayed, more people would die in the battle on the front line. So even though he felt uneasy, he still stepped firmly into the river.

The flowing river water was under his feet. Kakashi looked down cautiously for a moment. Several fish were swimming leisurely, and one even playfully jumped out of the water and landed on the back of his feet, which made Kakashi feel relieved.

"There shouldn't be an enemy ambush here, otherwise the fish in the water wouldn't be unaware of it. I hope I'm just being overly suspicious."

After a few hand gestures, Kakashi's team stepped into the river one by one. Relying on the omnipotent chakra, they could cross this river that ordinary people struggled to cross in just a few seconds.

One meter, two meters, three meters... When Kakashi was less than two meters away from the other side of the river, a sharp chirping sound suddenly broke out in the air! Without even looking up, the experienced Kakashi instantly knew that it was the sound of thick bamboo cutting through the air: "Enemy attack!"

If possible, Kakashi didn't even want to pay attention to the massive bamboo shoots, because he knew it was just a feint attack by the enemy, but the bamboo attack came too fast and covered too large a range, he had to resolve it while ensuring that the team's formation was not disrupted!

What to do? Earth escape is useless on the water, should I use lightning escape? No, lightning escape can't defend against all the bamboos in an instant, but I can't care less!

Kakashi took a deep breath, and the chakra in his body became agitated. He raised his hand that was pressing on the short sword behind him to his chest, and was about to form the seal that he knew by heart, but at this moment, Uchiha Obito stood up: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

The huge fireball rolled up a scorching wind, and the fierce bamboo spears were scattered and fell into the river helplessly with flames.

"Up there!"

Kakashi shouted in a deep voice, bent his knees and jumped, his short sword flew out of its sheath in the air, and he fought with the Rock Ninja that attacked from above.

The clanging sound of iron colliding echoed dozens of times in an instant. Kakashi's face was as gloomy as water, and the dagger in his hand danced like a snake. He wanted to kill the enemy in the shortest time possible and then return to reunite with the team.

Little did he know that the confident Kakashi had fallen into his old habit again. He had forgotten what Minato Namikaze had repeatedly emphasized before leaving. He was now focused on killing the enemy, but this played right into the enemy's hands.

As I said, the most taboo in a team battle is a disorganized formation. The collapse of the formation on the battlefield means death is not far away! Kakashi had no sense of trusting his teammates at all, or he was very confident in his own strength and did not believe in the strength of his teammates. In short, he took the initiative to jump into the air, causing his own formation to lose its function in the first place!

The fire escape released by Uchiha Obito ignited the bamboo, and the bamboo falling into the water stimulated a large amount of water vapor. The already moist river surface was filled with water vapor in a short period of time. The water vapor accumulated layer by layer, causing extremely poor visibility!

Yuan Yelin held a kunai in her hand and was on guard carefully. In front and behind her were Uchiha Obito and Yamashiro Hoshi guarding her. This made her feel a little relieved, but when she looked up, she couldn't help but worry.

Most of the three people's attention was focused on Kakashi's attack, and they didn't notice the ripples caused by the enemy's gentle footsteps on the river surface.

"clang!"

Another full-force collision, Kakashi, who was not at an advantage in strength, was thrown away by the enemy. He rotated his body to relieve most of the force, and stepped on a bamboo as thick as a bowl. Under the catapulting force generated by the 45-degree bend of the bamboo, he rushed out again. The strong wind suppressed his hair, and Kakashi's chakra was ready to move. After several rounds of fighting, he had figured out the enemy's attack pattern. Success or failure depended on this one move!