Shindai, Obito, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Minato Namikaze advanced toward the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass Country.
Minato came to a stop and said, "It's about time I explained the mission. We're nearly at the border now."
Minato pulled out a map and pointed his finger at a line on it. "Look carefully. This is the border. Currently, Iwagakure's forces have invaded the Grass Country. The enemy is undoubtedly Rock ninja, and intelligence reports say there are already thousands of ninja on their frontlines."
Rin Nohara spoke seriously, "If they're marching openly like this, then their supply lines in the rear must be very solid."
Minato nodded and continued, "Therefore, our target today is Kannabi Bridge. To defeat the enemy at the frontlines requires many ninja, so our team's task—as ninja tasked with disrupting their operation—will be carried out by only a few elite operatives."
Kakashi studied the map and murmured, "A bridge, huh?"
He looked up at Minato and asked, "So, is this an infiltration mission?"
Minato announced the mission: "Yes. Team Kakashi, your mission is to infiltrate behind enemy lines and destroy this supply bridge, cutting off the enemy's logistics chain, then evacuate immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Obito asked, "And what will you do, Sensei?"
Minato replied to Obito, "I'll directly attack the frontlines to draw attention, serving as a distraction for you. Anyway, Kakashi is the squad leader today—we'll proceed together until we reach the border, and then we'll split up."
Minato extended his hand, stacking it on top of Obito's, Kakashi's, Rin's, and Shindai's hands. "Mission begins! Good luck!"
Shindai's heart had already begun to race—in just a moment, he'd be facing off against a legendary figure!
Since Kakashi was now team leader, he took point at the front of the group.
The group entered a dense forest.
The trees here were incredibly enormous—perhaps requiring more than ten grown adults to wrap their arms around one trunk.
After moving forward some distance, Kakashi suddenly halted and made a gesture, signaling everyone to stop.
Minato was quite satisfied with this response because he had long since sensed an enemy hiding nearby—and Kakashi had noticed too.
The hidden enemy was Demon Leech, an Iwa Jonin.
Demon Leech spotted Minato's yellow hair and his heart skipped a beat, his pupils narrowing sharply.
Demon Leech guessed Minato's identity but still clung to a sliver of doubt.
There are so many people with yellow hair. Maybe it's just coincidence—the Yellow Flash might not actually be here.
Demon Leech decided to wait and see what happened.
Kakashi led his team into hiding behind a massive tree root.
Minato grounded his palm on the earth, activating his sensing technique.
"Just one person… Hmm?"
Watch out, everyone! There are twenty enemies—probably Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Kakashi issued his first order as a jonin leader: "Looks like it. I'll charge in—cover me!"
Minato Namikaze said with concern: "Don't act recklessly, Kakashi. Let me take this one."
"Sensei," Kakashi replied, "today is my first official mission as team captain. My previous leadership was often taken away by Shindai or Obito. I want my subordinates to see my strength clearly, and I also want to test my newly developed Ninjutsu."
Thinking back to his past experiences as a leader made Kakashi feel somewhat resentful.
Either Shindai or Obito had stripped him of his command before, and even when he officially led, they seldom obeyed him.
Therefore, today was the day for Kakashi Hatake to establish his authority!
There was no way anyone could take away this officially appointed leadership!
Kakashi formed several hand seals and gathered Chidori.
This was the first time Obito and Rin Nohara had seen Kakashi use Chidori, and they were deeply impressed—it looked incredibly powerful.
Shindai found it blinding and deafening—the noise was unbearable.
Kakashi put on the monocle given by Shindai, pressed its button, and charged forward directly.
Demon Leech didn't expect Kakashi to come charging straight at him either.
The Demon Leech's real body and all the Shadow Clones threw Kunai knives toward Kakashi.
Right above Kakashi floated a mass of Iron Sand Body.
All the Kunai were drawn toward and stuck onto the iron sand.
Through the monocle, Kakashi locked onto every enemy.
Wielding the Chidori, Kakashi charged recklessly and struck one of the Demon Leeches—but it was a Shadow Clone.
Kakashi continued attacking the other Demon Leech copies.
One of the Demon Leech clones emerged from the ground right in front of Obito and Rin, trying to ambush them.
Before the clone fully surfaced, both Obito and Rin immediately pulled out their Kunai knives and stabbed simultaneously. The Demon Leech turned into smoke before completely emerging.
Obito muttered, "Do they really think we're dumb enough to fall for something like that?"
Kakashi had already eliminated 18 clones, and together with the one defeated by Obito and Rin, that accounted for 19 clones total. That must be the real one.
Demon Leech roared furiously, "Don't get too cocky, you brats! I know more than just Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The Demon Leech drew his ninja sword and slashed at Kakashi from an extremely awkward angle.
At this moment, Kakashi couldn't see Demon Leech's movements at all. However, the red outlines displayed through Shindai's monocle clearly revealed Demon Leech's movements within Kakashi's field of view.
Kakashi knelt down and dodged the slash with a sliding kneel, successfully closing in on the Demon Leech and thrusting the Chidori into the Demon Leech's chest.
Demon Leech's blood dripped onto Kakashi's face. The Demon Leech wore an expression of disbelief.
He had actually been defeated by a mere brat.
Kakashi pulled his hand out from the chest of the Demon Leech, stood up, and shook the blood off his hand forcefully before coolly declaring, "It's done."
The light in Demon Leech's eyes began to fade as it collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Kakashi returned to his team.
Rin Nohara praised him, "That was amazing, Kakashi!"
Minato Namikaze also commended Kakashi, "The jutsu you developed is great—it focuses power into a single point, increasing both destructive force and speed. And it looks like there's still plenty of room for further development."
Upon hearing Rin Nohara and Minato Namikaze praise Kakashi, Obito and Shindai felt annoyed.
Obito scoffed, "Whatever, big deal. I could pull that off easy!"
Shindai added, "That technique makes all that screeching noise—it's annoying as hell! Like you're broadcasting your position to the enemy or something?"
Kakashi ignored the sour remarks from Obito and Shindai and stared at his right hand. "If not for the targeting feature on this eyepiece, I probably wouldn't have dodged that attack in time—I didn't even see the counter coming."
"Therefore, without Shindai's eyepiece, my [Chidori] would still remain an incomplete Ninjutsu. But with Shindai's technology, this jutsu can truly be called a completed technique."
Now Shindai wasn't feeling sour anymore. He puffed out his chest and accepted Kakashi's praise with pride.
"Pfft—what I invented is pure genius!"
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