"Kabuto, you go first," Kakashi whispered, then flung his hands, throwing out a large number of shuriken.
"How could it be that easy?" The leading Iwagakure Ninja Captain sneered and ordered, "Leave all of them here!"
Earth Release: Fist Rock!
His hands were covered with rocks, and after clenching his fists, he smashed them out. The shuriken struck the rock fists, bouncing off in all directions.
Seeing this, Kakashi drew his short sword and slashed at his wrist.
The Iwagakure Ninja Captain's heart trembled. The short sword's speed was astonishing, hitting his wrist in an instant. Although there was a layer of rock, he still faintly felt a stinging pain.
"You are not a nameless ninja." The Iwagakure Ninja Captain was alerted, but his reaction was not slow.
Earth Release: Moving Earth Core! He retreated, forming hand signs.
Just as Kakashi was about to pursue, his body suddenly trembled. The flat ground rapidly rose, forming a giant stone pillar that lifted him into mid-air.
Kakashi frowned, directly revealing his Sharingan.
"You are a Ninja of the Uchiha Clan?" The Iwagakure Ninja Captain's face subconsciously showed surprise.
The Uchiha Clan had a legend of being invincible in one-on-one combat in the Ninja World. But on another note, it also showed the importance of Yakushi Kabuto.
"No, that's not right. You only have one Sharingan. You are the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake!" The Iwagakure Ninja Captain suddenly reacted and said.
Kakashi Hatake's reputation was simply too great. Coupled with his obvious features, he was not difficult to recognize.
The Iwagakure Ninja Captain immediately became serious. Facing Kakashi Hatake, he dared not relax in the slightest.
Kakashi subconsciously glanced at Kitazawa and Yakushi Kabuto, and couldn't help but be stunned.
Kabuto was fighting three Chunin by himself, and although he was at a disadvantage, he seemed to be temporarily out of danger.
Kitazawa was the most shocking to him; he was fighting two Jonin by himself and actually held off their offensive.
Kakashi then realized that he had not lied; his strength was not just good, it was powerful. But he didn't have time to think much and plunged into the battle.
He had to deal with the Iwagakure Ninja Captain first before he could help Kitazawa and Yakushi Kabuto.
Time rewound by half a minute.
After Kakashi took the initiative to attack, Kitazawa and Yakushi Kabuto were immediately surrounded.
The remaining five Iwagakure Ninja consciously divided the battlefield. Kitazawa was blocked by two Jonin, one in front and one behind.
Yakushi Kabuto was faced with three Chunin because he looked very young and not as threatening.
In fact, this was normal.
The current Yakushi Kabuto had not undergone Orochimaru's training, and his combat ability could only be said to be decent, at a Chunin level.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!
The young Jonin formed hand signs and launched the first attack. A large amount of rock transformed into spears, stabbing towards Kitazawa.
The middle-aged Jonin behind Kitazawa expressionlessly drew his katana and, with extreme speed, slashed at his head.
Konoha Style Body Flicker Technique!
Kitazawa's body transformed into a sky full of leaves, disappearing from his original spot. The attacks of the two Jonin both landed on empty air.
"Be careful!" The young Jonin reminded him, then stood back-to-back with the middle-aged Jonin for defense.
Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken!
Two spinning shuriken sped towards them.
"Over there! You go!" The middle-aged Jonin twisted his wrist, and his katana instantly met the shuriken.
Chakra surged out, forming dense sword light in the air. The two spinning shuriken immediately stopped.
Body Flicker Jutsu! The young Jonin immediately appeared in front of Kitazawa.
Earth Release: Fist Rock Jutsu!
A cruel smile appeared on his face as he threw a punch. Just then, a feather floated down before his eyes.
The young Jonin was caught off guard and experienced a momentary trance.
Not good! It's a Genjutsu!
When? The young Jonin's peripheral vision caught sight of a second Kitazawa not far away.
Clearly, during the brief moment he escaped using the Konoha Style Body Flicker Technique, he used the Shadow Clone Technique.
The young Jonin's thoughts raced, and he quickly formed hand signs, trying to break free from the Genjutsu's influence, but it was already too late.
Rasengan! Kitazawa, who had already prepared, unhesitatingly slammed it into his heart.
The young Jonin's clothes instantly ripped, followed by his flesh and blood.
He broke out of the Genjutsu and screamed.
Kitazawa dared not stop for a moment; while slamming the Rasengan with his right hand, he held a shuriken in his left hand and slashed across the young Jonin's neck.
Blood sprayed out.
The young Jonin closed his eyes unwillingly. He had thought Kitazawa was good at Wind Release, but he didn't expect his Genjutsu to be as good as well.
Insufficient intelligence plunged him into eternal darkness.
"What?" The middle-aged Jonin's expression finally changed.
From his blocking of the Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken to the young Jonin's death, the time elapsed was less than three seconds.
Well done! Seeing this, Kabuto breathed a sigh of relief.
When they were surrounded earlier, he really felt like he was going to die there. But he didn't expect things to turn around; Kitazawa's strength far exceeded his imagination.
With the young Jonin dead, their pressure would be greatly reduced.
"How is that possible?" The Iwagakure Ninja Captain's eyes widened.
Although the young Jonin's strength wasn't particularly strong, he was still a Jonin. To be instantly killed at the start? This was simply unbelievable!
He could still understand Kakashi's reputation. But where did Kitazawa, this elite Jonin, come from?
"Is that the Rasengan?" Kakashi was even more surprised than the Iwagakure Ninja Captain.
The Rasengan was the Ninjutsu of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, his teacher. How did Kitazawa know the Rasengan?
But being in combat, he could only suppress the questions in his heart.
The battle continued.
The middle-aged Jonin recovered and immediately formed hand signs.
The next second, two Shadow Clones appeared.
The middle-aged Jonin pushed off with his feet, his body transforming into an afterimage. He held his katana with both hands, and brilliant sword light instantly appeared.
Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken!
Kitazawa reacted quickly, throwing a spiraling shuriken.
But just then, the middle-aged Jonin's two Shadow Clones made their move.
First, an earth wall appeared, blocking Kitazawa's Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken, and then the ground rose, lifting him into mid-air.
And this position was the most suitable for the middle-aged Jonin's main body to perform.
Several slashes of sword light covered the sky and earth, sealing off Kitazawa's surroundings.
Kitazawa did not dodge but directly turned into a puff of smoke.
"Why is it a Shadow Clone?" The middle-aged Jonin was stunned.
Because Kitazawa used the Rasengan to kill the young Jonin, he subconsciously thought that it was the original body.
But the true original body was the Kitazawa, who had just used the Nirvana Temple Jutsu.
"Not good!" The middle-aged Jonin quickly retrieved his sword and turned to look.
Eight Gates: First Gate Open!
Kitazawa, like an arrow released from a bow, arrived in front of him.
The first three gates of the Eight Gates Formation belong to the safe zone, where Chakra is still controllable, so Ninjutsu can be used.
But from the Fourth Gate onwards, Chakra becomes too violent, making it basically impossible to use Ninjutsu except for Taijutsu.
The middle-aged Jonin's pupils constricted, feeling an unprecedented sense of crisis.
The Rasengan that killed the young Jonin reappeared. The swirling Chakra gathered together, magnified in his eyes, and finally hit his heart.
The middle-aged Jonin screamed. But he did not die immediately.
His two Shadow Clones were both shocked and enraged, and without hesitation, they formed hand signs.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!
Dense spears flew out from the ground.
Konoha Style Body Flicker Technique!
While Kitazawa created distance, he formed hand signs and opened his mouth, spitting out a ball of flame.
The flame grew with the wind, immediately splitting into three fire dragons.
This was Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
Under Kitazawa's control, the three fire dragons lunged at the middle-aged Jonin.
High temperatures swept through, the air distorted, and visible heatwaves rose with the fire dragons, creating whistling sounds.
The middle-aged Jonin's left Shadow Clone was immediately hit, turning into smoke in the flames. Although the right Shadow Clone escaped, his original body was directly engulfed by the fire dragons.
"Ah ah ah!"
The middle-aged Jonin caught fire. His clothes, hair, and even his flesh and blood turned charred in the burning. And the flames grew even more intense.
"What terrifying Fire Release!" Kabuto heard the screams and subconsciously glanced over. He was quite knowledgeable, but he had basically never seen such a proficient Fire Release.
"No!" The Iwagakure Ninja Captain watched the middle-aged Jonin instantly turn into a charred corpse, his face full of disbelief.
How long has it been? Less than a minute, and they had lost two Jonin? Was Kitazawa perhaps the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi in disguise?
"Did he actually learn the Eight Inner Gates?" Kakashi felt that the young Jonin and the middle-aged Jonin were not wronged in their defeat.
One Rasengan, one Eight Inner Gates— both were famous Ninjutsu.
Furthermore, Kitazawa was relatively unknown, so even if he were identified as an Anbu from the Hokage, no one would believe that an ordinary Anbu could use those two Ninjutsu.
Moreover, he was also proficient in Genjutsu, Wind Release, and Fire Release, mastering each of them. While Jonin are generally expected to be versatile, truly versatile Jonin are few and far between.
If he were to face Kitazawa without any prior intelligence, he might even be defeated.
An opportunity! Kakashi noticed the Iwagakure Ninja captain's distraction and immediately burrowed into the ground.
"Using Earth Release against Iwagakure Ninja is useless!" The Iwagakure Ninja captain recognized this as Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu and immediately leaped into the air without hesitation.
With a loud boom! Kakashi followed closely behind.
A large amount of lightning Chakra enveloped his right hand. Even in broad daylight, so much lightning gathered together was extremely dazzling.
The Iwagakure Ninja captain's expression changed drastically.
Kakashi, carrying a terrifying aura, struck towards his heart, as if he was about to pierce him in the next second.
At the critical moment of life and death, the Iwagakure Ninja captain raised his arms. Earth Release Chakra surged out, forming rock on the surface of his skin.
But in the next second, Kakashi Hatake's right hand, enveloped in lightning, cut through his arms like a sharp sword.
Blood splattered into the sky.
The intense pain struck, making the Iwagakure Ninja captain look at Kakashi with a horrified expression.
Kakashi's response was simple. He pulled out his short sword and plunged it into the Iwagakure Ninja captain's heart.
Both individuals landed.
Kakashi Hatake landed standing, but the Iwagakure Ninja captain could no longer stand up.
"Run!" The remaining three Chunin abandoned Kabuto without hesitation and turned to flee.
Kakashi Hatake raised his hand, and the short sword flew out, hitting one of the Chunin.
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu! Kitazawa opened his mouth and spewed a series of flames.
The flames formed the shape of a flower in the air, and when they dissipated, there were three corpses on the ground.
"We're saved!" Kabuto couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Currently, facing three Chunin was still too dangerous for him. Fortunately, the two Anbu Ninja who came to meet them were very powerful.
There was the famous Kakashi Hatake, and also Kitazawa, who, though not famous, was equally strong.
Kabuto did not know Kitazawa's true identity, only assuming he was an Anbu member.
But Kakashi knew he was just a Ninja Academy teacher. Is it too much of a waste for someone with such strength to be a Ninja Academy teacher?
Kakashi felt puzzled. In his impression, Kitazawa was just an ordinary Chunin, so how did he become so extraordinary now?
Kitazawa took out a summoning storage scroll and put all the corpses of the Iwagakure Ninja inside. Three Jonin and three Chunin — this was an extremely rare combat achievement.
Especially during non-Ninja War periods, it was extremely rare for three Jonin to die together.
And most importantly, they suffered no losses on their side. In addition, these six ninja themselves had great value. Handing them over to the Yamanaka Clan ninja could yield a lot of intelligence.
The only pity was that they did not carry any Ninjutsu scrolls with them. Otherwise, Kitazawa could have obtained many Earth Release Ninjutsu. But thinking about it, it was normal—who would carry Ninjutsu scrolls with them for no reason?
Kitazawa closed the summoning storage scroll, recalling his first battle as a Jonin. His sparring with Tsunade didn't count, as it wasn't a life-or-death battle.
He now had only one thought: high-level Ninjutsu was truly useful. In this battle, the most effective techniques were basically A-rank—Rasengan, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Eight Inner Gates, and Nirvana Temple Technique.
Kitazawa assessed his own strength. As long as he didn't encounter particularly outrageous Kekkei Genkai ninja or powerhouses like Tsunade, there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Kakashi watched his actions and did not stop him. Although he had killed two of them, Kitazawa, as the captain, certainly had the right to collect the spoils of war.
Kakashi recalled his previous act of taking command and immediately felt a bit awkward. His thought at the time had been that under his command, they could complete the mission better.
To put it bluntly, he didn't trust Kitazawa's strength. Now it seemed he had violated the rules. After all, Kitazawa was the captain personally appointed by Tsunade.
"This place is not suitable for a prolonged stay; Iwagakure will definitely send pursuers once they discover their deaths." Kitazawa put away the summoning storage scroll and said, "Only when we reach the Land of Fire will we be safe."
"Mm." Kakashi nodded.
Kitazawa turned to look at Kabuto and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—because he was using the Healing Jutsu to heal himself.
Seeing this, Kakashi was somewhat surprised. For Yakushi Kabuto to have learned the Healing Hands Technique at his age, he was definitely a genius in Medical Ninjutsu.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to send a genius from their own village to another village as a spy. But considering Kabuto was a Root member, there was nothing strange about it.
Kakashi was quite familiar with Root. Danzo's favorite thing was to scout for geniuses and make them stronger through infighting. Sending geniuses as spies was even a regular operation.
"I'll help you." Kitazawa stepped forward and formed hand signs.
Yakushi Kabuto stared at the green chakra that emerged, momentarily stunned. He could even use Medical Ninjutsu? How could such a versatile and powerful ninja be unknown? Yakushi Kabuto felt puzzled.
After the healing was complete, the three immediately resumed their journey.
By nightfall, they stopped only after reaching the Land of Fire.
"We'll rest here for the night," Kitazawa said with a breath of relief. After a fierce Jonin battle and a day of travel, even he felt exhausted.
Kabuto nodded repeatedly and immediately sat down on the ground. Kakashi and Kitazawa were at least unharmed, but he was just recovering from a serious illness, and his body had long reached its limit.
"Pakkun, help us keep watch." Kakashi summoned Pakkun again.
Kitazawa secretly thought that having a summoning animal was quite convenient. He thought of Tsunade's summoning animal, Katsuyu—one of the Three Great Holy Lands' creatures.
Throughout the ninja world, the common consensus was that the most powerful summoning animals came from the Three Great Holy Lands: the toads of Mount Myōboku, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, and the snakes of Ryūchi Cave.
Besides summoning animals, they also had Sage Mode and Sage Jutsu, which could greatly boost one's strength.
[Current Mission: Safely escort Yakushi Kabuto back to Konoha Village.]
[Mission Reward: Yin Healing Wound Destruction.]
[Host has completed the mission, reward issued.]
Is this an early release? Kitazawa was a bit confused.
After all, the mission was to escort Yakushi Kabuto back to Konoha Village, but they were still in the Land of Fire. Did Iwagakure give up on the pursuit?
Regardless, it was good news. With Yin Healing Wound Destruction, Kitazawa also gained a defensive Medical Ninjutsu. It could play a significant role in battle.
---
Three days ago.
Anbu office.
Nono Yakushi looked at Tsunade with a puzzled expression. She had just finished eating, packed her things, and was about to set off for a mission in the Land of Earth when she was intercepted by two Anbu ninja.
"Your mission has been canceled, Nono." Tsunade waved her hand grandly and declared, "From today on, you no longer have to work for Danzo."
Nono's eyes widened suddenly. She felt as if she were in a dream. What's going on?
Although she had thought that one day she might be able to break free from Danzo and Root, when it actually happened, she still felt bewildered.
"Lady Tsunade," Nono suddenly thought of something and quickly said, "The orphanage and Yakushi Kabuto—"
"I've already spoken to Hiruzen; the orphanage will be directly managed by Konoha from now on, with regular annual allocations." Tsunade interrupted her, saying, "As for Kabuto, I've already sent Kakashi and Kitazawa to bring him back."
"Kitazawa?" Nono Yakushi was stunned. She naturally knew the famous Kakashi Hatake. But what about Kitazawa?
"You should thank Kitazawa for this." Tsunade smiled and explained the whole story.
Nono's mouth fell open at her words. She never expected that her casual mention of going to the Land of Earth for a mission with Kitazawa would escalate to this point, and Kitazawa had actually helped her like this?
Comparatively, what she had given was not much; she had only let him assist in some surgeries and given him a few pointers on Medical Ninjutsu.