Chapter 375: Battlefield Training
"How unlucky. It's the Yellow Flash."
The Iwagakure ninja took one look at Minato leading a squad toward him, and the tiny hope he had left of escaping shattered on the spot.
During the battles in the Land of Grass, Minato Namikaze's speed had become infamous throughout Iwagakure. Among their ranks, he was the shinobi most feared, second only to Jiraiya.
And now, after holding Kumogakure's new A B combination to a standstill on the Land of Hot Springs battlefield, Minato's reputation had risen again. His danger level in the shinobi world had climbed even higher.
The Iwagakure ninja did not believe he could run from someone like that.
"Don't get cocky. Minato sensei doesn't even need to move to deal with you," Obito said, exchanging a glance with Kakashi as they both took their stances.
They stepped forward together, keeping Rin behind them as they advanced on the five Iwagakure shinobi.
Minato calmly flicked several Flying Thunder God kunai into the area, sealing off possible escape routes. He would not fight in this exchange. He would only support Obito and the others.
Before they even arrived, Minato had already sensed their chakra. Only one felt like a jonin. The rest were not particularly strong, likely chunin or genin.
Obito's team could handle this.
The Iwagakure special jonin leading the group saw Minato's attitude and felt a surge of joy.
If he could not beat Minato, fine. But three kids who looked around ten?
That was different.
If Konoha wanted to use them as whetstones, then they had better be ready for the blade to snap.
He did not relax, though. Minato would not truly stand there doing nothing. The moment his students were in danger, he would intervene.
Still, this was their only chance.
If they could take a hostage, they might break out. At the very least, they could take one Konoha ninja down with them.
"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique!"
At the special jonin's command, the four Iwagakure shinobi gathered chakra and spat hardened stones, firing them toward Kakashi and Obito like brutal projectiles.
"Flame Breathing, Full Concentration!"
"Thunder Breathing, Full Concentration!"
Obito and Kakashi synchronized their breathing the instant the attack began.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito compressed chakra in his throat, converted it in a flash, and exhaled in one violent burst.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Orange red flames surged outward, swelling into a massive fireball that roared straight toward the five Iwagakure shinobi.
The fireball swallowed the incoming stones and kept charging, forcing the enemy line to scatter.
"A genius…" the Iwagakure special jonin thought, tightening his grip on his sword as his eyes locked onto Obito.
They did not dare take that head on. They split apart to evade.
And in that heartbeat of chaos, Kakashi moved.
"Flash: Double Strike!"
He seized the opening Obito created without hesitation. Chakra exploded through his legs, lightning flared, and Kakashi turned into a streak of light.
Swish. Swish.
Two arcs of lightning flashed past.
Blood sprayed.
Two Iwagakure chunin dropped instantly, cut down before they could even stabilize their footing.
The special jonin's eyelids twitched.
That blade was too fast.
He was not sure he could dodge it at all.
In that moment, he finally understood why Minato dared to stand back.
It was not arrogance.
These three were simply not ordinary.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
While the enemy was still busy dodging the fireball, Rin's hands moved in a blur. A surging water dragon formed and slammed forward.
The Iwagakure shinobi twisted away, thinking they had avoided it.
Then Rin abruptly altered the shape of the technique. The water dragon collapsed into a thick, pressurized torrent that drenched them completely, soaking clothes, weapons, and the ground beneath their feet.
It was a technique Mei Terumi had demonstrated during the Chunin Exams. Mugetsu studied it, replicated it, and taught it to Rin.
Because it demanded extremely precise chakra shape transformation, Rin could only pull it off while maintaining Water Breathing in a focused state.
"Lightning Release: Purple Lightning!"
Kakashi thrust out his hand. Chakra surged, and dazzling purple lightning erupted, spreading into a broad current that swallowed the soaked enemies.
The Iwagakure shinobi who had just been drenched instantly fell into disaster.
Only the special jonin barely held on.
The other two remaining Iwagakure shinobi convulsed once and collapsed, knocked unconscious by the current.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
With the special jonin's movements dulled by paralysis, Obito did not waste time. He unleashed a B Rank technique, launching a storm of flaming shuriken straight into the opening.
Boom!
An explosion shook the clearing.
When the smoke settled, no Iwagakure shinobi remained standing.
"Excellent work," Minato said, praising them openly. "Your teamwork was clean, and each of you did your part well."
At first, Minato had been worried Obito would go straight to a massive fire technique and burn through his chakra for style.
They would still win, but wasting that much chakra could turn deadly if they ran into another enemy afterward.
Obito scratched his head and laughed. "It's just an A Rank mission. The enemies weren't that strong."
"If you came alone, you'd find out whether they're strong or not," Kakashi replied calmly.
"Kakashi, that makes no sense," Obito shot back. "They're a team too. Why would I fight alone?"
"Enough, you two," Rin said quickly, stepping between them with a tired look. "Kakashi's just worried you'll get hurt if you get careless, Obito."
"I'm worried he'll make a mistake that drags the whole squad down," Kakashi corrected.
"I wouldn't…" Obito started, only for Minato to cut in.
"The mission is complete. Let's head to the camp and rest," Minato said with a gentle smile.
Kakashi and Obito argued often, but Minato could tell their relationship was solid. This was simply how they interacted.
Even so, they were on a battlefield. They had already spent plenty of energy searching, and they needed to recover.
"Camp?" Obito blinked. "Aren't we going back to Konoha?"
"In wartime, Jiraiya sensei, as the unit commander, can issue missions as well," Minato explained. "We'll stay here and take on work for a while."
If Minato wanted to ease Konoha's pressure, he could not return after a single mission. He needed to remain on the front and eliminate more enemies.
Of course, with Obito and the others in mind, he would not accept anything too dangerous.
"Oh, I get it." Obito nodded, accepting it immediately. "That's convenient, actually."
If they returned every time to pick up a new mission, the travel alone would waste an absurd amount of time.
So Minato led them to Konoha's camp in the Land of Grass.
"Hahaha, Minato," Jiraiya said the moment he heard, clearly delighted. "With you here, I can relax a lot more."
Minato Namikaze was simply too useful. Against low to mid level shinobi, he could cut through enemies like mowing grass. Against strong shinobi like the A B combination, he could fight head on. Even against jinchuriki, he could provide terrifying support.
"Toad Uncle, I'm here too!" Obito stepped forward like a man possessed by missions. "Got any really hard A Rank missions? I'll clear them all for you!"
"Hmm." Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi and nodded with a grin. "Kakashi's here too. You might end up becoming a famous genius on the battlefield."
Obito's forehead tightened.
He was sure Jiraiya was doing it on purpose.
"And Rin too!" Jiraiya continued, giving Rin a thumbs up. "We desperately need medical ninja out here. You're a huge help."
"Damn it!" Obito finally snapped. "Toad Uncle, I'm standing right in front of you. Are you blind?!"
"Goggles brat, show some respect," Jiraiya said, chopping Obito on the head. "Either call me Toad Sage or Jiraiya sama."
"Otherwise, forget A Rank missions. I won't even give you C Rank missions. I'll have you doing D Rank chores every day."
Obito clenched his jaw, then surrendered with visible pain. "Fine. Jiraiya Uncle."
Calling him Sage was impossible.
In Obito's heart, there were only two sages: Mugetsu Sage and the Sage of Six Paths.
"You little brat." Jiraiya laughed, amused by Obito's stubbornness.
"Jiraiya sensei," Minato said, sounding helpless, "stop teasing Obito. Bring me up to speed on the current battle situation."
Jiraiya was not the type to get angry over being called "uncle." He was only messing with Obito because it was entertaining, and Minato knew that well.
…
On Monday, Anko arrived at the training ground Mugetsu had specified.
She thought she was early enough.
But when she got there, she found Mugetsu, Shisui, and Shizune already waiting. She was the last to arrive.
"Mugetsu sensei, good morning," Anko greeted with her usual bright grin. "Everyone, good morning too."
"You all came so early. I even showed up three minutes early."
Mugetsu nodded. "You already know each other, so we'll skip the self introduction and go straight into training."
The three nodded, none of them objecting.
Mugetsu reached into his pouch and produced three bells.
"The training is simple," he said, letting the bells chime softly. "Take the bells from me. Whoever gets a bell will be taught a powerful ninjutsu or taijutsu."
It was still bell training, but Mugetsu was not using the old rule of "grab it and you pass."
The original point of bell training was teamwork.
But with the gap between Shisui, Anko, and Shizune, forcing cooperation could be counterproductive. So Mugetsu changed the rules.
Passing was gone.
Now, it was a reward.
This was no longer a teamwork drill. It was a test of strength and a way to ignite their motivation.
"How strong is 'powerful'?" Anko asked, eyes glittering.
Mugetsu answered with action.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
His fingers formed seals in a flash. He exhaled a sharp lightning spear that tore through a section of trees. A heavy thudding echoed as trunks toppled one after another.
Then he shifted.
"Tempest Kick!"
Chakra gathered at his feet. He kicked repeatedly, sending slicing arcs that shattered nearby stones into fragments.
He lowered his foot and smiled lightly. "Roughly that level."
Anko's eyes lit up.
"That's amazing. I want to learn that."
If she mastered a move like that and showed it off in front of Kotetsu and Izumo, they would turn green with envy.
"If you want it, come take the bells," Mugetsu said as he clipped them to his waist. "Get one, and I'll teach you today."
"Mm." Anko nodded hard, practically vibrating with excitement.
Then her eyes darted around, and her voice rose dramatically.
"Mugetsu sensei, look behind you! There are two bags of dango on the ground! Nobody wants them!"
While shouting, she lunged for his waist.
Tap.
Mugetsu brought his index and middle fingers together and flicked Anko on the forehead.
Anko shot backward and tumbled several meters away.
"Damn it," Anko groaned, rubbing her head. "He didn't even fall for it!"
Shizune could not help replying, quiet but sharp. "Generally speaking, dango left on the ground that nobody wants is usually spoiled."
"That's not necessarily true," Anko argued stubbornly. "Maybe someone just forgot them."
Shisui did not waste time.
"Flame Breathing, Full Concentration!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Barrage!"
Shisui pushed his breathing to the limit, then exhaled two massive fireballs in quick succession, sending them roaring toward Mugetsu.
Shisui knew Anko's strength well. He beat her in every practical exam.
As for Shizune, he had a solid grasp of her abilities from training together recently.
So Shisui did not expect teamwork here.
It was not that he did not value cooperating with teammates in real combat. But when the gap was this wide, forcing cooperation would be meaningless.
Anko only knew the Three Body Technique and one D Rank ninjutsu, a small fireball.
Shizune was a dedicated healer. Her skillset was focused on medical work.
To be blunt, Shisui could create a Shadow Clone and handle both of them at once. What cooperation was there to force?
Of course, that was only in training.
In real battle, Shizune's role as a medic was invaluable, and Shisui was not arrogant enough to believe he would never be injured.
Mugetsu countered immediately.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A thick water dragon surged forward, swallowing the two fireballs and continuing straight at Shisui.
Shisui's eyes sharpened.
At his current level, blocking that much water head on was unrealistic. He could try to answer with Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, but that would burn too much chakra.
Dodging was the better option.
His Sharingan activated in an instant, his eyes turning blood red as his perception exploded upward.
Whoosh.
Shisui slipped aside as the water dragon tore past.
And in the same breath, Mugetsu appeared directly in front of him, chakra and breathing perfectly controlled, raising a finger.
Bang.
Shisui was knocked backward at high speed and slid to a stop beside Anko and Shizune, ending in an undignified sprawled posture.
Anko blinked, then instantly felt relieved.
Even Shisui, the guy who always beat her, went down that fast.
So it was not that she was weak.
It was that this training was ridiculous.
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