"Minami, can you sense how many people are at that distance?"
"There are six in total, but none have as much Chakra as you, among them two are about the same as Mr. Hatake, and the other four are not as good, Lord Yoichi."
Uzumaki Minami used her ability to sense the number of people and their Chakra amounts at the Hidden Rock outpost, and informed Uchiha Yoichi.
The outpost was over a kilometer away from them; if they were closer, Uzumaki Minami's perception would be even clearer.
"A bit surprising, though it's not up to two teams' strength yet. I'll still attract the front fire later."
After observing with a telescope, Uchiha Yoichi continued speaking to Kakashi, "The opponents don't have a Perception Ninja, Kakashi, use Earth Release to handle the two Genin, then assist me with Ninjutsu."
Having trained in the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, both his speed and physical defense were suited for attracting frontal fire. Moreover, Lightning Release counters Earth Release, and Hidden Rock Ninja on the battlefield dread encountering Hidden Cloud Ninja who have mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode the most.
"Remember what I said, right?"
Hearing this, Kakashi replied with dead-fish eyes, "Don't worry, Captain."
This time, they didn't need to wear their Hidden Cloud Headband; the mission entailed total annihilation, so it didn't matter whether or not they wore the headband.
After discussing the details, the three of them dispersed.
Uzumaki Minami didn't need to act; she was responsible for perimeter security.
Uchiha Yoichi didn't know stealth-type Ninjutsu, and this Hidden Rock outpost didn't lack warnings. Upon closing in within 800 meters, a Hidden Rock Ninja on guard duty detected him.
"Enemy spotted!"
Just as the alert sounded, Uchiha Yoichi abandoned stealth, his body surging with lightning and charging towards the Hidden Rock outpost at lightning speed.
"Enemy? Assemble to resist, formation B!"
Upon hearing the alert, the leader of the Hidden Rock outpost promptly ordered.
The group quickly emerged from underground, and upon leaving the outpost, they saw a swift bolt of lightning heading towards their teammates who were on guard outside.
The speed granted by the Lightning Release Chakra Mode was something ordinary ninjas couldn't react to, and the guard was merely a Genin.
Seeing Uchiha Yoichi speeding towards him instilled immense fear.
"Damn it, die!"
Shuriken, Explosive Tags!
But these attack methods posed little threat to Uchiha Yoichi's Two-Tomoe Sharingan; while practicing Swordsmanship, he'd faced shuriken attacks from three Kakashi at once, which was much more dangerous than now.
Dodging sideways and slashing with his blade, even the Explosive Tags didn't pose much of a threat to Uchiha Yoichi.
Within seconds, Uchiha Yoichi was within five meters of the guarding Hidden Rock Ninja.
This distance felt like the arrival of death, and the Hidden Rock Ninja was struck with terror, losing any will to resist.
"Stop!"
'I'm going to die this time... Father... Mother....'
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the guarding Hidden Rock Ninja felt everything spinning, and amid the spin, he seemed to see his own body, the fearsome figure of a demon-like opponent, and far away, his captain and comrades...
"Damn bastard!"
The outpost captain emerged with an iron face. He initially thought the attack was from Hidden Cloud Ninja, considering the lightning-emitting Ninjutsu, which seemed exclusive to their Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
But upon seeing Uchiha Yoichi's Two-Tomoe Sharingan, the captain stilled, his expression turning sour.
"I told you to stop!"
"Imbecile!"
Uchiha Yoichi cursed, his body once again surging with lightning and electricity as he moved to attack the Hidden Rock squad.
"Hm, Lightning Release Chakra Mode, attack together, Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!"
The Hidden Rock Captain ordered while forming a Double-Handed Seal, quickly pressing his palms to the ground.
The earth instantly formed a massive fissure, accompanied by violent tremors, directly blocking Uchiha Yoichi's charge.
The hatred between Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud is substantial. Thus, Hidden Rock had long mastered methods to counter Hidden Cloud's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Earth Flow Wall and Earth-Splitting Palm, one blocking sight, the other hindering forward speed, were very effective against the headstrong charges of Hidden Cloud Ninja.
But that was when Hidden Rock combined their forces, and Uchiha Yoichi wasn't a Hidden Cloud Ninja.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
After forming the seals, an enormous fireball of four or five meters surged towards Hidden Rock, but Uchiha Yoichi targeted the surrounding four companions instead of the captain!
"Dodge!"
A Hidden Rock Ninja shouted, but as they leaped away, they saw over a dozen shuriken hurling towards them, colliding in midair and changing paths.
This immediately sent shivers down their spines.
They intended to retaliate with shuriken, expecting to deflect all of Uchiha Yoichi's shuriken, but they didn't foresee the opponent's shuriken clashing in the air and altering their trajectories.
"Get out of the way!"
Now they could only roll upon landing to avoid getting impaled by the shuriken.
Despite the awkward maneuver, in battle, survival is the first priority, so superficial concerns were insignificant.
As they dodged the shurikens and rose, three of the Genin felt their ankles suddenly gripped by hands emerging from underground, sending them into panic.
Simultaneously, a voice resonated from below: "Ninja Rule One, always stay vigilant for ambushes from the shadows, even in combat with the enemy...."
"Ah!"
"Ah..."
"Captain, save...."
The trio was pulled underground, their plea for help cut short, as blood spurted from their mouths, life extinguished in seconds.
"Bastard!"
Rage-filled curses erupted from the Hidden Rock captain, but beneath rage was fear; he sensed inevitable death today.
Beside him, Kakashi emerged from underground, short blade in hand, fixating on another Hidden Rock Ninja. "Captain, this one's mine."
"Alright."
Though Uchiha Yoichi wanted to ask about Kakashi's Chakra reserves, enemy present, he avoided such information-exposing inquiries.
Resolve them first, talk later!
————————————————
Ten minutes later, the Hidden Rock outpost was completely cleared by Uchiha Yoichi's squad.
Noticing the enemy fully wiped out, Uzumaki Minami emerged from hiding, handing Uchiha Yoichi a water bottle. "Rest a bit, Captain."
Uchiha Yoichi accepted the water, saying, "Yeah, clean up in a moment, the mission is complete. Kakashi, have some Soldier Pills to recover Chakra, Minami, maintain scanning for enemies, we're nearing the Land of Earth..."
"Got it."
With a nod, they attended to their respective tasks.
After clearing the outpost of anything valuable, Uzumaki Minami conducted a routine Perception Ninjutsu.
However, after extending her perception, Minami's expression changed. She hurried to Uchiha Yoichi and said, "Captain, enemies are coming, a total of seven, three have less Chakra than you, but one has significantly more than you..."