'Better be careful,' Kiyohara thought.
Mogari was a true jōnin—genuinely powerful.
Kakashi wasn't really a match for him. In the original timeline, it took Namikaze Minato's intervention for Kakashi to survive.
With that in mind, Kiyohara decided to stay cautious.
Brows furrowed, he silently positioned himself in front of the group—shielding them.
"Everyone, be careful. There are twenty enemies—but most of them are probably Shadow Clones," said Minato.
The sudden surge of twenty chakra signatures could only mean one thing: the enemy had used the Shadow Clone Technique to create multiple physical copies.
"Sensei... let me go in. Cover me."
Kakashi's voice was determined. He wanted to test the new technique he'd been developing.
"Don't rush in, Kakashi. Hang back for now."
Minato's tone was firm. He glanced toward Kiyohara, who had already retreated and taken a defensive stance.
He nodded to himself—Kiyohara had solid instincts. Kakashi was still too reckless.
At this level, one stray kunai to a vital spot could be fatal, no matter how strong you were.
"Sensei... I'm the team leader today. Let me try out my new jutsu!"
Kakashi didn't listen. He crouched low and extended his right hand across the grass.
Crackle!
Arcs of lightning danced around his palm, chirping like a thousand birds.
Chidori!
'So that's Chidori...' Kiyohara watched the lightning-style jutsu intently.
At this stage, it was still called Chidori. Later, after Kakashi joined the Anbu and once sliced through actual lightning, the technique was renamed Raikiri (Lightning Cutter).
They were essentially the same jutsu—the hand seals were identical.Interestingly, the official databook classified Chidori as A-rank and Raikiri as S-rank.
"No matter how many there are, I'll wipe them all out in one go!"
Kakashi charged in, ignoring Minato's attempt to stop him.
Crack! Crack! Crackle!
The piercing sound of birdsong split the forest's silence.
"He's charging in head-on?"
Mogari was startled. He hadn't expected the enemy to discover him—much less initiate a frontal assault.
He quickly threw several shuriken to intercept.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
But at that moment, Kiyohara also hurled his own shuriken.They clashed mid-air with Mogari's, neutralizing them before they could reach Kakashi.
"Wait, how is Kiyohara's shuriken-jutsu better than mine?" Obito was stunned.
He'd been about to throw his own shuriken to assist Kakashi, but Kiyohara had already acted.
With nothing in his way, Kakashi's body surged forward, dragged by the momentum of Chidori, moving like a bolt of lightning.
Boom!
He pierced Mogari—Only for the body to disperse into smoke.
Shadow Clone.
Everyone tensed.
Shadow Clones couldn't be distinguished, not even by the Byakugan.Because the user's chakra was evenly split among them, it was impossible to identify the real body by chakra signature.
While the others were caught off guard, Kiyohara was watching the ground.
He knew Mogari's real attack would come from below.
Sure enough, there was a shift in the earth—Mogari burst forth with a kunai in hand.
Obito panicked, thinking he was the target.
But the enemy changed direction—he was coming for Kiyohara.
Originally, Mogari had intended to kill the boy with the Uchiha fan symbol.But recalling that Kiyohara had been the first to sense him, he chose to eliminate the more dangerous one.
Clang!
Steel met steel, sparks flying from the clash of weapons.
"What!?"
Mogari was stunned.
The boy had blocked his attack—It was like he had been waiting for him.
While Mogari hesitated, Kiyohara threw another shuriken.
Poof!
Another Shadow Clone vanished.
Shadow Clones consumed a lot of chakra—Even for someone like Mogari, dividing into twenty meant each copy held only a twentieth of his power.
Only someone like Naruto, who had near-infinite chakra, could spam hundreds of clones without consequence.
"Failed sneak attack?"
Elsewhere, Mogari frowned.
He had aimed to kill one of the kids—but had completely failed.
"Eighteenth clone..." Kakashi muttered, circling back.
He had taken out most of the Shadow Clones and was now dashing toward Mogari himself.
"Don't push your luck, brat!" Mogari growled.
The black-haired kid had sensed his ambush,and now the white-haired one charged in, ice-cold and unreadable.
Mogari slashed from an angle.He could see Kakashi was starting to lose control over the technique.
Minato noticed it too.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Teleport!
Minato appeared beside Kakashi, pulled him away from Mogari's blade, and delivered him to safety.
Then, removing his gear pack midair, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reappear behind Mogari and strike with his kunai.
"You... you're the Leaf's... Yellow Flash?"
Cold sweat poured down Mogari's face.No wonder his superiors had told them—if you encounter Namikaze Minato, run.
Slash!
A bloom of blood. Mogari collapsed, lifeless.
"So this is the shinobi world..." Kiyohara murmured.
Even the ever-smiling Minato showed no mercy.
Ninjas were, at their core, assassins. Killing was ordinary—Naruto's idealistic journey only glossed over that grim truth.
"Urgh..." Kakashi clutched his wound as Rin rushed over to treat him.
Meanwhile, Obito—fuming after Kakashi's failure—began scolding him for disobeying Minato-sensei's orders.
"I don't need you lecturing me," Kakashi shot back.
"Enough, both of you."
Minato shook the blood off his kunai.
"This time, the only one who truly impressed me—was Kiyohara."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Kakashi, rules are important, yes... but I've said this before: a shinobi must adapt to the situation."
Minato went on, expressing his disappointment.
Kakashi was reckless.Obito had frozen up in fear.Rin and Kurenai weren't fighters, so their inaction was understandable.Genma had performed averagely—neither helpful nor hindering.
Only Kiyohara had met Minato's expectations.