Chapter 425: Another Unexpected Surprise
During his intern ninja period, Guy had already run missions with Kakashi and Obito. Since they were all Mugetsu's disciples, Kakashi was not worried that Guy joining would disrupt their coordination.
But Genma and Ebisu were joining too. After thinking it through, Kakashi decided to keep things as they were and finish a few B rank missions first so the team could properly gel. Once everyone settled into their roles, they would raise the mission rank.
Kakashi did not need Genma and Ebisu to carry the fight. The gap in strength was obvious. What he cared about was cohesion. If their teamwork was shaky, it could drag the whole unit down at the worst possible moment.
Thankfully, neither Genma nor Ebisu was the type to be useless yet desperate to show off. They consciously stayed in support, did what they were supposed to do, and never charged in recklessly just to prove themselves. After only a few days, the coordination was already smooth.
"This is way too comfortable," Genma said with a grin. "I barely noticed the mission ending. I honestly wish we could keep teaming up like this."
To a certain extent, that was exactly how he felt. Working with Kakashi and the others was absurdly easy, to the point it felt simpler than doing D rank missions back in Konoha.
There just were not enough enemies to go around. The main combatants barely had chances to move, let alone the support roles. Genma and Ebisu could almost stand there, do a little cleanup, and still get credit.
"Hahaha, of course!" Obito puffed up proudly. "We are an elite squad!"
Even though their ranks were still chunin, the overall strength of their core four person group had already surpassed a normal squad with a jonin leader.
"I will tell Teacher Chen about your suggestion," Ebisu said in his usual calm tone.
Genma's smile froze. He hurriedly forced out an awkward laugh.
"There's no need to report something that small to the old man."
After being taught by Teacher Chen for so long, how could Genma not understand Teacher Chen's temperament? If that got reported, he would definitely get a beating.
Teacher Chen usually did not put on airs and was easygoing, but when it came to his disciples' growth, he had his own standards.
They could refuse missions beyond their strength. That was fine. But they could not become hangers on who just enjoyed the rewards without truly contributing.
Genma also understood the reason. It was not that Teacher Chen rigidly hated unearned gains. It was that living like that would stunt their growth.
After all, how could someone Teacher Chen's age, who publicly read those kinds of books, possibly be associated with the word rigid?
After completing two B rank missions, Kakashi judged that the team had blended well enough and began accepting A rank war missions.
There was also something worth mentioning in between. They ran into Guy's father, Might Duy, at the camp.
The sights and sounds of the camp, combined with the reality of the battlefield, made Kakashi increasingly certain that a large scale war was about to erupt on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
Konoha had not only brought in a heavyweight like Orochimaru, it had also gathered a considerable number of jonin and chunin. Even a low key powerhouse like Mugetsu had been sent here.
That kind of lineup did not show up for nothing. Something big was coming.
Kakashi was not too worried, though. With their current ranks, they would not be assigned the most critical missions, and in a chaotic melee, their ability to protect themselves should not be an issue.
"Finally, A rank missions!" Obito clenched his fists, eyes bright with excitement. "I hope we run into stronger enemies this time."
Kakashi's steps paused.
"This is not an ordinary mission," he said, turning his head slightly. "War missions can change in an instant. An unexpected situation could force us to face enemies we cannot resist."
He did not want Obito carrying that mindset onto the battlefield. It was the kind of thinking that got people killed.
"I'm not like you, Kakashi," Obito said, waving it off. "I wouldn't have some crazy accident happen, right?"
Kakashi looked at him in silence.
Kakashi's record was four consecutive missions with unexpected incidents, with the worst one ending in him stumbling straight into a thousand person scale battle.
Obito felt it was impossible for him to be that unlucky.
"That's not the point," Kakashi said, sighing. "I'm telling you to treat war seriously and stay cautious. Not that this mission will definitely go wrong just because you said something."
Obito scratched his head, looking like he understood, and also like he did not.
Kakashi gave up.
Once again, he felt the terrifying power of Mugetsu's teaching.
Mugetsu could actually teach someone like Obito to pass theoretical exams. That was not teaching talent anymore. That was divine intervention.
If it were Kakashi, he would probably collapse before Obito ever ran out of patience.
The mission itself started smoothly.
Kakashi's team successfully located the targets described in the briefing. The enemy force also matched the expected strength. One Mist jonin, two Mist chunin, and two Mist genin.
But not long after the fight began, Kakashi's instincts screamed.
He sensed something, and immediately pulled back.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two kunai wrapped in sharp lightning tore through the air and slammed into the spot where Kakashi had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
"He dodged that?" Raiga Kurosuki said, genuinely surprised.
For a dignified member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to miss an ambush on a boy who looked about ten years old, even with all the circumstances involved, was humiliating. If word got out, he would be laughed at.
As Raiga expected, his teammates immediately burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Raiga Kurosuki, did you not eat enough before coming?" Jinin Akebino laughed loudly.
Raiga's face darkened. He did not bother explaining. That strike really had been embarrassing.
The sudden shift made Obito and the others halt their attacks as well, eyes sweeping the surroundings with instant vigilance.
"Saved," the Mist jonin who had been surrounded exhaled in relief, looking toward the approaching Raiga and Jinin with open delight.
As a Mist jonin, there was no way he would not recognize the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The moment he saw them, he knew he had survived.
Ignoring his heavily injured subordinates, the jonin immediately used Body Flicker to close the distance with Raiga and Jinin.
"Two more enemies?" Obito was not flustered. "Fine. None of you are getting away."
Even if the newcomers were jonin, Obito believed they could handle it.
But Obito did not notice what Kakashi did.
Kakashi's expression was tightening, growing serious, even tense.
This is bad.
The moment Kakashi clearly recognized the newcomers, his heart sank.
Kakashi loved gathering intelligence, and he had not neglected the enemy information on this battlefield. He recognized them instantly.
Raiga Kurosuki. Jinin Akebino.
Two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
If it were only those two, Kakashi would not feel overwhelming pressure. Their seven person squad had four jonin level combatants, plus a medical special jonin and two chunin. If they fought to the limit, the outcome was not guaranteed.
But if Kakashi remembered correctly, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen on this battlefield preferred to operate as a group.
Meaning when you saw one of them, you had effectively encountered all seven. The others simply had not revealed themselves yet.
No matter how confident Kakashi was in their squad, he had zero confidence in facing the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Together, they were equivalent to the kind of powerhouses famous across the shinobi world.
Even if Konoha's Ino Shika Cho arrived, they would still be slightly inferior.
"Obito, everyone," Kakashi said, drawing a slow breath, forcing his voice steady. "Do not act rashly."
His mind raced.
If we cause a huge disturbance, reinforcements might come, but the uncertainty is too great. The first ones to arrive could be enemy support.
In that moment, Kakashi was desperately calculating how to make sure more people lived.
Obito stared at Kakashi, confused, trying to dig up any intelligence he had on the two Mist shinobi.
Nothing surfaced.
Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses, and his fingers trembled slightly.
"These look like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," Ebisu said, voice low. "They like to act in groups. The remaining five may be hidden nearby."
His heart was pounding like a drum. Sweat beaded on his forehead the instant he realized what they were facing.
This was too much stimulation. Running into enemies like that on a mission like this felt unreal.
"Our luck is awful today," Genma muttered, swallowing hard, as if he could already see his own tragic end.
Genma believed in Kakashi's strength. He believed in Guy's strength too.
But this was different.
Kakashi's squad were geniuses still growing.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were famous shinobi who had already matured into monsters.
Never in his life had Genma wanted to see Teacher Chen this badly. He wished Teacher Chen would descend from the sky on the Leaf Dragon God and blast the enemies into dust.
Then reality hit.
Teacher Chen had not even reached the battlefield yet. There was no way he could appear out of nowhere to save them.
"So it's the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," Obito finally said, the information clicking into place after hearing Ebisu's words.
Obito had not memorized their faces, but he remembered the basics. There were seven of them, and each carried a ninja sword with unique abilities.
The moment he recalled what he had said before they set out, Obito's expression turned strange.
Did I actually jinx us?
"I really should stop talking carelessly before missions," Obito thought with bitter regret.
Guy's expression also became solemn. If Obito knew about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, then Guy certainly knew too.
"I hope this is not a group mission," Ebisu prayed silently.
If it were only two enemies, they still had a sliver of hope.
But then Biwa Juzo appeared, and that sliver shattered.
Biwa Juzo stepped out of the shadows, carrying a giant ninja sword. His bloodthirsty gaze swept over Kakashi and the others as if he were choosing meat.
"We really found some exceptionally easy targets," Biwa Juzo said, lowering the Kubikiribocho from his shoulder and leaning on it with one hand. "Let's finish this quickly."
Before the words even settled, a large, orange haired shinobi walked out as well.
"Biwa Juzo," Suikazan Fuguki said in a deep voice, "these are not exceptionally easy targets. Three of them are Konoha geniuses who must be eliminated first."
His voice sharpened with killing intent.
"Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Uchiha Obito. Those three must die here, on the spot."
Unlike Biwa Juzo, Fuguki thought they were ridiculously lucky.
Killing three Konoha geniuses mattered far more than killing a few ordinary jonin.
If Kakashi and the other two were not killed here, then in ten or several decades, when Hidden Mist clashed with Konoha again, they could become terrifying enemies for Hidden Mist.
"A genius who hasn't matured is still a weakling," Biwa Juzo said with a dismissive chuckle. "Who hasn't been called a genius before?"
Back when he was a genin and chunin, he had been a famous genius in Hidden Mist too.
As the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist revealed themselves one after another, Kakashi's heart sank to the bottom.
Even if it were seven ordinary jonin, that would already be difficult.
But the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were not ordinary jonin.
And the Mist jonin they had not killed yet was still alive.
That meant they were facing seven titled jonin, plus one additional Mist jonin.
Obito silently stepped in front of Rin, putting himself between her and the enemy without hesitation.
They had entered a crisis more severe than anything they had faced before.
Even the two encounters with the Raikage candidate had not been this dangerous.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen might not be able to defeat Kumogakure's A B combo, but whenever Obito's team faced that kind of enemy, either Mugetsu or Minato had been there.
This time, Mugetsu was absent.
Minato was absent too.
They only had themselves.
Instinctively, everyone tightened toward Kakashi, even Obito.
Kakashi was not the strongest in the unit, but as vice captain, he was the core that held them together.
The reason Obito still had not voted for Kakashi during the second election was not because he refused to acknowledge Kakashi as vice captain.
It was because he knew his vote did not matter.
Even if he did not vote, everyone else would, and Kakashi would still become vice captain.
Rather than vote to concede, Obito chose to vote for Rin. It also expressed his respect and recognition for her.
"Kakashi," Genma asked in a low voice, unable to hold it back, "what do we do now?"
Kakashi let out a quiet sigh.
He was only a slightly more outstanding chunin. In a situation like this, he could not produce a perfect answer in a heartbeat.
His eyes flicked across the enemy formation.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen looked loose, casual, almost like they did not even consider the people in front of them real opponents.
But Kakashi knew that was an illusion.
Their seemingly careless positions actually blocked most escape routes. If they tried to retreat, at least two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could immediately cut them off.
What do we do?
Kakashi asked himself the question again.
As the one with the fastest burst speed, Kakashi was the most likely to successfully escape.
Guy also had a chance to escape.
But what about everyone else?
Kakashi could not even allow himself to seriously consider running.
He could not abandon them.
In that moment, he drew the White Fang short blade from his back.
Since he would not run, there was only one thing left.
Fight.
Even if the enemies were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he would fight to carve out even a sliver of hope for his teammates.
That was his responsibility as vice captain.
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