The waves swept in, submerging their ankles in seawater.
The Mist ninja captain, Ao, seemed to be a cautious man. Although he had been looking down on Kakashi, he didn't let his guard down in battle, commanding two of his men to hold back Kakashi Hatake. His true goal was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Moreover, Ao was not purely a combat ninja; his skills were better suited for sensory work. After coincidentally obtaining a Byakugan from a member of the Hyuga main family during the Great Ninja War, his sensory abilities were even stronger.
Facing Kakashi, he could only barely put on an air of superiority. If they really fought, it would be good enough if he could hold his own in an even match.
Unfortunately for Team 7, Ao was more than ready for this fight.
Under Ao's command, the Mist ninjas quickly split up. Apart from the two assigned to engage Kakashi, the remaining four or five rushed toward Team 7, running across the water's surface.
Sasuke Uchiha threw a shuriken that pinned one of the ninjas, then swung a kunai to block another. Not only that, he took out four diamond-shaped shuriken from his pouch and threw them at the remaining Mist ninjas, attempting to stop all of them by himself.
This guy is intense, Naruto thought as he adjusted his forehead protector. After just a few days of training, his teammate had suddenly become so ferocious. He was still a bit unused to it.
The next moment, the ninjas hit by the shuriken turned into splashes of water and collapsed into the sea. They were water clones. Several Mist ninjas reappeared and rushed over again.
The corner of Naruto's eye twitched. They were just clones.
One of the Mist ninjas threw a chain weapon from his hand, tossing it toward Sasuke from a distance. "Brat! Daring to fight Mist ninjas on the sea? You've got a death wish!"
Sasuke, already tangled up with another ninja, was clearly starting to panic. Worse, there were no objects on the water's surface he could use for a Substitution Jutsu.
"Spiral Bullet!"
Naruto instantly formed a small chakra vortex in his hand and flicked it, hitting the ninja and sending him flying. After breathing a sigh of relief, Sasuke quickly followed up with a shuriken.
The composed Ao saw this and yelled at his subordinates with displeasure, "Hey, pull yourselves together! You're the village's Hunter-nin unit. Can't you even catch a few brats?"
"Please leave it to us, Lord Ao! Fukurou was just being careless!" another ninja replied, quickly forming hand seals and spewing a huge torrent of water toward Team 7. "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"A chance!"
Just as the ninja was unleashing his jutsu, Sasuke's figure suddenly appeared behind him, pressing a kunai to his throat. Naruto showed no weakness either, kicking away another charging Mist ninja. A Rasengan immediately followed, landing on the enemy and pressing him into the seawater, never to surface again.
Sasuke spat out a mouthful of seawater and looked contemptuously at the last dodging Mist ninja. "These enemies are weaker than I thought."
Sakura narrowed her eyes and praised with a smile, "It's not that they've gotten weaker, Sasuke-kun. It's that you've gotten stronger!"
Naruto Uzumaki: "..."
Sasuke Uchiha: "..."
What she said was true. Improving their chakra control also had a great effect on their taijutsu. At the very least, after concentrating chakra on the soles of their feet, their speed had increased.
Besides, the few Mist ninjas sent to capture Naruto were only chunin. The two remaining jonin were still busy fighting Kakashi.
As the jonin leader of Team 7, Kakashi's performance hadn't always been great. He ended up in the hospital after the survival exercise and was badly wounded after being ambushed during a C-rank mission. But now, facing two jonin at once, Kakashi was actually gaining the upper hand with his diverse ninjutsu and fluid taijutsu.
Kakashi Hatake was finally showing his strong side.
Kicking one jonin into the other, Kakashi let out a low shout, "Lightning Style: Lightning Blade!"
A ball of lightning danced in Kakashi's palm. Under his control, it suddenly pierced through the chests of both Mist ninjas. Gushing blood dyed the sea surface red, and it was clear they wouldn't survive.
Defeating two jonin in one move!
Both Sasuke and Sakura widened their eyes in surprise. Their jonin leader had finally been impressive for once.
Just when everyone in Team 7 thought the situation was settled, Ao, who had been commanding from the side, suddenly made his move. He brought his fingers together and struck Kakashi's chest. "Water Style: Blue Dragon Piercing Hand!"
The move was simply too sudden. It landed right after Kakashi had released his Lightning Blade, a moment when he was almost completely defenseless. Ao struck without hesitation. His fingers tapped across Kakashi's body, quickly sealing his pressure points with Water Style chakra.
But it wasn't over.
An azure dragon head formed in Ao's palm. The dragon head and his palm landed on Kakashi's body one after another. "Water Style: Blue Dragon Palm!"
Ao's sneak attack was so fast that Kakashi didn't even have time to react before he was sent flying. The jonin leader of Team 7, cool for three seconds at most.
After defeating Kakashi with two nin-taijutsu moves, Ao shook his head with a helpless expression. "I didn't expect I would have to take action in the end."
Naruto Uzumaki: "..."
This guy, why does he love putting on airs so much? If you didn't know better, you'd think he was the Mizukage!
Sakura rushed over to help Kakashi. It was clear the injuries their leader had sustained were severe, and her face immediately showed her worry.
Sasuke was the first to attack Ao, throwing four shuriken. "Tch, I hate pretentious people like you the most."
The four shuriken traced arcs in the air, creating a pincer attack that closed in on Ao's position. Any attempt to dodge would result in being hit.
However, the middle-aged man with blue-gray hair stood steadily on the sea's surface, completely unfazed. The four shuriken grazed past his body and fell into the water.
"What!"
Sasuke watched in surprise. How could he be so confident in dodging that attack? Sasuke's eyes instantly turned red, two black tomoe spinning in his pupils. "Sharingan!"
He held eight shuriken in his hands and threw them fiercely. This time, I'll see his movements clearly!
Ao just took one slow step to the side, avoiding all the shuriken.
"The Uchiha clan, huh?" the middle-aged man said, looking at Sasuke with a smile. "Compared to your seniors, you're far too weak."
He remembered when he was ordered to lead an attack on Konoha, only to be scared into an immediate retreat by Shisui Uchiha's genjutsu. Now, bullying an Uchiha child… although a part of him felt it was shameful and beneath his status…
But... it felt really good.