Boom!!
The sound of an explosion echoed, and the powerful force caused the ground where the two stood to shake violently, raising a cloud of grayish-yellow dust.
Might Guy's right fist was drenched in blood, while the giant stone fist of the Hidden Rock Jonin was also covered in cracks.
At the same time, Obito's flaming shuriken also pierced the body of the Hidden Rock Jonin.
Although the Hidden Rock Jonin had mastered the Hardening Jutsu, his usage was clearly not as proficient as Gari's. The shuriken, carrying high-temperature flames, successfully penetrated the abdomen of the Hidden Rock Jonin, the spurt of blood splattering onto Might Guy.
The pain of the high-temperature weapon piercing the body and the pain of flames burning the body caused even the Hidden Rock Jonin, who naturally had a will as strong as stone, to grimace. But he knew that now was the most crucial moment, so he endured the pain, concentrated on controlling his chakra, and repaired the rock fist on his arm, attempting to throw another rock punch at Might Guy.
But Kakashi wouldn't let him succeed, thrusting a kunai at the head of the Hidden Rock Jonin.
The Hidden Rock Jonin had to divert his attention to deal with the incoming Kakashi.
And Might Guy, instead of retreating, concentrated his strength once more, attacking with the uninjured arm.
The Hidden Rock Jonin barely blocked the attacks from both, but suddenly felt a huge force pulling him underground.
"Fire Release: Impatiens Claw Red!"
Obito flung a burning kunai at the exposed head of the Hidden Rock Jonin.
BOOM!!
A loud explosion sounded, and the head of the Hidden Rock Jonin vanished from the ground.
"What a brilliant teamwork!" The injured Konoha Ninja, who had been getting up to help, happened to witness the clean and swift manner in which the three dealt with the opponent, couldn't help but praise them.
The three of them coordinated clearly throughout, with Might Guy responsible for close combat and clearing the weaker Hidden Rock Chunin, Obito providing cover with Fire Release and finishing moves, and Kakashi hiding in the dark waiting for a chance to give a fatal blow.
He had to admit the wide gap between them, as he, an adult ninja, almost got killed trying to help, while the three kids, whom he thought were in danger, saved him by disposing of the enemy.
Having eliminated a strong opponent, Kakashi felt a slight relief, then noticed a somewhat familiar figure in danger, seemingly an old teammate of his.
"Breath of Thunder, Full Concentration Breathing, Flash!"
Kakashi immediately unleashed the full power of his Breathing Technique, surging forth with a rapid strike.
Ryuken only saw a yellow lightning flash past, and then the enemy before him was split in two.
He was about to thank the powerful ninja when he suddenly felt that the back of the person before him looked very familiar. As Kakashi turned around, his former teammate couldn't help but show an extremely shocked expression.
"Kakashi, is it really you?"
"Why wouldn't it be me?" Kakashi cautiously looked around as he responded softly.
"You weren't supposed to be..." Ryuken ultimately didn't bring up past events but instead thanked Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded slightly, then quickly ran over to Might Guy to check his condition.
"Haha, just a minor injury, it won't affect my fighting." Might Guy swiftly bandaged his injured hand and said with a big laugh.
"He's really changed, completely different from before." Watching the way Kakashi, Might Guy, and Obito interacted, Ryuken couldn't help but sigh.
He had actually sensed a bit of change during the previous two encounters on the road, but he didn't expect Kakashi to have changed so much.
"Let's be more cautious now, focusing on rescuing our companions." Kakashi suggested.
Just after Kakashi said this, suddenly the ground shook violently, and an extremely dazzling light of explosion appeared from afar.
"Perhaps it's some ninjutsu, but what kind of ninjutsu could have such tremendous power?" Kakashi looked into the distance with some confusion.
Riding on this commotion, many Hidden Rock Ninjas charged out, attempting to rescue the barely alive Gari.
The Konoha Ninjas, however, launched various ninjutsu attacks at the Hidden Rocks without mercy, seizing the opportunity to kill numerous Hidden Rock ninjas, leaving the critically wounded Gari in a state of life or death uncertainty.
Mokgetsu, following the flow, threw out a simple Fire Release and then began to recover his chakra.
The fundamental objective of him coming to the battlefield had been achieved, and when he returned to Konoha, his status could rise from an outstanding Special Jonin in teaching to a Jonin who is strong both in teaching and combat.
Next, Mokgetsu wanted to witness the battles of the top-level battlefield and see the actual combat performance of Jiraiya and the Jinchuriki.
He wanted to know how much the chakra of a Jinchuriki could rise during battle and see the current full-strength level of Jiraiya in a fight.
After recovering for a while, Mokgetsu took out a kunai, swiftly killing every Hidden Rock he encountered.
A Hidden Rock Jonin, along with eight Chunin, attempted to use numbers against Mokgetsu but were burned to death by his Fire Release.
The Hidden Rock had already lost the powerful combatant Gari, and losing more ninjas in an attempt to rescue the severely injured Gari left nobody who could withstand Mokgetsu, shifting the originally balanced situation to a disadvantage.
"Retreat!"
The Hidden Rock commander reluctantly issued the order to retreat, firing a signal bullet for withdrawal.
Although the top combat forces hadn't determined a victor yet, if they didn't retreat now, they wouldn't have a chance to leave.
The Hidden Rocks began a fighting retreat.
Mokgetsu nodded inwardly, glad they were retreating, for it allowed him to justifiably move to another battlefield.
The Konoha Ninjas pursued for a while before stopping, worried about the risk of an ambush if they chased too deep.
"You guys head back to the camp and rest well, I'm going to support Lord Jiraiya." Mokgetsu told his three disciples.
He left a Shadow Clone to protect his disciples, and then joined several other Konoha Jonin to support Jiraiya.