The energy of the next morning was less depressing, as the morning sun gave the Konoha ninja positive vibes. All around Kakashi, ninja were getting dressed, finalizing their packing and saying farewell to those who'd stay at camp. Kakashi ignored the bustle around him and was busy tying bandages around his legs outside of their tent. He could hear his squad squawking inside in their usual banter.
"There you are! Finally!" a familiar voice called out. He raised his head to find Obito running towards him in all his orange glory, a smile plastered on his face.
"Obito?" he asked in confusion. He didn't think Obito knew what squad he was assigned to, let alone how to find him.
"I heard you're heading out? How? You're still injured!" Obito was clearly worked up; hands folded and a grimace on his face, as he stared down at Kakashi, who was still sitting down.
"Tsunade-sama healed me," Kakashi informed him.
"Hmph," Obito was unamused as he plopped down on the ground next to him. "You sure you're able to fight? Your leg was pretty messed up." He leaned closer into Kakashi's personal space as he asked, challenging him to tell the truth.
This was new. Obito rarely showed concern for Kakashi in the past; definitely not enough to scour the camp looking for him to make sure he was in fighting condition. It appeared that Obito having to leave him behind to deal with Haruki had thrown him for a loop. How should I handle this? Kakashi wondered.
"If it were any other medic, probably not. Tsunade-sama is incredible though and my leg is as good as new," he reassured him, lightly pushing him away from his personal space. His younger self would have bit back at Obito for worrying about him and would perceive it as Obito pointing out his weakness. But as the incident tore down some of the barriers Obito had between them, Kakashi wanted to reciprocate in kind. He didn't want to maintain animosity with the boy, and the sooner they could call a truce, the sooner Kakashi could embrace his own personality instead of keeping up appearances.
"That's good," Obito let out a sigh of relief and finally relaxed.
With nothing more to add, both boys fell silent. Obito fidgeted, clearly not wanting to go but not sure what else to say. Kakashi wanted to cement a change in their relationship so decided to keep the conversation going. "How was patrol?" he asked. He then looked down and continued tying his bandages, missing the shocked look on Obito's face at the question.
"Umm… patrol? Yea, patrol is… ok? It's a bit boring to be honest," Obito spluttered out a reply.
"I found it boring too," Kakashi agreed, ignoring Obito's fumbling.
"That's right, you said you did patrol a few times before we became a team," Obito recalled the conversation the team had over the campfire on the way over. Kakashi nodded as he fastened the final knot and began to wear his shoes.
"Hey, Kakashi-kun?" Taiki's head popped out of the tent. When he saw Obito, he gave him a nod, "Teammates?"
"Yes, this is my teammate, Uchiha Obito. He's on patrol," Kakashi introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Obito-kun," Taiki smiled and Obito greeted him back. "Anyway, Kakashi-kun, do you have any extra kunai holster tape? Banri didn't notice he was low."
"I'm telling you; Katsu took my extra ones!" Banri exclaimed from the inside.
"I did not," Katsu argued back, "you just forgot to restock, you idiot!"
"Yes, sure thing," Kakashi nodded, ignoring the other two. He grabbed his bag and rifled through it quickly, finding the tape and throwing it casually to Taiki who plucked it from the air easily.
"Thanks!" Taiki smiled again and ducked back inside the tent.
"You're lucky your teammates are young, mine are all boring adults," Obito groused. "My squad's idea of fun is to play Karuta… KaRuTa." He enunciated every syllable with incredulity.
Kakashi nearly laughed at Obito's predicament. A game involving matching cards based on poetry is probably a form of torture for the non-studious Uchiha. "Bringing together memory and physical reflexes is an interesting aspect of the game," Kakashi decided to tease Obito indirectly by discussing the game, making sure to keep his voice neutral.
"Of course you would," Obito moaned in exaggeration and raised his eyes and hands to the sky as is asking the heavens for help. He certainly didn't remember Obito being this dramatic. Then again, if Kakashi was being honest, all Uchiha were dramatic in a way.
It was then that his squad were finally ready and stepped out of the tent. "Now that Banri is finally ready, let's go to the gate," Katsu said cheerfully. Banri glared at Katsu but luckily did not counter, preventing another argument from breaking out.
"I'll meet up with you in a minute," Kakashi said as he stood up. Katsu nodded in agreement and the three teens walked away. He then turned back to Obito, who had also stood up and was ready to head back to his team. "Good luck on patrol, I guess" he said in farewell.
"Be careful out there," Obito replied, a bit uncomfortable with having had a full conversation with Kakashi devoid of any arguments. Kakashi nodded and walked away feeling lighter. It wasn't much, but it was a step in the right direction.
Over the next two days, Konoha's forces marched through the forest until the terrain at the Land of Grass transformed into a vast expanse of lush, green grass fields which swayed gently in the breeze. Despite being a small country, the shifting landscapes of the Land of Grass made skirmishes unique. Konoha, true to its name, dominated the forests of the Land of Grass. Meanwhile, Iwa controlled the hilly area closer to their borders and the grass plains stretching across the country's center.
A few meters ahead, Kakashi could spot the famed Grass Gate of Iwa. The fortress stood against the bright blue sky, its stone walls exuding a sense of strength and resilience. The formidable structure was defined by three prominent towers, each adorned with brown-tiled roofs that curved upwards. The central gatehouse, flanked by twin towers, served as the main entrance. The gatehouse comprised of five slabs of seal-fortified stone that protected the inside; slabs that only select Iwa ninja could open and close using Earth ninjutsu keyed to their chakra.
This was the second-most important outpost Iwa had, the first being the fortress that stood near their borders. In Kakashi's timeline, the Grass Gate of Iwa fell two months before the Kannabi mission. Kakashi wasn't part of the battle, but his sensei was, and he had elevated his notoriety during that battle. After which, the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge helped starve the main fortress at the border of supplies until Iwa eventually conceded, leaving the fate of the war between Konoha, Cloud and Mist.
In terms of positioning, Iwa had the current advantage. Konoha could only approach through the open field, while the Stone ninja situated themselves in front of the fortress a couple of hundred meters back. Kakashi could spot enemy ninja in the towers, ready to provide backup from afar. Moreover, the plains were riddled with traps to prevent a direct assault. If it weren't for these factors, Konoha would have had the advantage on the grassy plains were they could easily set the vegetation on fire and leverage their higher mobility. However, Iwa had established a base here faster than Konoha, which was too busy defending against the Cloud during the beginning of the war.
Sarutobi Shigeru, Uchiha Noburo, and Namikaze Minato stood in front of the forces, eyeing the fortress of the Stone. Their squads only a few paces behind them while the rest of the forces lined the back. Kakashi was standing alongside the units providing his sensei's squad with backup and could easily hear the three skirmish leaders speak.
"There is no panic, seems like they expected us," Noburo stated nonchalantly as he observed the fortress where Stone ninja were already lining the tower walls; ready to defend.
"It was one of the scenarios Shikaku-san considered," Minato shrugged not worried either. "It appears that since they didn't hear from Haruki san, they assumed they were defeated and prepared to defend."
"Plan Three it is then," Shigeru stated, Gaki nodded and signed the order back, allowing the command to trickle down to all the fighters, they didn't want to give anything away to the Stone, even if it was something as simple as 'we've planned for this'.
As they gave time for everyone to receive instruction, Aburame Yuma stepped forward, along with twelve other ninja. "We're ready anytime," he stated calmly.
"Even though they were expecting us, I don't see any extra fortifications," Noburo informed the Aburame peering at the terrain with red eyes, "Doesn't mean there aren't any so you should still proceed with caution."
"Chiaki-san?" Yuma gave the silent order.
"Byakugan!" Chiaki said as she activated her bloodline and scanned the open plains. After a few seconds, she confirmed, "Nothing unusual, captain." Her voice wavered lightly, the tension of the upcoming battle clearing affecting the young teen. Gaki, who had a soft spot for the younger generation, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she smiled back.
"Remember, if we spot any of the jinchuriki we're retreating," Shigeru reminded the rest of the ninja, and they all nodded in affirmation. "Otherwise, we have the advantage. Don't forget that," he stated, and looked at Chiaki in particular who nodded with determination.
The jinchuriki of all nations tended to stay in the village or at border encampments. Still, Iwa had planned to attack Konoha from two fronts, from the north with a large army and from the north-west with a surprise attack. Both attacks had failed. The attack on the north failed as the army met with the Cloud instead, resulting in a fight that caused the loss of thousands of Iwa ninja and the death of the Raikage. Meanwhile, the attack on the north-west failed by Minato and Kakashi killing the invaders.
As such, Shikaku concluded that the most likely scenario was for Iwa to have initially stationed the jinchuriki closer to Konoha to take advantage if their plans had succeeded. With the multiple failures, Shikaku believed that Iwa had probably withdrawn the jinchuriki closer to the border once more. The Cloud was out for revenge, and they couldn't leave their borders vulnerable. Given that the Raikage's heir had been trained for the position and thus a gap in Cloud leadership wasn't an issue, it was very likely that the Fourth Raikage would march in revenge. Just as Konoha saw an opportunity to attack, so would the Cloud.
Still, Shikaku had warned them that should Iwa be ready for them, there was a chance that a jinchuriki would be deployed to protect the camp. A fight between the Konoha forces and a jinchuriki may result in many causalities on Konoha's side, even if they did defeat the jinchuriki. As such, the plan was to retreat should the jinchuriki join the fray. Plans to defeat the jinchuriki existed, but relied heavily on Jiraya and Orochimaru, alongside Minato and Kushina. Currently, only Minato was present. Orochimaru was guarding the north border and Jiraya was conducting espionage. There was no time to call them to the battle in time before the window of opportunity closed.
"Time to go for it," Shigeru announced, "Units 5.1 and 5.2, ready?"
Under the guidance of Shikaku Nara, Konoha had employed key squad and backup squad tactics for this mission. Each key unit would have a backup unit serving to protect the key unit and prevent the Stone from delaying them from their objectives. In this case, Unit 5.1 was Aburame Yuma's team of three squads, tasked with dismantling the traps. The job of Unit 5.2 was to defend against enemy attacks while the traps were being dismantled. For the first part of his role, Kakashi was in Unit 2.2, the backup squad of Namikaze Minato. Depending on the role, the unit could be any number of squads. Minato's Unit was a team of four, but their backup was two squads, plus Kakashi as a solo addition.
"Ready," Yuma stated.
"You've got nothing to worry about, Yuma-san," Sarutobi Niko, leader of Unit 5.2 proclaimed with a smile and raised fist, "we've got your back, do your thing!"
"Let's go kill some Iwa ninja," Shigeru unleashed his killing intent as he raised his palm in the air and motioned forward, signaling the start of the raid.
As the Konoha ninja raced forward, the Stone ninja threw an explosive tag into the air, alerting all their units that Konoha had forged forward. As Units 5.1 and 5.2 made their way across the plains, Kakashi saw ten Iwa squads rushing to meet them. Based on their zig-zag pattern, they were avoiding the traps close to the tower.
The two sides were still some distance from clashing. That said, Konoha wasn't going to wait for a clash to begin attacking. Three ninja from Yuma's team jumped into the air, hands weaving the signs for fire jutsu. Some of the Stone ninja paused in their approach to counter with their own jutsu.
"Great Fireball!" the Uchiha of the three shouted. The others joined with weaker, but nonetheless powerful fire jutsu, "Fire Spiral Jutsu!" The fire raced downwards towards the ground.
"Earth Bullet Jutsu," some of the Stone ninja called out a beat later, aiming at the ninja vulnerable in the air. The small sharp spears of stone aimed at the airborne ninja were blocked by Unit 5.2, using a strong wind jutsu that forced the sharp earth spears to stop mid-flight and fall to the ground.
At the same time, another set of ninja called out a different jutsu, "Mud Veil Jutsu!" The fire jutsu Konoha aimed at the ground was met with a wall of mud, an attempt to prevent the fire from activating the traps hidden underneath. Fortunately, experience allowed Konoha to anticipate this. As the mud blocked the fire jutsu, one of Yuma's squads released a barrage of explosive kunai towards the ground below the veil. Within seconds of meeting their mark, a large explosion shook the earth. The chief explosion triggered other traps to activate, creating a chain of smaller explosions across the battlefield. The force created strong winds that battered the forces on standby of both sides.
By the time the winds subsided, the first combatants were already engaged in clashes. The ground was upturned, and massive craters littered the area where explosives had been located. Kakashi also saw dismantled sharp objects lay useless on the ground, clearly from traps meant to unleash weapons when triggered. Kakashi saw that Yuma's teams were fanning out to try to dismantle more traps on the sides. Iwa squads were now rushing into battle; with the main traps gone there was no need to stand back.
"Frontal units, engage! Remember to keep alert to traps on the sides!" Shigeru yelled out in a booming voice. Kakashi rushed out with his unit immediately. The sounds of clashing could be heard all around as the fighting started. It took Kakashi back to his younger years of fighting on the battlefield. His darkest days were those in ANBU, yet it was on the battlefield that he lost his innocence. As the blood on his hands continued to increase, he simultaneously closed off his heart more and more. It was easier that way. Now, here was again, poised to strike down lives amidst the clang of metal, boom of explosions and cries of ninja all around him.
As planned, Minato and his squad joined the rest of the Special Tactics teams to dismantle the defenses of the Stone ninja. Nara Shikaku had paired his sensei with Uchiha Jiren, Sarutobi Koharu and Inuzuka Maki. Kakashi had never fought alongside any of these ninja, thus wasn't sure how they complimented his sensei's fighting style. That didn't matter however, his task was to follow them undetected, wait for Gou to make an appearance, and strike at the first opening the squad would create for him.
Hiding within the Konoha forces, Kakashi made sure to not bring any attention to himself as he observed the battle. Minato's squad ran towards a group of Stone ninja standing defensively at the frontlines while Kakashi remained with the secondary squad providing backup. The Stone ninja saw them coming and three created a wall of rock to defend against the incoming squads.
Kakashi saw his sensei signal with his hands to call out a strategy. Without hesitation, Sarutobi Koharu acted, "Water Dragon Jutsu," she called out. The water dragon charged ahead, targeting the base of the wall and flooding it. Before the dragon hit the wall, Uchiha Jiren was already following up with the Great Fireball Technique. The sudden heat after the water softened the wall; weakening the front face and creating cracks in the structure. At that point, Kakashi saw Inuzuka Maki and her dog companion use Wolf Fang Over Fang. Two spinning columns assaulted the wall at the opposite ends. The force of the jutsu against the cracking wall was more than the stone could handle and the wall shattered.
As the defensive wall fell, the Stone ninja were ready, releasing multiple Earth Bombs forcing the Konoha squad to dodge and halt their attack. Meanwhile, Inuzuka Maki, who had released the technique and was poised to attack in mid-air, released a flurry of kunai at the ninja from above. The Stone ninja immediately rushed to block the kunai with their own.
Unfortunately for the Stone ninja, the kunai were marked with the Flying Raijen. In a blink of an eye, Minato was already behind the enemy lines, kunai slashing at the ninja. Despite their attempts to block, Minato simply teleported to another kunai and attacked from their blind spots. By the time Inuzuka Maki landed, the Stone ninja were dead.
"Who's next?" Maki whooped in victory. Kakashi noticed his sensei frown at the cavalier attitude but shifted his attention forward, where Jiren and Koharu were already engaging the next unit. Having trusted Minato and Maki to deal with the first squad, Uchiha Jiren made the autonomous decision to forge ahead and signaled to Minato and Maki their next attack.
"Don't you dare get cocky, Konoha scum!" a ninja yelled as he threw explosive tags at the incoming Konoha ninja. Clearly, he had heard Maki's comment.
A poof of smoke appeared next to Koharu, revealing a large shuriken. "Shuriken Shadow Clone," Koharu retaliated with one of the Third Hokage's signature jutsu. The large shuriken multiplied and blocked the explosive kunai. The range of the shuriken was larger than the explosion, and a few shuriken continued forward towards the Stone ninja.
"Nice one, Koharu-chan!" Maki cheered.
"Focus Maki-san!" Minato ordered sternly as he and Maki joined Jiren and Koharu's attack.
"Earth Style, Mud Wall," an enemy called out as he spat mud onto the ground, which rose to create a solid wall of earth and blocked the shuriken. Minato signaled for a change of tactics as the mud wall rose.
"Rain of Fire Jutsu," Uchiha Jiren yelled out in response to Minato's command. A ball of fire shot above the mud wall. The Stone ninja were familiar with the technique and knew that the ball of fire would disperse into smaller bullets that rained down on them. As such, they had erected an earth shield above their heads. What they didn't anticipate was for Koharu to follow up with a Water Bomb. As the ball of fire began to split into smaller fires, the water collided with the bullets and enveloped the enemy in a cloud of heated mist.
As the enemy ninja yelped in pain at the unexpected tactic, his sensei attacked the wall with a spiraling Rasengan, destroying their fortifications. Uchiha Jiren ran through the hole Minato created, Sharingan blazing, heat armor flickering and attacked the enemy through the mist. While Kakashi couldn't see Jiren, he could hear as the man razed through the Stone ninja with his superior visibility. Some Stone ninja had escaped the mist from the left side, but Maki was already there. Crouched on all fours, the Inuzuka attacked with ruthless speed before they could get their bearings, a smile on his face as he disposed of the enemy.
Recognizing the squad as a serious threat that was quickly cutting a hole through their defenses, one of the enemy commanders gave out new orders, "Fall back and regroup! Do not engage directly."
The order was quickly followed, and the enemy retreated. A few stayed back to set up a new defensive line along the retreat path to slow Konoha's advance. "Earth Flow Spears!" multiple enemies shouted. The earth rumbled and shook as multiple sharp earth pillars rose from the ground, sharp ends pointing towards the Konoha ninja in attempt to skewer them.
This was followed up with the Earth Style, Rampart jutsu. A large wall rose from beneath the feet of the Stone ninja behind the pillars, allowing them to gain a height advantage and loom over the Konoha ninja. At the same time, backup squads from the Stone ninja were sent to join the fray.
"Incoming reinforcements," Minato announced to the team as they skidded to a halt, "Backup unit, intercept." Despite the action in front of him, Minato was still aware of the large wave of enemy making their way towards them. The backup squad ran to meet the reinforcements head-on to keep them away from Minato's unit as his sensei's squad moved straight ahead to tackle the giant obstacle now in front of them.
Minato's backup squad was one of the largest, yet they were still outnumbered by the Stone ninja. Unlike the initial assault, the clash of reinforcements was favoring the Stone ninja, who were being supported by attacks from their comrades atop the rampart. Knowing he couldn't engage directly, Kakashi reminded himself that his role was currently confined to throwing kunai and shuriken to annoy the stone reinforcements and provide his teammates a few precious extra seconds to avoid attacks.
In a matter of moments after the reinforcement units began to fight, Kakashi saw a Konoha kenjutsu specialist fall and resisted the urge to rush in and help. He had to stay between the Konoha squads, providing minor support to the secondary unit yet maintaining a close distance to his sensei's team. As such, he was mostly ignored as the battle around him raged.
Minato and his team were maneuvering the pillars as they made their way higher to engage the enemy. The Stone ninja delayed their advance by unleashing weapons and stone spikes at the unit.
"Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!" the Stone ninja continued their attack. Although the Leaf ninja couldn't see what was happening, but Kakashi knew the effects of the jutsu being called out. He wasn't sure if Minato and his team knew of the jutsu. Most likely, the ninja were aware as they had fought multiple skirmishes with Iwa, yet Kakashi didn't want to leave it to chance.
"A large lump of earth is about to be thrown at you," he yelled out. On cue, a huge ball of earth was hurled downwards at the Konoha ninja, attempting to flatten them. While the jutsu was only B-ranked, it was clear the attack was a combined one, as the size of the lump of earth was three times its usual size.
"Keep going. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Minato called out and a clone popped into existence. "Big Ball Rasengan!" both versions of Minato formed a large Rasengan in their hands. The Rasengans collided with the earth. For a few seconds, both jutsu fought against one another. However, the Rasengan was superior, and the earth lump shattered into smaller bits. Minato's team slowed down, carefully maneuvering to avoid the chunks of earth and block kunai and shuriken raining down.
The Konoha ninja were more than half-way up the rampart and the Stone ninja cursed. "Earth Flow River Jutsu!" a few yelled, transforming the pillars Jiren and Maki were running on top of into a mud river. The two ninja easily avoided the attack by jumping upwards, but the enemy had followed up with some exploding kunai. In an instant, the two Konoha ninja disappeared. Minato had marked them before the battle, and he easily flashed towards them, grabbing them and teleporting them back to his position, where he had stuck a Flying Raijin kunai into the pillar.
While the enemy were focused on the three male combatants, Koharu had made it to the top from the far-right side of the rampant. "Fire Element, Fire Dragon Flame Missile!" her main element was clearly water, but she was still a Sarutobi and her fire jutsu packed a punch. The fire missile roared as it swept in parallel to the rampart's edge, forcing the Stone ninja to jump back and finally allowing Minato and his team to reach the top uninhibited.
"Good work, Koharu-san," Minato acknowledged.
"Let's go get them," Jiren gave Koharu a respectful nod and she smiled at the praise.
Kakashi crouched on one of the high pillars which allowed him visibility on both his sensei and the backup team. By the time Minato's squad had made it to the top, Kakashi noted that the backup unit had become overwhelmed by the reinforcement forces and cursed when he noticed that more Konoha ninja had fallen.
Fortunately, Shigeru had noticed and appeared to have ordered more units to provide backup. Kakashi saw a few Konoha squads jump into the fray, allowing for a more even skirmish to unfold. Regardless, with the backup team fully engaged, Minato's squad was now on its own.
This fact didn't deter his sensei, "Third tactic," he ordered the squad. At the command, both Jiren and Koharu unleased the signature Grand Fireball Jutsu at the enemy. The two large balls of fire kept the enemy busy. Maki focused on picking off any enemy that was too slow to avoid the attack. He seemed to relish in his role as the sweeper. Kakashi didn't want to know what the man had gone through to develop such a visible bloodlust.
His sensei took the opportunity to throw a Flying Raijin kunai high above the enemy. He flashed into the air and unleashed a barrage of marked kunai "Weapon Control, Twin Rising Dragon." Kunai littered the immediate battlefield and Kakashi saw panic overtake the Stone ninja.
"Retreat! Retreat!" the commander called out. It was a moot command as the Stone ninja had already started trying to run away, to no avail. Nothing could be seen of Minato expect a flash of blonde hair as he flickered across the rampart, killing numerous enemies in an instant, including the enemy commander. Jiren, Koharu and Maki remained on standby but kept out of the way and allowed Minato to decimate the enemy by himself.
As his sensei moved in to kill the few remaining enemy ninja in the area, Minato's kunai was stopped by a person's flat-open palm. The Iwa ninja who almost died nearly passed out in fear and continued to retreat, even as a reinforcement squad joined the fray.
"That's enough, Konoha's Yellow Flash," was the greeting given as Minato teleported back next to his squad and they regrouped to take on the new challenge.
Gou Ogata had finally made an appearance.
"Enough? We're just getting started," Jiren replied, the trademark Uchiha smirk gracing his face. "This time I won't give you the chance to retreat, Gou Ogata."
Minato's squad's job was to forge forward faster than any other unit to ensure they were identified as the key threat and that Gou was deployed against them. Shikaku's plan had worked.
"Don't flatter yourself," Gou snorted at the Uchiha's words as more Iwa joined his side, "I don't care about you. You're just another Konoha insect. I'm here for you, Namikaze san."
"I don't care who is sent my way, we're moving ahead," Minato replied seriously.
Minato's team was uninjured but glad for the moment to catch their breaths as the two sides assessed one another, the tension palpable. Gou was accompanied by two other units. The battle was twelve against four. Moreover, Gou wasn't the only formidable Iwa ninja that the Konoha team had to contend with. From his hiding place, Kakashi identified two more A-ranked ninja, more troublesome of which was Chisaka Masaru, a user of lava style. The other, Kido Sho, Kakashi recalled, was a ninjutsu user with the wind element. Each of the A-ranked ninja was supported by three other ninja.
Though the odds were unfavorable, Kakashi was still relieved; no jinchuriki. If a jinchuriki was here they would have come out by now, seems Konoha is in the clear to continue this assault, he thought.
"I'd like to see you try," Sho smirked, raising his hands to the sides to highlight their larger numbers.
"Oh, we'll try Iwa trash," Maki jeered, "it's quality over quantity that wins the fight."
"Too bad this is where I'll end you," Masaru growled, "Volcanic Ash!" A black cloud of smog was blown in the direction of the squad.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Minato countered, pushing the smog back with strong winds.
"I'll take on Sho, you two take Masaru," Jiren commanded as Minato blocked the attack.
"Gladly," Maki smirked while Koharu nodded hesitantly. Kakashi wasn't surprised that the Inuzuka wanted to fight the most emotional of the three ninja. Kakashi just knew that their fight would devolve into a cacophony of insults and jeers. He felt a bit bad for Koharu. A bit of taunting was well and good, but too much backbiting was a pain in the heat of battle.
"Water Gunshot!" Koharu followed up quickly and launched a large bullet of water in the middle of the Iwa ninja, causing Gou to dodge one way, and Masaru and Sho another.
As instructed by Jiren, the team split up and faced their opponents. Kakashi approved the division. Jiren's fire would cause Sho trouble as wind was weak to fire. Meanwhile, Koharu's water jutsu was a good counter to lava style. Still, the large area damage of the lava style would make it hard to get close, which is where Maki would come in as support. Not to mention that Jiren and Minato were stronger and better equipped to handle 4-1 odds.
Iwa was not going to stand idly by and let Konoha dictate the matchups. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage," Shu attacked before the Konoha ninja could converge on their position. A tornado-like mass erupted in the center, pushing the combatants and most of Minato's kunai away. Kakashi frowned as his sensei's kunai blew away from the rampant and fell below, scattering across the pillars.
The Iwa ninja stood taller after that, but Konoha's ninja weren't worried. They took Iwa's momentary pause to appreciate countering Minato to force them into their preferred matchups after all. Kakashi focused his attention on his sensei's battle as the fighting began; his target was only Gou.
"Earth Wall Jutsu!" two of Gou's teammate create three walls that barricaded Minato by himself in an attempt to limit his movements. The only opening was the drop behind Minato that he had scaled to reach the top of the rampart. Once the walls were erected, Gou and his fourth teammate rushed in with a flurry of taijutsu, keeping Minato preoccupied. If Gou was attacking by himself, Minato would have found a chance to release another barrage of Flying Raijin in the confined space. As it was, having two taijutsu specialists working in tandem with the support of earth ninjutsu users who would launch ninjutsu when provided with an opening made it hard to throw kunai around.
However, Minato's strength wasn't solely built on the Flying Raijin. He had mastered the art of hit-and-run tactics. Even as the Iwa squad tried to overwhelm Minato, they failed to land an attack on his sensei, who blocked and dodged with a grace not many ninja were able to achieve.
"Earth Dragon Bullets!" one of the enemies shouted, launching an attack. The head of a dragon emerged from the ground, and from its mouth a torrent of mud rushed towards Minato. Unbeknownst to the ninja, Minato had seen him form the hand seals from his peripheral and had positioned Gou and the other taijutsu user between him and the incoming jutsu.
Gou easily dodged the attack, but his teammate stumbled briefly as the ground below him shifted at the unexpected friendly fire. Minato took advantage of the brief distraction to spin and deliver a devastating kick that sent the man crashing into one of the earth walls.
This allowed Minato a moment to throw a kunai at the wall behind him. The earth ninjutsu users called out to one another. "Earth and Stone Bamboo Shoot!" Four condensed pillars of stone and rock, thinner and deadlier than the area version of the jutsu, converged at the kunai to skewer Minato once he teleported.
Instead, Minato used it as a feint, dodging Gou's flying roundhouse kick and closing in with a burst of speed on the taijutsu user who was regaining his footing. Before the man could properly form a defense, Minato slashed with deadly accuracy. The man fell with a thud, no longer moving.
The earth ninjutsu users cursed while Gou grimaced, frustration evident in his eyes. Minato took the opportunity to taunt his opponent, "How long can you delay me by yourself, Iron Guardian?" Minato asked.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic behavior. His sensei had displayed a calm demeanor so far, however his sensei rarely taunted in battle. Determined statements sure, but not taunts. Minato clearly wanted to rattle the enemy and end the battle as soon as possible. Kakashi worried that his sensei felt rushed by the urgency of his role. No matter how strong Minato was, Kakashi knew that his sensei was still young and the fate of the battle resting on his shoulders could be stressing him out. I must take the first chance I get. The sooner I help sensei, the less worried sensei will be, Kakashi thought.
"I'm not alone," Gou replied confidently and rushed to attack, not wanting to give Minato room to attack his other comrades. Kakashi knew that Gou was probably also feeling the pressure to try and stop the Yellow Flash, and the confidence he displayed was at attempt to boost his own morale.
As the fight became harder for the Stone ninja, Kakashi used the opportunity to sneak closer, hiding behind the corner of a wall where a pillar had conveniently provided cover. Kakashi only needed to duck under the pillar to join the fray, it was the perfect position to launch the surprise attack. To inform his sensei of his location, Kakashi waited until his sensei and Gou had jumped away from one another. His sensei used the reprieve to throw an exploding kunai towards one of the ninjutsu users.
It was in that moment that Kakashi took the marked kunai his sensei had given him prior to the battle, and threw it into the pillar, away from the eyes of Gou and his teammates. The throw would signal to Minato the activation of the marker, alerting his sensei of his location. With Gou a few meters away, Kakashi made sure that the activation did not distract his sensei. His sensei made no visible sign to having noticed the marker, but Kakashi trusted that his sensei got the message.
Gou was already running towards his sensei again, even as the ninjutsu users countered the exploding kunai. Instead of engaging with Gou, Minato teleported on top of the bamboo shoot jutsu where his kunai still lay and threw a wind-infused kunai at one of the ninjutsu users. The man had just recovered from the exploding kunai and did not see the attack coming. The kunai forcibly stabbed him in the side and threw him of the wall.
While the other ninjutsu user shouted in dismay, Gou did not let the loss of another teammate delay his attack and he was on top of Minato once more. As they traded taijutsu blows, Gou appeared to have increased the forcefulness of his attacks. Conversely, the ninjutsu user appeared to have lost confidence in the value of his support. Minato had turned all their jutsu against them, and now two of his teammates lay dead.
As the taijutsu battle continued, Minato secretly guided Gou until the man's back was to Kakashi. Minato blocked a punch from Gou using his left hand and created the spiraling jutsu with his right.
"Rasengan!" his sensei attacked. Gou was unconcerned and simply hardened his body, bring his hands in a cross in front of his chest to prevent the Rasengan from doing any damage. As the Rasengan failed to injure the man, Gou smirked.
"Your jutsu is useless against me," the man mocked his sensei as the only outcome of the jutsu was to push the man back a few steps.
The ninjutsu user regained a spine at the display and grabbed a kunai wanting to support Gou, but Kakashi was quicker. Without a moment of hesitation, Kakashi ducked under the pillar, hand charged with lightning, and rushed in close from Gou's blindside. The ninjutsu user shouted a warning and tried to change course by throwing the kunai at Kakashi instead. His panic and imbalance made him miscalculate the trajectory vis a vie Kakashi's speed. The enemy kunai landed aimlessly behind Kakashi. Kakashi thrust his hand forward. Gou shifted his body to the side. A grunt of pain. The smell of burnt flesh filled Kakashi's nostrils as blood splattered.