Who’s there!
Taiseki’s heart jolted with alarm.
He had just surveyed the area—there shouldn’t be any Konoha shinobi left.
Unless someone had evaded his detection before he even began his sweep.
But that could only be achieved by a sensor ninja.
“A sensor ninja, huh?”
Taiseki’s gaze drifted over Kiyohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and Genma Shiranui, trying to figure out which one was the sensor.
“Kiyohara…”
Kakashi turned his head, looking at Kiyohara who had suddenly appeared beside him, feeling a slight sense of relief in his heart.
Sure enough, compared to the dead-last Obito, Kiyohara was far more reliable.
“I see…
so it’s just two Chunin and a Genin?”
Taiseki formed a single hand seal, continuing to refine chakra to maintain his invisibility.
Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment!
The form that had just been revealed vanished once more after he released the technique again.
This jutsu could conceal both flesh and clothing alike, and naturally, it could also hide the dust clinging to his body.
“No good, Kiyohara—your chakra reserves aren’t as large as his.”
Kakashi gripped his short blade tightly, his brow furrowed.
Even if Kiyohara used “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough” to blow the Iwagakure Jonin Taiseki out of hiding, it wouldn’t last long.
Taiseki could simply keep re-releasing his jutsu, and the number of times he could do it would definitely outnumber Kiyohara’s!
“Hmph, the son of White Fang, is it?
Since it’s not White Fang himself, there’s no need to be afraid.”
Taiseki looked at Kakashi, who was warning Kiyohara, and a savage grin spread across his face.
Konoha’s White Fang had killed quite a few of their comrades.
Killing his son now would count as revenge, wouldn’t it?
But…
before that.
Taiseki turned his gaze toward Kiyohara.
This one was more of a threat right now than Kakashi.
Through observation, Taiseki noticed that both Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranui were standing half a step behind Kiyohara’s position.
That meant Kiyohara held the most authority among them—likely serving as the squad leader.
That exceptional sensory ability must also belong to Kiyohara.
Or rather, it was precisely because of that sensory ability that Kiyohara qualified to be the leader.
As the thought crossed his mind, Taiseki began analyzing Kiyohara’s intel.
The next moment, a faint sound of air friction brushed through the space!
Taiseki moved!
“He’s completely erased his scent—now we can only track his position through subtle air currents and sound.”
Kakashi’s expression turned grim.
Suddenly, he blurted out a warning to Kiyohara:
“Behind you, Kiyohara!”
Bang!
At the same time, kunai clashed against kunai.
“Oh?”
Taiseki raised an eyebrow slightly.
Sensor ninja usually leaned toward support roles—he hadn’t expected that his sneak attack would actually be blocked by Kiyohara.
With his single strike failing, Taiseki took a step back and melted back into the darkness.
“You two go save Rin—don’t worry about me.”
Kiyohara spoke.
In a sense, Taiseki was harder to deal with than Kakkō, the other Iwagakure Jonin further behind.
That invisibility ability was truly a dead end.
“Kiyohara…”
Kurenai Yuhi wanted to say something, but Kiyohara shook his head, signaling Kurenai not to worry about him.
“Alright, be careful.”
Kurenai Yuhi nodded with some concern.
Then she and Genma Shiranui headed toward the rear together.
Seeing this, Kakashi and Obito also moved up.
No matter what, the priority now was to reduce the enemy’s numbers.
As long as one enemy was killed, they could focus on dealing with the other.
Now, the scales of victory rested on which side could claim the first kill.
“Oh?
Letting your comrades go on ahead?”
Taiseki felt a sense of approval toward Kiyohara’s resolve.
Even though this guy was an enemy, he was indeed a shinobi.
Unfortunately, Taiseki wasn’t worried about the rear.
Kakkō was exceptionally strong in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—practically an elite among Jonin.
A few snot-nosed brats trying to take on Kakkō?
Just thinking about it made Taiseki want to laugh.
He suppressed the urge.
Laughter would give away his position.
“Lightning Release: Earth Flash!”
Kiyohara formed hand seals with both hands, and arcs of electricity spread across the ground.
Taiseki leaped upward, flipping upside down to cling to the ceiling of the cave, avoiding the Lightning Release ninjutsu Kiyohara had unleashed on the ground.
“This kid’s jutsu are nothing to sneeze at.”
Taiseki frowned slightly.
Kiyohara was dressed like a Genin, but the jutsu he used were all highly polished—completely beyond the Genin level.
This made Taiseki shed his dismissive attitude and regard Kiyohara seriously.
“Dodged it, huh?
The invisibility ability is indeed impressive, but if you rely on it too much, you’ll die because of it…”
Kiyohara grabbed a large handful of powder from the ninja pouch at his waist.
“Ninja Art…!”
Kiyohara shouted out loud, as if about to unleash some powerful jutsu.
Taiseki’s gaze sharpened.
Earlier, Kiyohara’s “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough” and “Lightning Release: Earth Flash” had both been remarkably powerful, showing clear talent in ninjutsu.
Seeing that Kiyohara was about to use a new technique, Taiseki immediately grew wary.
He widened his eyes, trying to discern Kiyohara’s hand seals, hoping to deduce what kind of jutsu he might use.
This was a technique used in combat between Jonin.
Predict the enemy’s jutsu in advance, then formulate a countermeasure.
But this required a certain stock of knowledge to infer the enemy’s jutsu from their hand signs.
Kiyohara’s hands came together, overlapping, with the powder pressed between his palms.
Both palms seemed to be covering each other.
It was the “Ram” sign.
Taiseki recognized it—one of the twelve basic hand seals.
“Water Release: Evil Mouth?
Or some other jutsu?”
In an instant, countless ninjutsu that began with the “Ram” seal flashed through Taiseki’s mind.
Most of them were Water Release techniques.
But with just a single hand seal, the possibilities were still too numerous.
So Taiseki widened his eyes even further, trying to see exactly what it was.
“Lime Powder Scattering Technique!”
Kiyohara first threw all the lime powder into the air, then followed up with a “Wind Release: Great Breakthrough” before shouting the name of the technique.
“Ah!”
The fierce wind carried the lime, scattering it directly into Taiseki’s face.
Though his reflexes were quick, caught completely off guard, the lime powder still got into his eyes.
A searing, burning sensation swirled in them, blurring his vision.
He never imagined Kiyohara could be so underhanded.
One second, he was willing to sacrifice himself for his comrades, single-handedly taking on Taiseki alone.
The very next second, he pulls a dirty trick like this!
“Damn brat, you—!”
Taiseki was furious beyond words, already wanting to use an Earth Release jutsu.
But the moment he opened his mouth, Kiyohara lobbed another handful of quicklime, landing it perfectly inside his wide-open mouth.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Taiseki choked badly—his eyes stung, his throat burned.
“Do you even have the spirit of a shinobi?!”
Taiseki demanded hoarsely.
“Sorry, I’m a traditionalist shinobi.”
Kiyohara smiled.
Taiseki was a joke—a shinobi who loved invisibility and specialized in ambushing people, and yet he was lecturing others about spirit.
“Alright, now I’m invisible too.
Let’s have a fair duel.”
Kiyohara spoke slowly.
Except his invisibility was physical—as long as Taiseki’s eyes couldn’t see him, didn’t that count as being invisible too?
(End of Chapter)