Chapter 148: Dictating the Frontline

If the Land of Fire is characterized by its vast swathes of fertile land and abundant forest resources, the Land of Grass is defined by its towering vegetation. Massive trees pierce the sky, mushrooms grow to the size of houses, and the creatures here dwarf those found elsewhere. Some ninja even journey to the Land of Grass specifically to seek out ninja beasts, hoping to form contracts and claim them as summoning partners.

A team of ninja moved cautiously forward, with Uchiha Shimizu trailing at the rear. Just as in the original tale, Hatake Kakashi spotted the silhouette of a demon leech ahead.

"Leave it to me! Check out my new jutsu!" Uchiha Obito declared. He focused his chakra, opened his mouth, and unleashed a long stream of flames.

Katon: Garuda!

Obito, lacking proficiency in close-combat techniques, opted for a long-range jutsu. This was a technique he had painstakingly mastered after much practice. The original version required three ninja to each release a stream of fire, combining them into a blazing dragon—a B-rank jutsu of considerable difficulty. Obito's version was a simplified C-rank variant, with reduced chakra demands.

The demon leech, lurking behind a tree, was startled. Who's reckless enough to unleash a jutsu like that out of nowhere? It leaped aside, using the cover of the flames' shockwave to rapidly form hand seals, splitting into over a dozen shadow clones.

"Enemies!" Obito shouted, exhilarated. Why bother closing in when you can hit them from afar?

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of hands emerged from the ground beneath his feet, a blade slashing toward him with lethal intent. The glint of the knife caught Obito's eye, and panic washed over him like a bucket of cold water. There was no time to dodge.

"Careful!" Namikaze Minato yanked Obito out of harm's way, a Rasengan already spinning in his hand as he struck the demon leech.

Poof. The leech vanished in a puff of smoke—a shadow clone.

"Is that the Yellow Flash?" the real demon leech muttered, perched on a tree trunk, its mind reeling. It had set up an ambush with multiple shadow clones the moment the ninja entered its territory. One had been close enough to attempt a sneak attack on Obito, but Minato's reaction speed was unreal—he'd pulled Obito to safety in an instant.

Suddenly, the leech felt a chilling sharpness at its neck. Its pupils constricted, and a glance from the corner of its eye confirmed the impossible. The Yellow Flash is still below—so who's behind me?

"!"

Nohara Rin noticed Shimizu's absence, only to spot him moments later on the tree. "So fast!" she gasped. Though she harbored resentment toward Shimizu, she couldn't deny it: he was more like Minato's true disciple than any of them. He was a master of instantaneous movement.

"What's wrong? Surprised?" Shimizu said coolly.

Iwagakure ninja, it seemed, had little experience with Shunshin specialists and were poorly equipped to counter such techniques.

"Could it be… you're the Instantaneous Shimizu, the one hailed alongside the Yellow Flash as Konoha's Twin Flashes?!" The demon leech broke into a cold sweat, cursing its luck. A single mission, and I run into two Shunshin experts?

Thud. A severed head tumbled from the tree, its eyes still wide with shock.

"Phew…" Obito exhaled, shaken, tears welling in his eyes. The enemy had been so far away, forced into the open by his jutsu—yet a shadow clone had still emerged beneath him.

Minato shook his head, disappointed. Obito was too eager to prove himself, but his combat experience was shallow, and he panicked at the slightest threat. "Before we split up for this mission, let me say one more thing: for a ninja, teamwork is everything. Kakashi is the team leader now, Obito. You must follow his orders."

Minato clapped Obito's shoulder, then added, "Alright… disperse!"

Minato, Shimizu, and Sawada Yamachiyo sped toward the frontline battlefield, leaving behind only Kakashi and Obito from Minato's team, along with two members of Yamachiyo's squad.

"Obito, have you even read the ninja code? I don't want you making mistakes like that again," Kakashi said sternly. Having avoided trouble with Chidori this time, he felt justified in taking a firmer tone with Obito.

"Hmph, fine," Obito muttered, pouting. Knowing he was in the wrong, he didn't argue back.

The four pressed onward.

"Is this the frontline battlefield?" Shimizu murmured, surveying the swarm of Iwagakure ninja ahead. It was his first time witnessing so many ninja engaged in simultaneous combat, though most were Genin and Chunin, with only a handful of Jonin serving as commanders.

Their timing was early—neither Iwagakure nor Konohagakure had suffered significant losses yet, and the sheer number of combatants was staggering.

Minato produced a stack of specially crafted kunai. "Everyone, please throw these kunai toward the enemy. I'll handle the rest."

His plan drew skeptical murmurs from the other ninja. "That's… a bit reckless, isn't it? You, alone?"

Minato nodded. I need to wrap this up quickly and get back to Kakashi and the others.

"Minato-sensei, let me give it a try," Shimizu interjected.

"Hm?" Minato glanced at him, curious.

Shimizu pulled out a pouch of small swords forged from chakra-conductive metal, each blade as thin as a cicada's wing, nearly the width of a hair. These were a reward he'd obtained from a simulator—a creation of his future self, designed as a ninja tool.

Shimizu tossed the entire pouch skyward, manipulating the blades with Sora no Tachi. He then infused them with Katon chakra. The tiny metal swords ignited, their flames expanding their apparent size several-fold until each was a meter long. The sky blazed with a dense array of flaming swords, enveloping the entire area.

"Fall," Shimizu commanded.

With a chorus of whooshes, countless flaming swords rained down on the Iwagakure forces.

Doton: Doryūheki! The Iwagakure ninja combined their efforts to raise a massive earthen wall. But the flaming swords, as if guided by intent, arced around the barrier, plunging into the enemy ranks.

Screams erupted. Only a few Iwagakure ninja, those skilled in skin-hardening techniques, weathered the assault with relative ease.

"What… what kind of jutsu is this?"

"Damn it, these needles are poisoned!"

The Iwagakure ninja gaped in disbelief. No one in the ninja world had ever devised such a technique. Who has an attack range this vast?

Even Minato cast a deep, appraising look at Shimizu. This disciple's talent was nothing short of extraordinary—potentially dangerous if led astray. Minato resolved anew to guide Shimizu properly, to instill in him the Will of Fire and temper his lethal instincts.

Minato vanished, flickering across the battlefield alongside Shimizu as they began to dismantle the Iwagakure forces. The remaining Konoha ninja, inspired by the display, charged forward with kunai and katanas, their morale soaring.

"Not bad," Shimizu thought to himself. In truth, the technique wasn't overly complex—just chakra metal shaped into tiny swords.

"Now, how will things play out with Kakashi's group?"

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