13 - The Meddling Kakashi Hatake
Following the sounds of combat, the two quickly located Obito Uchiha.
It was a battle dominated by taijutsu. On one side stood a young Hyuga clan man, his Gentle Fist striking with fierce precision, clearly well-practiced.
On the other, Obito Uchiha was steadily losing ground!
This was an utterly unfair fight.
The Hyuga youth even wore a ninja headband!
Yuto Souta's eyes flared with menace. Without a word, he surged his chakra, his hand signs speeding up noticeably!
"Obito, get out of the way!"
With a loud shout, Yuto Souta's seals were ready.
Obito, locked in combat, caught the signal. With a practiced roll, he broke free from the fray.
It was a move he'd used often… Their trio's training mostly involved sparring against each other.
Since Obito flat-out refused to team up with Kakashi, he usually paired with Yuto Souta to take on Kakashi.
He'd feint for up to ten minutes, while Yuto Souta suppressed from the rear with ninjutsu.
Their teamwork was seamless.
"Fire Release: Nested Great Fireball!"
In his fury, Yuto Souta poured nearly all his remaining chakra into the technique!
He had just over 500 chakra points left.
A standard Great Fireball, under normal conditions, cost about 100 chakra.
With Ninjutsu Master's boost, 500 chakra equated to ten Great Fireballs!
Thanks to his proficiency gains over time, the Nested Great Fireball now packed nearly fifteen times the power of a regular Lv1 Great Fireball in its base state!
The fireball's heat was so intense it glowed red!
"Hm?" The Hyuga youth sensed the impending danger.
Veins bulged around his eyes. When he saw Yuto Souta, his cold sneer deepened with disdain.
"Overconfident Uchiha brat."
"In front of these eyes, Uchiha's Fire Release is a joke!"
He spat the mockery coldly.
Only when the fireball was nearly upon him did he slowly raise his hands.
Then, chakra burst wildly from every acupoint in his body as he began spinning at high speed!
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
A pale blue chakra shield sprang up, deflecting Yuto Souta's fireball entirely!
A cold smirk tugged at Yuto Souta's lips.
With that smirk, five fire dragons hidden within the fireball unleashed their fury!
Blazing red heat overwhelmed the blue chakra shield, the dragons rampaging across it, devouring everything in their path!
"Souta, be careful—this guy… he's a ninja," Obito warned, panting and wincing in pain nearby.
This was on a whole different level from his earlier scuffles…
A headband-wearing ninja's combat power far outstripped their childish brawls.
Kakashi Hatake, standing to the side, looked puzzled.
"What… is going on with you guys?"
Why did it feel like some deep-seated vendetta?
He'd heard bits about the Uchiha-Hyuga rivalry from his father.
But was it really enough to go all-out like this on sight?
Still, puzzled or not, seeing the bruises on Obito's face and the blood at his mouth, Kakashi quietly drew the blade from his back.
At that moment.
The clash of red and blue—Fire Release versus Revolving Heaven—concluded.
The Hyuga youth bore several charred patches, clearly injured.
Yuto Souta tilted his head, resuming his hand signs as he mustered every last drop of his remaining chakra without hesitation.
But Kakashi stepped in front of him.
A ninja likely older than all three of them combined, even injured, posed a risk in Kakashi's eyes.
"Five fire dragons—that's your limit right now, isn't it?"
As he spoke, Kakashi's short blade was already unsheathed.
"You've got no reason to step in," Yuto Souta said, frowning.
Kakashi was right.
This Hyuga ninja was probably here to avenge the group they'd beaten half a month ago.
Able to use Revolving Heaven, and given his age, he was likely a chunin.
A bit of a threat.
But it had nothing to do with Kakashi, and Yuto Souta was confident he could win.
Revolving Heaven could block a fifteen-fold Lv1 Great Fireball, sure.
But… that was its limit.
This was a grudge he and Obito had stirred up—Kakashi didn't need to get involved.
"I just can't stand headband-wearing ninja breaking the rules."
The words felt a bit forced, not quite like something Kakashi would say at this point in time.
Still, Yuto Souta didn't argue.
After all, the three had shared a pit for half the night…
No need to nitpick everything.
Even Obito nearby just scoffed…
"Tch, meddler."
After a brief silence, the three boys exchanged a grin.
Something unspoken connected them in that moment…
"Heh heh! Let's give this Hyuga jerk a taste of being ganged up on!" Obito said, practically buzzing with excitement.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
This guy… had been ganged up on before?
No wonder…
Ready to roll?
Rolling up his sleeves, the usually unathletic science student flashed a grin.
"Once we beat this guy, we can just apply to graduate from the academy!"
Eight chapters delivered—I'm wiped out.
Not whining, really. Half a year ago, I was pumping out eight or ten updates a day, chugging Red Bull like it was nothing.
I'll get my groove back slowly…
Oh, and that Hydrogen Release story? Mine too. The old Fake Eunuch is now called Skyward, with a bit of meaning tucked in there.
Good night, everyone. Man, getting older really takes it out of you…
How about a little flower to boost the kidneys?