Naruto: The Second Chance of Obito Uchiha
Chapter 16: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
Smoke still rose from the ruins of Kannabi Bridge.
The collapse of the bridge had accomplished its objective. Iwagakure's supply line had been severed, but the explosion had also alerted every enemy patrol in the region.
Kakashi wiped the blood from a cut on his cheek and looked toward the forest.
"They're coming."
Obito activated his Sharingan.
Three tomoe spun as he counted the chakra signatures moving through the trees.
"…Twenty-three."
Rin's eyes widened.
"That's an entire pursuit unit."
"They're trying to trap us before we can reach the border," Obito replied.
Kakashi sheathed his blade.
"Then we keep moving."
The three sprinted through the dense forest, leaping from branch to branch.
Behind them, explosions echoed as Earth Style users destroyed the trees in an attempt to force them into the open.
"They're herding us," Kakashi observed.
Obito nodded.
"Their commander knows what he's doing."
Moments later, a wall of stone erupted in front of them.
The team scattered just before it sealed the path.
From every direction, Iwa shinobi landed in the clearing.
Obito counted them.
Four jonin.
Nearly twenty chunin.
The same veterans who had survived countless battles.
One gray-haired jonin stepped forward.
"You destroyed Kannabi Bridge."
"You won't leave Fire Country alive."
Kakashi quietly drew a kunai.
"Any ideas?"
Obito scanned the battlefield.
The enemy formation was disciplined.
There would be no easy escape.
"We break through their left flank."
Rin looked where he was staring.
"The weakest point?"
"They're protecting their commander."
"Which means they're leaving the flank vulnerable."
Kakashi nodded once.
"On your signal."
The battle erupted.
Fireballs collided with walls of earth.
Kunai filled the air.
Rin remained behind her teammates, healing injuries almost as quickly as they appeared while throwing precise senbon to interrupt enemy hand seals.
An Iwa chunin rushed toward her.
Before he reached her—
A shuriken buried itself in his shoulder.
Kakashi appeared beside Rin.
"I told you to stay close."
Rin smiled.
"I was."
Across the clearing, Obito faced two veteran jonin at once.
One fought with a massive war hammer.
The other specialized in Earth Release.
The hammer crashed down with enough force to split the ground.
Obito narrowly avoided it.
A pillar of stone erupted beneath him.
He twisted in midair, using a nearby tree to regain his balance.
The second jonin laughed.
"So the stories were true."
"The Uchiha has quick eyes."
Obito answered with a stream of fire.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The flames forced both jonin apart.
Exactly as planned.
"Kakashi!"
"I see it!"
Lightning chakra exploded around Kakashi's hand.
The sound of a thousand birds pierced the battlefield.
"Chidori!"
He shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
The enemy commander anticipated the attack and raised an Earth Wall.
Too late.
Obito's Sharingan had already seen the opening.
"Above you!"
Kakashi changed direction at the last instant.
The Chidori pierced through the top of the wall instead of the center.
The jonin barely escaped a fatal hit, but the attack tore through his shoulder, forcing him out of the fight.
Kakashi landed on one knee, breathing heavily.
"The tunnel vision…"
Obito stood beside him.
"That's why I'm here."
For the first time, Kakashi gave a small grin.
"Good."
The remaining jonin realized they could no longer underestimate the Leaf team.
"Kill the medic first!"
Three chunin broke away and charged toward Rin.
Before Kakashi could react—
Obito vanished.
One moment he stood beside Kakashi.
The next, he appeared in front of Rin.
His Sharingan traced every movement.
A kunai knocked one attacker aside.
A spinning kick dropped the second.
The third attempted an Earth Style technique.
Obito completed hand seals faster.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Dozens of small fireballs forced the enemy to abandon the technique and retreat.
Rin looked at him in surprise.
"You didn't even hesitate."
Obito smiled.
"I promised I'd protect you."
The battle dragged on.
Even with Obito's experience and Kakashi's genius, the numbers were beginning to wear them down.
Their chakra reserves dropped.
Cuts and bruises covered all three of them.
The Iwa commander noticed.
"They're tiring!"
"Press the attack!"
Obito knew they couldn't win a battle of attrition.
He looked toward the collapsed bridge.
Then an idea formed.
"Kakashi."
"I need thirty seconds."
Kakashi didn't ask why.
"You'll have them."
Kakashi stepped forward alone.
Lightning surged around him once more.
The Iwa shinobi hesitated.
None of them wanted to be the first to face the Chidori again.
Rin threw smoke bombs across the clearing, obscuring the enemy's vision.
Meanwhile, Obito sprinted toward the broken remains of Kannabi Bridge.
His hands blurred through a series of seals.
"Fire Style!"
The flames ignited the explosive tags that had not detonated earlier.
The mountainside trembled.
Massive boulders broke loose from the cliff overlooking the valley.
The pursuing Iwa force looked up.
Too late.
An avalanche of rock crashed down, blocking the canyon behind Team Minato.
The survivors scattered to avoid being crushed.
Their pursuit had been stopped.
Kakashi exhaled.
"That…"
"…wasn't part of the original plan."
Obito laughed.
"I made a new one."
Rin shook her head with a smile.
"Remind me never to doubt your improvisation."
By sunset, the three crossed back into territory controlled by the Hidden Leaf.
Leaf shinobi rushed to meet them.
"The mission succeeded?"
Kakashi handed over the scroll.
"Kannabi Bridge has been destroyed."
The veteran jonin reading the report looked at the exhausted trio with clear respect.
"You completed the mission… against those odds?"
Obito simply smiled.
"It wasn't easy."
Far away on the western battlefield, an exhausted messenger reached Minato.
"The bridge…"
Minato looked up.
"…has fallen."
For the first time that day, he allowed himself to smile.
"My students did it."
He looked back toward the sea of Iwagakure shinobi still surrounding him.
"Now…"
"…it's my turn to finish this battle."
The Yellow Flash disappeared in another burst of speed, leaving only streaks of light behind as the battle for the western front entered its decisive stage.