Chapter 205 — Driven to the Brink
"Kāoru, well? Can you confirm it? Are they our target?"
The captain's expression was grave as he questioned the sensory ninja who had just completed his scan.
They themselves were merely a bait squad.
The presence of a sensor-type ninja was only to ensure their role could be carried out effectively.
Recently, several elite squads from Konoha had been infiltrating Sunagakure's rear along the border, wreaking havoc.
It had already been humiliating enough that two Flying Thunder God users were running rampant in their territory.
And now—
Even regular squads were slipping into their backlines?
Did they think the Sand shinobi were pushovers?
Worse still, these teams weren't just gathering intelligence—they were actively ambushing patrols and supply lines.
The Sand command had finally snapped.
"We can't deal with Flying Thunder God users… but you?"
"You're just ordinary ninja."
And so, a trap was set.
"I can't confirm they're the exact targets," Kāoru said slowly. "But they're definitely gathering intelligence. Whether they're one of the elite squads we're hunting… I'm not sure. They didn't mention anything directly."
The captain nodded after a moment's thought.
"Doesn't matter. Report their location to the pursuit team. We continue our mission."
"Yes!" ×3
Orders were relayed up the chain.
Soon, an elite Sand squad led by a jōnin altered its course—
Intercepting Yōhei's team head-on.
One side was completely unaware.
The other was hunting.
It didn't take long before the two groups collided.
Wind Release: Great Scythe Weasel!
A violent storm erupted, dozens of massive wind blades tearing through the air toward Yōhei's squad.
Behind the storm, several kunai wrapped with explosive tags followed close behind.
The attack came too suddenly.
Yōhei, running at the front, reacted—but had no defensive technique ready.
For a split second, he could only stare—
Ready to unleash his Susanoo.
But just then—
Kakashi stepped forward.
Hands slammed to the ground.
A thick earth wall, engraved with a dog's face, surged upward.
The storm slammed into it.
Slicing sounds—sharp and relentless.
Then—
Explosions roared as the tags detonated.
But the defense held.
And that moment was enough.
Saori pulled Rin back to safety, immediately launching a barrage of lightning spheres toward the attackers.
At the same time—
Kakashi and Obito surged left.
Yōhei flanked right.
A perfectly synchronized counterattack.
On the Sand side, the jōnin leader hadn't taken them seriously.
He'd been tasked with intercepting an elite squad—
But what he saw was just a group of kids.
His guard dropped.
That hesitation—
Was fatal.
By the time Yōhei's team broke past the earth wall and closed in, the Sand squad finally realized something was wrong.
These weren't rookies.
They were predators in disguise.
Yōhei didn't hold back.
His Mangekyō Sharingan spun violently, the circular patterns in his right eye blazing to life.
Empowered by Susanoo's blessing, even his kunai felt lighter in his hand.
One clash—
And the opposing jōnin was blown back, completely overpowered.
Yōhei pressed the attack relentlessly.
Kunai, fists, kicks—
Every strike poured down like a storm.
The jōnin couldn't even fight back.
On the other side—
Kakashi led, Obito followed.
Their target: a single Sand chūnin.
This fight was even more one-sided.
Kakashi deflected the enemy's attack, throwing him off balance.
In the same instant—
Obito dashed past.
A single slash—
The chūnin's throat opened.
Clean. Efficient.
Practiced.
This wasn't their first time fighting like this.
Above them, Saori's lightning spheres rained down.
They detonated midair, forming a web of electricity that paralyzed the remaining two Sand shinobi.
Kakashi and Obito didn't hesitate.
They closed in—
Short blade. Kunai.
Two strikes.
Two kills.
The entire exchange—
Lasted mere seconds.
Only then did the jōnin fighting Yōhei realize the truth.
These weren't inexperienced kids.
They were seasoned hunters.
And now—
He was the prey.
Suppressing his panic, the jōnin took a risk.
Using Yōhei's momentum, he forced himself back, creating distance.
Then—
He fired a signal flare.
A crimson light shot into the sky with a sharp screech.
The moment it rose—
Yōhei's right eye twitched violently.
A crushing sense of danger flooded his mind.
"Kakashi! Now! We take him down together!"
Without hesitation, he charged again.
Behind him—
Kakashi formed seals.
Lightning gathered in his hand, crackling with deadly intensity.
Chidori.
Hearing the piercing cry of lightning behind him, Yōhei accelerated his assault, locking the enemy in place.
Then—
At the perfect moment—
He shifted.
A sidestep.
An opening.
Kakashi burst through.
Lightning pierced straight into the jōnin's chest.
The body convulsed—
Paralyzed.
Dead.
But even with the enemy defeated—
Yōhei felt no relief.
The sense of danger only grew stronger.
"Move! Leave the bodies! Now!"
The team didn't question him.
They regrouped instantly and fled.
Less than a minute later—
Two Sand elite squads appeared on the battlefield.
Both led by jōnin.
They scanned the scene briefly, then immediately identified the escape direction.
"Five enemies. Sharei's team underestimated them."
"Fools. We warned him."
"Enough. Move!"
Ahead—
Yōhei's team ran.
But they weren't fast enough.
The pursuers were closing in.
At this rate—
Capture was inevitable.
Yōhei and Kakashi exchanged a glance.
No words needed.
Both formed seals.
Two shadow clones appeared.
The plan was simple—
Delay.
Buy time.
The clones split off, hiding along both sides of the forest.
Moments later—
The enemy arrived.
Branches snapped under rapid movement.
The Sand pursuers entered the trap.
The clones struck first.
No restraint.
Mangekyō spinning—
Hand seals blazing.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
Two massive streams of fire crossed midair—
Then expanded.
A blazing inferno engulfed everything in sight.
Trees cracked and burned.
The forest roared.
From atop the trees, the two Yōhei clones watched silently.
They didn't believe for a second—
That such an attack would be enough to stop elite Sand pursuers.
This was only the beginning.
And they all knew it.
They were already being driven toward a dead end.
As expected, when the flames began to die down, a massive bulge in the center of the scorched field became glaringly obvious. What had once been an earthy mound was now glowing red-hot from the heat, like a kiln baked to its limit.
For a moment, Yōhei even wondered if the people hiding inside had already been roasted alive.
But Sand shinobi were nothing if not resilient.
Before Yōhei could move in, a swirling current of water rose around the mound. Though not large in scale, it was more than enough to extinguish the remaining flames.
A sharp hiss filled the air as water struck the heated earth.
Cracks spread instantly.
Then—
Boom!
The mound exploded from within, chunks of earth scattering outward as seven figures burst free in a flash of movement.
Yōhei's attack had worked, at least partially.
One unlucky Sand ninja hadn't made it inside in time—he'd already been reduced to ash by the twin waves of fire.
Without hesitation, Yōhei's two shadow clones lunged forward, kunai in hand.
They were running on fumes now. After unleashing that enhanced Fire Release, their chakra reserves were nearly depleted. At best, they could only stall.
But that was enough.
Because Kakashi's clones were already prepared.
Lightning flared in their hands once more—
Chidori.
They surged forward with unstoppable momentum toward the Sand shinobi entangled by Yōhei's clones.
"Damn it! Don't let them through!"
The Sand squad reacted immediately.
Ninjutsu, kunai, everything they had was thrown at Kakashi's advancing figures.
But in the Chidori state, Kakashi's body was supercharged by lightning chakra. His speed spiked to a level far beyond normal.
Dodging through the barrage, he broke through the layered attacks.
Then—
Both Kakashi clones pierced straight through Yōhei's shadow clones—
Using them as cover—
And drove their Chidori directly into the bodies of the Sand shinobi behind.
"Bastards! Konoha scum—you'll pay for this!"
The Sand captain roared in fury, unleashing a storm of wind blades that blanketed the entire area.
But by then, Kakashi's clones had no intention of retreating.
Their chakra was already nearly gone.
Rather than endure being cut down—
They dispelled themselves.
In that instant—
Both Yōhei's and Kakashi's clones vanished.
In exchange, three Sand chūnin lay dead.
And nearly ten precious minutes had been bought.
Without those earlier large-scale fire techniques, even that delay wouldn't have been possible.
The remaining five Sand shinobi regrouped.
Looking at the battlefield—burned, torn apart, and chaotic—their expressions darkened.
Just moments ago, they had mocked another squad for failing.
Now?
They'd been humiliated by shadow clones.
A disgrace.
"Captain… what now?" one of them asked cautiously.
The captain's face was tense, but this time, he didn't hesitate.
"Send the signal. This Konoha squad is elite. We can't handle them with what we have left."
They had learned their lesson.
Even with two jōnin still standing, he no longer dared to underestimate the enemy.
Calling reinforcements wasn't cowardice—
It was survival.
Meanwhile—
As the shadow clones dissipated, their memories flowed back to Yōhei and Kakashi.
The result was… acceptable.
They had gained time.
But the cost in chakra was steep.
They weren't Taichi.
They didn't have monstrous reserves, nor his level of control.
Some inefficiency was unavoidable.
Still—
They had no choice.
Each of them swallowed a specially made soldier pill.
A bitter taste flooded their mouths instantly, but warmth soon spread through their bodies.
Chakra and stamina began to recover.
Then—
The real ordeal began.
A desperate race for survival.
To shake off the Sand pursuit, the team zigzagged endlessly, changing routes again and again.
What should have been a single day's journey—
Stretched into two days of nonstop flight.
Even during that time, clashes were unavoidable.
To break free, they resorted to increasingly reckless tactics—
Trades where they hurt the enemy… at nearly the same cost to themselves.
By now, every one of them was battered and bloodied.
Fortunately, Rin was there.
Though still inexperienced, her medical ninjutsu was enough to handle basic injuries and keep them going.
Along the way, they used everything they had ever learned—
Feints, traps, ambushes—
Every trick from their academy days to now.
But the Sand forces only grew.
The pursuit intensified instead of weakening.
Now—
Yōhei, Kakashi, and the others were truly cornered.
No way forward.
No way back.
All they could do—
Was keep running…
And see how long they could survive.