Kakashi's hand sparked with the shriek of a thousand birds. He charged, a bolt of living lightning aimed at Magaki's hiding place.
Minato had stopped him earlier. The Fourth Hokage had instantly grasped the flaw in Kakashi's new jutsu: a piercing thrust, brutally fast, but outpacing his own eyes. He glanced at Qianyu beside him. "That technique focuses everything into a single point. It increases destructive power and speed, but he's moving too fast for his own vision to track the enemy's movements. You must see it too, Qianyu?"
Qianyu watched the silver-haired boy streak forward. He didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Between this new jutsu and the First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, which is faster?"
Minato answered without thinking. "The Thunderclap and Flash, of course."
A faint smile touched Qianyu's lips. "If he can handle the speed of the Thunderclap and Flash, why not the speed of his own Chidori? Minato, Kakashi is my student. I know his limits better than you. His dynamic vision already rivals a standard Sharingan. This world isn't fair. Geniuses become strong. Mediocrity becomes weak. The weak overthrowing the strong is the exception. The genius rising to power is the rule. So don't measure Kakashi by the standards of the mediocre."
Minato fell silent, his gaze snapping back to the fight.
Magaki watched the boy charge. He's coming straight at me?
Magaki and his clones hurled a storm of kunai and shuriken.
Qianyu's arm moved in a blur. A second, precise volley of shuriken clashed with the first, knocking every projectile aimed at Kakashi from the air, clearing his path.
Kakashi had already marked their positions from the earlier kunai toss.
"First!"
He closed the distance to the nearest Magaki. The Chidori slammed into the clone's gut.
It burst into smoke.
"A clone. Next!"
He pivoted, already moving.
Obito, Rin, and Katsuhiko fanned out, scanning the trees.
Suddenly, the ground in front of Obito erupted. A Magaki surged up, kunai aimed for his heart.
Minato was there in a flash of golden hair, his own kunai burying itself in the clone's skull before it could strike.
Another puff of smoke.
"Stay focused!" Kakashi barked, already eliminating the 18th shadow clone.
"Nineteen!"
"Don't get cocky, brat!" a Magaki roared, drawing his ninjato in a vicious slash toward Kakashi's abdomen.
Minato tensed. The angle was bad. Kakashi couldn't dodge. His fingers twitched, ready to flicker with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder before he could move. Qianyu's voice was cold, a direct order. "People get hurt in battle. If you coddle them like a nursemaid, when will they ever grow? Do not interfere. If the Flying Thunder God kunai you gave him is for this… then take your toys and get lost."
Kakashi's Chidori had already vanished. His right hand dropped to the short sword on his back.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
In the single motion of drawing the blade, five jagged arcs of lightning-fast slashes erupted.
The clone was diced into pieces before it hit the ground.
Nineteen. Plus the one that attacked Obito's group. That was twenty clones down.
Only one left. The real one.
Kakashi turned, his body coiling like a spring, eyes locking onto a cluster of trees to his left.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
The air cracked. He was a bolt of thunder, tearing across the space. His blade flashed, a single draw-cut that severed the entire trunk of the tree where Magaki hid.
The short blade's limit showed. It was a deep gash across Magaki's torso, not a killing blow.
Cold sweat poured down Magaki's face, unstoppable. He recognized those moves now.
The signature taijutsu of the Blood-Eyed Asura. That black-haired, black-eyed man was the legend himself.
And from his clones' memories… the blond one. That had to be the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
Meeting either one on a battlefield was a signal to retreat immediately.
What sin did I commit to deserve both at once?!
He couldn't win. Not a chance.
Magaki's mind screamed for escape. He turned to run.
Kakashi's hands were already moving. "Chidori!"
The lightning screamed again. Kakashi lunged.
Magaki, mind shattered by terror, was focused only on the two monsters at the edge of the clearing. He never saw the silver flash. The Chidori punched through his back, erupting from his chest in a spray of blood and viscera.
Magaki crumpled. Dead.
Kakashi let out a long, slow breath, the chakra around his hand fading.
Qianyu walked over. "Find the flaws?"
"Yeah," Kakashi said, catching his breath. "It's not locked into a straight line like the Thunderclap and Flash, but changing direction is still hard. The speed… it can't compare. It's a new jutsu. There's a lot to improve."
Qianyu nodded. "Good that you know. The Thunder Breathing sword forms are mature. Your Chidori is still raw. It has room to grow. It's your creation. Build on it. Develop it."
Kakashi stood straighter. "Understood, Sensei."
Minato, Obito, Rin, and Katsuhiko joined them. Seeing Kakashi's heaving chest, Minato suggested, "Kakashi's done well. Let's withdraw from here, set up camp, and rest."
"No need," Kakashi refused flatly. "I'm not tired."
Obito threw his hands up. "You're pushing way too hard!"
"I don't want to hear that from you," Kakashi shot back. "Your legs turned to jelly back there. Crying. Some elite Uchiha."
"That—My eyes just got sand in them! It was tears from that!" Obito sputtered, face red.
Kakashi looked away, voice monotone. "Shinobi Rule 25: 'A shinobi must never show tears.'"
"Hey, you two, stop!" Rin interjected, stepping between them.
Minato's voice cut through, firm. "That's enough. Both of you."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/GoldenLong
Happy reading, everyone!