"Ha! Looks like we hit the jackpot this time!"
A rough, booming voice echoed through the forest.
A bald, heavily built man stepped forward from the group of bandits. His face was covered in scars, and a massive cleaver rested casually on his shoulder, gleaming faintly in the filtered sunlight.
"I'm Kumada of the Mountain Bear Clan!" he shouted arrogantly. "I planted this tree, I opened this road! Leave your valuables behind and scram—I might just let you live!"
His words were followed by crude laughter from the bandits behind him.
The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant.
---
"Hey! Open your eyes and take a good look!"
Obito was the first to step forward, pointing dramatically at the Konoha forehead protector on his head.
"We're ninja of Konoha! You'd better get lost now, or you're going to regret it!"
"Konoha?"
Kumada sneered, his lips curling into a cruel grin.
"So what?"
His gaze swept over the group.
"A bunch of kids… and women?"
He laughed.
"The only one who looks halfway decent is that pretty boy over there."
His eyes landed briefly on Ren.
"You think you can walk out of here alive against the Mountain Bear Clan?"
His voice dropped, turning cold.
"Hand everything over quietly… or we'll take it from your corpses."
---
At his signal—
Several bandits raised bows.
Others tightened their grip on axes and blades.
Weapons were aimed.
Tension snapped tight like a drawn bowstring.
---
"…Hmph."
Kakashi's hand rested on the hilt of the blade behind his back.
Clink.
The White Fang short sword slid out just a fraction.
Obito and Rin followed suit, gripping kunai and shuriken, their bodies tense but ready.
Minato—
Said nothing.
He simply narrowed his eyes.
Watching.
Observing.
---
For a moment—
No one moved.
Then—
Kumada's patience ran out.
"Shoot!"
Twang!
Arrows rained down in unison.
---
Clang! Clang!
Kakashi deflected them with precise movements, his blade flashing.
Obito reacted as well, knocking aside arrows with kunai, though less cleanly.
But Ren—
Did something else entirely.
---
Whoosh!
A kunai flew from his hand, cutting through the air.
At the exact moment it reached nearly twenty meters—
"Substitution!"
Swish!
His body vanished.
And reappeared—
Right in the middle of the bandits.
---
He didn't hesitate.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
---
Boom—!!!
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, blazing orange-red, carrying a suffocating wave of heat.
It slammed directly into the bandit formation.
The explosion tore through them.
Screams erupted instantly.
Several bandits caught in the blast were engulfed in flames, their bodies turning into living torches as they rolled and wailed in agony.
The fire spread across the ground, sparks flying outward, knocking others off balance.
Their formation—
Collapsed instantly.
---
Rin and Obito froze.
"…Wait…"
"…Why are you two so calm about this?!"
This wasn't training.
This wasn't practice.
This was real.
Blood.
Fire.
Chaos.
Rin's face turned pale as she instinctively stepped in front of the medical team, gripping her kunai tightly.
Obito swallowed hard, eyes wide behind his goggles.
Fight?
Or stay?
He couldn't decide.
---
Meanwhile—
Kakashi had already moved.
He charged forward like a silent predator, his blade flashing through the chaos.
Cold light.
Blood.
Each strike was clean.
Efficient.
Merciless.
In seconds—
Several bandits fell.
---
The forest floor began to burn in patches.
Smoke rose.
Screams echoed.
The battlefield tilted completely in Konoha's favor.
---
And then—
Everything changed.
---
"Watch out behind you!"
Minato's voice cut through the chaos.
Sharp.
Urgent.
Without hesitation, he shoved Rin and Obito aside with both hands.
"Move!"
---
Puff! Puff! Puff!
A violent gust of wind tore through the space they had just occupied.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
The air itself became blades, forcing everyone apart.
The formation shattered instantly.
---
From the shadows—
A masked ninja stepped forward.
At the same time—
Another slammed his hands to the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flowing Sands!"
---
The ground collapsed.
What had been solid earth turned into a swirling vortex of quicksand.
"Ah—!"
Obito and Rin cried out as their feet sank instantly, their bodies dragged downward.
"Rin!"
"Don't move!"
Minato shouted.
But before he could act—
---
Whip!
A metallic rope shot out from the side, wrapping tightly around his upper body.
In the next instant—
A masked enemy appeared in front of him.
Kunai pressed to his throat.
---
"Everyone stop!"
The man's voice was cold and raspy.
"This is your leader, right?"
His grip tightened.
"If any of you move… his head comes off."
---
Silence.
Total silence.
---
Ren glanced back.
His expression twitched slightly.
…Wait.
Are these guys serious?
They were holding—
The Yellow Flash.
At knifepoint.
---
Kakashi stopped immediately.
But before he could react further—
BAM!
Kumada's massive fist slammed into his face.
Kakashi was sent flying, crashing into a tree before sliding down, his sword clattering to the ground.
---
"…?"
Ren blinked.
Then—
It clicked.
---
I see.
This wasn't real danger.
Not yet.
The enemy's strength was obvious—
Two chunin-level opponents.
A handful of enhanced bandits.
Against Minato Namikaze?
They wouldn't last seconds.
---
This was a test.
Minato was deliberately holding back.
Letting himself be "captured."
Watching.
Evaluating.
---
So this is about us.
If they handled it—
Good.
If not—
Minato would intervene.
---
Ren glanced at Kakashi.
…A bit too committed.
That punch looked real.
He hoped Kakashi's teeth were still intact.
---
Now—
The situation was clear.
Rin and Obito—
Trapped.
Kakashi—
Down.
Minato—
"Captured."
Which left—
Only one person.
---
Ren.
---
"…They really think highly of me."
He let out a small sigh.
Then—
He moved.
---
"Substitution."
---
Swish!
---
The masked chunin holding Minato felt it first.
A flicker.
A shift in the air.
Then—
A chill.
---
He turned—
Too late.
---
A flash of white hair filled his vision—
Followed by—
Blinding fire.
---
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
---
BOOM—!!!
---
The fireball exploded point-blank.
The impact sent the chunin flying, his body engulfed in flames as he was blasted backward through the air.
The rope slackened instantly.
---
Minato vanished.
Reappearing several meters away in a clean Body Flicker.
Free.
Untouched.
---
Ren didn't pause.
He grabbed the rope mid-air—
Spun—
And threw it.
---
"Obito—catch!"
---
The rope flew toward the quicksand.
The next move—
Would decide everything.
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