Chapter 242 Supporting the Top Battlefield

After Muzuki took action to rescue the injured Konoha Ninja, his disciples also began to act, rescuing Konoha Ninja and striking Iwagakure Ninja.

They did not have Muzuki’s strength, so they acted together as a trio, and they did not stray too far from Muzuki.

At first, the three of them seemed a bit lost, because the scene was too chaotic; even Kakashi, who had the most experience among them, had never experienced such a large-scale battle, a grand melee involving thousands of Ninja.

However, they had just gone through a difficult life-or-death struggle not long ago, so even though they were momentarily confused, their combat power was still online.

An Iwagakure Ninja, seeing their short stature and appearance of being new to the battlefield, immediately picked up a Kunai and launched an attack on the trio.

Might Guy immediately entered Rock Breathing state and activated Eight Gates.

“Eight Gates, Gate of Opening, Open!”

Using both the Breathing Technique and Eight Gates simultaneously greatly enhanced Might Guy’s physical abilities.

Swoosh!

“Leaf Great Whirlwind!”

Chakra burst from Might Guy’s feet, and he vanished from the Iwagakure Ninja’s sight with a Body Flicker Technique, then swiftly delivered a whirlwind kick, sending the Iwagakure Ninja flying.

“Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!”

Obito used Flame Breathing to enhance his Fire Release ability, swiftly throwing three flaming Kunai at the knocked-back Iwagakure Ninja.

Boom!

When the flaming Kunai hit the Iwagakure Ninja, an explosion immediately occurred, engulfing his body in intense flames.

Between the high temperature and explosion of the Fire Release and the powerful piercing force of the Kunai, the attacking Iwagakure Ninja was reduced to a charred corpse, falling from the sky after Obito and Might Guy’s combo.

“We can just fight like before, right?” With a successful elimination of an enemy, the confusion in Obito’s eyes dissipated.

“You shouldn’t have used Ninjutsu just now; just throwing Shuriken and Kunai would have been enough,” Kakashi said, shaking his head.

Originally, he was preparing to attack with Shuriken, but he put them away when he saw Obito use Ninjutsu, as ordinary Ninja certainly couldn’t withstand a Fire Release bombardment.

“Why? If it’s just Ninja tools, I feel like I can’t kill them in one go,” Obito asked, puzzled.

He believed that if an enemy could be dealt with, they should be utterly incapacitated in one go to prevent any unexpected turns in the battle.

“It’s fine if it’s a normal spar, or if there are only a few enemies, but look at how many enemies there are here; you need to conserve your Chakra as much as possible,” Kakashi explained his reasoning.

Although he hadn’t experienced a grand melee involving thousands of Ninja, Kakashi felt that it was important to conserve stamina on the battlefield and achieve the greatest results with the least amount of stamina and Chakra.

For example, with what Obito just did, even without Fire Release, if he and Obito had used Ninja tools together, the enemy, even if not killed instantly, would have been severely wounded, and sustaining such injuries on the battlefield is almost equivalent to death.

“Guy, you too, don’t expend too much stamina,” Kakashi continued, addressing Might Guy.

Total Concentration Breathing and Eight Gates are both excellent skills for enhancing strength, but they also consume a lot of stamina.

Obito glanced at the battlefield, where there was no telling how many enemies remained, and had to admit that Kakashi’s words made a lot of sense.

War was completely different from their previous battles; he could guarantee that expending too much Chakra and stamina here was absolutely not a good thing.

Might Guy also nodded, agreeing with Kakashi’s viewpoint, and decided that unless he encountered an exceptionally strong enemy, he would absolutely not use Total Concentration Breathing or the second gate.

Actually, Kakashi had one more thing he didn’t say: if the enemy was strong enough and of high enough status, then expending more stamina to kill them would still be very meaningful, but that wasn’t something they, at their current strength, should be considering.

Kakashi drew the White Fang Short Blade from his back; ending enemies with a blade was clearly more energy-efficient than using Ninjutsu.

He had already internally forbidden the high-consumption Ninjutsu Purple Lightning and Pseudo-Darkness; while both Ninjutsu were powerful, he would run out of Chakra after using them twice.

Obito took out another standard-issue Kunai from his Ninja tool pouch, preparing to conserve Chakra and use Ninjutsu at critical moments.

He actually had the birthday Kunai Muzuki gave him with him, but Obito was worried it would be damaged in battle, so he didn’t take it out.

Even without using Ninjutsu, the trio’s Taijutsu skill was not bad, and with their coordinated teamwork, even against an equal number of Iwagakure Chunin, Kakashi and his companions steadily defeated the enemy.

However, compared to their side, Muzuki’s efficiency was clearly faster; he easily eliminated an Iwagakure Jōnin with a Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, then, wielding a standard-issue Kunai, he swiftly killed several Iwagakure Ninja as if slicing vegetables.

“Teacher Muzuki is still amazing! But why didn’t Teacher Muzuki use that super wide-range Fire Release from before? Was he worried about harming his comrades?” Obito marveled at Muzuki’s swift enemy elimination while also feeling a slight doubt internally.

“Teacher Muzuki definitely has his own considerations; it’s better to worry more about ourselves, we seem to be targeted,” Kakashi quickly reminded.

Kakashi paid more attention to their surroundings; he suddenly noticed that several Iwagakure Ninja were intentionally or unintentionally approaching their position.

Not long after Kakashi finished speaking, five Iwagakure Ninja suddenly burst forward and charged towards them.

One Iwagakure Ninja was intercepted by a Konoha Ninja on the way, but four Iwagakure Ninja continued to charge towards them.

“Having such strength at such a young age, they must be Konoha’s geniuses; eliminate them first!” yelled the leading Iwagakure Ninja.

Muzuki, who was constantly observing his disciples, saw this scene, appraised the strength of the four Iwagakure Ninja, found there was only one Jonin with 5000 Chakra and no mastered skills, and three Chunin with 3000 Chakra, then continued his own actions.

The leading Iwagakure Jōnin, after approaching Might Guy, swiftly extended his fist, condensed a large amount of Chakra into his right hand, and then performed Nature Transformation.

“Earth Release: Rock Fist!”

The Iwagakure Jōnin’s right fist was covered in yellowish rock, greatly increasing its hardness and power.

But Might Guy was already prepared; Chakra condensed on his feet, and he burst out with extreme speed, flashing several meters away.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Seizing this opportunity, Obito and Kakashi swiftly threw Shuriken.

Clang, clang!

The Iwagakure Jōnin’s Rock Fist was very hard, and he swung his rocky fist widely, batting away all the incoming Shuriken.

Just then, the other three Chunin also reached an effective attacking distance and all spat out sharp stones that flew at extreme speed towards the trio.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!”

Bang, bang, bang!

Kakashi swiftly formed hand signs, controlling the ground to rise up a thick wall with dog heads, blocking all the incoming flying stones.

Although he was the one who first proposed conserving Chakra, in this situation, it was clearly not the time to conserve Chakra.

“What kind of skill is it to bully a few children?” A Konoha Ninja, seeing his village’s young Ninja being besieged, wanted to help Kakashi and the other two against the Iwagakure Ninja.

But he clearly overestimated his own strength, engaging in close-quarters combat with the Iwagakure Jōnin, and as a result, he was punched by the Iwagakure Jōnin, spitting blood and flying backward, while the Iwagakure Chunin continued to spit flying stones to finish him off.

“Eight Gates Second Gate, Gate of Healing, Open!”

Seeing the Konoha Ninja who wanted to help them get injured, Might Guy directly activated the second gate of Eight Gates, and concentrated his breathing, bursting out with extreme speed to catch the injured Konoha Ninja.

“Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!”

Obito swiftly formed hand signs, concentrating Chakra in his throat to spit out a large number of small fireballs that precisely bypassed Might Guy’s body, destroying the incoming flying stones.

Might Guy landed behind the Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, setting down the injured Konoha Chunin.

“I’m sorry, I was a bit reckless; I didn’t expect the enemy to be so strong,” the injured Konoha Chunin said to the trio with an apologetic look.

He had truly been a hindrance, not only failing to reduce their pressure but also forcing them to use Ninjutsu for rescue.

“Senior, you’ve done your best; leave the rest to us!” Might Guy gave the Konoha Chunin a thumbs-up, showing a brilliant smile.

“Don’t say it’s a rock fist; even if it’s an iron fist, I’ll melt it down,” Obito said with full confidence in his Fire Release.

Kakashi gave Might Guy and Obito a look, and both nodded.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Obito suddenly jumped out and spat a three-meter-tall scorching fireball.

“Rock Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!”

Immediately after, Might Guy concentrated his breathing to the extreme, pushing his physique to its maximum reinforcement, and then, using the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique as cover, he charged out fiercely.

Kakashi sent out a Shadow Clone, which also charged out of the Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, while his main body slowly approached the Iwagakure Jōnin underground using Earth Release.

While Obito and the others were rescuing people, three Iwagakure Chunin came to the Iwagakure Jōnin’s side.

They combined their Earth Release Ninjutsu to block Obito’s Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, but because of this, they failed to react to Might Guy’s surprise attack.

“Extreme Leaf Hurricane!”

Might Guy appeared beside the four Iwagakure Ninja, pouring all his strength into his legs and delivering an ultimate kick.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Three Iwagakure Ninja were directly kicked, spitting blood and flying backward, with only the Iwagakure Jōnin blocking the attack, though a slight crack appeared in his Rock Fist.

“How is that possible? Such speed!”

“Such powerful strength! Could he actually be a short, middle-aged Ninja?”

The heavily injured Iwagakure Chunin were full of doubt; Might Guy’s age clearly couldn’t exceed ten years old, yet his physique was abnormally strong.

They felt that even if he had been training since before birth, it would be impossible to train his body to this extent.

“Pure Taijutsu actually possesses such power; he must be killed!” The Iwagakure Jōnin was also extremely surprised.

Because he realized that if he only used Taijutsu, he might be thoroughly beaten by this child, who was less than ten years old, and he was a Jonin!

The Iwagakure Jōnin had a premonition that if Might Guy didn’t die in this war, he would certainly become a Taijutsu expert renowned throughout the Ninja World.

To eliminate this future powerhouse, the Iwagakure Jōnin unleashed his strongest power and launched an incredibly heavy assault towards Might Guy.

But Obito and Kakashi were not dead men; they wouldn’t just watch the Iwagakure Jōnin attack Might Guy.

“Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!”

Obito also concentrated his Breathing Technique to its absolute limit, thereby gaining the strongest power.

He swiftly threw two Shuriken carrying flames; if the Iwagakure Jōnin wanted to attack Might Guy, he would have to endure two high-temperature Shuriken.

There were still some Shuriken in his Ninja tool pouch, but Obito worried that throwing too many would affect Might Guy.

However, what Obito didn’t expect was that the Iwagakure Jōnin truly chose to endure his Shuriken to attack Might Guy with his Rock Fist, as Might Guy had just finished a powerful attack and couldn’t immediately move away.

“As long as I kill this person, even getting injured is worth it,” the Iwagakure Jōnin thought.

With no chance to dodge, Might Guy unleashed his Chakra, concentrating all his strength into his fist, and met the Iwagakure Jōnin’s enormous Rock Fist.

Boom!!

An air blast sounded, and the powerful force caused the ground where they stood to violently shake, raising yellowish-gray dust.

Might Guy’s right fist became bloody, and the Iwagakure Jōnin’s massive rock fist was covered in cracks.

At the same time, Obito’s flaming Shuriken also struck the Iwagakure Jōnin’s body.

Although the Iwagakure Jōnin also mastered Hardening Jutsu, his Hardening Jutsu was clearly not as proficient as Kiba’s; the high-temperature flaming Shuriken successfully pierced the Iwagakure Jōnin’s abdomen, and the bursting blood splattered onto Might Guy.

The pain of a high-temperature sharp weapon piercing his body, the pain of flames burning his body—even the Iwagakure Jōnin, who naturally possessed a rock-like will, couldn’t help but show a distorted expression on his face, but he knew that now was the most crucial moment; he endured the pain and concentrated his mind to control his Chakra, repairing the Rock Fist on his arm, wanting to swing another Rock Fist at Might Guy.

But how could Kakashi let him have his way? He held a Kunai and lunged towards the Iwagakure Jōnin’s head.

The Iwagakure Jōnin had no choice but to divide his attention to deal with the incoming Kakashi.

And Might Guy did not take the opportunity to leave; instead, he concentrated his strength again, attacking with his uninjured arm.

The Iwagakure Jōnin barely blocked both their attacks, but suddenly felt a huge pulling force from underground, and his entire body was pulled into the ground.

“Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!”

Obito threw a flaming Kunai at the Iwagakure Jōnin’s exposed head.

Boom!

An explosion sounded, and the Iwagakure Jōnin’s head disappeared from the ground.

“What excellent teamwork!” The injured Konoha Ninja, who had intended to help, happened to witness the three of them cleanly dispatching their opponent and couldn’t help but exclaim in praise.

The three of them had clear divisions of labor throughout: Might Guy was responsible for close-quarters combat and clearing out the weaker Iwagakure Chunin, while Obito was responsible for Fire Release cover and finishing blows, and Kakashi waited in the shadows for an opportunity for a decisive strike.

He couldn’t help but lament the vast difference between people; as an adult Ninja, he tried to help but was almost instantly killed, while the three children he thought were in danger actually saved him and eliminated the enemy.

Having eliminated a formidable enemy, Kakashi let out a slight sigh of relief, then he noticed a somewhat familiar figure in danger—it seemed to be his former teammate.

“Thunder Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing, Flash!”

Kakashi immediately unleashed the full power of his Breathing Technique, delivering a lightning-fast strike.

Ryuken only felt a yellow Flash pass by, and then the enemy in front of him was split in two.

He was about to thank this powerful Ninja, but suddenly felt that the back of the person in front of him was very familiar. When Kakashi turned around, his former teammate couldn’t help but show an extremely shocked expression.

“Kakashi, why is it you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be me?” Kakashi vigilantly looked around and said lightly.

“You’re not…” Ryuken ultimately didn’t bring up past events but instead thanked Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded slightly, then immediately ran to Might Guy to ask about his condition.

“Haha, just a minor injury, it won’t affect my fighting!” Might Guy quickly bandaged his injured hand and then said with a loud laugh.

“He’s really changed, completely different from before.” Looking at how Kakashi interacted with Might Guy and Obito, Ryuken couldn’t help but sigh.

In fact, he had noticed a little during the two times he encountered Kakashi on the road before, but he hadn’t expected Kakashi to change so much.

“Be careful from now on; focus on rescuing comrades,” Kakashi suggested.

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, there was a sudden tremor, and an incredibly dazzling explosion of light erupted in the distance.

“Is that Ninjutsu? But what Ninjutsu could have such destructive power?” Kakashi looked into the distance with a puzzled expression.

Taking advantage of the huge commotion, many Iwagakure Ninja suddenly rushed out, wanting to rescue the dying Kiba.

The Konoha Ninja, on the other hand, unceremoniously used various Ninjutsu to attack the Iwagakure Ninja, taking the opportunity to kill many Iwagakure Ninja, and the already heavily injured Kiba’s fate became unknown.

Muzuki also followed the general trend, throwing out a normal-powered Fire Release, then began to recover his Chakra.

His basic objective for coming to the battlefield had been achieved; when he returned to Konoha, his identity would change from a Special Jonin who was great at teaching to a powerful Jonin who was both great at teaching and strong in combat.

Next, Muzuki wanted to go and observe the top-tier battlefield, to see Jiraiya’s actual performance in combat against the Jinchuriki.

He wanted to know how many tens of thousands of Chakra a Jinchuriki could increase to during combat, and he wanted to see what level the current Jiraiya’s full-power combat was at.

After recovering for a while, Muzuki took out a Kunai and swiftly killed every Iwagakure Ninja he saw.

An Iwagakure Jonin, leading eight Chunin, tried to deal with Muzuki through sheer numbers but were all burned to death by Muzuki’s Fire Release.

Iwagakure had already lost Kiba, a powerful combatant, and had also lost some Ninja in an attempt to rescue the heavily injured Kiba. With no one able to stop Muzuki, the previously balanced situation was broken, turning into a disadvantage.

“Retreat!”

The Iwagakure commander reluctantly issued the retreat order and fired the retreat signal flare.

Although the top-tier combat had not yet been decided, if they didn’t retreat soon, they wouldn’t even have a chance to leave.

The Iwagakure Ninja began to fight while retreating.

Muzuki nodded inwardly; a retreat was good. Only with a retreat could he legitimately go to another battlefield.

The Konoha Ninja pursued for a while then stopped, worried about being ambushed if they pursued too deeply.

“You all return to the camp and rest well; I’m going to support Lord Jiraiya and the others,” Muzuki said to his three disciples.

He left a Shadow Clone to protect his disciples, then followed several other Konoha Jonin to support Jiraiya.

5k, so it’s a bit late. Readers with ideas can help think of a nickname for the protagonist.