Chapter 425 Another unexpected event

Might Guy had previously carried out missions with Kakashi and Obito during his Intern Ninja period, and because they were both Muzuki’s disciples, Kakashi was not worried that Might Guy joining the team would affect the overall team coordination.

However, Shiranui Genma and Ebisu also joined. After careful consideration, Kakashi decided to maintain the current status and complete the B-Rank Mission to allow the team to gel. After a period of adjustment, they would then raise the mission rank.

Kakashi did not need Shiranui Genma and Ebisu to contribute too much, as the strength gap was evident. Kakashi was mainly worried that insufficient cohesion would lead to a negative impact on the team.

Neither Shiranui Genma nor Ebisu were the type to be incompetent yet eager to show off. They consciously played a supporting role for the others and did not recklessly charge in during combat to prove themselves. After a few days, their coordination was quite good.

“It’s so comfortable teaming up with you guys. The mission was completed before I knew it. I really wish we could keep teaming up,” Shiranui Genma said in a joking tone.

In fact, to a certain extent, this was Shiranui Genma’s true inner thought. Teaming up with Kakashi and the others was indeed easy, even simpler than doing D-Rank missions in Konoha.

Because there weren’t enough enemies for the main combatants of their team to even go around; the main combatants barely got a few chances to act, let alone the support roles, who basically just played a minor part and still received rewards.

“Hahaha, after all, we are an elite squad!” Obito’s face showed a proud smile.

Although their Ninja ranks were still only Chunin, the overall strength of their four-person squad had already surpassed that of a normal squad with a Jonin leader.

“I will tell Teacher Chen about your suggestion,” Ebisu said slowly.

Shiranui Genma’s expression stiffened, then he gave an embarrassed smile, “There’s no need to report such a small matter to the old man.”

Having been taught by Teacher Chen for so long, didn’t Shiranui Genma understand Teacher Chen’s temper? If he said that, he would definitely get a beating.

Teacher Chen usually didn’t put on airs and was very easygoing, but when it came to his disciples’ growth, Teacher Chen had his own set of requirements.

They could choose not to complete missions beyond their strength, but they could not be mere hangers-on enjoying the mission’s results.

In fact, Shiranui Genma also understood that it wasn’t that Teacher Chen rigidly believed in the badness of unearned gains, but rather that it was not conducive to their growth.

After all, how could a person of Teacher Chen’s age, who publicly reads such books, be associated with the word ‘rigid’?

After completing two B-Rank Missions, Kakashi felt that they had gelled enough and began to accept A-Rank Missions.

Something worth mentioning happened in between: they encountered Might Guy’s father, Might Duy, at the camp.

The sights and sounds at the camp, combined with the actual situation on the battlefield, gave Kakashi a premonition that a large-scale Ninja war would soon break out on the East Coast of the Land of Fire.

Konoha not only brought in a strong Konoha figure like Orochimaru but also gathered a considerable number of Jonin and Chunin. Even a low-key powerhouse like Muzuki was sent to the battlefield. This was clearly the rhythm of something big happening.

Kakashi wasn’t too worried. With their Ninja ranks, they couldn’t take on major combat missions, and self-preservation in a melee wouldn’t be an issue.

“Finally, we’re doing A-Rank Missions! I hope we encounter some stronger enemies this time,” Obito clenched his fists, an eager expression on his face.

Hearing Obito’s words, Kakashi’s forward steps halted. “This isn’t an ordinary mission. In a war mission, unexpected situations might lead us to encounter powerful enemies we cannot resist.”

Kakashi did not want Obito to maintain this mindset on the battlefield, as it could easily lead to problems.

“I’m not like you, Kakashi. I wouldn’t have such an unexpected situation, would I?” Obito felt that he couldn’t possibly be as unlucky as Kakashi.

Kakashi’s highest record was four consecutive missions with unexpected incidents, the most severe one directly leading him to blunder into a Ninja war of a thousand-person scale.

Kakashi looked at Obito speechlessly. Major unexpected incidents were indeed uncommon, but that wasn’t the point. He just wanted Obito to adjust his mindset.

“My point is that you should be more serious and cautious when dealing with war, not that this mission will definitely have an accident just because you said so,” Kakashi explained helplessly.

Obito scratched his head, as if he understood, and yet as if he didn’t.

Seeing this, Kakashi gave up on explaining. He once again felt the immense power of Muzuki’s teaching ability.

Muzuki could actually teach someone like Obito to pass theoretical exams; truly a god-like teaching ability.

If it were Kakashi, he probably would have collapsed first, even before Obito got impatient.

The mission proceeded smoothly. Kakashi and his team successfully found the enemies described in the mission. The enemy’s combat strength also didn’t have too many variables: one Mist Village Jonin, two Mist Village Chunin, and two Mist Village Genin.

However, not long after the battle began, the perceptive Kakashi suddenly sensed something and immediately pulled back.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two Kunai, carrying sharp lightning, pierced the air and plunged into the empty spot where Kakashi had just been standing.

“He actually dodged it,” Raiga Kurosuki said with some surprise.

For him, a dignified member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, to miss an ambush on a boy who looked about ten years old, even with various factors, would absolutely be laughed at if it got out.

As Raiga Kurosuki expected, his teammates immediately burst into unreserved laughter.

“Raiga Kurosuki, did you not eat enough before you came?” Jinin Akebino laughed loudly.

Raiga Kurosuki’s face darkened slightly, and he didn’t explain. That attack just now was indeed a bit embarrassing.

The sudden turn of events also caused Obito and the others to temporarily cease their attacks and look around vigilantly.

“Saved!” The surrounded Mist Village Jonin instantly breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the approaching Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino with a look of pleasant surprise.

As a Mist Village Jonin, he naturally couldn’t not recognize the Hidden Mist’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The moment he saw them, the Mist Village Jonin knew he was saved.

The Mist Village Jonin, disregarding his heavily injured subordinates, immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance with the approaching Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino.

“Two new enemies? None of you will escape,” Obito wasn’t flustered. Even if the two new enemies were Jonin, they could still handle them with ease.

But what Obito didn’t notice was that Kakashi’s expression gradually became serious, even tense.

“This is bad.” Kakashi’s heart sank when he clearly saw who the newcomers were.

How could Kakashi, who loved to gather intelligence, overlook enemy intelligence on his current battlefield? He instantly recognized that these two were Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

If it were just the two of them, Kakashi actually wouldn’t feel too much pressure.

Their seven-person squad had four Jonin-level combatants, plus a Medical Special Jonin and two Chunin. If they fought hard, it was hard to say who would win or lose.

But if Kakashi remembered correctly, on this battlefield, the Hidden Mist Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist preferred to act as a group. That is to say, when you see one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, you have actually encountered all of them; it’s just that the others haven’t appeared yet.

No matter how confident Kakashi was in their squad’s strength, he absolutely had no confidence in fighting the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist combined were equivalent to Ninja World-renowned powerhouses.

Even if Konoha’s Ino–Shika–Chō came, they would be slightly inferior.

“Obito, and everyone, don’t act rashly,” Kakashi took a deep breath and said.

“Make a big commotion to attract reinforcements? The uncertainty is too great, maybe the first to arrive will be enemies…” At this moment, Kakashi was frantically thinking about how to ensure more people survived.

Obito looked at Kakashi with a puzzled expression, searching his mind for intelligence on the Mist Ninja in front of him, but ultimately found no answer.

Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses, his fingers trembling slightly. “These seem to be the Hidden Mist’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They like to act in groups, so perhaps the remaining five are hidden in the shadows.”

Ebisu’s heart pounded wildly, and beads of sweat instantly broke out on his forehead the moment he recognized them.

This was simply too stimulating for him, to encounter such terrifyingly strong enemies in a war like this.

“Our luck is really bad today,” Shiranui Genma swallowed, as if he could already see his tragic demise.

Shiranui Genma believed in the strength of Kakashi and Might Guy, but the enemies they faced this time were different.

Kakashi and his team were genius Ninja, while the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were Ninja World powerhouses who had already matured!

Never had Shiranui Genma wished so much to see Teacher Chen. He truly hoped Teacher Chen would descend from the sky using the Leaf Dragon God and blast the enemies away.

But Shiranui Genma knew this was impossible, because Teacher Chen hadn’t even arrived on the battlefield yet, so he certainly couldn’t descend from the sky to save them.

“So it’s the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.” Obito finally recalled some information about the enemy when he heard Ebisu mention their title.

Obito hadn’t managed to memorize their appearances, but he still remembered some basic information: the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had seven members in total, and each had a Ninja sword with special abilities.

Thinking of what he had said before they set out, Obito’s expression became subtle. Had his jinx actually turned on himself?

“I really shouldn’t speak carelessly before setting out,” Obito regretted a little.

Might Guy’s expression also grew solemn. Since Obito knew about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Might Guy naturally knew as well.

“I hope this time it’s not a group mission,” Ebisu prayed silently in his heart.

If it was just two people, they still had a glimmer of hope.

But the appearance of Biwa Jūzō next completely shattered the hope in Ebisu’s heart.

Biwa Jūzō slowly emerged from the shadows, carrying a giant Ninja sword, and scanned Kakashi and the others with a bloodthirsty gaze.

“We really did run into some exceptionally easy targets. Let’s finish this battle quickly,” Biwa Jūzō said, lowering kubikiribōchō from his shoulder and leaning on it with one hand.

No sooner had Biwa Jūzō finished speaking than a large, orange-haired Ninja walked out.

“Biwa Jūzō, these are not exceptionally easy targets. Three of them are Konoha geniuses who need to be eliminated first,” Suikazan Fuguki said in a deep voice.

“Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Uchiha Obito—these three must be killed here on the spot!”

Unlike Biwa Jūzō, Suikazan Fuguki believed they were very lucky this time. Killing three Konoha geniuses was far more significant than killing a few ordinary Konoha Jonin.

If Kakashi and the other two were not killed here now, in another ten or several decades, when Hidden Mist and Konoha clashed again, Kakashi and his team might become new formidable enemies for Hidden Mist.

“Aren’t un-matured geniuses just weaklings?” Biwa Jūzō chuckled dismissively. Who hadn’t been a genius once?

Back when he was a Genin and Chunin, he was also a somewhat famous genius Ninja in Hidden Mist.

As the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist emerged one by one, Kakashi’s heart sank to rock bottom.

Leaving aside everything else, even seven ordinary Jonin would be difficult to deal with, and the Ninja World-renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were clearly not ordinary Jonin.

Adding the Mist Village Jonin whom they hadn’t killed yet, they now had to face seven titled Jonin plus one ordinary Mist Village Jonin.

Obito silently moved in front of Rin Nohara, shielding her behind him. They had encountered an unprecedented and severe crisis.

Even the two previous encounters with the Raikage candidate weren’t as dangerous as this.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist might not be able to defeat Kumogakure’s AB Combo, but when they encountered the AB Combo, either Muzuki or Minato Namikaze was by their side. This time, both Muzuki and Minato Namikaze were absent, so they could only rely on their own strength.

Everyone instinctively gravitated towards Kakashi, including Obito. Kakashi wasn’t the strongest in the team, but as the vice-captain, he was the absolute core of the team.

The reason Obito still didn’t vote for Kakashi in the second vote wasn’t because Obito didn’t acknowledge Kakashi as the vice-captain, but because he knew his vote was irrelevant. Even if he didn’t vote, others would definitely vote for Kakashi, and Kakashi would still end up as vice-captain.

Instead of voting to concede, it was better to vote for Rin Nohara, which could also express his respect and recognition for Rin Nohara.

“Kakashi, what do we do now?” Shiranui Genma couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

Kakashi sighed slightly. He was just a slightly more outstanding Chunin. In such a situation, he couldn’t come up with a perfect solution in such a short time.

Kakashi quickly scanned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Their positioning was very loose, as if they didn’t consider the people opposite them as normal enemies.

But Kakashi knew this was just an illusion. The seemingly loose positioning actually blocked most of their escape routes. If they wanted to retreat and escape, at least two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist could instantly cut off their path.

“What to do?” Kakashi asked himself internally.

As the fastest burst-speed presence in the team, Kakashi was the most likely to successfully escape, but Kakashi simply couldn’t bring himself to even think about fleeing.

He could leave, and Might Guy also had a chance to leave, but what about the others?

At this moment, Kakashi absolutely did not want to abandon his comrades.

Kakashi silently drew the White Fang Short Blade from his back. Since he didn’t want to run, all that was left was to fight.

Even if the enemies were the Ninja World-renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he would fight to create a sliver of hope for his teammates. This was his responsibility as vice-captain.