Chapter 200: Encounter

"Hold on." Iraka waved for his two teammates to stop.

"What's wrong?" Beroka asked, puzzled.

"Look over there." Iraka pointed in a direction.

Beroka looked and saw a ninja wearing a Konoha headband and uniform, around eight or nine years old, asking the residents something along with two other kids his age.

"There are Konoha ninjas here too, but why is only one wearing a headband and uniform?" Beroka was a bit confused.

Either all of them don't wear them to hide their identity, or they all agree to wear them—what's the deal with two not wearing and one wearing?

Sensing the gaze, Kakashi also looked toward Beroka and the others. Seeing their skin color, Kakashi instantly became alert—it didn't look like a tan.

"Be careful, we might have run into the ninjas who injured the giant eagle. They're not wearing headbands." Kakashi quietly warned Might Guy and Obito.

"They're so dark. Could these guys be the Cloud ninjas we met last time?" Although Kakashi didn't point out a direction, the three Cloud ninjas with different skin tones were quickly spotted by Obito.

"If nothing unexpected happens, yes." Kakashi replied.

He didn't state it too definitively; last time the Cloud ninjas had initially disguised themselves as Rock ninjas, so this time it could also be Rock ninjas disguised as Cloud ninjas.

Seeing that Kakashi and the others had noticed them, Iraka directly drew the sharp sword strapped to his back. Since the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire were currently at war, spotting enemy village ninjas who looked relatively weak naturally called for a fight.

"Let's lure them to the mountain over there. If we fight here, it'll affect the residents." Obito looked around and said.

All the buildings here were wooden; if his Fire Style caught any of them, it would definitely burn down.

"Obito makes a good point." Might Guy gave a thumbs-up in agreement.

"Yeah, fighting on the mountain will make the noise from various jutsu more noticeable, making it easier for Teacher Muyue to figure out what's going on." Kakashi thought for a moment and nodded in approval of Obito's strategy.

If the enemy turned out too strong, a Fire Style burning the mountain would surely alert Muyue that something was wrong.

Without hesitation, the three of them pushed off their legs, leaped onto the houses, and then moved across the rooftops toward the mountain.

"After them!" Iraka immediately ordered, then jumped onto the nearby houses and pursued Obito and the others.

During the chase, they exchanged a round of thrown ninja tools across the rooftops, but the three Cloud ninjas were all mediocre, inferior to Kakashi and Obito, so they had to dodge incoming shurikens while chasing.

By the time they reached the mountainside, Obito, Kakashi, and Might Guy stopped together.

"Run, why aren't you running now?" Beroka clenched his fist, then touched the fresh scratch on his face from a shuriken, his expression turning fierce.

He was furious now—he had been injured by a bunch of kids who hadn't even grown all their hair.

"I'll take the one with the sword. Guy, handle the burlier Cloud ninja. Obito, you stop the remaining one." Kakashi calmly assigned targets.

Iraka, who held the sword, looked like the leader and was probably the strongest. Normally, the strongest among them, Might Guy, should take him on, but since the enemy seemed skilled with a blade, Kakashi worried Might Guy would be at a disadvantage, so he decided to handle it himself since he was good with a blade.

"Why does it feel like I'm being sent to deal with the weakest?" Obito couldn't help but complain. For him, it was just "stop the remaining one."

Of course, he only said it verbally; in reality, his eyes were already fixed on Hairo.

For now, the enemy's strength was unknown—fighting any one of them was the same.

"At their age, they probably graduated no more than two years ago. Let's finish this quickly. There might be a stronger Konoha ninja nearby." Iraka said, gripping his sword tightly.

Usually, a squad that looked this young would have an experienced ninja leading them, possibly operating separately.

"How long could it take to deal with a bunch of brats? I'll wrap them up in three minutes, then we'll go surround and kill the leader." Beroka blustered.

Iraka nodded and charged forward first, his sword in hand.

The moment Iraka moved, his two teammates charged as well.

Kakashi quickly drew his White Light Shortsword and clashed with Iraka.

Obito rapidly threw several shurikens, restricting Hairo's movements.

Meanwhile, Might Guy entered the Stone Breathing state and charged at Beroka.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

The speed Might Guy displayed caught Beroka off guard. Caught careless, Beroka was kicked hard by Might Guy and slammed violently into a tree.

"Beroka, what are you doing? Don't let your guard down!" Iraka noticed his teammate had been kicked into a tree in an instant, frowning and barking in anger.

But Iraka soon had no time to worry about his teammate, because he realized the kid in front of him, less than ten years old, had extremely sharp swordsmanship and was not nearly as easy to handle as he had imagined—he needed to go all out.

"Damnit, so fast?" Beroka cursed, his face red.

This wasn't because he was shy, but because he was red with embarrassment—having thrown harsh words before the fight, he got kicked flying before even touching his opponent; it was too humiliating.

"This is fast? My youth has only just begun to burn!" Might Guy laughed loudly, then swiftly attacked Beroka.

Not to mention the Eight Gates, he hadn't even used Full Concentration Breathing yet.

After suffering a loss, Beroka knew the Konoha ninja before him was no ordinary opponent; he couldn't be judged by his age.

Bam bam bam!!

The two engaged in continuous close-quarters combat, blow for blow.

Although Beroka appeared taller and more muscular, Might Guy had long trained extensively in physical conditioning and also practiced the Stone Breathing, which provides the greatest physical boost. For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.

"Was this person training since the womb? How can his physique be this strong?" Beroka was extremely shocked inwardly.

After all, he himself regularly trained Lightning Release body techniques, making him naturally stronger than ordinary taijutsu specialists. Yet he couldn't suppress a child under ten years old.

Beroka couldn't stay calm anymore. He directly burst out chakra, applying Lightning nature transformation, and threw a fist crackling with lightning at Might Guy.

Seeing that Beroka still had a hidden move, Might Guy not only didn't panic but became even more excited.

A stronger opponent is more worth defeating; it makes his youth burn even hotter.

Swoosh!

Might Guy used Shunpo to dodge Beroka's Lightning Release Body Technique.

Boom!!

Beroka's lightning-wreathed fist slammed heavily into a tree, directly splitting the large tree apart.

"Stone Breathing, Full Concentration Breathing! Eight Gates, Opening Gate, Open!"

After figuring out his opponent's strength, Might Guy directly entered full-power state, his physical abilities greatly enhanced, ready to finish the enemy in one go.