"Damn! Why is there so much fog after passing through the bamboo forest?!"
The black-haired teenager wearing orange goggles quickened his pace. He was traveling through the wet jungle, anxiously rushing to rescue his companion who had been captured by the Rock Shinobi!
Just ten minutes ago, he had quarreled with a certain silver-haired boy who always covered his face because he prioritized the mission over saving his companions.
He knew it would be difficult to fight two Rock Shinobi Jōnin alone with the strength of a mere Chūnin, but...
"Rin! Wait! I will definitely save you!!"
"Bang! Ding! Bang!!"
The sound of kunai and shuriken colliding in the distance?!
Uchiha Obito made an emergency stop!
Inertia made him rub a long trace on the ground under his feet!
Jumping onto the tallest tree and hiding himself with the help of lush foliage, he saw several ninjas fighting together in the thick fog in the distance.
With the dense fog, if it weren't for the war between Konoha and the Rock Shinobi, he would even think that the fog was caused by the Mist Shinobi!
...
"Larynx! Spine! Lungs! Liver! Carotid! Subclavian! Kidney! Heart! Where am I going to attack you?"
A murderous look!
What a strong murderous aura!
Even from afar, it wasn't directed at Obito, but he still felt a moment of suffocation!
His heart began to race uncontrollably!
Is it the Rock Shinobi ninja who kidnapped Rin?! Hateful! I can't see clearly!
If only!
If he could just open his Sharingan!
"Hateful..."
Just as Obito was about to speak, his mouth was suddenly covered by a hand!
'There is someone behind you!'
'When?!'
Before he could think, Obito pulled out his kunai and stabbed backward!
But his hand was immediately caught by the person behind him!
Just when he wanted to attack with his other hand, his wrist was caught as well?!
"Idiot! Don't make a sound!" said a boy's voice, deliberately lowered.
That familiar arrogant tone, tinged with impatience.
This voice is...
Obito's nervous heart suddenly cleared!
Stupid Kakashi!
And the person covering his mouth is...
Minato-sensei!
'Shh!'
Namikaze Minato let go of his student, who was never out of tune, and made a silent gesture.
Obito nodded.
His mind raced with questions.
Did Minato-sensei return from supporting another battlefield so soon after they were separated for less than two hours?
And stupid Kakashi, that guy clearly said to prioritize the mission! But here he was, still worried about Rin!
"Don't worry, Naruto."
On the battlefield not too far from Obito, Kakashi and Minato, there was the voice of an adult man.
"I would never let my companions be killed."
"!!"
Although he couldn't see the face of the voice's owner because of the thick fog, Obito felt a connection!
He shot a glare at stupid Kakashi beside him.
That look seemed to say, look at people's consciousness! Hmph!
Kakashi rolled his eyes, not bothering to pay attention to him.
As one of the pillars of the Third Ninja War, Konoha's elite ninja, Namikaze Minato, was analyzing all the information he could gather so far.
First of all, it must be the ninjas of the two factions fighting in the thick fog.
'I would never let my companions be killed.'
That sentence was obviously not the style of the blood fog, nor did it sound like something the Rock Shinobi or Sand Shinobi would say. It seemed more in line with the philosophies of Konoha and the Cloud Shinobi, who valued the bonds of friendship and brotherhood.
And that sentence—
'Don't worry, Naruto.'
Cloud Shinobi usually have names that end in "-i," and the name Naruto is obviously a Konoha style.
For example, the Third Hokage's father is Sarutobi Sasuke.
But aside from Sarutobi Sasuke, Minato couldn't really recall anyone else in the village named 'Naruto.'
Listening to the young man's tone, it seemed he was a Jōnin leading his own team, just like Minato. Could it be that he also encountered a difficult enemy during his mission?
Secondly, although the environment here was humid, the time was past noon, and such a dense atmosphere was not a natural phenomenon.
This was probably—
Ninjutsu commonly used by Mist Shinobi!
"Ninja · Mist Shinobi Technique!"
In other words, the Mist Shinobi and Konoha Shinobi were fighting in the thick fog.
Why were Mist Shinobi appearing in such a place...
By chance?
Or had Kirigakure and Iwagakure allied to attack Konoha? If so, the situation would be worse than expected, and this news must be sent back to the Third Hokage as soon as possible!
Last but not least, Namikaze Minato was most concerned about...
Kannabi Bridge, a bridge in the Land of Grass, lies between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire and is one of the main battlefields of the Third Ninja War. Their mission this time was to block Iwagakure's supply transport through the bridge.
But the environment they were currently in clearly did not belong to the characteristics of the Land of Grass.
The air had a unique fishy and salty smell characteristic of coastal areas, and the landforms indicated that they were not in the territories of the Land of Fire or the Land of Earth.
He should have received an emergency support mission and was rushing to another battlefield to assist the Konoha defense force, which was severely suppressed by the Rock Shinobi army! Why had they suddenly appeared here?!
Was it time-space ninjutsu?!
Namikaze Minato sensed an energy similar to time-space ninjutsu around him. It seemed that he, Obito, and Kakashi had indeed been gathered here by an inexplicable time-space force...
The mission at Kannabi Bridge was extremely important; it was almost related to whether Konoha could win this war.
But now they could only take it step by step.
Minato was worried.
The battlefield over there had quickly turned one-sided.
Stuck as the Jōnin captain!
"Water Style · Water Prison!"
Water Style?!
Sure enough, it was a Mist Shinobi ninja!
The fog here was thick, and it was difficult to see the situation in the distance. However, one could gather much information just by listening to the sounds.
"Sasuke! Naruto! Sakura!! Escape with the client!!"
From the thick fog came the voice of the Jōnin leading the team.
Kakashi pouted and analyzed the battle situation in a low voice, "That idiot Jōnin gave the wrong order.
If he is trapped by the Water Prison technique, the opponent's strength must be formidable.
If he turns around and runs away in this situation, the chances of the Genin or Chūnin surviving are even lower."
When he said 'Chūnin,' he glanced at Uchiha Obito beside him.
Those arrogant little eyes clearly showed the unrelenting efforts of a certain Chūnin.
If they weren't hiding themselves right now, Obito would have punched him for anything! He was still angry about what happened just now, but Mr. Minato had arrived, and Rin would be saved!
At that moment, it seemed that a ninja on Konoha's side took the initiative to attack!
"Too naive!"
Listening to the voice, the enemy was an adult male with a low tone.
Bang!
"Ah—!!" The young man screamed?!
Judging by the sound—
Not only did the enemy avoid the shuriken thrown by the Konoha Shinobi, but he also seized the opportunity and caught him!
Then the Konoha juvenile ninja, who didn't know whether he was a Chūnin or Genin, was shoved to the ground with a bang, making a subconscious scream!
"Sasuke-kun!!"
Was that a girl's voice?!
The high-pitched tone belonged to a minor, revealing the fear and tremor of a girl.
At this moment, a new young man roared and charged directly at the enemy?!
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
"Idiot!" Uchiha Obito cursed, considering that the disadvantaged Konoha comrades might be in bad shape, he was ready to join the battle and come to the rescue at any moment.
"Wait."
A hand stopped Obito, who had stretched forward.
It was Kakashi!
Obito glared fiercely!
At a time like this, what else would he say about the priority of the task? He would definitely beat him to death in front of Mr. Minato!
But at that moment!
Hostile Ninja: "Humph! Stupid!"
'Boom!'
A louder blow than before!
It was followed by another bang, the sound of a body hitting the ground!
"cough—"
The boy who had rushed up while screaming was hit and smashed into the ground, coughing out blood.
Minato took out a specially made kunai and prepared to help.
The girl said reproachfully, "You rush up alone, what are you trying to do?! Even Sasuke-kun isn't his opponent. No matter how powerful you are, it won't help. As Genin, we have no chance of winning!"
Obito was taken aback by this statement.
Every time he hung back trying to steal the limelight but ended up causing trouble for others, he would hear the same remarks from his classmates at the ninja academy: Even Kakashi can't do it, what can you do? Isn't that embarrassing?!
Fortunately, Rin never said that; she always kept encouraging him.
"Wait, Sakura."
The voice belonged to the boy named Sasuke on the team.
"He's picking up the forehead protector."
Just now, the Konoha forehead protector, which had been beaten and stepped on by the enemy, was retrieved by Naruto at some point!
Namikaze Minato could vaguely see a thin figure standing strong in the thick fog!
"Hey! The one without eyebrows!"
Naruto clenched the forehead protector in his hand, recalling the day when he was recognized by Iruka-sensei and received this important forehead protector...
Minato, Obito, and Kakashi watched the apparently one-sided battle in the thick fog from a distance!
In the thick fog, the boy's voice was firm and powerful!
"Rewrite my name in your killer handbook!!"
"Remember that sooner or later, I will become the Hokage of Konoha Shinobi Village!"
The boy took a deep breath.
He squeezed the forehead protector on his forehead.
Anywhere, anytime! He would never forget that he is a Konoha Shinobi!
"I'm—"
"Konoha-ryu ninja!!"
"Uzumaki Naruto!!!!"
...
————
Please leave comments; your feedback is appreciated!
Writing is challenging, and it's normal to encounter difficulties, so please engage with me more! The old man feels very lonely writing!
This may be a short story, and a side story of "Broken Chūnin Exam" will be published later~