"Huh? Shifting the target?"
Uchiha Kai quickly noticed that the enemy commander—Loess—no longer seemed focused on him. That brought a sense of relief, but it also gave him time to strategize his escape.
By now, their ambush had more or less revealed their objective. If Iwagakure lacked confidence, they could have pulled back toward Kannabi Bridge to regroup.
But from the behavior of the enemy and the feedback from his shadow clones, Kai concluded otherwise: these Iwa-nin clearly intended to eliminate them here.
If that was the case, then wasn't it likely Iwagakure was suffering a manpower shortage?
After all, Kumogakure wasn't any less aggressive than Konoha. Especially with the Third Raikage having fallen, his son—now the Fourth Raikage—would never let such a loss go unanswered. There would be retaliation, and likely with overwhelming force.
With Konoha forces withdrawing from the north, Iwagakure would no longer have to worry about defending on two fronts. That meant they could "negotiate" with Kumogakure directly—but in a way only shinobi understood.
This explained why Iwa might be reallocating most of its forces to the coasts and the Taki border, to brace for a direct assault from the Lightning Country. If that were true, then their interior defenses were likely spread thin. It would make sense for them to be desperate to prevent Konoha shinobi from penetrating deeper and causing havoc.
If Kai and the others reached that region, Iwa would have a hard time tracking them.
"I don't know if Kakashi's team ran into something like this in the original timeline, but I know I have. This time, I won't just follow the script—I'll fight on my terms."
Kai glanced toward a battered Kakashi, who was struggling but still alive. Turning his gaze, Kai focused on the two Iwa-nin supporting Loess.
Despite his injuries and chakra depletion, Kakashi still had his Sharingan. As long as he wasn't overwhelmed, he'd survive a while longer.
Kai made up his mind. Deal with the support first. Then, everyone dogpiles Loess.
If their plan worked, they could isolate the commander. And once he was alone, he might not be so tough. He could even be killed.
"Loess is already wary of me. A direct sneak attack won't work..."
Kai launched a sudden Fire Style jutsu—"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"—forcing Loess to defend. As the flames roared forward, Kai immediately created a shadow clone, ordering it to press the attack while he slipped into hiding.
He knew his cover wouldn't last long, and the battlefield was too exposed to hide forever, but he didn't need long.
His eyes snapped to one of the Iwa-nin—the one relentlessly pounding Hyuga Aya.
This wasn't about chivalry. Kai didn't do "damsel in distress." If anything, he'd have reserved his softer feelings for someone like Rin Nohara. Aya was far too complicated.
No—this was about opportunity. Aya's Byakugan gave her excellent defense, but she was forced to turtle up under the Iwa-nin's onslaught. That made her opponent hyper-focused, which made him a perfect target.
Unfortunately, the other Iwa-nin, the one fighting alongside Kenta Imai, seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Kai—keep the pressure and don't let any Konoha ninja regroup.
Kai grit his teeth. He glanced once more at Kakashi, then discreetly gave him a signal—hand signs too quick for anyone else to notice.
Whether Kakashi saw them or not didn't matter. Kai had already committed.
He surged forward just as the Loess clone impaled his shadow clone with an earth spear, freeing Kai to act.
The intense movement pushed his body to its limits, making his breath catch—but he didn't care.
His kunai crackled with chakra as he lunged at the Iwa-nin attacking Aya. The enemy never saw it coming.
Kai drove the kunai straight into the shinobi's back, under the left shoulder blade. He twisted hard.
The man let out a choking sound—he hadn't expected it. He had assumed Loess would keep Kai busy.
He was wrong.
The kunai cut deep, and Kai could feel the resistance give as flesh and bone were torn. The Iwa-nin collapsed, lifeless.
"Shadow clone?! Log—! You damn brat!!" Loess's furious roar echoed through the trees.
Kai's sneak attack had landed—and it was personal. "Log" wasn't just a subordinate. He had been Loess's comrade, maybe even a friend. Bonds forged in battle—familiar, even to a shinobi like Kai.
Now shattered.
Loess's eyes locked onto Kai with cold fury. Any thoughts of taking prisoners or gathering intel were gone.
He was coming to kill.