Chapter 30: The Yellow Flash Returns
"Huh? What's... going on?"
Uchiha Kei stood frozen, dumbfounded by the scene before him. If not for the lingering sting of wind from that punch still brushing past his cheek—and the small tear on Imai Kenta's chest—he might've thought he'd fallen under a genjutsu.
He couldn't make sense of what had just happened… until a realization struck him.
It had to be Minato Namikaze.
Who else but Minato could move fast enough to become a blur, fast enough to relocate someone in an instant using space-time jutsu?
Sure enough, a thunderous boom echoed through the woods just a few dozen meters away, kicking up a towering cloud of dust. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that was—it had to be that punch from Kurotsuchi's father, Onoki's son. The one that was supposed to end Kei's life just moments ago.
A shiver ran down Kei's spine. Had that blow landed on him directly, there wouldn't have been a trace of him left. He'd have been nothing but a pile of mangled flesh.
Still trembling slightly, Kei finally let out a breath of relief. That sense of being moments away from death had shattered him. Even his Sharingan had deactivated—it took too much mental energy to maintain in his current state.
"If I'd known he was coming this late, I would've summoned him right away... what a miscalculation," Kei muttered, collapsing to the ground.
"Sorry, I'm late."
A calm voice came from behind him, and the moment Kei heard it, every remaining trace of tension in his body melted away. It was Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash—his voice as composed as ever, though there was a grave undertone.
"I ran into some trouble on the way. I didn't expect Kitsuchi to be here. I didn't think things would get this out of hand."
"At least you came," Kei said, forcing himself upright and fishing out a chakra pill. "Kakashi's in bad shape. So is Hyuga Ayaka."
He had always hated taking these things, but now wasn't the time to be picky. Even a sliver of chakra would be enough to get him moving again—not fighting, just moving.
With Minato here, Kei had no intention of doing anything heroic. He'd gladly take a supporting role on the sidelines while the real monster went to work.
While Kei struggled to chew the dry pill, Minato quickly checked Kakashi's condition. When he returned, his expression was grim.
"Can you move?" he asked, voice sharp. "We need to fall back. Now. We'll regroup at the rear and find a safe place to rest."
"I think I can manage," Kei answered, staggering to his feet. Now it was all about willpower.
"Good. I'll take Kakashi. You carry your teammate."
Minato's voice left no room for argument. "Imai, you're a Chūnin, right? You protect Rin. You're probably the only one left with enough strength to guard her. We have to move. Reinforcements are coming."
Kei felt a spike of frustration. He was supposed to carry Hyuga Ayaka? In his condition? Was Minato serious?
But the logic made sense. Kakashi was barely hanging on—his injuries were critical. Minato had to be the one to carry him. Rin was a medical ninja and needed protection. And Imai... well, he was still on his feet.
Kei sighed. He glanced over to Imai, who was now smiling gently and obediently hoisting an unconscious but relatively uninjured Rin onto his back.
"Fine," Kei thought, and bent down to lift Ayaka onto his own shoulders. He didn't say a word about Imai's earlier boast of "lasting a minute"—what was the point? The guy had, in the end, saved his life.
Whatever his reasons, Kei had to admit: the man had stepped up when it counted.
Debts were debts. Kei wasn't the type to ignore them, no matter how begrudgingly.
As he shifted Ayaka onto his back, he glanced down at her pale, battered face. She was still conscious. Tough woman.
Without saying much, he popped another chakra pill into her mouth. Whether it worked or not was out of his hands.
"Don't expect me to thank you," Ayaka muttered coldly, her voice icy as ever. "You just wanted to save your own skin."
"Yep," Kei replied casually, a mocking grin on his face. "But I also killed three Iwa-nin by myself—none of them small fry. And while you're lying there like dead weight, I even went toe-to-toe with the Tsuchikage's son."
"Oh?" Ayaka's eyes flickered with something other than ice for once—perhaps curiosity, maybe bitterness. "Impressive. Looks like you'll be climbing the ranks fast once you get back, huh?"
"Maybe," Kei shrugged. "That's why I'm the team leader. And judging by how you're doing, looks like you'll be my subordinate for life, Ayaka-chan."
Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off. Maybe it was just nerves catching up to him. But something about this whole conversation—mocking or not—felt almost... therapeutic.
Ayaka glared at him in silence, face still ghost-white. But there was a flicker of emotion there. Annoyance, probably. Kei, on the other hand, felt oddly satisfied. He had vented a bit of his fear through sarcasm, and it helped.
What he didn't notice was the strange little smirk forming on Ayaka's lips.
The battle was over.
But Kei knew he couldn't relax just yet—not with Iwa-nin still likely chasing them down. Fortunately, the chakra pill was kicking in. His strength was returning, little by little. It still wasn't enough to fight, but at least he could run faster with Ayaka on his back.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest…
Kitsuchi slowly pushed himself up from the ground. He stared at the kunai embedded in his left shoulder, blood trickling down his arm.
If I hadn't dodged at the last second... it would've pierced my heart.
"Yellow Flash... Minato Namikaze," he muttered through clenched teeth.
He didn't dare remove the kunai. The bleeding would only get worse. But even as pain clouded his vision, he burned the name Minato Namikaze into his memory—along with the face of the unknown Uchiha brat who fought like a devil.