Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Once you encounter a member of the Akatsuki organization

Do not hesitate, abandon the mission and run away immediately. There will be no punishment for failing the mission as a result. All losses caused by this will be borne by the village. Kakashi is very grateful for the Hokage's order at this moment.

He could order Naruto and Sasuke to escape without hesitation.

However, even without this order, he would probably have made the same choice. When the Hokage entrusted Team 7 to him, he had already told him to be careful when carrying out the mission, as Naruto might provoke the Akatsuki's malice.

Therefore,

At that moment, Kakashi instinctively believed that the Akatsuki organization was after Naruto.

He never expected that Orochimaru and his group came because of Tazuna, the old man who could build bridges. However, judging from the final result, this deduction was not wrong at all. Orochimaru, that scheming guy, did indeed have his eye on Naruto. As for the mission... Orochimaru didn't care about it at all.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"What happened?"

Naruto and Sasuke both looked bewildered.

Completely unaware of what had happened, and not understanding why Kakashi-sensei suddenly said such a thing, their reactions revealed that no matter how talented they were, they had not yet adapted to the ninja way of life, having grown accustomed to life at the ninja academy.

During the mission,

They must obey orders unconditionally, and they cannot back down even if it means going through fire and water.

People like Naruto and Sasuke, who disobey orders and even dare to ask questions... would definitely get a slap in the face from their superiors on the battlefield.

"...Fine, we're here now. Retreat, retreat to the sea. Execute orders immediately. No questions allowed." Kakashi was seething with frustration. The chance of escape was already slim, and Naruto and Sasuke's slow reaction had completely extinguished that slim hope.

Orochimaru and another Akatsuki member are approaching the bridge.

At this moment,

Exposing your back to the enemy is undoubtedly a foolish choice.

Only,

Adapt to changing circumstances and respond accordingly.

The only saving grace is that Sakura isn't here right now. The girl is protecting Tazuna's daughter, who is delivering food to everyone, as she returns to the village. She's not on the bridge right now, otherwise... the situation would be much worse, though it might sound a bit hurtful to say that.

But that's just how it is.

The girl was trying very hard to catch up with the other girls.

But this gap cannot be bridged in a short time.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto and Sasuke sensed something was amiss from Kakashi's stern attitude. They dared not speak again and followed Kakashi as they leaped off the bridge and landed on the sea, walking on the waves. At that moment, they saw two figures approaching on the waves.

The boys keenly sensed the danger.

Especially Naruto,

Although he has never mastered the Uzumaki clan's supreme sensory ninjutsu, "Kagura's Mind's Eye," perhaps due to the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, he can vaguely sense malice directed at him. Currently, it is intermittent, and he can only detect it when he is fully focused and specifically paying attention to a certain target.

But anyway,

This capability is promising for the future.

Naruto immediately sensed the intense malice emanating from Orochimaru, as well as the terrifying killing intent that seemed to be rushing towards him like a tsunami. Fortunately, the boys were no novices; having experienced the baptism of battle when Hiruko attacked the village, they were not so frightened by Orochimaru that they dared not move.

However, they also realized the enemy's strength.

These weren't the small fry who tried to attack them the other day; these two were the real 'whales'.

Then--

Kakashi watched as the two figures ignored the bewildered craftsmen, including Tazuna, on the bridge and walked directly across the water from under the bridge, their target clearly Naruto. This caused Kakashi's mood to plummet.

"Naruto, I'll cover your retreat, you just run."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Don't speak." Kakashi interrupted Naruto, his tone extremely stern. "They're after you, Naruto. Don't hesitate, run away right now. Sasuke, go find Sakura, take her back to Konoha, and report what happened here to the Hokage."

To be honest, Kakashi wasn't very confident about Orochimaru alone.

Not to mention there's another powerful figure who might be no less formidable than Orochimaru, making his chances of winning almost nonexistent. But he can't back down; he must find a way to buy Naruto and Sasuke as much time as possible.

"Kakashi-sensei, escaping... is probably going to be very difficult."

Naruto looked down at the sea beneath his feet.

A massive, pitch-black shadow swept across the sea surface. Judging from its long body, it must be a giant serpent, a serpent that was at least a hundred meters long.

"Damn it!!"

Kakashi's face was ashen beneath his mask.

In this way... escape is completely impossible. If they rashly disperse, they will only be defeated one by one. However, if they unite, they might be able to hold out for a while longer. Although Naruto and Sasuke lack practical combat experience, their strength is genuinely not weak. With him by their side to guide them, they should not become a burden to him.

"Naruto, Sasuke, follow my instructions."

Kakashi gritted his teeth and said in a low voice.

"Are you plotting how to deal with me, Kakashi?" Orochimaru removed his straw hat, revealing a pale face with the same interested smile he wore when he saw prey. "It's no use! Your struggles will be futile. The outcome... was already decided from the beginning. But you certainly won't surrender easily. In that case, let me have some fun with you."

[Chapter 354. Kusanagi Sword - Ruyi Blade]

Kakashi never expected to be fighting Orochimaru, one of the "Three Legendary Sannin," right from the start. It was just a C-rank mission that seemed to have a little bit of risk, so why did it turn out like this?

Even though Naruto and Sasuke are undeniably geniuses,

But a genius transforms into a master.

It takes time.

It's too early for these young people to compete against top ninjas like Orochimaru. Is stepping onto such a stage too early good or bad for them? Kakashi couldn't judge, nor did he have time to ponder it. Now that the die was cast, all he could do was accept the fact and exhaust his wisdom to find a way out for his students.

"boom!!"

A large, azure snake poked its head out from underwater.

The headbutt, capable of shattering rocks, stirred up a spray of water, but unfortunately, this fierce attack missed its target. However, such an attack was by no means meaningless; the giant snake's headbutt separated Kakashi and the boys on both sides.

Faced with the attack of such a behemoth,

Kakashi was utterly helpless.

His specialty is fighting people, not dealing with such a massive beast.

Although he also has summoning beasts, even the combined might not be enough to swallow this giant snake whole. Besides, his ninja dogs are primarily for support rather than direct combat, so summoning them now would be pointless.

The only option left is to unleash the ultimate move—

The moment the words left his mouth, Kakashi completed the hand seals. A dazzling ball of lightning danced in his right palm, its ear-piercing sound, like the cacophony of a thousand birds chirping, echoing across the sea. He shot forward like an arrow, the lightning in his hand transforming into an unstoppable divine blade that sliced ​​open the neck of the azure serpent.

Fresh blood gushed out from the long, thin wound like a waterfall.

【Rachel】

Kakashi's signature technique.

Originally, this move was called "Chidori" because it sounded like thousands of birds chirping in the forest. Later, during a mission, Kakashi used this move to cut off the lightning falling from the sky in order to protect his client, and thus it got the more domineering name "Raikiri".

But in fact,

There is no difference between the two.

Kakashi defeated the azure-blue serpent with a single move using the Lightning Blade, but this victory did not put him at ease. Orochimaru... was not so easy to deal with, and with his chakra reserves, using the Lightning Blade four times would be his limit, and he had already used one up right from the start.

To stall for time,

Kakashi, who had just reunited with Naruto and Sasuke, quickly put aside his distracting thoughts.

【Wind Release: Vacuum Jade】

Orochimaru's second wave of attacks is coming.

This time it wasn't a highly distinctive 'snake' technique, but a proper Wind Release technique, and an absurdly powerful one at that. Kakashi also knows the Wind Release: Vacuum Ball technique, but with his chakra reserves, the wind bullets he releases are only the size of bullets, and the number is extremely limited.

Orochimaru

The released wind projectiles were all the size of a fist.

The destructive power... is only on the sea. On land, it could level an entire forest. But no matter where he is, the threat and pressure Kakashi faces are the same. With his speed and the support of his Sharingan, it is not impossible for him to dodge this barrage of bullets.

He couldn't hide now that he was going to meet up with Naruto and Sasuke.

He could dodge it, but the boys couldn't dodge such a fierce attack. Their speed wasn't slow, but compared to top experts like Orochimaru, they were still no different from ordinary novices.

"damn it!"

Kakashi grunted. Orochimaru had deliberately used such a wide-range ninjutsu to attack because he knew Kakashi wouldn't dodge, forcing him to take the hit head-on. And the only thing that can withstand a ninjutsu attack is ninjutsu. So far, only the Third Raikage has been known to have withstood a Tailed Beast Ball with his bare body.

[Water Escape·Water Formation Wall]

Unsurprisingly,

Kakashi chose the ninjutsu that would conserve the most chakra.

Instead of expending chakra to use Earth Release techniques on this vast ocean, they took advantage of the seawater to build a flowing wall of water, which withstood the onslaught of the wind bullets.

but,

These two probing exchanges are just the beginning; the real, fierce battle has only just begun.

[Ninja Technique·Super Beast Fake Painting]

Naruto had already taken out his paper and pen.

He quickly drew on the paper with his pen, and one after another, birds of prey that could fly seemed to leap out of the paper. Just as Orochimaru and Kakashi finished their second round of probing sparring, nearly a hundred birds of prey gathered and flew swiftly toward Orochimaru and Sasori.

"Orochimaru, this is your trouble."

Scorpion, who was squatting nearby watching the commotion, said with dissatisfaction, he didn't want to get involved in this troublesome matter.

"An interesting secret technique."

Orochimaru chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, several more giant snakes leaped out from under the water. The snakes soared high and smashed all the ink-colored raptors that were rushing towards him. As for those flying towards Sasori... he didn't care at all. He had no interest in taking a hit for Sasori.

"Orochimaru, you bastard."

A steel tail extended from beneath the scorpion's robe, easily shattering the black bird that flew towards it.