My Kekkei Genkai Is Kinda Weird?!

Under the cover of night, Rin's group quietly crossed into the borders of Bear Country. Although Hyūga Ketsumei's Byakugan couldn't stay active for long due to extreme chakra exhaustion, she could still scan their surroundings intermittently.

"There's a small town two kilometers ahead," Ketsumei said weakly from Obito's back.

"No chakra signatures detected... no ninja, most likely."

Rin transformed and infiltrated the town alone. She returned shortly with a few sets of civilian clothes from a tailor shop.

"Put these on. We'll pretend to be refugees."

Due to the war between Konoha and Kirigakure spilling into Bear Country, chaos reigned. Rogue ninjas and bandits took advantage of the turmoil, and the people of Bear Country were plunged into suffering. Refugees were everywhere.

Kakashi frowned as he inspected the clothes.

"Too clean. Doesn't look like we've been traveling long."

He grabbed a handful of dirt and began expertly smearing it onto the fabric.

Nohara Rin blinked in surprise.

"Kakashi... you know how to do this?"

"Mission prep," he replied curtly.

Rin understood. Among them, Kakashi was the only chūnin, and by far the most experienced.

Once disguised, they split into two groups to enter the town. Rin and Kakashi posed as siblings, while Obito, Nohara Rin, and Ketsumei pretended to be traveling companions.

"First, gather intel," Rin whispered.

"Split up. Meet in two hours at the abandoned warehouse east of town."

The market was bustling, vendors hawking wares in all sorts of regional accents. Rin noticed a few samurai wearing Bear Country's emblem patrolling the area.

"Did you hear?" a medicine vendor whispered to his companion.

"Yesterday , Konoha ninjas wiped out Kirigakure's base"

Rin's ears perked up. She pretended to browse herbs and quietly inched closer.

"It's true!" the other vendor added.

"Took them barely ten minutes—over fifty Mist ninja, all gone!"

Rin's eyes lit up. Had Minato's team succeeded already?

Suddenly, a massive blade dropped from above—

The vendor who'd just spoken was decapitated in an instant, blood splattering his stunned companion's face.

Rin looked up in shock. A ninja with a Kirigakure forehead protector stood there, long sword in hand, face twisted in fury.

"Slander the Mist Village, and die!"

He roared and began hacking at other vendors. The market plunged into chaos, with people screaming and fleeing in every direction.

Rin quickly played along, feigning terror and tripping herself to fall to the ground.

Lying amid the fleeing crowd, she quietly observed the Mist ninja through gaps in the movement.

"So brazen... slaying civilians in another country like it's nothing. Is this what being a weak nation means?"

She sighed inwardly but didn't act. She was still on the run herself.

Still, just because she could hold back didn't mean others would.

She saw Obito charge out of the crowd, eyes blazing with fury behind his goggles. He shoved an elderly woman out of the way just in time, but a Mist ninja's blade slashed across his shoulder.

"Obito!" Nohara Rin's cry echoed from around the corner.

Rin's heart sank. And sure enough—Kakashi flashed in beside Obito, blocking the next strike with his kunai.

"Idiot!" Kakashi growled, lightning-style chakra exploding from his blade and forcing the Mist ninja back.

The market was in complete disarray.

Rin spotted at least six Mist ninja closing in from various directions. One was forming complex hand seals.

She slammed her hands to the ground.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

A wall of earth erupted upward, blocking the incoming Water Dragon Bullet. Rin sprinted to her teammates.

"We have to go—now!"

"Ketsumei's still in the inn!" Obito shouted, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"I'll get her!" Nohara Rin turned to run, but Kakashi yanked her back.

"There's no time!"

By now, the Mist ninja had surrounded them. Their leader sneered.

"Look what we've found—konoha brats?"

Rin said nothing. Scolding Obito was pointless now. She formed hand seals and summoned three shadow clones to burst out in different directions.

"Petty tricks!" the Mist leader formed a seal.

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Thick fog engulfed the marketplace. Visibility dropped to less than a meter.

Rin's instincts flared. She dodged just as a shuriken whizzed past her cheek.

"Back to back!" Kakashi's voice cut through the fog.

"Rin—watch it!"

Suddenly, Rin sensed chakra moving underground.

"Watch your feet! Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

A wall of water surged up just in time, blocking a blade of water that shot from the ground.

"Aaaagh!" Obito screamed.

Rin turned and saw a senbon lodged in his leg.

"Obito?!" Nohara Rin dropped to her knees, green chakra glowing around the wound as she healed.

A cruel laugh echoed through the fog.

"Heh heh heh... Little brats think they can show up in front of me? Perfect—I'll kill you, then find that blonde bastard and settle the score..."

Before he could finish, Rin flung five exploding-tag-laced shuriken at the source of the voice.

Boom!

The blast scattered the mist enough to reveal seven blurred figures.

"Seven of them..." Kakashi's voice was tense.

"Get ready to break through!"

Meanwhile, Hyūga Ketsumei at the inn had sensed the disturbance and used her Byakugan to survey the chaos. Alarmed, she rushed out, trying to regroup.

The Mist ninja had been dealt a devastating blow by Namikaze Minato and were preparing to withdraw from Bear Country. Running into a handful of Konoha genin had sent their tempers flaring. Forget Minato—they'd take out their anger on these kids first.

A Mist ninja suddenly appeared behind Nohara Rin, senbon pressed against her throat.

"Game over."

Time froze.

Rin saw Kakashi's eyes widen. Obito, eyes red, tried to rise.

Nohara Rin looked pale—but eerily calm.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"

The Mist ninja was blasted away by a single palm strike—

Ketsumei had arrived silently and struck with precision.

Rin moved in a flash—'Gutsuei Shunpo'—catching Rin nee-chan as she fell and driving a kunai into the Mist ninja's chest in the same motion.

She shoved Nohara Rin toward Obito for safekeeping and disappeared into the fog.

With visibility low, only Ketsumei's Byakugan could track Rin. She moved like a ghost through the mist, slicing the Mist ninja one by one with a short blade.

As the time came, Rin activated the seals she had planted—

Each injured Mist ninja convulsed as pain surged through their bodies like their hearts were being crushed. One even coughed up blood and died on the spot.

The others, gravely wounded, were easily finished off.

When the Hidden Mist Technique finally lifted, Kakashi and the others saw Rin standing amid a pile of corpses—calm and composed.

Kakashi's heart trembled.

Rin's expression... had changed.

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