"These three idiots! How could they be so careless?! Did they forget even the basics?!"
50 kilometers away, Renzo was piloting the Grim Reaper Gundam at full speed toward their location. Watching the scene unfold via satellite surveillance, he couldn't help but curse.
Kakashi and the others had truly disappointed him.
But there was no time to dwell on that—he was worried for their safety. Steeling himself, he pushed the Gundam's thrusters to their limit and accelerated toward their position.
The 50-kilometer distance? He covered it in just three minutes.
With a deafening roar and a fierce gust of wind, the Grim Reaper Gundam appeared in the skies above the stone cave where Kakashi and the others were hiding.
Its towering, intimidating form loomed over the Iwa-nin below.
"Shit! Where is this crazy wind coming from?!"
The sudden turbulence sent the Iwa-nin reeling. Some were even blown off their feet, rolling across the ground as they cursed.
"Look up! In the sky!"
One sharp-eyed Iwa-nin pointed, and everyone followed his gaze. There, under the glaring sun, stood a 20-meter-tall, metallic titan glistening menacingly.
"What… what the hell is that thing?!"
"No way, it doesn't look like one at all!"
For a moment, all of the Iwa-nin stood frozen in shock.
Something about this massive metal warrior screamed danger.
Meanwhile, inside the stone cave
Kakashi and the others also heard the commotion outside. Their faces immediately darkened.
"Damn it! We've been found!"
Obito and Kakashi rushed to the entrance and peeked outside—only to confirm their worst fear: they were completely surrounded.
And to think, they had actually believed they had successfully escaped.
"Damn it! I let my guard down!" Kakashi clenched his fists in frustration.
"Kakashi, look up! What the hell is that?!" Obito yanked on Kakashi's sleeve, pointing at the sky with wide eyes.
Kakashi, along with Rin—who had just caught up—followed his gaze. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the massive Grim Reaper Gundam hovering above.
"What… the hell is that?!"
Inside the cockpit of the Gundam, Renzo watched their dumbfounded expressions, as well as the stunned Iwa-nin, and let out a cold laugh.
Without hesitation, he activated all weapons.
The DRAGOON System deployed, splitting into dozens of floating cannons. With the help of the onboard AI, Red Queen, all surrounding Iwa-nin were instantly locked onto.
In the next instant, dozens of rainbow-colored energy beams rained down from above.
Each beam struck a single target with perfect precision—regardless of whether they were Genin, Chūnin, or Jōnin, they were all equal in death.
None of them even had the chance to react before they were instantly vaporized into charred husks.
"Enemy attack! Counterattack now!"
The Iwa-nin captain, witnessing the massacre, roared in fury. He began weaving hand seals, attempting to launch a jutsu against the Gundam.
Renzo sneered. "Muda muda! All of you warmongering bastards—
"DIE!! Taste the power of my beam cannons!"
The floating cannons and particle beam launchers fired another volley of brilliantly colored beams, wiping out another squad of Iwa-nin in an instant.
The remaining Iwa-nin broke formation and began fleeing in terror.
But Renzo's assault wasn't over.
These people were all locked onto by radar—there was no escaping.
No matter how fast they ran, the next wave of beams rained down, turning them into nothing but ash.
"You rats hiding in the shadows—I see you too! Die!"
Using his Chakra Scan, Renzo pinpointed the locations of several White Zetsu hiding inside the surrounding trees.
Without hesitation, he unleashed another round of particle beams.
Massive explosions erupted, reducing the trees and everything within them to blackened craters.
Only after wiping out every single enemy did Renzo finally land the Grim Reaper Gundam near Kakashi and the others.
Using the Gundam's external speakers, he called out to the three dumbfounded shinobi:
"Yo! You three morons! You should be thanking your lucky stars that I got here in time!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin all froze.
A moment later, their shock gave way to pure joy.
The three of them were completely stunned.
At that moment, Renzo opened the cockpit hatch, stepping out onto the platform high above them. Looking down with a smirk, he waved lazily.
"Who else besides me would come to save your sorry asses at a time ?"
"Minato-Sensei sure as hell doesn't have time to babysit you guys right now!"
Then, his smirk vanished, replaced by an exasperated frown.
"You mean to tell me none of you realized this whole mission was an obvious trap? And yet you still walked right into it like idiots?!"
"No, sorry. Even an idiot would be smarter than you three."
"And the worst part? You three dumbasses not only completely wasted the life-saving measures I left for you, but you also didn't even bother checking if you'd truly lost your pursuers!"
"You thought you were safe just because you hid in this cave? Seriously?!"
"Do you even know how many explosive tags the Iwa-nin have planted around here? Do you understand what's going to happen when they detonate?"
Renzo's tone was one of sheer exasperation, like a teacher disappointed in his failing students.
The excitement that Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had initially felt upon seeing him quickly faded, replaced by deep embarrassment.
As they glanced around their surroundings, sure enough, they spotted several explosive tags hidden nearby.
"We really screwed up this time..."
"Damn it! The great Obito-sama let his guard down!"
Kakashi shook his head, clearly frustrated with himself.
"Enough!" Renzo cut in. He had already returned to the cockpit and sealed the hatch. "Now's not the time for self-pity! Get out of here! Leave this place immediately! The real boss behind this whole mess is about to show up! And when the fighting starts, I won't have time to babysit you!"
The reason he came here was simple—he wanted to meet Uchiha Madara in person.
Waiting for Madara to make his move wasn't Renzo's style. No, he planned to send the old bastard straight to the afterlife for a long-overdue reunion with his 'hidden lover' Hashirama.
Madara had no business sticking around and causing trouble any longer.
Of course, as for the true mastermind—Black Zetsu—Renzo didn't yet have a surefire way to eliminate him completely. That meant future threats were still inevitable.
"Huh?? Who's the real boss?!" Obito asked, confused.
"No time for questions!" Kakashi snapped, grabbing him by the collar. "We need to go—now! Let's not make Renzo's job any harder than it already is!"
With that, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin started running away from the battlefield as fast as they could.
At the same time, Kakashi snapped a special kunai in half—the one Minato had given him. That was their distress signal.
If even Renzo considered their opponent to be a true boss-level threat, then things were beyond dangerous. They needed someone like Minato on the scene.
"Damn it! We're still too weak! We didn't even realize we were being manipulated, and now we have no way to fight back!"
Kakashi had never felt this powerless before, and he hated it.
"Man… What the hell is even going on?! I'm so lost right now!" Obito shouted as he ran, pulling at his hair in frustration.
"And what the hell was that giant metal thing Renzo was piloting?! When did he even make something like that?!"
It looked completely out of place in the Ninja world!
"Obito!" Kakashi suddenly turned to him, his expression dead serious.
"Listen to me. Everything you saw today—Renzo's arrival, that giant metal warrior—you must take it to the grave. You are not allowed to tell anyone, got it?"
"Don't forget—Renzo is supposed to be resting in the village right now. You don't want to get him into trouble, do you?"
That metal giant was clearly something beyond ordinary. It had to be Renzo's secret weapon.
Despite the insane risks, Renzo had crossed enemy lines to rescue them—just like he had before. This was the fourth time he'd saved their lives.
And now, he was staying behind to cover their escape, willingly facing the mastermind who had set them up.
They couldn't repay that kindness by exposing him.
"Tch, you talk too much!" Obito scoffed, waving him off. "What kind of person do you think I am?! I, the great Obito, am not someone who forgets a favor!"
But the way Kakashi looked at him clearly said: You really believe that?
Obito nearly lost his mind. "You bastard! If the situation weren't so serious right now, I'd beat the crap out of you! Don't forget, I've awakened the Sharingan! Kakashi, you're no match for me anymore! Hah!"
Kakashi smirked, unimpressed. "You sure about that?"
Just because he had awakened the Sharingan, Obito suddenly thought he was invincible?
He still had a long way to go.