The Iwa ninja Dashi lunged toward Uchiha Obito.
But suddenly, Obito whirled around with kunai gripped in both hands and thrust forward.
"What? How? It's impossible for you to see me!" Dashi gasped.
Kakashi stared at Uchiha Obito in surprise. "Obito, you..."
The invisible ninja gradually materialized as Obito's kunai pierced his heart.
Obito's eyes had transformed. They were no longer ordinary but had awakened as the Sharingan. And remarkably, they had opened as Two Tomoe Sharingan on his very first awakening.
"You... your eyes..." Dashi looked into Uchiha Obito's eyes in shock before taking his final breath. He collapsed to the ground, dead.
Uchiha Obito stood firm, his gaze unwavering. "Here, I will protect my comrades!"
Kakashi stared at Uchiha Obito's eyes in amazement. "Have you awakened your Sharingan?"
Uchiha Obito looked at his hands and replied, "Yes, it seems this is the Sharingan. I can see the flow and movement of chakra."
Kakashi's left eye throbbed with pain, and he covered it again with his hand.
Uchiha Obito asked worriedly, "Are you okay, Kakashi?"
"I'll be fine. It seems my left eye isn't working anymore. I have the medical kit Rin gave me. I can treat it enough for now. Go rescue Rin and your other comrade immediately."
Kakashi quickly treated the wound on his left eye, and they continued their mission together.
Inside the cave, the flickering firelight revealed Huoguang's satisfied smile. He had already extracted the information he needed from Katsuhiko Takei.
Huoguang looked at Nohara Rin on the other side of the cave. "I didn't expect that you, a medical ninja, would be so surprisingly strong."
Kakashi and Uchiha Obito entered the cave.
Seeing them, Huoguang realized that Dashi had failed and died. "Such useless subordinates."
Uchiha Obito used his Sharingan to observe the chakra flow of Nohara Rin and Takei Katsuhiko. "Rin and Katsuhiko's chakra flow is chaotic, different from our normal chakra patterns."
Kakashi analyzed the situation. "They must be under genjutsu. He seems eager for information, and... it looks like your comrade has already told him what he wanted to know."
Katsuhiko Takei's eyes were dull as he murmured, "I've already told everything... please don't kill me... don't..."
Huoguang sneered. "It seems you're not just simple little brats."
Kakashi warned Obito, "I've faced him before. He moves very fast—be careful!"
Huoguang drew two double-bladed swords and struck at Kakashi and Uchiha Obito.
"Thunder's Breath, Three Forms, Gathering Mosquitoes into Thunder!" Kakashi rotated around Huoguang at high speed, leaving trails of blue lightning in his path.
Kakashi attacked Huoguang several times with his blade, but the Iwa ninja deflected each strike.
Huoguang formed hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Pillar Explosion!"
Sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground toward Kakashi, forcing him to halt his attack and dodge.
Huoguang formed another seal sequence. "Earth Style: Rock Pillar Gun!"
The ground beneath Uchiha Obito's feet suddenly erupted as a stone spike shot upward.
Uchiha Obito quickly backflipped, evading the earth spike.
Huoguang charged straight at Obito, recognizing him as the weaker target compared to Kakashi.
The Iwa ninja swung his swords, slashing at Uchiha Obito.
Obito ducked with newfound agility, avoiding Huoguang's attack. Using his Sharingan, he observed the weak point in Huoguang's defense.
Obito placed one hand on the ground for balance, then kicked upward with both feet, striking Huoguang hard in the abdomen.
With most of his attention on Kakashi, Huoguang hadn't expected the attack. The kick caught him off guard, and before he could recover, Kakashi slashed at his neck with his blade.
Huoguang fell to the ground.
Kakashi and Uchiha Obito immediately rushed to Nohara Rin.
"Release!" Kakashi disrupted Nohara Rin's chakra flow, allowing her to regain consciousness.
"Kakashi? Obito?" Rin blinked in confusion.
Seeing that Nohara Rin was okay, Uchiha Obito sighed with relief. "We came to rescue you, Rin! Everything's okay now!"
"Good. Let's get out of here after releasing your comrade from the genjutsu," Kakashi said.
Just as Kakashi was dispelling Katsuhiko Takei's genjutsu, Huoguang—who they thought was dead—suddenly stood up.
"I see you work well together, but you're still just children."
Kakashi was shocked to discover that his blade hadn't struck Huoguang's neck but had only hit his shoulder.
Huoguang smiled ferociously. "That really hurt. If not for my extensive combat experience, you might have actually succeeded. Now, you're all trapped!"
Huoguang rapidly formed hand seals. "Earth Style: Mountain Collapse!"
The entire cave began to shake violently. Rocks fell from the ceiling as dust and debris filled the air.
Kakashi's eyes widened in alarm. "We need to run for the exit now!"
"Wait! The ropes around Katsuhiko haven't been untied yet!" Uchiha Obito ran toward Katsuhiko Takei.
Katsuhiko struggled frantically. "Save me! Help me! I don't want to die!"
Kakashi shouted, "It's too late! We have to leave him and escape now!"
"No, I will not abandon my comrades!" Obito yelled back. "Kakashi, you and Rin go first. Katsuhiko and I will catch up right away!"
Uchiha Obito cut the ropes with his kunai. As he moved to escape with Katsuhiko Takei, the freed prisoner suddenly pushed Obito away and scrambled toward the exit on his hands and knees.
Uchiha Obito was knocked to the ground by Katsuhiko's desperate shove.
"Damn it!" Kakashi ran to Obito's side and pulled him up. "Run quickly!"
Kakashi and Uchiha Obito had only taken a few steps when a falling rock struck Kakashi on the head, knocking him unconscious.
Nohara Rin tried to rush to them, but Uchiha Obito waved her back. "Don't come closer!"
Obito hoisted Kakashi up and used all his strength to throw him toward Nohara Rin.
Huoguang watched the scene unfold with a satisfied smile. "I've gotten the information I needed. I'll rest a bit before leaving."
A short while later, Kakashi and Nohara Rin awoke to what sounded like Uchiha Obito's voice.
"It's okay, Rin... Kakashi..."
They looked toward Obito, and their pupils constricted in horror.
Half of Uchiha Obito's body was crushed beneath an enormous boulder.
"Obito!" Kakashi rushed over, desperately trying to push away the massive rock pinning Obito down, but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried.
"Stop... that's enough, Kakashi," Obito said weakly. "I can't... I can't feel anything anymore. The right side of my body is completely crushed... I can't even feel it..."
Kakashi pounded the rock in fury. "How could this happen? Why? Why didn't you listen to my orders? Why did you insist on saving that coward who pushed you down? You could have escaped!"
Uchiha Obito spoke softly, his voice growing fainter. "Kakashi... I don't regret saving him because... we are comrades..."
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