While Kakashi was preparing for a fight to the death, Sora and Namikaze Minato rushed to the battlefield.
Seeing the Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye, Sora sighed inwardly.
Despite Kakashi's current strength being more than twice what it had been in the original timeline, without his intervention, events had still unfolded with Kakashi's left eye being injured and replaced by Uchiha Obito's Sharingan.
At first, Sora had thought that if there were to be any change, Uchiha Obito's Sharingan might have been given to Takei Katsuhiko.
Now it seemed that even without his direct involvement, the future would not change its course.
Suma Shi, restrained by Sora's grip on his shoulder, began trembling uncontrollably. "B-Blood-eyed Shura... Yellow Flash... weren't you both at the front lines?!"
"Indeed, we were at the front lines," Sora replied coolly. "But those fifty Iwa shinobi were too weak to keep us entertained. Now it's your turn."
Sora extended his hand and snapped Suma Shi's neck with a single motion.
Then, in less than a minute, Sora eliminated all the remaining Iwa shinobi with swift, lethal precision.
Sora approached Kakashi, who hung his head in shame.
"I'm sorry, Sora-sensei..." Kakashi said quietly.
Sora looked at him. "Why are you apologizing to me?"
Kakashi covered his left eye and spoke in a low voice. "I... I was too weak..."
Sora's voice softened as he taught an important lesson. "If you recognize your weakness, then work harder to become stronger. Kakashi, you need to understand that whatever you do, you never need to apologize to others. You only need to ask yourself: have you ever let yourself down?"
After taking a deep breath, Kakashi looked up at his teacher. "Sora-sensei, I need to find Katsuhiko Takei."
Sora frowned. "Katsuhiko Takei? Who is... Oh, right. One of Namikaze Minato's subordinates, correct?"
Sora rarely bothered to remember the names of people he deemed unimportant, so he couldn't immediately recall who Katsuhiko Takei was.
Kakashi clenched his fists tightly, his voice thick with hatred. "Yes, he's the one who caused Obito to be crushed under the boulder. I asked him to apologize to Obito, but he claimed he never forced Obito to save him. Yet he was the one begging for help! It was him!"
Kakashi trembled, memories of his father, Hatake Sakumo, flashing through his mind.
Hatake Sakumo's subordinate had also begged to be saved, and after Sakumo rescued him, that same subordinate had turned around and blamed Sakumo for saving him.
Sora placed a comforting hand on Kakashi's head. "Your chakra is completely depleted. Focus on regaining some strength. Since you have a transplanted Sharingan, you can't deactivate it normally, so it will continuously drain your chakra and increase your burden."
"I will bring Katsuhiko Takei to you, don't worry."
With those words, Sora vanished from sight.
Kakashi collapsed where he stood, his mind filled with images of Obito's final moments.
Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato learned what had happened from Nohara Rin's account.
Minato sighed and murmured, "This is going to be complicated..."
Soon after, Sora, using his Observation Haki, located Katsuhiko Takei.
The moment Katsuhiko spotted Sora, a chill ran up his spine and into his very core.
He knew exactly how serious his actions had been.
Leaking information to the enemy and abandoning a teammate to die—such offenses would not end well for him, especially in the hands of the Blood-eyed Shura.
But Katsuhiko Takei had no opportunity to resist or escape.
Upon reaching him, Sora said nothing. He simply delivered a swift kick to Katsuhiko's head, knocking him unconscious, before picking him up and rushing back to where the others waited.
Upon returning to Kakashi's side, Sora unceremoniously threw Katsuhiko Takei to the ground before him.
The impact of hitting the ground jolted Katsuhiko back to consciousness. Seeing Sora and Kakashi standing over him, he froze in terror, only able to stare at them with wide, fearful eyes.
Before Sora could speak, Namikaze Minato teleported to his side and said, "Sora, he's my subordinate. Please leave this to me."
Sora didn't even glance at Minato. Instead, he addressed Kakashi directly. "Kakashi, you were the mission captain. You have full authority to deal with him as you see fit. He leaked critical information and effectively killed his teammate through his actions. Even if you choose to execute him, it would be justified."
Namikaze Minato frowned deeply. "Sora! Katsuhiko Takei is my subordinate. I will handle this matter and ensure Kakashi receives proper justice!"
Sora turned to face Minato. "What's the issue? You yourself said Kakashi should be the captain, which means he has the right to deal with his subordinates. By interfering now, you're overstepping the rules you established."
Katsuhiko Takei finally regained his wits. Tears streamed down his face as he begged Minato for help. "Minato-sensei, I was wrong! I was so wrong! I admit my mistake! Please don't let them kill me, please!"
Seeing that he couldn't reason with Sora, Minato tried to appeal to Kakashi instead.
Kakashi rose slowly to his feet. With an expressionless face, he looked directly at Namikaze Minato and spoke in a cold, measured tone.
"When the cave was collapsing, this person begged us for help. I initially decided not to save him because our situation was too desperate. Rescuing him would have drastically reduced our chances of survival."
"But Obito refused to abandon a comrade, so he went to save him without hesitation."
"When Obito untied his ropes and tried to escape with him, Katsuhiko pushed Obito to the ground and ran away alone."
"Later, to save me from falling rocks, Obito threw me out of harm's way, but was crushed by a boulder himself."
"I asked Obito why he insisted on saving someone like that! He could have escaped safely, but instead he was pushed down and left behind."
"Do you know what Obito told me? He said he didn't regret saving Katsuhiko because he was a comrade."
Kakashi's visible eye bore into Minato's. "Namikaze Minato, tell me honestly—is such a despicable coward truly worthy of being called a comrade?"
Minato glanced down at Katsuhiko Takei with a complicated expression.
Katsuhiko grabbed Minato's pant leg, sobbing loudly. "Minato-sensei, I swear I didn't mean it! I was just so terrified at that moment. It wasn't intentional! Minato-sensei, I'll accept any punishment, I swear!"
Minato spoke with sadness in his voice. "Kakashi, please leave Katsuhiko to me. I promise I'll give him the severest punishment possible!"
But Kakashi continued, his voice unwavering. "Namikaze Minato, do you realize what happened? He actually had a chance to apologize to Obito, and I had no intention of taking his life at that point. But instead, he told Obito it wasn't his fault—that Obito had chosen to save him, and he hadn't forced Obito to do so."
"He claims he didn't mean it? Perhaps that's true, but people like him are fundamentally selfish and would betray their comrades without a second thought!"
"Obito died in that cave, and for what? It wasn't worth it at all." Kakashi's voice grew sharper. "You say you'll give him the most severe punishment possible. Tell me, then—would that punishment include death?"
Namikaze Minato frowned deeply, while Katsuhiko Takei stared at Kakashi in disbelief.
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