Deep in the forest, Uchiha Itachi glanced at the still-rigid Biwa Jūzō and frowned slightly.
"You alright?"
"Nothing serious. But I'm going to need some proper recovery time."
Biwa Jūzō shook his head, his tone clearly annoyed.
"It was my own carelessness—rushing in without intel on that brat. And that kid's Lightning Release… it's unbelievable."
He may have been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist once, and although he had been tricked by Kitagawa Gen, he didn't deny the loss.
After all, ninja were never above using dirty tricks. A loss was still a loss. He could admit that.
But the thing that stuck with him most was that purple lightning—that technique had left a deep impression.
"Guess that's what you'd expect from the student of Hatake Kakashi. And Kakashi himself isn't easy to deal with, either. Even after using Mangekyō techniques, I still couldn't completely subdue him."
Itachi nodded slightly, then closed his eyes.
"Let's get out of here. I need rest too. If Konoha's ANBU catches up, it'll be a real problem."
He didn't actually know if there would be ANBU reinforcements, but as a spy, he had to treat it as a certainty.
"Yeah, let's go."
Jūzō nodded as well. He stretched his still-numb limbs and muttered, "What a pain. Getting my cover blown by some brat, mission failed… I'll report it to the others later."
"After all, we did just run into the Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi—and a genius in the making."
...
"What a loss... Not much money, and we ran into such powerful enemies. Seriously."
In the Land of Waves, Kitagawa Gen was supporting the still unsteady Kakashi as they made their way toward the town.
Although they had been intercepted by Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Jūzō, their mission could still be considered complete.
After all, the mission had already gone far beyond its expected scope—and Naruto wasn't with them either.
Naturally, they had the right to terminate the mission early, and Kakashi's current condition clearly wasn't suited for continuing anyway.
Especially Kakashi—what he needed now was rest and medical attention.
Perhaps it was because they weren't in Konoha, or perhaps because his teammates weren't around, but this time, Uchiha Itachi seemed to be holding back a little.
The damage from Tsukuyomi wasn't as severe as what Kitagawa Gen remembered. While Kakashi was still half-crippled, at least he hadn't completely lost mobility like in the memory.
"Although I expected something to be off about this mission, I didn't think we'd be this unlucky."
Kakashi rubbed his head of messy white hair and spoke with a hint of fatigue.
"To think we ran into not just Biwa Jūzō but also Uchiha Itachi right from the start. Especially Itachi's eyes… they're truly hard to deal with."
"True. Guy-sensei once said the same thing about you."
Kitagawa Gen chuckled at that before continuing.
"That's why Guy-sensei has always trained himself to fight without looking at your eyes—relying only on body movements to judge attacks. Shouldn't you learn from him, Kakashi-sensei?"
"That guy…"
Kakashi pressed his lips together. He wasn't all that surprised that Guy had come up with such a technique—but still, the idea stuck with him.
Maybe… this actually was a decent countermeasure?
Though for him, it was more of a backup plan. After experiencing Itachi's Tsukuyomi firsthand, he had started forming some alternative methods of response.
More importantly, he felt that after this encounter, something about his own eyes had also started to change in a strange way…
"But putting that aside, what's the deal with your Lightning Release?"
Shaking his head, Kakashi decided not to dwell on it for now. He planned to examine himself more thoroughly once they returned.
Right now, what intrigued him more was Kitagawa Gen's Lightning Release—
That jutsu had left a deep impression on him.
"Kakashi-sensei, didn't I already explain my thought process to you?"
Kitagawa Gen shrugged, but after a moment of consideration, he added a bit more.
"Still, it's pretty weird. I always felt that Lightning Release wasn't as difficult to control as I'd imagined… But I also knew that achieving extreme transformation and refinement would be incredibly hard."
"I don't know why, but when I was fighting Biwa Jūzō, it was like I suddenly understood how to do it. Even though I'm still not fully proficient, I actually succeeded on the first try."
As he spoke, Kitagawa Gen deliberately raised his hand. Chakra began to surge from within him.
In an instant, a stream of violet lightning gathered in his palm, quickly coating it and transforming into the shape of a blade!
"Like that, huh…"
Staring at the purple lightning in Kitagawa Gen's hand, Kakashi couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.
He could naturally sense the jutsu's power—and he understood just how valuable it was.
Even though he could tell the jutsu wasn't fully stable yet—its arcs of electricity still flickering irregularly—
The problem was, this kid had nearly succeeded on his first attempt with such a high-level technique!
This kind of talent…
"These kids nowadays… each one more terrifying than the last."
After a long silence, Kakashi finally spoke, both helpless and serious.
"In extremely dangerous situations, there's a certain chance a shinobi can achieve impossible breakthroughs. You most likely encountered that kind of moment. Gotta say—your luck really pulled through."
"Is that so?"
Kitagawa Gen nodded. That was exactly the impression he wanted to give—
After all, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline was absolutely absurd!
He was even starting to wonder if, whenever he wanted a 'breakthrough' in the future, he should try pulling a calculated 'battle moment'—as long as it didn't put his life at risk.
"But this also proves just how gifted you are."
Just as he was lost in thought, Kakashi suddenly spoke up again.
"If one lacks sufficient talent, it's still extremely difficult to achieve a breakthrough even under extreme circumstances. Your aptitude for Lightning Release might far exceed mine."
"Huh?"
But right after Kakashi's words fell, a voice suddenly rang out from above them!
"Greater talent than yours? Now that's rare, Kakashi. And seeing you in this state? Even rarer."
The sudden voice startled both Kitagawa Gen and Kakashi. They immediately looked up.
There, standing above them, was a white-haired man with a wide grin on his face. The large kanji '油' (oil) was boldly written on his forehead protector.
Seeing the man, both of them finally let out a breath of relief.
It was none other than Jiraiya.
...
Meanwhile, in the Land of Water—inside the Mizukage's office—Uchiha Obito, still wearing his mask, was deep in thought.
The current situation in Kirigakure was not looking optimistic. There were signs of rebellion all over the village.
But he didn't really care about that. What he was truly focused on… was the Akatsuki.
However, the formation of Akatsuki was going even slower than he had anticipated.
At present, they still didn't have nearly enough usable manpower.
"Then there's also that guy… Nagato."
At this stage, Nagato still had to constantly supply the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path with chakra in order to slowly restore it.
One thing he still didn't quite understand—
Just how much power did Uchiha Madara draw from it for the Demonic Statue to be reduced to such a pathetic state?
"How much longer… until I can build that world of my own…"
Thinking of all these troublesome matters, Obito couldn't help but mutter to himself. At that moment, a flytrap-like plant suddenly emerged from the ground.
"Obito, we've got news~"
"…Hm?"
Obito frowned and glared at the plant before speaking.
"Don't forget—right now, I am Uchiha Madara."
"Heehee~"
The white half of the black-and-white plant let out a weird giggle, completely unfazed, before speaking again—this time with a hint of excitement.
"Just got some intel. Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Jūzō ran into an old acquaintance of yours while on a mission. Wanna guess who?"
"Hmph. I'm not interested in playing guessing games with you."
Obito shot him a cold glare—but fortunately, Black Zetsu picked up the thread of the conversation.
"It was Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha Itachi and the others encountered his team."
"Kakashi?"
Obito clearly paused when he heard that name, then scoffed with disdain.
"Him? That useless loser? But that loser used to be in the Anbu. If Itachi ran into them, he probably had some trouble. Nothing serious, I assume?"
"Nope. He's no longer in the Anbu," White Zetsu chimed in with a cheeky grin.
"And he's leading a student now. Just one!"
"That loser left the Anbu… and became a teacher?"
Obito looked puzzled. If that were the case, running into Uchiha Itachi should've been fatal for him.
"So what exactly happened?"
"They say it was Kakashi's student who spotted Uchiha Itachi first, which gave them enough time to contact Konoha and call for backup," Black Zetsu explained after a moment of thought.
"Gotta admit, Kakashi's student is a real prodigy. Just thirteen or fourteen years old, and he managed to hold off Biwa Jūzō—Even saved Kakashi in the process."
"In the end, Uchiha Itachi was forced to retreat due to overusing his Mangekyō, and Biwa Jūzō was rendered unable to fight."
Of course, neither he nor Obito believed Itachi's explanation for a second.
Others might not know—but they knew full well:
Uchiha Itachi was a double agent.
"Kakashi's student, huh…"
Obito furrowed his brows. That piqued his interest—though only slightly.
After all… he was no longer the Uchiha Obito of the past.
"Come to think of it, it is kind of funny…"
At that moment, as if deliberately trying to provoke him, White Zetsu casually laughed.
"Kakashi always tried to protect others—and they always ended up dead."
"But this time, he actively tried to protect this kid…"
"And nothing happened. Isn't that amazing?
"Hey—maybe his luck's finally turned around?"
That single sentence was enough to change Obito's entire expression.