Seeing that the ninja of Iwahide Village was retreating farther and farther away, Kakashi's fists clenched.
He ground his teeth and, without hesitation, burst out the last of his Chakra into his right arm. Electric arcs danced like snakes around him, sizzling through the air as the distinct cry of a thousand birds echoed.
"Go and die! Motherfulerš¤¬š¤!!!"
š«š¤ÆRoaring with everything he had, Kakashi surged forward like a bolt loosed from the heavens. His form blurred, pushing beyond his limit as his lightning nature chakra crackled furiously around him.
The enemy barely had time to react.
"Give meā¦ DEATH!!"
BOOM!!!š«Ø
The forest trembled as a giant flash of light exploded from Kakashi's hand. His Chidori struckānot the enemy, but a massive tree beside them. The trunk, thicker than two men, exploded into glowing wooden splinters, raining down like heavenly flower petals scattered by a goddess, shimmering with static energy.
Kakashi froze in place, panting. The sound of sizzling bark echoed, fading.
He stared at his sparking hand in disbelief.
Damn it!! Actually missed!!!
Darkness crept into his gaze as doubt wrapped around his chest like chains. Is this it? The technique he forged with his own handsā¦ worthless?
Was all the training, the painā¦ for nothing?
The Iwahide ninja, heart still hammering from the near-death encounter, gave a breathy laugh.
"That was closeā¦ way too close."
He took a step back, then narrowed his eyes, murder boiling beneath his surface.
"Little punkā¦ I underestimated you."
And in a flash, he pounced.
Like a tiger leaping from its perch, he lunged at Kakashi, who still hadn't moved.
"Oops!!!"
Obito's eyes widened. Panic surged through his limbs as he threw a barrage of kunai, each singing through the air toward the attacker. The Iwa ninja snarled, deflecting them with his own kunai in a flurry of metallic sparks.
"KAKASHI!!! WAKE UP!" Obito screamed, sprinting toward his teammate.
Still stunned, Kakashi barely reacted.
"Annoying brat," the Iwa ninja spat toward Obito. "I'll clean you up next!"
He twisted his grip and thrust his kunai, aiming straight for Kakashi's heart.
"KAKASHI!!!!!"
Obito's voice broke through the noise.
"Don't make me look down on you!!!"
Like lightning striking dry earth, the words detonated in Kakashi's chest. His eyes widened. Obitoā¦ That raw, unfiltered emotion hit harder than any jutsu.
"Don't make me look down on you!"
His heart ignited. In the next instant, Kakashi reacted. His blade flashed, intercepting the fatal strike.
CLANG!!!
Steel clashed against steel. Sparks flew as Kakashi's ninja blade met the enemy's kunai. The two locked eyes in a fierce struggle.
"Obitoā¦ thank youā¦"
But before he could say moreā
"AHHH!! OBITO! KAKASHI!!!"
Rin's scream pierced the air. The boys turned ā and froze.
A new figure had appeared like a ghost behind her, a kunai held flush against her neck. His eyes gleamed with disdain, Iwa forehead protector shining in the moonlight.
"Firelight, what the hell are you doing still fooling with these kids?" the newcomer growled. "Three little brats, and you're taking this long?"
The one called Firelight shrugged, voice lazy.
"You know me, Demon Leech. I like to play with my food."
"Don't care," Demon Leech snapped, driving a hand chop into Rin's neck and catching her as she slumped. "Baka. Wave after wave of our shinobi are dying. We just lost over a dozen elite jÅnin on the frontline."
His eyes darkened.
"You know who did it?"
Firelight's face tensed.
Demon Leech turned toward Obito and Kakashi, and his lip curled.
"Your Hokage's hound dog. Minato Namikaze."
ā” Flashback Cutaway āĀ Minutes Earlier: Kusa Frontline
Thunderclouds churned in the sky as Minato ā no, Wukunowa ā stepped into a ruined valley. The air sizzled around him.
His golden hair sparked with blue current, and in his eyes swirled an unnatural intensity.
All around him were the charred bodies of enemy jÅnin ā 14 of them. One of them had been vaporized, his upper body missing. Steam still rose from the corpses.
From his hand crackled a glowing, swirling sphere of thunder:
"Goro Goro no Mi ā Judgement Sphere."
He clenched it, and with a snap, the electricity exploded into the clouds above.
Rumbleā¦
One Iwa elite tried to run.
"Noā¦ no wayā! That's not ninjutsuā¦ That's not even chakra!!"
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
A pillar of divine thunder struck down, reducing the man to nothing but black ash.
Suddenly, Wukunowa felt something in his chest click.
ā” [System Notification: Kill Count Achieved ā 56]
Haki Unlocked: Observation Haki
Tap into the unseen. Feel them before they move. Predict. Perceive.
He took a deep breath, and his senses opened like floodgates. He could feel the entire battlefield. Every pulse, every shift in the chakra around him.
"ā¦Guess I'm finally getting used to this body," he whispered. "Let's clean
ā” Back to Obito & Kakashi
As Demon Leech carried Rin off and Firelight disappeared with a smirk, the two boys could only watch, helpless.
But even as despair filled the airā
Bzzzzzt...