"Oh, right! I almost forgot..."
"I'm the only one who hasn't given you a gift to celebrate your promotion to Jonin!"
"Kakashi..."
"I've been thinking about what to get you..."
"And now... I've finally figured it out!"
"Don't worry, it's nothing burdensome!"
"It's not some useless trinket!"
"I'm going to give you my Sharingan!"
"No matter what the villagers say, you're an extraordinary Jonin. Please accept this as a token of my sincerity!"
"Rin! Use your Medical Ninjutsu!"
"Transplant my Sharingan, along with the optic nerve, into Kakashi's left eye!"...
"I... I'm going to die!"
"But I'll become your eye, to help you see the future clearly!"...
"My left eye... it hurts so much! What's happening?"
"I thought I was dead... how can I still feel this?"
Unconscious yet sensing his body's condition, a soul within Kakashi stirred with confusion and disbelief!
*Boom!*
As the soul attempted to open its eyes, a sudden surge of consciousness slammed into it, instantly overwhelming it with a massive influx of mental energy and plunging it back into darkness.
*I'm not dead... and I've transmigrated! My soul has crossed over into Kakashi's body and taken it over!*
When the soul regained consciousness within Kakashi's body, it murmured to itself in shock, daring not to open its eyes yet. Instead, it focused on adapting to its new circumstances.
*Wait, not taking over—it's a fusion! My soul has merged with Kakashi's. I am Kakashi now. My old self is dead anyway; my name no longer matters. From now on, I am Hatake Kakashi!*
For reasons unknown, the soul of a modern-day person had transmigrated to the *Hokage* world upon death. At the very moment Kakashi received the Sharingan, their souls fused, creating an entirely new Kakashi—one who was intimately familiar with the *Hokage* storyline!
After thoroughly organizing the fused memories in his mind, Kakashi finally opened his eyes.
A strange sensation surged through Kakashi's left eye.
Thanks to the transplanted Sharingan from Uchiha Obito, his left eye now saw with several times greater clarity than before, its field of vision seeming to capture everything.
What Kakashi saw filled his heart with both joy and sorrow. This Sharingan had been given to him by the dying Uchiha Obito.
Then he noticed a delicate young girl staring at him with wide, beautiful eyes that sparkled like stars. Her gaze was filled with worry, and a strange emotion seemed to churn within her eyes.
"Kakashi, are you alright? Is your left eye bothering you?" Rin asked immediately upon seeing Kakashi open his eyes.
The concern in her voice was even more intense than the worry etched in her expression.
*So, Rin really does like Kakashi...*
*Wait, no, she likes me!* Kakashi murmured inwardly, observing Rin's reaction.
"Mm-hmm," he responded casually, then quickly glanced to his right at Uchiha Obito, whose right side had been completely crushed beneath the massive boulder.
Uchiha Obito lay with his left eye closed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, the ground stained crimson with his blood.
*Huff!*
Seeing Obito's gruesome state, Kakashi felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart overwhelmed by grief and regret.
*If only I hadn't chosen to abandon Rin in the first place, Obito wouldn't have died!*
As he stared at Obito's mangled body, Kakashi's eyes gradually turned bloodshot. His already crimson Sharingan blazed with a murderous intent, dripping with bloodlust.
"Obito, wait for me," Kakashi said coldly to the unmoving Obito, his voice devoid of tenderness. "I'll go out and kill that Iwa-nin first. I'll avenge you!"
With a sharp *click*, Kakashi rose to his feet. The murderous intent in his voice wasn't directed at Obito, but at the Iwa-nin Jonin outside.
Without waiting for Obito or Rin to reply, Kakashi kicked off the ground, his figure rocketing upward.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
*Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!*
As he surged upward, Kakashi simultaneously formed hand seals, condensing a Chidori in his right hand and unleashing it against the layers of rock imprisoning them.
*Boom!*
A deafening roar erupted as Kakashi shattered the rock layer trapping them, sending debris flying in all directions. The commotion immediately alerted the Iwa-nin Jonin guarding the perimeter.
"That troublesome brat... still alive!" the Jonin snarled, rising to his feet and glaring at Kakashi with a frown.
He felt little alarm at Kakashi's murderous gaze. However, Kakashi's left eye emanated a dangerous aura.
"What's this? The kid seems different from before..." the Jonin mused inwardly, quickly dismissing the thought. *He's just a kid, after all.*
"Iwa-nin! Die!" Kakashi snarled, leaping down from the rubble and darting toward the Jonin.
*Clang!*
In an instant, Kakashi wielded the combat blade left to him by his father, Konoha's White Fang, gripping the hilt with both hands. He materialized above the Jonin and swung the blade down with lethal force.
*Swoosh! Swoosh!*
The blade, radiating a frigid gleam, slashed through the air so swiftly that the sound of its passage echoed through the battlefield.
"Hmph!"
The Jonin sneered at Kakashi's attack. With practiced ease, he blocked the downward strike using the two short blades in his hands, completely sealing off Kakashi's attack path.
*Whoosh!*
*Clang!*
A crisp sound rang out as Kakashi's blade struck the Iwa-nin Jonin's twin blades. With a *clang*, the blade shattered. Kakashi's eyes narrowed sharply in shock.
*I completely forgot about that!*
"Hahaha! Die!"
Seeing Kakashi's blade shatter, the Iwa-nin Jonin erupted into a bloodthirsty laugh. He thrust his twin blades upward at the landing Kakashi, his eyes blazing with savage, merciless intent, undiminished by the fact that his opponent was just a child.
"You're the one who's going to die!"
Kakashi snorted inwardly, facing the Jonin's attack without a trace of panic. He discarded the broken hilt, his hands moving swiftly through a series of hand seals. The final seal was completed in an instant as his left hand pressed against his right.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
*Chiii! Chiii! Chiii! Chiii!*
The chirping of the Chidori echoed once more as brilliant lightning coalesced in Kakashi's right hand. Without waiting for the technique to fully form, he thrust the incomplete Chidori at the Iwa-nin Jonin, his Sharingan blazing at full power.
At that moment, the Iwa-nin Jonin's twin blades were less than half a meter from Kakashi's body!
Could Kakashi's Chidori strike first, just as it had in the original story, landing the decisive blow before the Jonin's blades reached him?
**End of Chapter**