Boom!
The instant Kakashi unleashed Hatake Three Swords, a powerful, bladelike aura erupted from him. His katana then met Kaede's attack head-on!
At this moment, Kakashi's speed was not much slower than Kaede's attacks!
Swoosh!
First, Kakashi's blade tip accurately struck Kaede's blade, instantly deflecting it. Then, Kakashi's attack continued, charging towards Kaede!
Kakashi had noticed that Kaede's control over his movements while using 'Hurricane Slash' wasn't as free as before, likely due to the technique's constraints.
"How could this be..."
Watching Kakashi, who should have been dead by his blade, suddenly counterattack and cut through his strongest 'Hurricane Slash', Kaede couldn't believe it. He could only widen his eyes in disbelief, then watched in terror as the blade in Kakashi's hand grew larger in his vision!
Pfft!
A slash as swift as lightning sliced through the air, and a spray of blood erupted, painting a dazzling crimson streak!
Whoosh!
After hitting Kaede, Kakashi didn't even glance back. His figure flashed away in an instant!
Damn it, I almost had him!
My Chakra is almost completely drained. I have to make a run for it!
As he vanished, Kakashi couldn't help but think anxiously. He hadn't expected his final swift cut to fail. It had only grazed Kaede's shoulder. Knowing he had no chance of killing him, Kakashi chose to flee.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Kakashi's figure flashed away quickly. Twenty meters away, Kaede turned around, glaring at Kakashi's retreating back!
"Hmph, you think you can run? It's not that easy. You dared to injure my precious body. I swear I won't rest until I kill you!"
Looking at Kakashi's departing figure, Kaede endured the pain in his shoulder and said through gritted teeth!
"Luckily, my speed was fast enough. His attack was weakened when it hit my blade, or else I would have been finished just now! What kind of swordsmanship is that? It's so powerful!"
Kaede was also secretly thankful in his heart, as he had almost lost his life to Kakashi's blade just now!
Recalling Kakashi's single strike, he felt incredibly shocked!
"Huh?"
However, just as Kaede was about to chase after Kakashi to kill him, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked suspiciously in the direction to the left. There, he had just sensed a ripple!
Having the Hurricane Bloodline Limit, he could sense his surroundings through the flow of air. He had clearly detected a fluctuation just now, and it was human!
"Are they his companions?"
Kaede's eyes were filled with uncertainty. From his perception, he couldn't gauge the opponent's strength, which meant they were also a ninja with Jonin level skills. He immediately dared not pursue Kakashi!
"Retreat, damn it, we'll talk about it later!"
With a hateful glance at the direction Kakashi's back had disappeared, Kaede cursed inwardly and turned to flash back towards the village. Unsure of the enemy's strength hidden in the shadows, plus his injuries, Kaede dared not take the risk and decisively retreated back to the village!
Whoosh!
In a moment, Kaede's figure disappeared!
Immediately afterward, from the direction Kaede had been looking, behind a giant tree, a figure wearing Anbu attire emerged, clearly also an Anbu from Konoha!
The Anbu who emerged looked in the direction Kaede had disappeared, his eyes flashing with a sharp light!
"He only moved slightly and already noticed my presence?"
The Konoha Anbu murmured softly to himself, "But this is good. I don't need to appear and save 'Wolf', and it won't give him away!"
"Danzo asked me to track and observe if 'Wolf' has the potential to become a Kage. It seems unnecessary now. Although he's strong, how could he become a Kage with this level? His Chakra is clearly insufficient, only at the level of a normal Jonin. This dooms him to not being able to become someone as powerful as a Kage!"
"Moreover, it's questionable if he can even complete this mission. Danzo-sama really thinks too highly of him, wanting him to become someone like a Kage!"
Then, turning to look at the direction Kakashi had left, the Konoha Anbu murmured again, then vanished. Judging from his tone, he seemed quite dismissive of Kakashi's abilities!
"That's it!"
"They didn't chase after me, as expected. Looks like I was right; there must be an Anbu following me in secret. It's just that their strength is higher than mine, and their concealment skills are even better, so I couldn't detect them!"
Underneath a giant tree, Kakashi leaned against the trunk, panting heavily. Ignoring the blood flowing from his wounds, he muttered in excitement.
The reason he suspected an Anbu from Konoha was following him was due to the difficulty of the mission. Kakashi had been puzzled at the time; how could they assign such a task to him alone? Unless Danzo had some ulterior motive!
However, Kakashi couldn't figure that out. He only knew someone was tailing him, which was why he had boldly escaped. But he had no other choice.
Then, Kakashi took out the personal medical kit Rin had given him from his ninja pouch. He took out some medicine to clean his wounds and wrapped several serious injuries with bandages.
Finally, he took out a Military Ration Pill and ate it to replenish his stamina and blood.
Gulp!
After eating the Military Ration Pill, Kakashi clearly felt his stamina recovering and his body slowly healing. It was truly a miraculous pill!
It was more effective than any elixir, working instantly!
"The Anbu agent tracking me wouldn't show himself. I was nearly killed, and he still didn't appear. It's clear he won't help me complete this mission!"
"What should I do now? Should I even continue with this difficult mission?"
Leaning against a tree while recovering, Kakashi thought quickly. He didn't know if he should continue the mission. After clashing with Kaede, Kakashi knew that completing the mission was almost impossible.
At most, he could enter the Lightning Ninja Village and kill a few more people, perhaps even some Lightning Ninjas. But if Kaede showed up, along with the other ninjas in the village, he wouldn't even be able to escape!
Let alone complete the mission!
Or rather, with Kaede around, he couldn't complete the mission. He couldn't think of a way to kill him!
His techniques couldn't even defeat the Hatake Three Swords!
The previous instant cut was only able to hit the opponent because he was careless, and because he hadn't smoothly connected his Chakra after using 'Hurricane Slash'!
Kakashi believed that if he faced Kaede again, the other party would definitely not use that move again. He would definitely wisely choose to wear him down with speed!
And his Hatake Three Swords posed no threat to Kaede, who possessed that kind of speed!
"Also, what was going on with his blade just now? Although my blade tip touched his blade and knocked it away, it also weakened my attack by half, which is why I couldn't kill Kaede!"
Then Kakashi frowned slightly, thinking about Kaede's swordsmanship just now!
That swordsmanship was obviously enhanced with Wind Release ninjutsu, and its power had increased a lot. Kakashi vaguely had some ideas, but he could only discuss them after he went back!
"That is..."
Kakashi, who had raised his head, suddenly made a discovery!
Kakashi saw the change in the sky. He realized that the sky had subtly darkened at some point, and wisps of dark clouds were beginning to gather slowly. Although there wasn't much cloud cover, Kakashi, who had studied weather patterns, knew that a thunderstorm was on its way!
The weather in the sky seemed to mirror Kakashi's current mood!
Doubt flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
"I must go back and kill him!"
"No matter what, I have to complete this mission!"
After a long while, Kakashi finally made his decision. Thinking about how badly he had been beaten, Kakashi couldn't bear to leave so despondently. Furthermore, Kakashi already had a preliminary strategy in mind!
.....
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(End of Chapter)