Sharingan? Why would the Kakashi of the future have a Sharingan?
And…
Minato's gaze shifted toward the far edge of the mist. Hidden there was a ninja wearing a Kirigakure ANBU mask, staring right back at them.
So they'd been discovered.
He didn't want to interfere with the future, but their presence here might have already affected its natural course.
If they ended up having to act, then to prevent disrupting both the "future" and the "past," sealing each other's memories might become necessary.
Minato made the decision quietly in his heart.
From within the mist, the jōnin called "Kakashi-sensei" spoke again.
"Your eyes may look fierce, but I've already seen through everything about you."
Zabuza: "Hmph! Copy Ninja Kakashi! Your reputation is well-earned! But copycats are still just copycats in the end!"
Yet before he could even use the technique he had prepared—
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!" Kakashi's voice rang out.
"How—impossible! My ninjutsu shouldn't lose to a copied one unless—"
Zabuza realized the truth too late. "That bastard had already copied all kinds of Water Release jutsu from others!!!"
The Demon of the Mist, famed across nations, fell in only a few exchanges simply because he had underestimated his opponent!!
He was blasted away by the roaring waterfall, slammed against a distant tree with zero dignity.
The water level surged so high it almost reached the tree branch where Obito and the others were standing!
Moments later, the masked Mist ANBU Minato had noticed earlier struck Zabuza with a specially crafted senbon, ending his life.
Obito: "There was someone else lying in ambush?!"
"You idiot, that guy has been standing there the whole time," young Kakashi muttered.
Obito: "..."
He hadn't noticed a thing!
As the jutsu caster lost consciousness, the Hiding in Mist Technique finally dissipated…
The three watching from afar could finally see the entire battlefield clearly.
Minato Namikaze looked at the silver-haired jōnin on the battlefield, along with the three genin with pink, blond, and dark blue hair. His heart tightened—so it truly was what he suspected. They had been pulled into the future by some kind of space-time forbidden technique.
Obito stared at the jōnin leader. "No doubt about it! That guy really looks like Senior White Fang!"
"Idiot! Did you forget that ninja has your clan's Sharingan?" Kakashi sighed.
Obito: "But there really isn't anyone named Kakashi Uchiha in our clan!"
"…"
Kakashi choked on his breath.
He had never imagined anyone would associate his name with the Uchiha clan.
"Thanks, but I happen to like the name Kakashi Hatake. I'm not changing my surname."
"I'm not talking about you! Stupid Kakashi, I'm talking about that jōnin leader!"
Too lazy to argue any further, Kakashi looked to Minato.
"Minato-sensei, is that person really a Kirigakure ANBU sent to kill Zabuza?"
Obito also looked at the masked Mist pursuer.
The figure seemed only two or three years older than him, with a soft, gentle voice—was it a girl?
Minato shook his head. "Unlikely. The senbon hit only non-lethal pressure points. That Zabuza is most likely faking his death."
"That's a guy," Kakashi cut in immediately, guessing exactly what Obito was thinking.
"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Minato-sensei, we should get back to the Kannabi Bridge mission."
"Right, right! Minato-sensei, we have to save Rin first! She was taken by Iwa!"
"I already said the mission comes first! Why are you—"
The two were about to start fighting again when Minato had to step in. "If we were able to go back, Sensei would definitely save Rin…"
Obito's face lit up—only for the smile to instantly freeze at Minato's next words.
"But the problem is… we're not anywhere near the Kannabi Bridge. I believe we're…"
Under Kakashi and Obito's stunned gazes, Minato exhaled slowly and stated the truth—
"…somewhere in the future."
"The future?!!!"
Then…
Both Obito and Kakashi turned their eyes toward the tall, thin, masked silver-haired Konoha jōnin in the distance.
His name was Kakashi.
Silver hair, mask, elite.
Could that person be—?!
The two exchanged a look…
"Is that Stupid Kakashi… or me?!"
And that kid over there—could he be Stupid Kakashi's… or my future student?!!
Obito raised his hand like a model student.
"Minato-sensei, why does future Kakashi have a Sharingan?"
He himself—an actual, proper Uchiha—still hadn't awakened his!
"Don't tell me Kakashi is really Kakashi Uchiha?"
Minato didn't want to know what the future held. Knowing too much could warp their judgment and lead to consequences they couldn't undo.
But at this point, he couldn't hide it from Obito and Kakashi anymore. They had fallen into this future world, and no one knew when they would leave…
What Minato didn't realize was that from the moment they appeared, their presence had already altered part of the future.
...
Elsewhere—
The jōnin leader Kakashi Hatake crouched down and pressed two fingers to Zabuza's carotid artery.
"No signs of life."
But something felt wrong.
Not just because of the sudden appearance of a Kirigakure ANBU—but because something was off about him.
As someone outside the Uchiha clan who had to rely on precise calculations every time he used the Sharingan, Kakashi had an extremely accurate instinct for chakra management.
By his own estimates, he should've been completely drained by now.
He should be collapsing from chakra exhaustion any moment.
Yet the sensation in his body told a different story—his chakra wasn't even close to empty. That fullness didn't match someone who had just cast two high-level Water Release techniques.
It felt as if—
Half the chakra used had been drawn from someone else to pay the cost of his jutsu?!
While Kakashi pondered this, he had no idea that far away, an Obito Uchiha from a parallel world—standing just close enough to his own counterpart's eye—had his chakra mysteriously "borrowed," draining his reserves to zero in an instant!
Obito felt his body go soft, and his vision went black.
He fell straight from the tree, crashing onto the ground!
Thud!
"..."
"Who's there?!"
Sasuke immediately hurled several shuriken toward the source of the sound!!