His daze lasted less than a second.
A wave of cold surged from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, instantly shattering the numbness in Kakashi's mind. This wasn't a genjutsu. The enemy was moving in.
"Enemy attack!"
He immediately relayed the message to all Anbu through the micro-transmitter at his throat. "Target has breached the barrier! I repeat, target has breached the barrier!"
He had no time to wonder if this was a trap. That man—that silhouette—was walking toward the wooden hut. Inside was the life he had sworn to protect with his very existence.
He couldn't let him pass. Absolutely not!
Images from the past exploded in his mind like a thunderclap. The torrential rain, the blood, the sensation of his Lightning Blade piercing through a chest, and Rin's eyes as they lost their light. He had already failed once. He had personally destroyed his best friend's final request; he had killed his own comrade.
He had carried that sin for far too long. This time, he refused to fail again!
Boom!
Chakra exploded beneath his feet. Kakashi's body shot out from behind the giant rock like a bolt of lightning, charging toward the Four Violet Flames Formation. He didn't try to pass through the barrier. His only choice was to intercept the enemy before he caused irreparable damage—or kill him!
However, the masked man acted as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He stopped and slowly turned around. He didn't look at Kakashi. Instead, he glanced up at the lit wooden hut and let out a soft, mocking scoff.
The sound was drenched in ridicule and disdain.
"Kakashi Hatake."
The masked man spoke. His voice was deep, possessing a strange quality that seemed to draw one in. He merely spoke the name calmly, yet it made Kakashi's heart tighten mid-charge.
This man knew him.
"You're still the same as ever."
The masked man tilted his head, his gaze falling on the left eye Kakashi kept hidden behind his headband. "Always rushing to the front line to protect things... you don't even understand."
Before the words could finish, Kakashi had reached him. He didn't waste time on chatter. The only answer he had for the enemy was a jutsu.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
The piercing sound of a thousand birds filled the air. White electricity gathered in his right palm, forming a lethal, crackling orb of light.
"Lightning Blade!"
It was his fastest, strongest piercing technique. He poured all his speed, his rage, and his resolve into this single strike. He intended to use this blow to core the chest of this bizarre intruder.
The masked man stood his ground, motionless. He seemed to have given up on resisting, allowing the lethal lightning to drive straight toward his heart.
Too slow, Kakashi. Your speed, your jutsu... nothing has improved.
Beneath the mask, Obito's Sharingan watched the approaching light with cold indifference.
It was this hand. It was this jutsu. This is exactly how you took Rin's life.
Squelch!
There was no sensation of hitting anything solid. Kakashi's right hand, along with the violent Lightning Blade, passed directly through the masked man's body, hitting nothing but empty air. He was standing right there, yet his body had no physical form; it was a mere phantom.
"What?!" Kakashi's pupils shrunk. His momentum carried him forward, and he stumbled a few steps as his power hit nothing but the void.
How is this possible?
"What do you see with that eye?" A cold voice whispered in his ear.
Kakashi spun around. The masked man had appeared behind him at some point, his back almost touching Kakashi's. He could even smell a faint, musty scent coming from the man. A chill rose in his soul. Without thinking, Kakashi swung a kunai backward, aiming for the man's heart.
Again, that sensation. The kunai passed through a shadow, touching nothing.
"Good reflexes," the masked man said, a hint of amusement entering his voice. "Too bad they're useless."
He reached out, grabbing for Kakashi's shoulder. This time, it wasn't a phantom. Kakashi's Sharingan caught the movement, and his body instinctively tried to dodge. But the hand was too fast—or rather, the timing of its manifestation was too precise. Just as Kakashi's momentum failed him, leaving him unable to pivot, the black-gloved hand clamped firmly onto his shoulder.
'Solid?!' Kakashi was shaken to his core. 'Shifting between intangible and physical? There's a Space-Time Ninjutsu like this?!'
"Let go!" Kakashi roared. He focused chakra into a short blade in his left hand and swung in a horizontal arc.
But the masked man's strength was staggering. His fingers dug in, pinning Kakashi to the spot.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave," Obito whispered, his voice so low only the two of them could hear. "The game has just begun. Aren't you curious? Why did your teacher, Minato Namikaze, put you here?"
He leaned into Kakashi's ear, his tone dripping with malicious temptation. "He put you, and his most elite subordinates, right next to a bait that contains absolutely nothing."
Kakashi struggled, weaving signs with his free hand.
"Earth Style: Tracking Fang Technique!"
Several ninja hounds burst from the ground, baring their fangs as they lunged at the masked man from all directions.
"A boring trick."
The masked man didn't even look. The hand gripping Kakashi's shoulder suddenly exerted massive force, swinging him like a flail and slamming him into the incoming hounds.
Bang!
The ninja hounds vanished in puffs of smoke. Kakashi was slammed violently into the dirt. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. At that moment, several dark shadows flickered out from the forest—the rest of the Anbu had arrived.
"Captain!"
"Form the formation!"
They didn't hesitate. Several poison-coated short blades sealed off every possible retreat for the masked man. Their coordination was flawless, their strikes ruthless.
"Oh? Reinforcements have arrived." Obito released Kakashi, looking at the charging Anbu with interest.
Teacher Minato's direct subordinates. The elites of Konoha. Protecting this broken village, executing wrong orders. Fine, then. I'll let you feel despair as well.
"Wood Style: Cutting Technique!"
He slammed a single hand onto the ground. Without warning, several razor-sharp wooden spikes erupted frantically from beneath the Anbu's feet.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Blood sprayed into the night. Those battle-hardened Anbu elites didn't even have time to react before the wooden spikes skewered them from below, hoisting them high into the air. Their eyes were wide, their faces still frozen in expressions of aggression, but their lives vanished in an instant.
Kakashi struggled to his feet, but when he saw the scene, he froze entirely.
'Wood Style... that's... the First Hokage's jutsu!'
Who exactly was this man? In less than a minute, the defensive line his teacher had established was wiped out. Only he remained.
"Do you see it now, Kakashi?"
Obito turned around, walking toward him step by step, treading over the blood-soaked grass. "This is what you protect. It's incredibly fragile, isn't it?"
"You..." Kakashi clutched his chest, gasping for breath. His exposed eye was bloodshot. He looked at his comrades impaled on the wooden spikes, his body trembling with a mixture of rage and impotence. "Who... who are you?"
"Who am I?" Obito let out a cold laugh. "I am the one who will end this hypocritical world. And you, Kakashi... you're just a pathetic fool kept in the dark."
He reached up, appearing as if he were about to remove his mask. But his movement stopped halfway. He changed his mind. Now wasn't the time. Watching Kakashi struggle in ignorance and despair seemed far more entertaining.
"You think you're here protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" Obito's voice was full of mockery. "You think this is a sign of Minato's trust in you?"
Kakashi's breath hitched.
"You're wrong." Beneath the mask, the corners of Obito's mouth curled up uncontrollably. "From start to finish, this place was nothing more than a trap."
"What... what are you saying?" Kakashi looked at him in disbelief.
"Your teacher, the 'great' Fourth Hokage, used you and all his direct Anbu as bait. He only wanted to lure me here to buy a little time," Obito said slowly, each word hitting Kakashi like a physical blow. "Because he didn't dare let anyone know the real location of the delivery. He doesn't trust anyone—including you, his 'beloved' student."
"No... that's impossible..." Kakashi muttered, his eyes beginning to lose focus.
"You think that's all?" Obito watched his breakdown, a surge of vengeful pleasure rising in his heart. "His true goal was to use me to pull you away from the real battlefield. Because he knew that if you were involved in the actual Nine-Tails sealing, with your strength, you would only get in the way."
"He abandoned you, Kakashi."
"Just like you abandoned Rin at Kannabi Bridge."
That final sentence completely shattered Kakashi's will. His head throbbed, a buzzing sound drowning out everything except the words 'abandoned Rin.'
"Alright, game over." Obito looked away, turning as his form began to warp. "Stay here and enjoy the worthlessness you bought with your comrades' lives."
A spatial vortex appeared, slowly swallowing his body. Before he vanished completely, he left one final sentence.
"Soon, you will hear the screams of Konoha."
The vortex disappeared. The night wind blew, carrying the heavy scent of blood. In the valley, Kakashi remained alone, kneeling amidst the corpses of his comrades. His body was motionless, frozen in place.
Sensei... lied to me?