"There's an enemy!"
The sudden alarm caught Konoha's team off guard. Several members of the barrier unit abruptly halted the activation process of the sealing technique. Kakashi immediately split off with three chunin, eyes sharp and body tense as he scanned the area, trying to locate the source of the threat.
But the enemy had already vanished—disappearing without a trace after snatching one of the barrier-nin.
Kakashi turned to the Hyūga among them. The ninja's Byakugan was active, but he shook his head. "My perception extends several kilometers… I can't sense anyone. The enemy likely used some form of space-time ninjutsu."
Kakashi shared the same suspicion. He adjusted his forehead protector, his expression tightening as his Sharingan scanned the room for residual traces.
Even the Fourth Hokage's Flying Raijin Jutsu left behind a subtle disturbance. Kakashi couldn't believe there was someone whose space-time technique surpassed Minato-sensei's. And yet—he saw nothing. No flicker. No afterimage.
Still, he remained calm and decisive. "Resume activating the fortress's protective barrier," he ordered coldly.
They needed to draw the enemy out again—and that meant bait.
Kakashi cared deeply for his comrades, but he wasn't above using calculated risk. If hesitation got in the way of duty, one might as well stop being a ninja.
The barrier team didn't object. Their hands moved with caution, slower than before, their eyes darting around the room in constant vigilance.
Just as expected, the enemy struck again.
In Kakashi's vision, the air twisted into a vortex, and a single hand emerged from it.
"Behind you!" he shouted.
At once, he sprang into action. His breath hitched, chest swelling with air, and he roared, "Silver Fang Flash!"
Blade in hand, he lunged like a thunderbolt, his speed rivaling that of Chidori.
But—
His sword sliced through the enemy's arm—and hit nothing.
"What?!"
Kakashi's heart pounded. The attack had been perfect—yet it felt like striking air.
In a flash, the figure intersected with Kakashi's own, evading him effortlessly while grabbing another unfortunate barrier-nin. Then, like before, the enemy vanished without a sound.
Before anyone could react, flames suddenly burst to life in midair.
"Detonating tags—!" Kakashi's eyes widened. "Everyone, get back!"
While shouting, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Multiple Earth-Flow Walls!"
Four thick stone walls erupted around the explosive seals, boxing them in just in time.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of deafening explosions followed. These weren't ordinary tags—their power was far more potent, specially crafted for maximum destruction.
Dust filled the control room.
Kakashi stood at the front, his stance firm despite the chaos.
They were dealing with someone dangerous.
Someone who could appear and vanish at will—and whose space-time technique might even rival the Fourth Hokage's.
Kakashi's hastily cast Earth Wall barely contained the explosion. Smoke and dust filled the control room, clouding everyone's vision.
"Be careful. He's coming again!" one of the Hyūga warned.
But it was already too late.
Though the members of the barrier unit were technically chunin, most had devoted their training to seals and enchantments, not direct combat. They typically operated from behind the front lines—and it showed.
In the blink of an eye, another member of the barrier squad vanished into thin air.
The enemy was now targeting the last remaining one.
"Bastard...!"
Kakashi cursed, his voice sharp. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly as his dagger crackled with lightning.
The static-charged dust in the air became a perfect conductor. Blue electricity burst from Kakashi, arcing straight toward the final barrier ninja.
The enemy's arm jolted as lightning surged through it. Stunned, the figure was forced to retreat into the void, abandoning the attack.
As the last sparks faded, silence returned to the control room.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Four members of the barrier unit were gone—three taken by the enemy, and one, though spared, lay badly injured, barely breathing. Kakashi's lightning hadn't just shocked the enemy—it had also nearly fried the ally he was trying to protect.
Collateral damage.
An eight-hundred-to-one trade.
The wounded ninja was now in no state to continue the mission.
Kakashi made his decision. "We're pulling out. Immediately."
There was hesitation. A Hyūga chunin stepped forward. "But... we still have a chance to finish the mission."
Abandoning a mission—especially one this critical—was considered disgraceful. The outcome of the entire battle between the two villages might hinge on it.
But Kakashi shook his head. "No. We've already failed."
Even if the wounded barrier ninja recovered, it would take time—time they didn't have. And there was no guarantee the enemy wouldn't strike again.
Kakashi wasn't confident he could protect the team against a foe who could move through space so freely.
He understood the hesitation in his squad. A shinobi was supposed to keep fighting until the very end. But continuing now would be meaningless—it would only add more bodies to the count.
And besides, with the last specialist incapacitated, the mission was effectively doomed. Even the village couldn't blame them for the withdrawal.
Kakashi just needed to leave with a clear conscience.
The Hyūga seemed ready to protest, but when he met Kakashi's eye—and remembered the reputation of the man once known as the "White Fang of Konoha"—he went silent.
Without another word, the group gathered their injured and retreated from the control room.
From the shadows of a twisted vortex, a figure emerged. He watched Kakashi disappear into the distance and let out a cold sneer.
---
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside, the scarlet barrier trembled under the heavy strikes of massive paws.
Within it, Shisui gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
This wasn't his usual style. Head-on confrontation wasn't his strength, and he wasn't yet at his peak—too young, too inexperienced to handle such an intense drain on his chakra.
Fortunately, his opponent wasn't unscathed either. The Tailed Beast Host had taken damage before this fight even began. It was the only reason Shisui had lasted this long.
Suddenly, a barrier squad ninja rushed out of the fortress. "Captain! Kakashi's team has encountered an unknown enemy—the mission has failed!"
"What?!" Shisui's eyes widened in shock.
But there was no time to process the report.
"Prepare to retreat," he ordered immediately.
The Uchiha shinobi beside him gave a firm nod. With the mission compromised, they no longer had a reason to remain on the battlefield. Once the Two-Tails paused to recover, they'd seize the opportunity to fall back.
But before that could happen, a group of Cloud Jonin appeared on the horizon.
The leader shouted toward the beast, "Lady Yugito! Lord Raikage orders immediate withdrawal!"
"What?!"
The Tailed Beast Host—Yugito Nii—turned, her feline eyes brimming with frustration. She clearly wanted to finish the fight.
But defying the Raikage wasn't an option.
In a final outburst of rage, she summoned several blazing fireballs and hurled them toward the already-weakened Uchiha flame barrier.
The scorched barrier cracked—then shattered entirely.
___________
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