Chapter 40: Kakashi's Taste of Luxury: [Part 3]
At the center of the massive crater, Guy lay completely limp, not moving an inch.
If not for the slow rise and fall of his chest and the gleam still in his eyes, anyone who saw him would have assumed he was already dead.
Though the injuries from opening the Seventh Gate had vanished thanks to Sakura's Temporal Rewind, his spirit was completely drained.
The side effect of the jutsu was brutal—it forcibly stuffed all memories and sensations from the rewind period into the present.
In other words, Guy had just endured the Eight Gates once, but his mind was now experiencing the pain of it twice over, stacked in an instant.
If not for his iron will, he likely would've blacked out from the shock.
While Guy lay there recovering, Kakashi, on the other hand, was only growing more energetic as the fight went on.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Two clones appeared beside him, and the three of them moved in perfect sync, forming seals at high speed.
Wind Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release—three chakra natures erupted simultaneously in a barrage of jutsu.
"What a fool. Burning chakra like that—how long does he think he can last?"
Hiding behind a mud wall made with Earth Release, the Root ambush squad's captain sneered.
It was no secret within ANBU and Root that Kakashi's chakra reserves were limited.
If Kakashi stuck to his usual tactics—using precision, strategy, and flawless timing—then sure, he'd be a pain.
But now, he'd abandoned his strengths in favor of brute force, unleashing chakra-draining jutsu nonstop.
The captain scoffed.
So all those stories about Hatake Kakashi were just exaggerated rumors after all.
What he didn't see, however, was this:
Each time Kakashi finished a burst of jutsu and ran low on chakra, a faint green light flickered around his right wrist.
Moments later, the fatigue would vanish, and Kakashi would be full of energy once more.
One minute passed… Kakashi was still going strong.
Two minutes… then three… not only had he not slowed down, his seal-weaving speed had actually increased.
Every two or three seconds, a jutsu exploded outward.
The relentless bombardment had the Root shinobi on edge.
"Didn't they say Hatake Kakashi had low chakra?! What the hell is this?!
Even the Hokage couldn't keep up this pace!"
"Man… this feeling of not having to worry about chakra is amazing."
For the first time in years, Kakashi felt truly free.
Ever since he received Obito's Sharingan, he had always been burdened by chronic chakra shortages.
On every mission, even during high-speed travel, he had to calculate and conserve every drop.
In combat, he relied on brains and taijutsu to find openings, then landed a single kill shot with Chidori or Lightning Blade.
But now?
Unleashing jutsu like a madman… this was something he'd only dared dream about.
"Shame it's so mentally draining, though. Otherwise, I'd keep this up forever."
Kakashi sighed.
Though he felt exhilarated, he hadn't forgotten the mission.
He dispatched two more clones to continue the bombardment while his real body slipped underground with Earth Release.
"Damn it. We can't keep playing with him—we need to kill the target, now…"
"You're out of time."
Just as the ambush squad captain resolved to break away and assassinate Sakura, a flicker of lightning appeared beside him.
"Hatake Kakashi?! When did he—?!"
His pupils contracted in shock—he hadn't even sensed Kakashi sneaking up on him.
"Lightning Release: Chidori…"
Kakashi's lightning-coated hand pierced through the captain's chest—right through the heart.
Blood sprayed outward.
The squad leader died instantly.
Two minutes later, the battlefield was silent.
All of the Root operatives lay dead, most of them felled by a single, precise thrust through the heart—clearly the work of Kakashi's Chidori.
"Whew… maybe I overdid it a little.
Still, it's been a long time since I felt this… light."
Kakashi leaned against a large tree, pulling his forehead protector down to once again cover his left eye.
His head throbbed.
Between the mental strain of Temporal Rewind and the chakra drain of the Sharingan, he had now followed Guy's example—completely spent and forced to rest where he sat.
Meanwhile, with Sakura and Shisui, the sudden silence from both battlefields made it clear to everyone that the fighting had ended—and the outcome was obvious.
Realizing this, the remaining Root ninja went berserk, launching a frenzied assault.
Even Shisui was starting to feel overwhelmed.
"Shisui-nii, you're a high-output ninja—why are you playing defense?"
Sakura's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.
"Shisui-nii, use a Fire Release—right in front of you!"
"Got it!"
Shisui stepped back and rapidly formed hand seals. A fireball several meters in diameter burst from his mouth.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Spatial Shift!"
With a snap of her fingers, Sakura summoned a space-time rift in front of the fireball.
It swallowed the blazing orb whole.
"Huh? What just happened?"
The Root ninja were baffled. But before they could even react, a searing heat suddenly washed over their backs.
A second portal silently opened behind them—and the same Great Fireball that had vanished earlier exploded forth.
"Waaaah—!"
Caught completely off guard, the Root ninja were engulfed in flames.
By the time the fire faded, they lay smoldering on the ground—completely annihilated.
"So, Shisui-nii—how was that for support?"
Sakura asked proudly.
She had used the Space Stone to link two points in space: one in front of the fireball and one behind the enemies.
The jutsu was absorbed from one end and launched out the other—perfect for catching enemies by surprise.
"That's an incredible ability,"
Shisui praised with clear admiration in his eyes.
"Come on, let's go check on Kakashi-senpai and Guy-senpai."
When they found them, both Shisui and Sakura were left stunned.
Never mind how pale and drained both men looked—like they had donated all their blood—the state of the battlefield was even more shocking.
Guy's location featured a massive crater left by Daytime Tiger, with the scattered bodies of Root shinobi adding to the grisly scene. The carnage was so intense it nearly made Sakura vomit.
Kakashi's side was slightly less grotesque, but the land itself looked like it had been churned by a plow. Trees had been leveled, rocks shattered, and the earth scorched by fire.
"Uncle Kakashi… what the hell did you do?"
Sakura's forehead twitched as she stared at the devastation.
Just how many jutsu had Kakashi unleashed to cause this much destruction?