Chapter 87 – Slap in the Face
"That guy is a Black Shadow Ninja!" Kakashi calmed his excitement and whispered to Yuhi Kurenai and Gai.
"What?" Kurenai's expression changed. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course! Even though there's no visible flaw on the outside, I'll never forget that feeling!"
"Then let's hurry up and report to the Hokage!" Kurenai said calmly. "If this guy starts causing trouble in the Hidden Leaf Village, it could be another disaster on the level of the Nine-Tails' Night!"
"I understand. Hey, where's Gai?" Kakashi nodded and turned his head—just in time to see Gai already chasing after the man. He was immediately shocked.
"Kurenai, you go report first! I'll go take care of that idiot Gai!" Kakashi gritted his teeth in anger and immediately ran after him.
Kurenai opened her mouth slightly and waved her hand, then saw Kakashi disappear around the corner.
"Can't these men calm down for a bit?" she sighed in annoyance. However, she didn't chase after them and instead walked toward the Hokage Building.
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On the other side, two people were walking down the street. Hyuga Hizashi, who was standing behind, said to Ayaan:
"Sir, it seems that someone is catching up with us!"
"Ah… I get it. As long as he doesn't come charging at me, I can ignore him." Ayaan smiled and waved his hand. "After that big fight last time, I think the ninjas of the Hidden Leaf should have learned their lesson. No matter what, they won't fight me directly inside the village."
Ayaan didn't believe his meeting with Kakashi was a coincidence. Kakashi must have known his identity, and it was precisely because of that they were being more cautious.
The Leaf couldn't withstand another major disaster right now—especially since Jiraiya had been captured by Ayaan and the village hadn't received any news of his return. Their nerves were on edge.
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"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Before Ayaan finished speaking, a large foot swung over and slammed into his head with a crack.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
"It hurts, it hurts… it's so hard," Gai, dressed in green, grimaced while holding his shin. "What a powerful defense—the head is harder than steel."
Gai's words weren't an exaggeration. With his years of taijutsu training and a chakra-enhanced kick, he could leave a dent even in steel. However, when his kick landed on Ayaan's head, there was no reaction at all—except that his own leg bone nearly fractured.
Ayaan's face was completely dark. Well, that was because his face was already covered with Armament Haki—and definitely not because his mood had turned ugly after being slapped in the face on the spot.
Hyuga Hizashi looked straight ahead as if he had seen nothing.
Ayaan was silent for a while before finally saying, "Well, maybe some ninjas' thought processes are indeed different from normal people's."
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At that moment, after rubbing his shin a few times to ease the pain, Gai performed a classic martial arts pose—one hand extended forward, the other behind his back, dropping into a lunge.
"The Blue Beast of the Leaf, Might Gai, is here!"
"Black Shadow Ninja, surrender!"
The atmosphere chilled instantly, as if two crows had flown overhead cawing, Fool, fool!
"Gai, you idiot!" The silver-haired Kakashi caught up at this time. He looked at his old friend with both disappointment and readiness, making a defensive stance.
"Forget it… Anyway, it's come to this. Shadow Ninja! It just so happens I want to settle the score with you about Obito's eyes."
Ayaan glanced at the two in front of him. "You two are the only ones who want to settle the score? Kakashi, without the Sharingan, can you still use your Raikiri accurately? And Gai, how many gates of the Eight Gates can you open?"
Even in the world of pirates, Gai—if he opened all Eight Gates—could possibly die together with any of the Four Emperors. However, at his current age, he was still some distance away from being able to fully open all eight.
What's more, Ayaan now had the combined strength of two power systems. Even if Gai really opened all Eight Gates, Ayaan would still not be afraid. With his physique, even opening the Seventh Gate would give him combat power not much weaker than Gai's full Eight Gates.
As for Hatake Kakashi, it was hard to say whether the Sharingan was a treasure or a burden to him. If he had lost it for ten years, his strength might have surpassed his original. But it had only been three years since losing the Sharingan, and his fighting style might not have fully adapted. Whether he was now stronger or weaker, Ayaan wasn't sure.
However, even giving them the benefit of the doubt, the two together still had no chance of defeating Ayaan.
Unless it was Gai who could use the Eighth Gate as in the original events, or Kakashi with the Kamui Sharingan, these two posed no real threat.
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"Eight Gates Technique? I can only open the Sixth Gate right now," Gai answered directly, somewhat naively. "But youth will never fail! As long as you work hard…"
Kakashi sighed. He had exposed his limits right from the start. Gai was simply not reliable outside of battle.
While thinking, Kakashi formed hand seals, and lightning flared around him. The dazzling current condensed into a sword-like form aimed directly at Ayaan.
At first, the lightning crackled and chirped sharply, but in the end, the violent current condensed like clear water, forming a shining blade that hummed quietly.
This wasn't because the power of Kakashi's Raikiri had weakened—rather, his control over lightning had greatly improved, making the chakra more concentrated.
"It seems you haven't been discouraged by the loss of the Sharingan!" Ayaan didn't try to stop him, instead watching with interest. Just from this Raikiri, it was clear Kakashi's strength over the past three years hadn't decreased but had grown considerably.
The reason Kakashi in the original history seemed like a talented youth who plateaued as he matured was partly due to the Sharingan, but more so because of repeated personal losses—Obito, Rin, Minato—which left him disheartened and uninterested in training.
When younger, Kakashi hadn't been a training maniac like Gai, but he was disciplined and hardworking. Occasional training scenes in the original timeline made that clear.
But after his friends and teacher died, he became depressed, spending his days on missions, reading adult books, arriving late, or visiting graves. In that state, it was no surprise his strength barely improved.
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