"Has anyone ever told you that you're not suited for giving advice? You're too long-winded, Kakashi."
Takeshi rolled his eyes at Kakashi's attempt to psychoanalyze him. Just as he was about to respond in kind, Kakashi's next words cut him off:
"Compared to the current you, I definitely prefer the old version—the carefree one. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Some things just can't be fixed with pure passion."
Kakashi continued his heartfelt speech, completely unaware that Takeshi's expression had drastically changed.
P-prefer?
Is this the infamous 'bonds' of Konohagakure?
Feeling a chill creep up his spine, Takeshi subtly scooted his butt away from Kakashi, trying to put some distance between them.
"No matter what decision you make, Obito and I will—"
Noticing Takeshi's movement, Kakashi's face filled with confusion. He didn't understand why Takeshi was suddenly pulling away.
"What's wrong?"
Scratching his face awkwardly, Kakashi wasn't used to being the one offering emotional support. He had only spoken up because he was worried Takeshi might get led astray by Obito's nonsense.
"Ahem, Kakashi… The current you kind of disgusts me..."
Takeshi coughed lightly, trying to dispel Kakashi's imaginary perverted thoughts.
"Huh?"
Kakashi was clearly hurt by his friend suddenly calling him "disgusting."
But seeing Takeshi's expression, Kakashi realized something had gone wrong. He quickly reviewed his own words in his mind, then finally understood what had sounded off.
"N-No! That's not what I meant by 'prefer'!"
Panicked, he leapt off the boulder and waved his hands frantically in explanation.
"Stay back! Let's keep a safe distance between us!"
Seeing Kakashi jump down, Takeshi didn't bother to hide anymore. He immediately jumped back, warning Kakashi to maintain a healthy distance.
As things began to spiral completely out of control, Kakashi—now worried for his reputation—ignored Takeshi's warning and charged forward to explain himself.
The two of them began chasing each other in circles around their hiding spot.
...
"Huff... huff... Heh heh... Takeshi, I told you I'm better than Kakashi, right...? Huff..."
Inside the cave, Obito, the main instigator behind all this, was lying on a makeshift bedding, arms and legs sprawled in all directions. His belly peeked out from his messy sleepwear, drool streamed across the floor, and a dumb grin remained plastered across his face. He had no idea what was happening outside.
Hearing the noise, Rin sat up and carefully listened in on Takeshi and Kakashi's "discussion."
"Pfft—"
Unable to hold back her laughter, she collapsed back onto her bed, a mischievous smile on her lips. She decided to let them be and ignored the chaos outside.
...
The next morning.
Yawning and stretching, the first thing Obito did was head over to the entrance to find Takeshi. What he saw instead were Takeshi and Kakashi—both with dark, heavy eye bags—standing there in awkward silence.
After a prolonged chase, Kakashi had finally caught up to Takeshi and forced him to sit through a half-hour-long explanation. Only then did Takeshi, with a look of suspicion, reluctantly believe him.
But after all that, neither of them could get any sleep. Now Kakashi sat gloomily not far behind Takeshi, sighing at how he had ended up befriending someone so imaginative.
Seeing that Kakashi wasn't going to sleep, Takeshi—who had originally been relieved—tensed up all over again. Now paranoid that Kakashi might try something weird, he had to keep an eye on both the surroundings and Kakashi behind him. What should have been a relaxing watch shift turned into an exhausting mental ordeal.
"Eh? What's going on, Kakashi? Why are you here too?"
Seeing Kakashi looking just as tired, Obito was confused.
"Idiot. It's all your fault!"
Kakashi smacked Obito on the head with a fist, then darkly turned away to pack up his gear.
Obito was completely baffled by the random punch and looked at Kakashi in total confusion.
He turned to Takeshi, hoping for an explanation. But Takeshi—who was just as annoyed—also raised his fist and landed a clean hit on Obito's head, wearing the exact same grumpy expression as Kakashi as he walked back into the cave to pack.
Obito was left standing alone at the entrance, rubbing his aching head and wondering what exactly he had done wrong.
...
Kakashi's advice did have an effect. As they set out again, Takeshi no longer obsessed over whether he should change the shinobi world. Instead, he focused entirely on the mission ahead.
They quietly infiltrated the Iwagakure-controlled region in the Land of Rain and, from a distance, heard the sounds of battle—though not very intense.
"Is it our people?"
Takeshi immediately assumed it was Konohagakure launching an attack.
"Probably not. It doesn't sound that intense. More like a small skirmish between squads."
Kakashi pressed his ear to the ground for a moment before making his assessment.
"I only hear the clash of metal—no signs of ninjutsu. Sounds like both sides are still probing each other."
After listening to Kakashi's analysis, Takeshi thought for a moment, then decided to lead the group in for a closer look.
Just in case, he hid a Flying Thunder God kunai nearby, ready to teleport the group back if things went wrong.
Soon, they reached a vantage point with a full view of the battlefield.
"Rain-nin?"
Kakashi was surprised to see who was fighting.
Both sides consisted of four-man squads—one Iwagakure team, and one team of Rain-nin. Compared to the well-equipped Iwa-nin, the Rain-nin looked incredibly under-armed, almost pitiful.
Yet despite that, the Rain-nin showed no less fighting spirit. They aggressively broke through the tight formation of the Iwa-nin, managing to disrupt their defenses.
"Didn't Hanzō tell his subordinates to avoid provoking the Iwa-nin? Why are they fighting?"
Nohara Rin frowned, confused as to why a battle had broken out.
"That's simple. We just ask them."
Takeshi pulled out a senbon, preparing to jump in at the right moment.
"Tch... damn you!"
One of the Iwa-nin took a kunai to the chest, right side. Roaring in pain, he swung his stone-covered arm with full force, aiming to crush the Rain-nin in front of him.
The Rain-nin abandoned his kunai and immediately retreated—only to slam into a wall that hadn't been there before.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall."
Another Iwa-nin smirked confidently as he sealed off the escape route.
"Die!"
Before his punch could land, however, a sharp pain shot through his waist, forcing him to stop mid-strike.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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