Kiba's teeth ground together as he stared at the masked man across from him. His heart was still pounding from the failed strike. There was no way that he and Akamaru had simply… missed. Their combined fang over fangswere sharp enough to tear through trees and rock — but their opponent hadn't even flinched.
"No way. He's using some kind of trick," Kiba growled, crouched low with Akamaru beside him. "Akamaru, let's hit him again. I want to see what's going on."
The great hound barked once, sharp and eager, as if agreeing with his partner's stubbornness.
Before Kiba could charge, the masked man suddenly began flailing his arms and shouting.
"Ahhh! Help! Deidara-senpai, I can't handle two of them on my own!"
His panicked voice rang false. Deidara, still locked in combat with Naruto some distance away, snarled in irritation.
"Tch! Fei, quit whining. Handle it yourself! I've got my hands full!"
Naruto's laughter cut through the air, mocking and scornful. "Don't be fooled, Kiba. That guy's not an idiot at all — he's just pretending."
Kiba blinked in disbelief, trading glances with Kakashi. Was this clownish masked man Akatsuki? The thought felt absurd, yet Naruto's certainty left little room for doubt.
Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed. His voice was calm, but firm. "Don't let your guard down. The Akatsuki don't recruit weaklings. However he acts, he's dangerous."
Kiba clicked his tongue, frustration bubbling up. "Fine. Then let's finish this, Akamaru!"
Both man and hound launched forward, their bodies spinning like drills.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Twin whirlwinds of claw and fang hurtled at the masked man, one from the left and the other from the right. For a moment, it looked like a sure hit — until their target's form melted into the tree beneath him and vanished.
Kiba and Akamaru crashed past each other, skidding to a halt. Bark and soil sprayed the air, but there was no satisfying impact.
"Again?!" Kiba hissed, breath ragged.
From behind them, Kakashi's voice carried sharp focus. "Strange… his body phases away when attacked. But he reappears when he tries to counter."
Kakashi's Sharingan swirled open in his left eye, the three tomoe gleaming. He shut his right eye, focusing fully. If this masked man truly possessed a Sharingan — maybe even a Mangekyō — then it was best to meet him with the same power.
A ripple passed through the air, and the masked figure emerged again. His orange mask angled toward Kakashi as if drawn to him.
Kakashi noticed instantly. Why was his opponent's attention fixed solely on him?
He formed seals in a flash, chakra crackling violently in his palm.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
Sparks of blue-white light erupted, screeching like a thousand birds. The air around Kakashi's right arm vibrated with lethal force as he dashed forward.
The masked man didn't budge. His voice was low, disdainful. "Do you think that'll work on me?"
The lightning blade struck — and tore through space. Kakashi's hand passed cleanly through his opponent's torso as though he were a phantom.
In the same instant, the masked man's arm lashed out, seizing Kakashi's throat from behind. His grip was cold and merciless.
But Kakashi's body crumbled into dirt.
The man stared at the soil in his hand, realization cutting through. "An earth clone…"
The real Kakashi stood several meters away, eye never leaving him. "So that's it. You're intangible when attacked… but you have to become solid to strike back."
A sharp laugh came from beneath the mask. "Heh. As expected of you, Kakashi. To dissect my ability so quickly."
Something in his tone made Kakashi falter. That voice… that familiarity. His chest tightened.
"You… you talk as if you know me," Kakashi said carefully. "Have we met before?"
The masked man's fists clenched. His breath grew heavier, hatred seeping out from the cracks in his calm façade. Kakashi's words stabbed like knives. Namikaze Minato had once looked at him the same way — and now Kakashi, too, peered at him with that same damned expression.
The man's killing intent surged, thick enough to press against the skin. "This world is rotten. Only through Infinite Tsukuyomi can it be remade. You'll never understand…"
Kakashi didn't respond to his rant. His mind raced instead, piecing together a strategy. If his enemy's intangibility had a limit, then there was a way. He turned his head slightly. "Kiba, with me."
Kiba wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded. "Got it, sensei. Akamaru!"
The hound barked, and together they spun into motion again, their bodies blurring into twin cyclones of destruction.
"Fang Over Fang!"
They closed in on the masked man with terrifying speed.
Obito sneered under his mask. "Pathetic. You'll only tear through air again."
Just as Kiba and Akamaru's drills collided with him, Kakashi's eye flared. The tomoe in his Sharingan twisted, reshaping into the pinwheel of the Mangekyō.
"Kamui!"
Space warped violently. The masked man's body, once intangible, was caught in Kamui's pull at the exact moment Kiba's attack struck.
The impact was devastating.
"Guhhh!"
The masked man was hurled backwards, crashing into the ground with a thunderous crack. Dust rose in a choking cloud.
Kiba stumbled out of his spin, chest heaving. He blinked rapidly, barely comprehending what had just happened. "Wait… we hit him? But why didn't it work before?"
His gaze shot to Kakashi — and froze. The Sharingan in his teacher's left eye was no longer three tomoe, but a pattern unlike anything he had seen before.
Realization dawned. Kakashi had made it possible. Without him, the masked man would have slipped away again.
The figure rose slowly from the dirt, his cloak torn and blood seeping from his abdomen. He glared at Kakashi, voice low and venomous. "My ability… broken? By you?"
The sight of Kakashi's eye twisted his rage into something darker. "A failure like you, opening the Mangekyō Sharingan… unforgivable."
Kakashi's gaze didn't waver, though his mind reeled. Kamui had worked — but the sensation had been strange. The enemy's ability felt… familiar. Too familiar.
"Kamui connected," Kakashi murmured to himself, unsettled. "But… why does your power feel the same as mine?"
His heart pounded with unease. The masked man's Sharingan, his voice, his focus on Kakashi…
It couldn't be. And yet, Kakashi knew he had to find out who this enemy truly was.
---
A/N: Sorry For Taking A Break without any notice as compensation. I have uploaded an extra chapter on my Patreon
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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