Obito Uchiha's face lit up instantly at Kakashi's words. "You'll come with me? To save Rin and Katsuhiko?"
Kakashi let out a breath. "If you're not afraid of regret, why should I be? I've already lived through it. I just hope you don't regret this later. And one condition."
"Anything!" Obito nodded eagerly.
"Listen first. The only reason I'm going is because you and Rin are… barely considered teammates. So from now on, no running off on your own. You follow my lead. Clear?"
"Got it! I'll listen to you!"
Kakashi took a deep breath. He wasn't cold-hearted by nature. His teacher, Qianyu, had drilled one lesson into him over and over: rules and regulations were bullshit compared to the people you cared about. Nothing was more important than family and friends.
But his father's fate was a cautionary tale. In a place like Konoha, where loyalty was often a one-way street, Kakashi had learned to wear a mask of cold logic. It was the only way to survive. That wound… it was one he'd carry forever.
Qianyu and Minato Namikaze had found the front-line commander, Mekado. The man's shoulders visibly sagged with relief at the sight of them. "Finally. You're here."
"Report," Minato said, his voice calm.
"Approximately fifty hostiles," Mekado stated grimly. "But the bigger issue… the survivors on our side. It's just the four of us now."
The battlefield was a graveyard of Leaf-nin bodies. The Rock ninja's morale was sky-high.
"This ends now! All at once!"
Minato produced a dozen special kunai. "Everyone. Throw these into the enemy ranks. Leave the rest to me and Qianyu."
One of the surviving Leaf shinobi stared. "That's… insane. No matter how you look at it—"
"Shut up and do it!" Mekado barked. "What you're about to see is the Yellow Flash and the Blood-Eyed Asura in action. It'll be over in a blink. Don't miss it."
As the kunai arced through the air, Minato vanished.
Flash!
He reappeared by one kunai. A flicker of motion. An enemy fell.
Flash! Another.
Qianyu moved like a bolt of lightning. Thunder Breathing—First Form: Thunderclap and Flash. He weaved through the enemy ranks, a streak of silver and blue light. Against a force dozens of times their number, it wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter conducted by two men.
"Unbelievable…" one of Mekado's men whispered, utterly transfixed.
Kakashi and Obito had located the prison—a crude cave made of stacked rocks.
"Draw their attention. I'll get them out. Understood?" Kakashi whispered.
Obito gave a tense nod. "Got it."
Kakashi picked up a stone and hurled it at the cave entrance. The clatter echoed.
Inside, the two Rock ninja—Hikari and Ōishi—paused.
"I'll handle it," Ōishi murmured. "You keep working on the girl. Extract the intel."
"Camouflage Concealment Jutsu!"
His form blurred, blending into the rocks as he slipped outside. Kakashi crept toward the cave.
Obito watched, heart pounding.
"Looking for something?" a voice hissed right behind him. "Let the white-haired kid be the bait while you play hero? Too naive."
Ōishi materialized, kunai aiming for Obito's back.
A silver flash from above. Kakashi's blade slashed down across Ōishi's chest.
Ōishi staggered back, shock etched on his face. But… Kakashi was by the cave. He'd planned to take out the weakling first, then the prodigy. Instead, he'd walked into a trap.
Obito stared dumbly. "Kakashi, weren't you—"
"Shadow Clone," Kakashi said flatly, landing beside him. "An enemy who can turn invisible? And I leave you, the crybaby, alone? He'd obviously target you first. My real body was in the trees."
Obito pouted. "You really don't trust me at all?"
"You know exactly how much you weigh in a fight."
Ōishi studied Kakashi, then chuckled darkly, pressing a hand to his bleeding chest. "I said before… I'd be wary of your master, the Blood-Eyed Asura. But you? You're nothing."
"Camouflage Concealment Jutsu!"
He vanished again.
Kakashi's nose twitched. Gone. No scent. He had to rely on air currents, minute sounds. He focused, every sense straining.
A whisper of movement. Too late.
"Obito! Behind you!"
Obito froze. Kakashi yanked him aside—but the maneuver left him open.
Ōishi's kunai flashed.
A searing pain erupted in Kakashi's left eye.
"MY EYE!"
He stumbled back, hand clamped over his face. Blood seeped between his fingers. Ōishi tossed the bloodied kunai aside and melted back into camouflage. Cocky words aside, he was taking no chances. Kakashi, student of that monster Qianyu, had a reputation.
Obito scrambled to Kakashi's side. "Hey! Are you okay?!"
Kakashi gritted his teeth, pain sharp and hot. "My eye… he got it. Just like Sensei warned. That bastard's good. The kunai with my blood… he threw it away."
Obito's vision blurred, tears welling.
Kakashi lowered his hand, revealing a deep, bloody gash across his left eye. His right eye fixed on Obito. "What? Sand in your eyes again? Don't cry. I'm not dead. Getting hurt is part of the job. Stay sharp."
Obito pushed his goggles up, wiping furiously at his eyes. Minato-sensei's words echoed in his head. 'You wear goggles. How can sand get in? If you talk about willpower, make your heart strong too.'
He was always just talking. Always needing others to bail him out. A loudmouth loser.
But… this one thing. 'Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash.' That was one thing he didn't want to be just talk.
Movement. A ripple in the air. Ōishi was coming again. For him.
"DIE!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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