Obito Uchiha told Kakashi he didn't regret saving Takei Katsuhiko.
Kakashi sagged to the ground, all strength gone. Tears spilled unbidden. "Why… Why can't you understand? Some people aren't comrades! They'll just get you killed! You… you should have just saved Rin…"
A faint smile touched Obito's lips. "Alright, Kakashi. You know, I almost forgot. I'm the only one who didn't give you a gift for making jonin. I thought hard about what to give you. And… I've decided. Don't worry, it's nothing extravagant. I'm giving you my Sharingan."
Kakashi stared, stunned.
"You're a fine jonin," Obito continued, smile unwavering. "No matter what the village says. That's what I believe. Accept it. Rin, use your medical ninjutsu. Transplant my Sharingan, along with the optic nerve, into Kakashi's left eye."
Rin Nohara felt the fierce resolve behind Obito's words. She looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi, come here. We start now."
Kakashi hesitated. Obito's voice was fading but firm. "I'm… dying. But I can become your eye. To see the future for you…"
Kakashi's gaze hardened. He accepted the transplant.
Not far from the cave entrance, Ōishi sat against a tree, drinking water. Tied to a trunk opposite him was the trembling form of Takei Katsuhiko.
A blast of sound erupted from the cave. Kakashi stood atop a boulder.
Hikari looked up, scowling. "Still alive? Persistent little brat. But a kid's a kid. Crying like that? Come on then, crybaby! Let's end this!"
Kakashi opened his left eye. Crimson. Twin tomoe spun within the Sharingan.
Hikari's eyes widened in shock.
Kakashi's gaze was ice.
The air around Kakashi had shifted. His presence was completely different. Hikari tensed, grip tightening on his twin swords.
Kakashi… Obito's whisper echoed in his mind. Protect Rin…
"Got it."
Kakashi drew his short blade. His eyes locked onto Hikari, sharp as the steel in his hand.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
He was a blur. The slash aimed for Hikari's neck.
CLANG! Hikari crossed his swords, meeting the strike head-on. Kakashi's blade shattered.
Kakashi didn't flinch. His cold stare never wavered.
Lightning pooled in his right hand. A thousand birds shrieked. Chidori. He charged.
Hikari roared, swinging both swords in a deadly cross-cut.
The blades were inches away. Kakashi's Sharingan saw it—the trajectory, the angle. He dropped low. The swords whistled over his head.
THRUM.
The Chidori pierced clean through Hikari's chest. The shrieking lightning died. Hikari collapsed.
Kakashi looked at the body. Nothing. No ripple in the calm.
Then he saw Takei Katsuhiko, bound and helpless. Hatred, pure and boiling, erupted in Kakashi's eyes.
A shunshin. He was in front of Takei, fist clenched in the man's shirt, hauling him up. "Why?" Kakashi snarled, voice raw. "Obito risked his life for you! Why did you push him?!"
Takei couldn't meet his gaze. "I—I didn't mean to! I was just… I was scared!"
Kakashi slashed the ropes with the broken blade. He dragged Takei by the collar, back towards the cave. "You're going to apologize to him, you bastard! Now!"
He threw Takei to the ground before Obito. The rock pinned Obito's lower half. Blood seeped from the cracks. "Apologize! Look at him and apologize!"
Takei stared at the crushed body, the spreading pool of red. Pure, mind-numbing terror swallowed him whole.
"N-no! It's not my fault! He chose to save me! I never asked him to! It's not my fault! NOT MY FAULT!"
He scrambled backward on hands and knees.
Takei's words were a spark to tinder. Kakashi's killing intent exploded. His fist smashed into Takei's jaw. "YOU were the one screaming for help, you animal! I'll kill you!"
Lightning gathered again in Kakashi's right hand. The Chidori screamed its murderous song.
"Don't… Kakashi…"
Obito's weak voice cut through the rage. Kakashi froze, the lightning sputtering out.
"Don't waste your anger on trash like him… Take Rin… and go…"
Kakashi released his grip. Takei scrambled to his feet and fled into the trees, sobbing.
"Enemy… reinforcements… are here."
Obito pulled his hand from Rin's desperate grasp. "Go… now!"
Kakashi stretched out his hand. "Rin!"
Rin looked back at Obito, her heart breaking.
Too late. Iwa-nin reinforcements swarmed the clearing.
"Earth Release: Fissure Palm!" Multiple Iwa-nin slammed palms into the earth. The ground split, fissures racing toward them.
"Rin, grab my hand!" Kakashi yelled.
"RIN!" Obito's final shout.
Rin wiped her tears, seized Kakashi's hand. They leaped clear as the ground where they'd stood collapsed, burying Obito beneath tons of rock.
"OBITO!" Rin's anguished cry echoed as they fled.
With Kakashi and Rin gone, regret filled Obito's fading mind. We finally got along, Kakashi…I never got to tell Rin how I felt…Maybe Kakashi was right. Not everyone on your team is a comrade…A little regret… If I hadn't saved that man… I could have stayed with everyone…
Kakashi and Rin ran, but Iwa-nin closed in from all sides. They were surrounded.
Kakashi gasped for breath. The Sharingan in his left eye wouldn't shut off. It devoured his chakra, draining him to the dregs. He was at his limit.
He took a deep, shuddering breath. His voice was final. "Rin, I'll hold them off. You run."
"But—"
"Obito entrusted you to me." Kakashi cut her off. "I'll protect you, even if it kills me. Rin, he liked you. Loved you. You were precious to him. That's why he wanted you to live."
Rin's eyes were firm. "Then, Kakashi, I—"
"Rin." Kakashi interrupted again, his voice softer but no less resolute. "Saving you… I don't regret that. But saving that man… I do. You are someone Obito was willing to die for. So…"
Lightning crackled to life in his palm once more. Chidori. "You have to live! GO, RIN!"
The lead Iwa-nin, Sumashi, chuckled derisively. "Oh? How touching. Still fighting spirit in this situation? Not bad for brats who dared infiltrate our rear lines. Admirable."
A new voice cut through the tension, cold and lethal, coming from right behind Sumashi. "Naturally, I'm well aware of my student's qualities. So… what exactly do you think you're doing to my disciple?"
Qianyu stood behind Sumashi.
At the same moment, Minato Namikaze appeared at Kakashi and Rin's back. A flash of yellow. Safety.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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