Chapter 259 : Hatake Kakashi will always choose the "wrong" path
As they spoke, a Kirigakure squad that had been shaken off earlier found their tracks again and was quickly closing in, coordinating their movements.
Before Kakashi, still immersed in his internal struggle, could react, Rin had already charged towards the enemies.
The Kirigakure ninja hadn't anticipated this situation; they visibly paused for half a second, then immediately spread out, attempting to surround the Three-Tails Jinchuriki who was on a suicidal attack.
However, two sharp shuriken appeared before them even earlier than their target, each carrying an exploding tag with a burning flame.
"Oh no!"
"Fall back quickly!"
It was only then that Kakashi came to his senses as if waking from a dream: "Rin!"
He quickly turned to pursue her, and while the Kirigakure ninja temporarily avoided the exploding tags' impact, he managed to carry Rin out of the blast radius at the last second before the explosion.
Boom!
Boom!
The flashes and tremors of continuous explosions were incredibly obvious in the darkness, attracting the Kirigakure ninja scurrying through the entire mountain forest to converge here like locusts.
"Kakashi!"
Rin's medium-length brown hair fluttered in the wind, revealing her surprised and annoyed expression, her rebuke even carrying a hint of a sob.
"Why don't you understand!?"
"I understand!"
Kakashi roared into the night sky, his voice hoarse.
"It's precisely because I understand that I can't do it!"
"No matter how righteous the reason, abandonment is abandonment!"
He drew his blade to parry the projectiles shot from behind him, the blades colliding and sparking tiny fires that vanished in the night, like countless minuscule meteors.
"Moreover, Rin, you actually understand that I can't escape at all!"
"Rather than abandoning you and gambling on a one-in-a-thousand hope..."
"I'd rather the brave Hatake Kakashi in Naraku's heart live forever!"
The enemies gathered in increasing numbers, forcing Kakashi to put Rin down, preparing for the two of them to fight together.
The sharp cry of Chidori pierced the night sky, electric light flickering, illuminating the young man's resolute brows and eyes.
"I want him to know that Hatake Kakashi will always walk the 'wrong' path of choosing and saving his comrades!"
"Just like Father chose to save him!"
"So the person that night—was definitely not me!!!"
Accompanying the young man's shout, the blade of lightning, condensed into a cold blue stream of light, pierced through the chests of one enemy after another.
The Ninjutsu named Chidori seemed to possess life, humming mournfully, as if it knew this was the final swan song of its existence.
It stubbornly maintained its presence, helping the caster endure for a long time under the enemies' siege.
But due to insufficient Chakra supply, the Ninjutsu eventually couldn't be sustained, flickering several times with difficulty before reluctantly extinguishing in the darkness.
Like a bonfire burned out before dawn, powerlessly fading into the vast night.
"Ha! He's out of Chakra!"
"Grab this damned Konoha brat! Torture him properly!"
"Make him pay for his actions!"
The Kirigakure ninja converged with sinister smiles, brandishing their long swords and raining down projectiles, forcing Kakashi step by step into a layered encirclement, struggling to fend off attacks from all sides.
The prolonged fighting had left him almost completely exhausted; he could barely hold his blade steady.
Yet, even so, he stood with his back straight, firmly positioned in front of Rin to block most of the attacks.
"Kakashi!"
A sorrowful cry came from behind him, and the Kirigakure ninja's blades in front were only a step away. Kakashi silently gripped the chakra blade his father had given him, using his last ounce of strength to thrust forward.
At the same instant, a powerful fluctuation suddenly erupted from a point directly in front of him.
Invisible currents of air spread out from it, rapidly sweeping outwards, crashing like a tsunami onto several Kirigakure ninja.
The immense force of this blow sent several people flying backward directly, breaking many tree branches along the way, and they fell to the ground in disarray.
Immediately after, on the ground in front of Kakashi, a dark red formation resembling a summoning array began to spread and expand, and space twisted with it, turning into nothingness.
Emerging from that chaos was a figure standing with a blade, long hair fluttering, and a pair of Sharingan glowing with a eerie red light.
The scene before him was utterly incomprehensible; Kakashi was in a daze, even thinking this was a bizarre dream he was having before death.
If it truly was a dream, it wouldn't be so bad.
At least it allowed him to see the last face of the person he cared about.
"Naraku...?"
Kakashi murmured the name he had recalled countless times in his heart when he was preparing to face death just now, his voice so soft that it seemed he was afraid of breaking this illusion.
The next second, the "pat-a-tap" sound of water drops hitting the ground reached his ears.
He shifted his gaze from the other's face, looking down along the shoulder and arm, until he saw that the left hand, stained with blood, was dripping blood.
--If this truly is a dream I'm having before death, how could Naraku be injured?
After the first inconsistency appeared, he saw more "flaws" in Naraku's state.
A pale, pained face, a chest rising and falling violently, and heavy, slightly choking gasps...—This isn't a dream...!
Kakashi had to accept this unbelievable truth: that at this very moment, Naraku had truly traveled thousands of miles to the desperate situation he was trapped in.
He was utterly shocked, overjoyed, and in pain to the extreme; all sorts of emotions merged in his heart, finally transforming into a heavy call: "Naraku!"
"...I'm here."
Naraku, who had forcibly performed a reverse summoning using blood as a sacrifice, was not in good condition, but he still responded to Kakashi in a low voice immediately, then belatedly hid his left hand.
"Kakashi... I'm late, I'm sorry..."
"Idiot! Why did you come!?"
Kakashi couldn't understand how Naraku had managed to traverse space like Minato-sensei, nor did he want to understand it.
The only thing he could still think about now was how to get the other person to leave here.
"It's okay, Kakashi..."
Halfway through his sentence, a Kirigakure ninja attacked from the side, killing intent enveloping Naraku's head like a net.
The sharp blade in Naraku's hand flashed with cold light, and a clean, flowing arc swiftly and decisively severed the "Death Line."
When the Kirigakure ninja's body fell, it had horrifyingly transformed into a shriveled skeleton.
Catching sight of this bizarre death in his peripheral vision, Naraku suddenly worried that Kakashi wouldn't be able to accept him using such "evil" ocular Ninjutsu.
Although Ama no Kaguhiko was indeed cool, to ordinary people, it surely looked like a skill from the "villain faction," right?
It wasn't "great and righteous" at all.
He was at a loss, like a child who had done something wrong, stammering, "Shall we go back to Konoha together...?"
What he hadn't expected was that the ocular Ninjutsu, which was terrifying beyond measure in the eyes of the Kirigakure ninja, as if only the Shinigami wielding his scythe could achieve such a feat, Kakashi regarded as normal, not feeling any fear or disgust.
In the young man's eyes, there were only his close friend's sparkling eyes in the darkness, and the warm soul hidden beneath his body.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Read Ahead & Support
Read up to 650 chapters ahead with daily updates at 02radnovel.com
Connect & Updates:
(Twitter) • x.com/02IsmetHQ
Instagram • instagram.com/02novelofficial
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯