The cave echoed with desperate voices.
"Obito, hold on! Minato-sensei will be here soon!"
Kakashi's usual composure had shattered. Anxiety etched every line of his face as he knelt beside his teammate.
"I..." Obito coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't talk. Save your strength!" Kakashi's voice cracked. "With Lady Tsunade here, you'll be fine!"
"It's... useless..."
Obito's face had gone pale. Minutes ago, his recklessness had caught up with him. Greedy for glory, he'd walked straight into a trap. The three of them had barely escaped the pursuing Iwagakure ninjas, but not before a jonin's Earth Style: Rock Collapse had caught him.
Half his body was crushed beneath tons of stone.
Even Tsunade couldn't fix this. Even if he survived, he'd never be a ninja again.
Better to die.
The thought burned in Obito's chest—along with something else. Rage.
It's Hanekawa's fault.
If Hanekawa hadn't so thoroughly defeated the Four-Tails jinchuriki, Obito wouldn't have felt the desperate need to prove himself. Wouldn't have wanted to save face in front of Rin.
Wouldn't be dying in a cave.
"Kakashi!"
Guy's voice cut through the darkness outside. "More Rock ninjas incoming!"
"Rest, Obito. I've got this."
Kakashi bolted from the cave, kunai drawn. Dozens of Iwagakure shinobi poured toward them like a tide.
Chidori Flow.
Lightning crackled along his blade as he charged forward without hesitation.
Guy was already moving, his body glowing with green chakra as he opened the first three gates of the Eight Gates. The air itself seemed to ripple around him.
"We can't let them reach the cave!" Kakashi shouted.
A young ninja with spiky hair stepped into his path. Kakashi didn't slow down.
Their weapons clashed—and the world exploded.
Explosive Style: Mine Fist.
The detonation sent Kakashi flying backward, his body screaming in protest. He'd only survived because the Chidori Flow let him retreat at lightning speed.
Even so, the blast had torn through his defenses.
"Nice Lightning Style," the ninja said calmly.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Deidara. Explosive Release kekkei genkai. Any ninjutsu that touched him would detonate with catastrophic force. Direct combat was suicide.
He glanced at Guy, surrounded and holding his own but slowly being worn down. The Eight Gates couldn't sustain forever.
Minato. Please hurry.
Kakashi stepped forward again, keeping his distance, using his sword's reach to maintain space. They fell into a deadly dance—thrust, dodge, parry, retreat. Neither gaining ground.
---
Inside the cave, Obito's vision blurred.
The sounds of battle grew distant. Muffled. He was so tired. His body felt like it was floating away, piece by piece.
Is this what dying feels like?
Then Rin's smile flickered through his fading mind.
No.
Something ignited in his chest. A refusal so violent it made his body shake.
I can't die. Not before I stop Hanekawa from getting close to her.
His Sharingan blazed to life—three tomoe spinning into focus.
"You've awakened your eyes," a familiar voice said. "Quite talented, after all."
Obito's breath caught. "Grandpa?"
An elderly man stepped into the cave's shadows. The same mysterious figure who'd appeared in Konoha weeks ago.
"It's me," Uchiha Madara said simply.
"How are you here? You were in the village..." Obito's confusion warred with desperate hope.
"I've come to save you."
Madara studied the three-tomoe Sharingan with clinical interest.
"You can't," Obito said, his voice hollow. "I'm finished. Please—just go. Before the Rock ninjas find you."
"It's not easy to die in front of me."
"Are you a medical ninja?" Obito asked, confused.
"No."
Madara glanced toward the cave entrance. Outside, a golden flash was cutting through the Iwagakure ranks like a comet.
Minato's here. I can't stay.
"You're tired," Madara said, raising his hand. "Rest."
Obito's consciousness dissolved.
A white form emerged from the shadows—White Zetsu, liquefying into a cocoon that wrapped around Obito's body. The cave trembled.
Outside, screams punctuated the golden flashes.
"Retreat!" Deidara didn't hesitate. When the Yellow Flash appeared, survival meant running.
Kakashi's eyes widened as Minato materialized before him, barely breathing hard. "Where's Obito?"
"Still in the—"
The cave collapsed.
The sound was catastrophic. Tons of stone thundered down, sealing the entrance completely.
"No!" Kakashi's scream tore from his throat, his eyes going red.
---
Miles away, Hanekawa twisted mid-air to avoid a stone spear erupting from the earth.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Chakra flooded from his mouth, transforming into a dragon that surged toward the figure ahead. But something felt wrong. The chakra signature was off.
Not the real Rōshi.
Another disguised Iwagakure ninja. Hanekawa's suspicion had been correct from the start.
The fake Rōshi escaped using Body Flicker, but Hanekawa was already moving.
Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.
He grabbed the ninja's feet and yanked him underground, leaving only the head exposed. The Thunderfire Sword came down in one clean stroke.
The transformation dissolved, revealing an unfamiliar Iwagakure face.
Hanekawa wiped the blade clean. Parasites track by aura and chakra. They covered themselves in Rōshi's signature to fool the insects.
Smart. But not smart enough.
He used Body Flicker to catch up with Tsunade's group.
"Not him," he reported.
Tsunade nodded, unsurprised. "Doesn't matter. We keep moving."
Their mission was simple: delay the Four-Tails jinchuriki. Capture or kill was secondary to keeping Rōshi from reinforcing the main Iwagakure forces.
"I wonder how Minato's doing," Aburame Shizue said, glancing back.
"Without the jinchuriki, there's no one in Iwagakure who can stop him," Tsunade said with absolute confidence. "The Flying Thunder God Technique is a cheat code against ordinary jonin. Victory is only a matter of time."
Hanekawa felt a strange twist in his chest. Wait. Am I about to erase one of Minato's most famous victories? The battle where he'd killed fifty Iwagakure ninjas in seconds—that was supposed to be his legendary moment.
Oops.
They pressed on. Half an hour later, they caught up again.
"Another decoy," Aburame Shizue said, her antennae twitching. "Different aura, but still Rōshi's chakra signature."
"I'll handle it," Hanekawa said, disappearing.
He returned quickly. Another chunin. Another fake.
"They're running out of people," Aburame Shizue observed with a slight smile.
Eight ninjas total. Two dead. Six remaining.
Most were medical ninjas—useful for keeping the jinchuriki alive, useless in actual combat.
Dusk painted the sky orange and red.
"Not him," Hanekawa reported for the third time.
"Then the last one is the real Rōshi," Tsunade said.
Aburame Shizue sighed. "He's ruthless. Sacrificing his own team to protect himself."
"Standard procedure," Tsunade replied. "Jinchuriki are too valuable to lose. One village's worth of ninjas is acceptable collateral."
Hanekawa's mind was already working ahead. "Can we capture him alive?"
Aburame Shizue's eyes went wide. "Did you just suggest... capturing a jinchuriki alive?"
"Now's the best opportunity," Hanekawa continued, ignoring her shock. "Earlier, he had hundreds of Iwagakure ninjas supporting him. Now? They're all dead or scattered. The main village is under siege and can't send reinforcements. He's isolated."
Unless he masters space-time jutsu or Iwagakure wins a miracle, he's trapped.
"If we can hold until Minato arrives," Hanekawa pressed, "we have a real chance."
Tsunade's expression shifted. Calculation. Then excitement.
"You're right," she said, her voice taking on that dangerous edge. "His injuries haven't healed. No backup. This is actually possible."
Aburame Shizue looked like she'd been hit with a genjutsu. "We're... actually doing this?"
The three Aburame jonin exchanged bewildered glances.
Rin and Kurenai watched from the back, eyes wide. Capturing a jinchuriki alive? That was the stuff of legends.
"Let's do it," Tsunade declared, her grin fierce and proud. "The morale hit alone will be worth it. And the strategic value..." She laughed. "Iwagakure will pay anything to get their jinchuriki back. Or we keep it. Either way, we win."
"It's insane," Aburame Shizue breathed. But her eyes gleamed with ambition. Fame. Rewards. A story to tell for the rest of my life.
"Simple strategy," Tsunade said. "Hanekawa harasses him constantly. Don't let him heal. Keep him off-balance."
"I can manage that," Hanekawa said.
"Your chakra holding up?" Tsunade asked sharply.
"I learned the Yin Seal from you for a reason," Hanekawa replied with a slight smile.
Tsunade's tension eased. The Yin Seal was the key—unlimited chakra reserves. With that, Hanekawa could harass Rōshi indefinitely.
"Good. Then this might actually work."
Hanekawa launched forward, closing the distance in seconds.
His strategy was straightforward: Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique at range. When Rōshi counterattacked, he'd vanish using Body Flicker. Repeat until the jinchuriki was exhausted and Minato arrived.
Simple. Effective. Relentless.
The chase continued into the gathering darkness, Hanekawa's water dragons blooming like flowers of war across the landscape, each one a reminder that Rōshi had nowhere left to run.
---
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