"Bang!"
Kakashi did not dodge.
Obito's fist struck him squarely, knocking him back as a streak of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Plop.
It fell onto his shinobi uniform.
But Kakashi did not grow angry.
He only stared fixedly at Obito.
That sentence—Konoha's White Fang was a hero—echoed over and over in Kakashi's mind.
All these years, he had been trapped by that matter.
His father's death had pulled him into darkness.
Though joining Minato's team had eased it somewhat, Kakashi had still never truly stepped out of that shadow.
But now, Obito's acknowledgment of Hatake Sakumo had shaken him.
Kakashi's legs moved of their own accord.
Noticing Kakashi following behind him, Obito's lips curved slightly upward.
Once I rescue Rin this time, I'll be Rin's hero. She'll definitely fall for me then!
...
...
"We meet again, Minato Namikaze."
Rasa looked down at Minato below.
"Won't you reconsider? Joining Sunagakure would be a far better choice for you. You've offended that old bastard Shimura Danzo. Things won't go well for you in Konoha."
The nearby Konoha shinobi were visibly startled.
Their eyes shifted back and forth between Rasa and Minato.
On one hand, they did not believe Minato would ever harbor thoughts of betraying Konoha.
On the other, they also felt that if Rasa was saying this, he surely did not have no reason.
"Kazekage, there is no need to say such things again. I will never betray Konoha. In life, I belong to Konoha. In death, I will still belong to Konoha. Come—let's fight."
In the next instant, both men vanished like bolts of lightning.
One was a golden flash.
The other was a crimson flash.
Their speed reached such extremes that the shinobi nearby could not follow them with the naked eye at all.
Seeing that, Karatachi Yagura let out a small breath of relief.
"Fortunately, Konoha sent reinforcements. Otherwise, with the great lake collapsing, the Kirigakure army likely would not have been able to hold."
"Thankfully, Konoha has at least kept its word."
Yagura looked toward Rasa, his gaze flickering.
"Rasa really is troublesome."
"Even more troublesome than Pakura."
"No wonder he was able to defeat her in the struggle for the Kazekage position."
"And back when Sunagakure's condition was at its worst, he still never even considered surrender."
"He was hiding his strength all along."
"His strength is not inferior to Minato Namikaze's in the slightest."
Inwardly, Yagura compared the two.
Minato had a large summon.
So did Rasa.
Minato had Flying Thunder God.
Rasa also had an extremely powerful instantaneous movement technique.
And Rasa had things Minato might not.
Gold Dust controlled through his Magnet Release bloodline limit.
And Rasa could fly.
But Yagura did not possess the full picture.
For example, Minato also knew Sage Art from Mount Myoboku.
And Rasa also possessed a powerful battle-supporting sensory jutsu—the Eye of Detection.
"With Konoha's support, our Kirigakure army should be able to hold."
"Rasa cannot remain at the front lines forever."
"If he really does, that may actually become a good thing for Kirigakure. Mizukage-sama will definitely dispatch an elite unit to raid Sunagakure."
"With most of its shinobi at the front, and Rasa himself also at the front, Sunagakure's defenses will be extremely weak."
But just then—
A figure rushed frantically toward Yagura.
At the same time, a Konoha shinobi sped toward Minato Namikaze.
Both of them changed expression drastically.
"What?"
"What?"
Yagura immediately turned toward one direction.
Then he abruptly dashed over.
What he saw was Juzo Biwa's corpse, hung high upon a wooden pole. Beneath it stood several Sunagakure shinobi, using Juzo's body like a banner.
"Juzo Biwa is dead! Kirigakure, surrender at once!"
"Juzo Biwa is dead! Kirigakure, surrender at once!"
At the sight of that scene, Yagura froze.
And then his face twisted into extreme fury.
His expression became hideous to behold.
"Sunagakure!"
"Pakura!"
"Rasa!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Shameless!"
"Utterly shameless!"
Yagura immediately turned to the shinobi beside him.
"How did Juzo die?"
"Yagura-sama, there was something from Sunagakure that could turn invisible. It was hiding in the dark. Juzo-senpai didn't know and was struck in a sneak attack, leaving him wounded."
"Pakura seized that opportunity and launched a fierce assault."
"Injured as he was, Juzo-senpai couldn't withstand Pakura's attacks."
"The rest of us tried to support him, but we were too late."
"We could only watch as Pakura killed him."
That Kirigakure shinobi's eyes were bloodshot.
"And now these Sunagakure shinobi are humiliating Juzo-senpai like this. It's too much!"
"I want to avenge him so badly!"
"But I don't have the strength for it."
"Damn it!"
Yagura was equally furious, but after hearing that shinobi's explanation, he immediately realized something.
That invisible thing had to be found first.
Otherwise, he himself might end up just like Juzo.
"Where is that invisible thing?"
"I don't know."
Suddenly, Yagura thought of something.
"That's right—the Byakugan. Bring over one of the Hyuga from Konoha. With the Byakugan, they can find that invisible thing."
"Quickly! Bring a Hyuga shinobi!"
Very soon, a Hyuga shinobi arrived.
Though deeply displeased with Kirigakure, at a moment like this the Hyuga shinobi said nothing. He simply followed Yagura's request and activated the Byakugan to observe.
An enormous figure immediately entered his field of vision.
"I see it! It's over there!"
The Hyuga shinobi pointed toward the chameleon's position.
"It's extremely large. That should be a summon beast."
Yagura's brows furrowed.
"Another summon beast?"
Without hesitation, Yagura gave the order.
"Kirigakure shinobi, hear my command! Aim at that position and bombard it with ninjutsu!"
A large number of ninjutsu and ninja tools flew toward the chameleon's location all at once.
Pakura noticed Yagura's position and charged straight at him, Hiramekarei in hand.
On the other side, Minato Namikaze's expression was no better than Yagura's.
"What?"
"Kakashi lost one of his eyes... and transplanted Obito's eye?"
"Obito is dead?"
A surge of fierce self-reproach surfaced on Minato's face.
"It's all my fault."
"If I had been there, none of this would have happened."
"It's all my fault!"