"Kakashi, I already told you. In front of these eyes, all your resistance is meaningless."
Holding a kunai in reverse grip, Obito spoke calmly. A drop of blood slowly slid from the tip of the blade.
The vivid red stood out sharply against the earth beneath them.
Strictly speaking, this was the first time the two had fought each other since Obito had truly grown stronger.
Yet in this battle—one centered mainly around taijutsu and blade combat, with ninjutsu as support—Kakashi had not only failed to maintain the overwhelming advantage he once held, he had actually fallen behind. The cut across his left shoulder was the result of Obito's counterattack.
It wasn't that Obito's taijutsu and swordsmanship had surpassed Kakashi's. In those areas, Kakashi was still superior.
But Obito's overall strength had improved tremendously. The gap between them was no longer as massive as before, and his Sharingan had already surpassed the level of an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan. After awakening the Mangekyō, the Sharingan's perceptive abilities had risen dramatically once again.
Again and again, Kakashi's movements were seen through and predicted in advance.
The fight was unbearably frustrating.
His opponent was clearly slower than him—both in speed and reaction time—yet no matter what he did, he simply couldn't land a decisive blow. Worse still, a moment of impatience had allowed Obito to seize an opening and counterattack successfully.
And this opponent possessed the Sharingan.
That meant he couldn't look directly into Obito's eyes.
Aside from Shimizu Uzuki, who had undergone extensive training specifically against Sharingan users, no one else had either the opportunity or the awareness to train that way.
Trying to forcibly change one's usual combat habits in the middle of battle would inevitably affect combat performance.
"What a terrible feeling," Kakashi muttered softly.
At this rate, defeat was inevitable.
He needed greater speed—fast enough that Obito couldn't keep up with his movements.
Greater power—strong enough that Obito couldn't withstand the impact.
Sharper reactions—quick enough that Obito would have no time to respond at all.
Only strength on that level could break through the Sharingan's predictive perception.
But Kakashi, as he was now, still fell short.
No… there was still one chance.
One final opportunity.
Hand seals formed instantly.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
The piercing cry of a thousand birds erupted across the battlefield as dazzling blue lightning burst forth.
"That jutsu certainly has incredible destructive power." Through the perception of his three-tomoe Sharingan, Obito could clearly see the concentrated Lightning Release chakra gathered in Kakashi's right hand. "But if it can't hit the target, it's meaningless."
Kakashi remained unmoved.
As chakra surged into his eyes, his speed instantly exploded to its limit. He launched forward in a straight-line charge, rushing directly at Obito!
The sheer force of that attack was overwhelming.
But Kakashi was not the kind of shinobi who acted recklessly.
"There's something behind this," Obito thought warily.
The high-speed charge kicked up a massive cloud of dust. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi had already closed in.
But at the instant before reaching him, Kakashi's speed suddenly surged once again.
With shocking acceleration, he erased the final distance between them.
The devouring lightning was right in front of him.
The three tomoe spun wildly.
Too late—
Even though Obito barely managed to perceive Kakashi's sudden burst of speed, his body simply couldn't keep up.
It was far too fast.
Even with prior preparation, fully evading the attack was impossible. All Obito could do was shift sideways as much as possible to avoid a fatal hit.
Under the Sharingan's dynamic vision, everything slowed to an extreme.
A sharp tearing sound rang out.
The violent current instantly numbed his body, bringing with it a spray of crimson blood.
The scattering blood…
Every single movement Kakashi made…
Obito saw all of it clearly.
But at the moment they passed each other, another change occurred.
Kakashi's body suddenly twisted leftward.
This...
What was his tactical objective?
Wisps of exceptionally refined lightning-attribute Chakra were roiling across Kakashi's left hand, and resting firmly within his palm was the White Light Chakra Sabre!
Without a single microsecond of delay, he unleashed a brutal, horizontal slash!
Meanwhile, trapped under the paralyzing residual feedback of the initial Chidori, Obito's physical frame was completely locked down...
I'm going to die!
Mangekyō Sharingan: Kamui!
To survive this life-and-death moment, Obito was forced to activate his Mangekyō once again.
In an instant, deadly lightning and distorted space intertwined across the battlefield—
And then came a sharp crack.
The White Light Chakra Sabre snapped in two.
He survived!
At the very last moment, Kamui tore apart the fatal short blade, buying Obito a narrow path to survival.
The instant the paralysis faded, he immediately widened the distance between himself and Kakashi. He drew deep breaths of fresh air, savoring the feeling of surviving death, while keeping his full attention fixed on Kakashi.
But something about Kakashi seemed off.
Because at that moment, Kakashi was standing completely motionless.
"He forcibly stimulated his body's latent potential using Lightning Release chakra," Tobi immediately saw through the nature of Kakashi's final attack. "That's how he managed to accelerate in that instant and wound you."
As he spoke, Kakashi suddenly collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Only then did it become clear that his entire body was stained red with blood.
Tobi continued calmly, "But obviously, this isn't a technique that can be mastered through courage and determination alone. His body's already ruined."
Standing before him, Obito saw Kakashi lying in a pool of blood, his expression strangely calm.
His vacant right eye stared blankly at the blue sky above.
Has he given up?
Yeah…
He has.
"I… lost."
"Mm."
"Kill me."
Obito said nothing.
"Then I'll call for Konoha reinforcements."
If that happened, Rin would never be revived.
Obito slowly raised his kunai and stepped toward Kakashi.
"Don't force me."
Kakashi slowly closed his right eye.
He had given up.
It was as though he could already see the end awaiting the shinobi named Hatake Kakashi.
Death.
Suddenly, a tremendous roar erupted from deep within the distant forest.
And the sound was rapidly growing louder.
The abrupt change instantly drew the attention of all three.
"What is that sound?" Obito couldn't identify its source.
"A sonic boom." Tobi immediately recognized it. "Something moving close to the speed of sound is approaching this location."
The moment he finished speaking, a terrifying shockwave exploded through the forest. Countless birds and beasts were startled into panicked flight.
"It's coming," Tobi warned.
In less than a single breath, the deafening sonic boom began continuously hammering everyone's eardrums. At nearly the same instant, a blurred figure shot into the sky in the blink of an eye.
Under the Mangekyō Sharingan's gaze, massive amounts of Wind Release chakra could be seen wrapped around the figure.
He actually used an enormous amount of Wind Release chakra just to accelerate his movement?!
Who in the world...?
In the next instant, the sonic boom abruptly vanished.
At the same time, nine blue-white bolts of lightning burst outward, attacking Tobi from nine different directions.
This was practically a full three-dimensional assault from every angle.
There was nowhere to dodge.
Yet at the exact moment the attack was unleashed, three additional figures suddenly materialized in midair and dove toward the ground.
The first landed near Tobi.
As for the second—
Even within the Sharingan's vision, all that could be captured was a fleeting afterimage.
He's here!
Obito instinctively gathered all his strength, trying to withstand the incoming strike—
But with a thunderous bang, his entire body was blasted backward.
This was the terrifying force produced purely by extreme speed and momentum.
The final figure descended silently in front of Kakashi.
Now, Kakashi could finally see the newcomer clearly: the dark green shinobi uniform, a long sword on his back, short gray-white hair, and that familiar face.
At last, after crossing half the world of Naruto, Shimizu had reached his destination.
Konoha shinobi, Shimizu the Shunshin—has arrived!
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