It was as though something inside Kakashi had finally been severed—some invisible shackle that had been binding him all this time.
Father… you were right.
If I cannot protect my comrades, then that is the true definition of scum among scum.
Kakashi took a step back and quickly formed hand seals with both hands.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
A sharp, piercing sound erupted—like thousands of birds being squeezed together, all crying out in a mournful screech.
Behind him, Kiyohara watched intently, studying Kakashi as he gathered chakra for his technique—Chidori.
"Chidori… If I can master it, I could probably use it all the way to the final battle."
His gaze never left the dazzling arcs of blue lightning bursting forth in Kakashi's palm.
If he possessed the Sharingan, perhaps he could've copied the technique on the spot.
But unfortunately… he did not.
'I will avenge you Obito.'
Kakashi told himself silently.
His left eye opened, revealing two tomoe slowly spinning. The Sharingan's powerful dynamic vision allowed Kakashi to clearly perceive Kakkō's movements, the swing of his blade, and the speed of his own Chidori.
In that single moment, the greatest flaw of Chidori was perfectly compensated for.
In truth, this technique had been tailored for the Uchiha clan from the very moment of its creation.
"Th-this brat's speed!"
Kakkō's eyebrows tightened.
He chose to strike first.
As long as he severed Kakashi's neck before the boy reached him, the gathered chakra in Kakashi's hand would disperse, and the crisis would be solved.
But at that exact moment—
Kiyohara hurled a shuriken infused with Wind Release chakra.
It sliced through the air with ease, propelled far faster than an ordinary shuriken.
'Kiyohara…'
Kakashi didn't turn around, but there was only one person who loved to infuse wind chakra into shuriken this way.
Only Kiyohara had that skill among the group.
A faint warmth rose in Kakashi's chest.
He had underestimated this guy at first… but this was not the first time Kiyohara had helped him.
"Damn it!"
Kakkō noticed the diversion, but Kakashi was already too fast—far too fast for him to evade.
His only option was to kill Kakashi before the shuriken struck him.
But if he focused solely on killing Kakashi…
that shuriken would end him.
In the end, Kakkō twisted his body, letting the shuriken pierce his arm to avoid a fatal hit.
He swung his blade down with full force.
Slash!
He still underestimated Chidori's speed.
The blade was instantly shattered by the blue lightning, and the crackling chakra pierced straight through his chest.
At the same moment, Kiyohara's wind-infused shuriken embedded itself into Kakkō's forehead.
With two fatal strikes landing simultaneously, Kakkō fell dead on the spot.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Kakashi panted heavily, drenched in sweat.
That single attack had nearly drained all the chakra from his body.
He doubted he could use Chidori again. If he forced it, he would collapse unconscious.
But…
Kakashi gritted his teeth and dragged himself toward Rin, standing beside Obito, whose body was still crushed beneath the massive boulder.
As for Kiyohara, he had already begun looting the corpse.
According to missing-nin Kiyohara, more and more Iwa-nins were gathering outside.
If he didn't loot now, there'd be nothing left later.
"…Wait—is this chakra metal?"
Kiyohara picked up Kakkō's broken blade, surprised.
Chakra metal was extremely rare.
Technically, chakra could be infused into anything—even a pencil turning it into a makeshift weapon.
But whether the weapon actually benefited from the chakra depended on its properties.
Chakra metal enhanced chakra flow, amplifying its effects.
He quickly pocketed the broken blade, then took the remaining half still strapped to Kakkō's wrist, along with the intact blade on the other hand.
'Can these be reforged into proper ninja tools?'
he asked his missing-nin counterpart.
To be honest, the only time Kiyohara had ever seen chakra metal before was on that spoiled rich kid, Sarutobi Asuma.
That weird pair of blades he carried—half knuckle-guard, half knife was made from it.
Kiyohara himself had never even touched such expensive material before.
Missing-nin Kiyohara nodded.
"It should be enough. If re-smelted, it could probably make a full dagger."
Kakkō's blades didn't even have proper handles—they were wrapped directly onto his wrists with bandages like hidden arm-blades.
Kiyohara planned to melt the blades down into a longer, proper weapon and attach a real hilt later.
"But hiring someone to reforge the metal will still cost quite a bit."
Missing-nin Kiyohara reminded him.
Shinobi training required money everywhere—gear, jutsu scrolls, tools…
For civilian shinobis, lack of resources was as limiting as lack of talent.
Without access to jutsu scrolls, without money to buy proper shinobi tools, their growth was capped.
Some shinobi who specialized in kenjutsu lost half their strength the moment their weapons broke.
"Luckily, I have a habit of looting corpses."
Kiyohara sped up his search.
He really needed a better sealing scroll—his current one was slowing down his… financial opportunities.
In wartime, the greatest side income for shinobi was spoils of battle. Mission pay alone would take forever to clear debts.
"Kiyohara, there's movement outside,"," she warned suddenly.
If even she sensed them, the enemy was close.
"I know."
Kiyohara nodded, packing the supplies into the sealing scroll.
He turned to Kakashi.
"Hurry up and say what you need to say. We're leaving soon."
Unless someone here had mastered earth-release techniques or could open the Eight Gates, they had no way of lifting the massive boulder without crushing Obito even further.
"Ka… Kakashi… take Rin and leave… The enemy… their reinforcements are coming…"
Obito rasped.
His pain receptors were returning; his brain was finally catching up to the reality of his missing body parts.
Wave after wave of agony struck him, especially from the lower half of his body—Obito nearly lost control of his expression.
"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"
At that moment, an Iwa squad arrived, forming seals and unleashing a powerful earth-release jutsu.
Rumble—!
The ground split open instantly, smoke and dust filling the air.
Kakashi had no choice.
He looked at Obito one last time before escaping with the others.
"Ka… Kakashi… Rin… I leave her… to you…"
Obito whispered his final words.
His body was slowly swallowed by falling debris, sinking into the fissure created by the earth-style jutsu.
Everything seemed covered, erased..
…
On the frontlines, Minato's expression darkened suddenly.
He could feel disturbances from the special kunai he had marked with Flying Thunder God seal.
Those kunai always gave him a sense of positional awareness.
Right now, something was clearly wrong.
He had to go.
(End of Chapter)