Kakashi's "growth" (or rather, the way he'd grown crooked) was a small matter to Uchiha Feiyu.
Yes, Feiyu got along with Kakashi. But by nature, Feiyu would never truly open his heart to anyone. At most, he found Kakashi more tolerable than most—someone he might help if it was convenient.
Feiyu's real attention was on something else.
On the White Zetsu lurking in the distance.
White Zetsu, as a mass-produced weapon born from the Divine Tree, had combat power that was—at best—on par with a "blank template" chūnin with no special techniques. The kind of person like Iruka.
But its abilities had absurd priority.
Whether it was:
the Mayfly Technique, used to move through the ground,
the Impersonation Technique, used to disguise itself by absorbing chakra,
or its natural ability to merge into vegetation and erase its presence…
each one was top-tier support utility.
The Mayfly Technique was arguably the fastest earth-travel method in the shinobi world. Using the plant network as a pathway, its speed was almost comparable to the "true earth escape" from mythic cultivation legends.
The Impersonation Technique was even more terrifying—steal a target's chakra, transform into their appearance, and in the entire shinobi world, fewer than five people could reliably see through it.
As for concealment?
Even Feiyu's current sensory ability might have missed this White Zetsu if he hadn't been prepared and searched repeatedly.
Feiyu watched as that faint presence sank deeper and deeper underground… until it finally vanished completely.
He could only pray inwardly that the greatest puppeteer in the shinobi world would choose to show himself.
Kakashi didn't really care about being alone with Feiyu.
One: no one would snitch.
Two: Kakashi no longer cared about "climbing." And with his age and quasi–Kage-level strength, the higher-ups wouldn't dare stir trouble over something like this anyway.
But Obito, Rin, and Guy were different.
Those three were loyal to Konoha in a way Kakashi wasn't.
They were earnest. Emotional. Devoted.
At least right now, Uchiha Obito was still a perfect "Will of Fire" successor—not the future behind-the-scenes boss who'd try to drag everyone into a dream.
Feiyu thought for a moment.
He still had time to wait.
And he decided to follow Kakashi back and take a look at his old classmates—especially Obito.
If nothing else… Obito's Mangekyō, Kamui, was arguably the most practical and most broken Mangekyō technique in existence.
Not even Kotoamatsukami could match that level of "this shouldn't be legal" once you saw it in action.
But there was a problem.
"Want to go see them?" Kakashi asked, then immediately frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"You'll be fine, obviously. Konoha doesn't have anyone who can stop you anymore—and you don't care about these things."
"But for Obito and the others? Different story."
"With their personalities, even if they don't attack you… it'll be awkward as hell."
"And if other Konoha ninja find out they were with you, it'll mess up their situation badly."
Feiyu's lips curved.
"That's… fair."
Then he shrugged.
"Fine. I'll just disguise myself."
His body began to shift in a strange way.
Height. Build. Face. Eyes. Clothing—
everything became painfully ordinary.
Other than a Konoha forehead protector, there was nothing distinctive about him at all.
At a glance, he was the kind of ninja you'd forget the moment you looked away.
It wasn't a normal transformation jutsu.
Feiyu's Five Senses Control, fused with Uchiha-style genjutsu nuance, carried a faint mental suggestion effect—
people would subconsciously ignore him.
A "normal Konoha ninja."
Kakashi clicked his tongue.
"Still don't get it. Back in school, you didn't seem this attached to anyone. Why go now?"
Feiyu didn't answer. Kakashi already knew it wouldn't matter.
He wasn't Feiyu's opponent. If Feiyu wanted to go, he was going.
Twenty to Thirty Kilometers from the Iwa Outpost
Inside a cave.
Obito complained for the thirteenth time.
"When is Kakashi getting back?!"
"Seriously—does that guy have any teammate awareness? Every mission, he runs off first thing. It's like he thinks we're dead weight!"
In the corner, Might Guy was training.
He paused mid-exercise, expression dimming a little.
"But… we really can't help much in Kakashi's fights," he admitted.
"Kakashi's too strong. He grows too fast."
"I have to burn my youth even harder if I want to catch him!"
As he spoke, his training intensified.
Rin watched him with helpless resignation.
"Guy, don't waste too much stamina. What if we run into combat and you're out of energy?"
"Don't worry!"
Guy raised one finger—still doing one-handed pushups—then burst into a bright grin.
"In burning youth… there is no such thing as stamina shortage! This is just warm-up!"
Obito snorted.
"Rin, don't worry about him. That guy's stamina is way more ridiculous than you think."
He rubbed his arm unconsciously.
When Guy first joined their team, Obito had tried training with him.
Half a day later, Obito had been sent to Konoha Hospital with muscle breakdown.
From that day on, Obito learned a harsh truth:
Everyone had their own talent.
And that thick-browed green beast was absolutely not "talentless" like he claimed.
Also—
Anyone who could master the Eight Gates was a freak.
That freak category included Guy.
And it included Kakashi too.
After being influenced by Feiyu, Kakashi might've become lazier in attitude—
but he never cut corners in training.
Compared to Guy, Kakashi wasn't that monstrous.
Compared to normal shinobi?
It was devil-level training.
After watching Guy and Kakashi work out, Obito had given up on "training his way" to catch them.
He'd switched plans entirely:
awaken a higher-level Sharingan and overtake them by taking the shortcut.
Guy gave Obito a thumbs-up.
"Exactly! Thanks for the support!"
Obito went quiet for a second, not knowing what to say—
and then his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait—!"
He snapped his head toward the cave mouth.
"There are footsteps outside… lots of footsteps!"
Rin and Guy instantly stood.
Weapons out.
Obito's Sharingan activated—tomoe spinning.
The footsteps drew closer: tap, tap, tap.
The three held their breath.
They weren't rookies anymore. A year or two on the battlefield had hardened them.
Even Guy, despite being loud and simple on the surface, had real combat experience.
And they'd prepared.
Traps had been set near the cave entrance.
If it was Kakashi returning, he'd use a signal, and they'd disable part of the trap line to let him in.
If it was an enemy…
Even if the traps were detected, dismantling them would take time—time the three could use to prepare.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions shook the outside. The ground trembled faintly.
Obito's face tightened.
"The explosive tag traps were triggered!"
"Rin, Guy—careful! It's the enemy!"
Experienced shinobi didn't "get caught" in explosive tag traps.
Not like that.
If a whole squad was coming, they'd simply use kunai and shuriken to trigger the trap line safely, clearing the path.
Which meant the enemy wasn't blown apart.
They were clearing the minefield.
The explosions gradually faded.
Footsteps returned—closer now, clearer.
The three tensed like drawn bows.
A light laugh drifted in from the entrance.
"Let's see what's going on in here…"
A lean Iwa shinobi in his thirties or forties stepped inside first, a cold smile hanging from his lips.
He swept his gaze over them.
"Tch… just a bunch of Konoha brats."
"Whatever. Kill them."
The order was casual—like he was telling someone to sweep dust off the floor.
Immediately, multiple Iwa shinobi rushed in behind him.
Steel flashed.
They attacked.
Obito's temper erupted.
"The hell?! Don't underestimate us!"
But he didn't charge headfirst.
Not when Rin—his "dream goddess"—was behind him.
Rin was a medical-type chūnin; in raw combat, she was near the bottom of her rank.
If the enemy broke through and hurt her—
Obito didn't even want to imagine it.
But he didn't have time to think.
A grin twisted across one Iwa ninja's face as he appeared in front of Obito like he'd teleported.
A blade swung down.
Obito's Sharingan barely caught the movement.
He raised his kunai to block—
and a massive force slammed through his arms, driving him back several steps.
So strong. So fast—!
Obito's heartbeat spiked.
"Damn it… an jōnin squad?!"
A jōnin squad—built from at least combat-special jōnin, led by an elite jōnin—was a battlefield lawnmower.
A trump card used for high-difficulty missions.
In theory, Obito's team should've been that kind of unit too.
In practice?
Their strength was wildly uneven.
More than ninety percent of their combat power was Kakashi.
Obito and Guy had barely reached special jōnin territory—and Guy couldn't sustain it.
Rin was support.
In a straight fight, she was a liability.
Obito grit his teeth.
"If Kakashi were here…!"
But he forced the thought down.
Not now.
His eyes hardened.
The tomoe spun faster.
He cast a genjutsu.
…And it did nothing.
The Iwa ninja didn't even pause.
A fist wrapped in rock slammed forward like a boulder shot from a cannon.
Obito's mind blanked.
"Gah—!"
He spit blood.
The punch sent him flying backward—
straight into Rin behind him.
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