"Rin, stay close."
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye as the mist thickened around them. His forehead protector, now lifted, revealed the crimson Sharingan—Obito's legacy.
"I'll protect you," he said firmly.
Rin nodded, clutching a kunai. "Okay, Kakashi…"
The Hidden Mist's Kirigakure no Jutsu was dense, cutting visibility down to nothing. Rin kept her stance low, alert, though she knew her role was mostly support. She wasn't a match for elite enemy shinobi—not in this situation. Her priority was survival.
Kakashi's fingers tightened on the hilt of his White Light Chakra Sabre. His senses were sharp. Though the mist limited vision, the Sharingan pierced through the veil, giving him a flickering image of movement—three signatures, closing in fast.
"They're moving separately…" Kakashi noted inwardly. "Two targeting me. One flanking to take Rin. Standard Mist formation—divide and isolate. They must think she's the weak link."
He inhaled calmly, then exhaled to steady his pulse. "If they want Rin, they'll have to go through me."
His body shifted subtly, one eye closing, the Sharingan glowing intensely in the dim light. As the first Mist shinobi lunged, Kakashi didn't flinch. The sabre in his hand flashed with white chakra—the signature technique of Sakumo Hatake, his father.
In an instant, Kakashi stepped forward with perfect precision—a single arc of light through the fog. The enemy's blade halted midair, split clean through. Blood misted as the Mist-nin fell.
But Kakashi was already moving.
With fluid motion, he launched a kunai behind him to intercept the flanker advancing on Rin. The blade didn't kill—it bought time. His sabre arced again, this time intercepting the attacker just steps from Rin. Steel clashed. The Mist-nin parried, but not fast enough. Kakashi's blade drew a gash across his torso, and a powerful kick sent the enemy skidding backward.
Rin gasped behind him. But Kakashi didn't look back.
His mind raced—not with panic, but calculation. That exchange had been nearly flawless. Speed. Angle. Power. It felt different this time—natural.
"Kai was right," he thought. "Combining the precision of my father's sword with the insight of the Sharingan… this is the path forward."
He glanced at the sabre. White chakra crackled along the edge like lightning trapped in a blade, clean and unstained. Behind him, the first Mist-nin he struck finally collapsed, a spray of blood marking the finality of Kakashi's strike.
"Obito… thanks. Your eyes let me see it clearly. And Kai…" His mind turned to the Uchiha peer who had urged him to refine his swordplay with the Sharingan. "You gave me direction."
But there was no time for reflection now.
Kakashi exhaled and shifted his stance again. "Rin. Fall back. Now."
She hesitated—her knuckles white around the kunai. "But—"
"Don't argue," he said flatly. "I'll handle them."
Rin stared for a moment, then nodded. "Got it. I'll wait for you."
She turned and ran toward the forest's edge, her form quickly swallowed by the mist. The two remaining Mist-nin didn't pursue.
They didn't dare.
Kakashi's presence was like a wall now, unwavering and lethal.
The two enemy shinobi glanced at one another and moved in tandem. A silent signal passed between them. They rushed from both sides—one low, one high.
Kakashi's expression didn't change.
More chakra surged from his blade, and he met them head-on, the white light of the sabre cutting through the gray fog with clarity and resolve.
Meanwhile…
Rin kept running, breath hitching in her throat. Trees closed in around her, and she finally stopped once she believed she'd reached safety. Her chest heaved. She turned to listen—nothing but the sounds of battle in the distance.
"I'm always the one being protected…" she thought bitterly. "By Minato-sensei… by Obito… and now Kakashi."
She gripped her kunai tighter. "I want to stand beside them—not behind."
But just as she began to catch her breath—
whizz—
A kunai shot past her head, slicing a few strands of her hair.
She spun, eyes wide, just in time to see a shadow behind her. A sharp pain erupted at the base of her neck, and everything tilted. Her vision blurred. Her legs buckled.
"Kakashi… I'm sorry…"
Darkness took her.