"Your methods may be underhanded," Guy shouted as he landed firmly on the ground, "but I won't hold it against you!"
"Huh?" Hidan looked at him in confusion, clearly unsure what the hell he was talking about.
Then, suddenly, chakra surged from every pore of Guy's body—the Eight Gates, open!
"If I'm faster than you, let's see how you plan to land a hit!"
He flashed a big thumbs-up at Hidan, his white teeth gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
"I'll show you what true, unrelenting, youthful power looks like!"
"Eh?"
"Leaf Hurricane!"
...
"What a pain…"
Kakashi, breathing heavily, stared at Obito not far away.
Thanks to intel from Kitagawa Gen, he had a rough grasp of Obito's actual abilities, which let him barely keep up with the fight.
But only just. That power—so long as the user took care not to expose any openings—was incredibly difficult to deal with.
'I really am an unqualified sensei,' Kakashi thought to himself bitterly. Gen made Obito suffer in their first clash, and completely overwhelmed him in the second. Meanwhile, here I am, barely hanging on.
"You're using the Sharingan completely wrong. Do you see the difference between us now?"
Uchiha Obito's voice was cold as he shook his head, seemingly losing interest.
"But it doesn't matter anymore. This ends now."
The moment he finished speaking, Obito lunged toward Kakashi, sweeping his iron chain horizontally as he did.
Kakashi quickly tried to dodge, but the chain's range was too wide—he had no choice but to respond.
[Swish—]
Raikiri flashed out, but it cut only through air. Obito reached out his right hand.
"So stay out of my way."
Without hesitation, Obito activated Kamui. A spiraling vortex of distortion appeared around them.
But just then—Kakashi's figure exploded in a bolt of lightning!
[Boom—]
With a muffled roar, he burst out from underground, Raikiri in hand, and drove it hard into Obito's back!
"You really think a trick like that's worth showing off?"
Obito slowly turned around, completely unbothered, letting the Raikiri pass through him.
"I told you. It's over."
With Kamui erupting again, Kakashi suddenly felt a wave of numbness and disorientation—like time and space were folding in on themselves, throwing his senses into chaos.
"This time… I win, Kakashi."
Obito watched as Kakashi's body froze, a strange emotion flashing briefly through his eyes. But it quickly faded.
Being caught by Kamui created a distortion of space-time so severe that almost no one could escape it.
So far, only Namikaze Minato had ever pulled it off.
"Well then…"
Obito prepared to pull Kakashi into the vortex completely—then move on to deal with the others.
After all, Guy had kicked him, and Gen had blindsided him—those were personal.
"Hm?"
But just as he was about to leave, something felt wrong.
He turned—and saw the vortex was gone.
Kakashi was still standing right there, staring straight at him.
"..."
The two of them went momentarily silent. Then Obito noticed something—
Kakashi's left Sharingan had transformed into a shape he knew far too well.
"You!?"
...
"This feeling…"
Kakashi wasn't exactly calm at the moment. In truth, ever since being hit by Uchiha Itachi's dōjutsu, he'd sensed something unusual with his Sharingan.
And after running into Uchiha Obito, he'd felt it even more clearly—some overwhelming power was dormant within his left eye.
He'd tried a few things in private, but none of it had worked. No matter what he did, he couldn't grasp the key or unlock the deeper secrets of the eye.
But today felt different. Direct combat with Obito had stirred a resonance in his eye.
Especially when Obito's Kamui engulfed him—at that moment, Kakashi found himself unable to move. So once again, he attempted to guide the power within his eye.
And this time, to his astonishment—it worked.
It was through this eye that he blocked Obito's attack. At the same time, knowledge of the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities surfaced in his mind.
"I think I finally understand… what this eye can do."
Kakashi felt drained. The sudden activation had consumed even more chakra than expected. But he was ready to fight.
"Now then—let's continue."
"What a pain…"
Underneath his mask, Uchiha Obito's face darkened. How had this guy activated the Mangekyō?
This situation was proving far more troublesome than he'd anticipated.
Still, he quickly regained composure, staring coldly at Kakashi.
"Hmph. So what if a worthless failure like you unlocked that eye's power? Trash is still trash—you won't change anything."
In the blink of an eye, Obito lunged at Kakashi, who responded immediately, Lightning Blade crackling to life in his hand once again.
"Obito!"
"Kakashi!"
Just as they were about to clash, a piercing roar erupted nearby.
A moment later, an invisible shockwave surged out and engulfed them both.
...
"You bastard! Who fights like that?!"
Lying on the ground, Hidan let out a furious yell as he violently twisted his dislocated leg back into place with a loud crack.
But before he could even stand, Guy's fist struck him square in the gut, launching him through the air. Not missing a beat, Guy followed up and snapped one of Hidan's arms.
Hitting the ground, Hidan stared at his now-bent arm and finally lost his temper.
"Sure, it felt great—but damn it, that hurts like hell!"
"This lunatic's got a twisted personality… and some freakish regeneration, too."
Guy ignored Hidan's complaints entirely, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Breaking his limbs won't be enough to take him down for good. So…"
His gaze fell on Hidan's head. What if he smashed that next?
To Guy, this fight wasn't particularly troublesome. Hidan's taijutsu wasn't bad, but when it came to raw power and speed, he was leagues behind.
To finish things quickly, Guy had even opened the Fifth Gate. With overwhelming strength and speed, he pounded Hidan again and again, drawing screams from him.
But even that wasn't enough to end it.
From Guy's perspective, Hidan's regeneration was downright terrifying—no matter how badly he was beaten, he just kept bouncing back.
"This level of youthful power isn't enough to finish you off."
Guy made up his mind, his expression growing grim.
"In that case…"
"Huh?"
Hidan blinked. He wanted to ask where the hell this maniac had come from—but his expression suddenly turned dark.
Chakra surged wildly from Guy's body once again. This time, glowing green chakra flared around him.
In a flash, Guy moved again—but now he was even faster, even stronger.
"Feel the power of youth—turned up to eleven!"
"Too fast!"
Hidan desperately tried to dodge, but it was no use. He couldn't even move in time to swing his scythe or dagger for a blood swap.
[Boom!]
With a heavy thud, Guy's kick launched Hidan like a meteor into the trees behind him.
"Huh?"
But just then, another massive roar echoed out.
In that instant, before Guy's astonished eyes, a shockwave struck Hidan midair—
...
"You damn brat!"
Amid the mist created by the clash of Water and Fire Release, Kakuzu crouched low, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.
Behind him, two black, monstrous masks hovered close, assuming a defensive formation.
He had just lost another heart in the battle—and the pain of that loss nearly took his breath away.
It wasn't that he'd backed off from fighting Hidan because he was scared. No, he simply couldn't afford to lose another heart. That would've been far too costly.
He already had a clear grasp of Hidan's abilities—it wasn't as if he didn't know how to counter them.
Besides, he was supposed to recruit Hidan, not kill him. There was no bounty on the guy's head, after all.
But what he hadn't expected was to end up losing another heart anyway.
"There was no intel about him using Lightning Release: Chakra Mode… That's odd. And that kid's Violet Lightning—paired with Flying Thunder God—is no joke."
He recalled the moment the boy suddenly flung a short blade at him. He had used Wind Release to blow it away, but the very next instant, the boy had appeared behind him—and driven a lightning-charged hand straight through his chest.
That searing pain nearly drove him insane. It wasn't easy to find a strong, compatible heart!
"…I think I've figured out your secret."
In the lingering mist, Kitagawa Gen emerged from the haze, cloaked in violet lightning, his silhouette flickering indistinctly.
"You took a Flying Thunder God slash and didn't die. Then one of those monsters entered your body and you came back. That means… these creatures are your hearts, aren't they?"
"…"
Kakuzu said nothing, but he was utterly frustrated inside. His intel had been compromised?!
"No wonder their coordination is so seamless."
Gen paid no mind to Kakuzu's silence. Flicking the blood off his White Fang dagger, he continued, "Even missing one elemental affinity, there's barely a gap in your defense. The way they work together—it's incredibly efficient."
Kakuzu truly lived up to the name 'Hexagonal Warrior'—balanced in offense, defense, experience, and tactics, without any clear weakness.
Even in the middle of combat, those monsters could merge in pairs and unleash combined elemental jutsu with devastating precision.
When Gen fought him in taijutsu, it was only thanks to the Eight Gates and Violet Lightning that he gained a clear advantage. While Gen's ninjutsu was more powerful, Kakuzu's control and transitions were far more refined and seamless.
Now, Gen could believe that Kakuzu might really have tried to assassinate the First Hokage. And he finally understood how, in the original timeline, this guy nearly ripped out Kakashi's heart.
"But it's a shame for you—I have the Flying Thunder God Technique. And…"
As he muttered to himself, chakra surged violently through his body once more.
Kakuzu was powerful, no doubt. But Gen had a cheat-code bloodline. And it was through fighting a 'hexagonal warrior' like Kakuzu that he finally began to understand just where his bloodline's ignition point was.
'I've already opened the Fifth Gate. I can feel it—something deeper.'
[BOOM—]
His chakra exploded again, and in that instant, Gen felt his blood racing even more intensely.
The Violet Lightning around him grew brighter than ever. His body felt weightless—almost as if he could take flight at will.
In his vision, Kakuzu's movements slowed. Details became sharper, more precise.
'Not just that—my senses, strength, speed, chakra… it all seems to have leveled up.'
...
"What the hell is this brat doing?"
Kakuzu had no clue what was happening, but one thing was clear—it was time to consider retreating.
"I have to admit, you're the toughest opponent I've faced so far."
But right then, Gen spoke up.
"And that means—it's time I gave it my all!"
"?!"
Kakuzu's eyes widened—but this time, Gen's speed was truly beyond comprehension.
Even as Kakuzu completed the hand seals for his defense, Gen's attack had already landed.
[BOOM—]
A deafening blast rang out. A brilliant flash of white light erupted between Gen and Kakuzu.
The light rapidly consumed them both and spread outward in all directions.
A massive shockwave rippled out from the epicenter, tearing through the surrounding trees and mountains, snapping trunks and crumbling stone in a matter of seconds.
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