“What a terrible loss. We didn’t make much money, and we even ran into enemies that strong. Seriously…”
In the Land of Waves, Gen Hoshino supported Kakashi as they made their way toward the town.
Kakashi’s steps were still somewhat unsteady.
Although they had been intercepted by Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Jūzō, their mission could still be considered complete.
After all, the mission had already gone far beyond its original scope.
And Naruto wasn’t with them this time…
Naturally, they had every right to terminate the mission early.
Besides, given Kakashi’s current condition, he clearly wasn’t suitable for continuing.
More importantly, Kakashi needed rest and medical treatment.
Perhaps because they weren’t in Konoha, or perhaps because Kakashi’s other teammates weren’t there, Uchiha Itachi had seemed to hold back slightly this time.
Tsukuyomi hadn’t inflicted nearly as much damage on Kakashi as Gen remembered.
Although Kakashi was still badly weakened, he wasn’t nearly as incapacitated as he had been in Gen’s memories.
“I knew there was something wrong with this mission, but I never expected we’d be this unlucky.”
Kakashi rubbed his disheveled silver hair and spoke somewhat helplessly.
“We ran into Hoshigaki Jūzō and Uchiha Itachi right from the start. And that eye of Itachi’s… it’s truly difficult to deal with.”
“Exactly. Guy-sensei has said the same thing about you.”
Gen Hoshino couldn’t help smiling when he heard that.
“That’s why Guy-sensei has been training himself not to look at your eyes. He relies solely on your movements to judge your attacks. Maybe you should learn from him, Kakashi-sensei.”
“That guy…”
Kakashi pursed his lips.
He wasn’t surprised at all that Guy had come up with such a combat method.
Still, it had given him something to think about.
Perhaps this really is a good way to deal with the Sharingan?
For now, however, it was more of a backup plan.
After experiencing Itachi’s Tsukuyomi firsthand, Kakashi had already thought of other ways to deal with the Sharingan.
More importantly, he felt that something unusual had happened to his eye after this encounter…
“But speaking of which, what’s going on with your Lightning Release?”
Kakashi shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
He planned to examine the situation properly once they returned.
What interested him more was Gen Hoshino’s Lightning Release.
That technique had left a profound impression on him.
“Kakashi-sensei, didn’t I already tell you my idea?”
Gen shrugged.
But after thinking about it, he continued explaining.
“Although I’ve always felt that Lightning Release wasn’t as difficult to control as I expected, I also knew that pushing shape transformation and nature transformation to the extreme would be extremely difficult.
“But I don’t know why.
When I was fighting Hoshigaki Jūzō, I suddenly seemed to understand how to do it.
“I wasn’t proficient yet, but somehow I succeeded on my very first attempt.”
As he spoke, Gen deliberately raised his hand.
His chakra began surging within his body.
In an instant, purple electricity gathered in his palm.
The current quickly spread across his hand, taking the shape of a blade!
“Like this…”
Looking at the Purple Electricity in Gen Hoshino’s hand, Kakashi’s eyelid twitched.
He could naturally sense how powerful the technique was.
More importantly, he understood its value!
But that wasn’t the point.
The boy had succeeded with a technique of such difficulty almost on his first attempt!
That kind of talent…
“The younger generation really is getting more terrifying by the day.”
After a long while, Kakashi finally spoke, his tone both helpless and serious.
“Under extreme danger, shinobi sometimes experience breakthroughs that would otherwise seem impossible.
You probably encountered such a situation.
“Still, I have to say, you’re incredibly lucky.”
“Is that so?”
Gen Hoshino nodded.
That was exactly the explanation he wanted Kakashi to accept.
After all, the Ōtsutsuki bloodline was simply too ridiculous!
He was even considering whether, whenever he reached another breakthrough in the future, he should deliberately put himself in a life-or-death situation—provided he could guarantee his own safety.
Talk about fighting for your life…
“But this also proves that you have exceptional talent.”
Kakashi continued speaking while Gen was lost in thought.
“Without sufficient talent, even an extreme situation wouldn’t necessarily produce a breakthrough. Your talent in Lightning Release may actually be far greater than mine…”
“Huh?”
But before Kakashi could finish, a voice suddenly came from above them!
“Talent greater than yours? Kakashi, that’s certainly a rare thing to hear. And seeing you in this state is even rarer.”
The voice made both Gen Hoshino and Kakashi freeze.
They immediately looked up.
A white-haired man was looking down at them with a smile.
His forehead protector bore a large “Oil” character.
The moment they saw him, both of them visibly relaxed.
Because this man was none other than Jiraiya…
…
“The progress is too slow, and we don’t have enough manpower.”
In the Land of Water, inside an office in Kirigakure, the masked Uchiha Obito was deep in thought.
The situation in Kirigakure was far from stable.
There were signs of rebellion throughout the village.
But Obito didn’t care about that.
What concerned him most was the state of the Akatsuki.
The organization was being assembled much more slowly than he had anticipated.
At the very least, they still didn’t have enough usable manpower.
“Then there’s Nagato…”
At this stage, Nagato still needed to continuously replenish the chakra of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path before it could slowly recover.
There was one thing Obito couldn’t quite understand.
Just how much power did Uchiha Madara extract to turn the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into this state?
“How much longer until I can create the world that belongs to me?”
Thinking about all these troublesome matters, Uchiha Obito couldn’t help muttering.
At that moment, a white-and-black hybrid form suddenly emerged from the ground.
“Obito, we’ve got some news.”
“Hm?”
Uchiha Obito frowned. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
He glared at the white-and-black hybrid form before speaking.
“Don’t forget. I’m Uchiha Madara now!”
“Hehehe…”
The white half of the black-and-white plant laughed mischievously without a care in the world.
Then, sounding rather excited, it continued:
“We just received some news.
While Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Jūzō were carrying out a mission, they ran into someone you know.
“Guess who?”
“Hmph. I’m not interested in playing guessing games with you.”
Uchiha Obito gave him a cold look.
Fortunately, Black Zetsu took over the conversation.
“It was Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha Itachi and Jūzō encountered his team.”
“Kakashi?”
Upon hearing that name, Uchiha Obito clearly paused.
Then he snorted disdainfully.
“That useless fool?
But that fool was in ANBU.
Itachi would have had trouble dealing with him.
“Nothing happened, did it?”
“No. He’s not with ANBU anymore.”
White Zetsu giggled before adding:
“And he’s even taken on a student!
“He only has one student, too!”
“That fool left ANBU and took on a student?”
Uchiha Obito was somewhat puzzled.
If that were the case, then after encountering Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Jūzō, Kakashi should have been doomed.
“What exactly happened?”
“Apparently, Kakashi’s student discovered Uchiha Itachi, allowing them to contact Konoha for reinforcements in advance.”
Black Zetsu thought for a moment before speaking.
“I have to say, Kakashi’s student is quite a prodigy.
He’s only around thirteen or fourteen, yet he managed to hold off Hoshigaki Jūzō and even saved Kakashi.
“In the end, Uchiha Itachi withdrew because the use of his Mangekyō had consumed too much chakra, while Hoshigaki Jūzō had lost his combat ability.”
Of course, neither Black Zetsu nor Uchiha Obito believed Uchiha Itachi’s explanation.
Others might not know.
But they knew perfectly well that Uchiha Itachi was a double agent!
“Kakashi’s student?”
Uchiha Obito frowned.
That caught his attention somewhat.
But only somewhat.
After all, he was no longer the Uchiha Obito he had once been.
“Speaking of which, it’s really interesting…”
At that moment, White Zetsu suddenly laughed casually, as though he were deliberately provoking him.
“Whoever Kakashi tried to protect in the past always ended up dead.
“But this time, he actually took the initiative to protect this kid, and nothing happened.
“Isn’t it possible that his luck has finally changed?”
Those few words caused Uchiha Obito’s expression to change completely…