Mid-fight, Kakashi suddenly pulled back, stopping in place. He turned his head, brows furrowed, as if sensing something.
"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Kitazawa instinctively tightened his grip on Zangetsu.
"I feel like someone is watching us," Kakashi said in a low, steady voice.
Kitazawa's heart skipped a beat. Is it Obito?
Besides him, Kitazawa couldn't think of anyone else who would be spying on them.
[As a future Hokage, you must drive away strong enemies.]
[Current Mission: Drive away Uchiha Obito.]
[Mission Reward: Three-Tomoe Sharingan.]
[Do you accept?]
Kitazawa was stunned. He had assumed he would only receive the Three-Tomoe Sharingan after helping Sasuke awaken his own.
That would have been much later, but right now, it was still acceptable.
He immediately accepted. This was an unexpected bonus. After all, since Kakashi had already detected Obito, a battle was likely inevitable.
Moreover, the system's mission specified "drive away," not "defeat" or "kill." Clearly, the system didn't believe they could eliminate Obito outright — and, in truth, that was indeed the case.
As one of the major antagonists in the original story, Obito's advantages were almost on par with those of Sasuke and Naruto.
Not only did he possess Kamui — arguably the most abnormal Mangekyō Sharingan ability — but he also had Hashirama's cells, allowing him to use Kamui multiple times. In addition, he could cast Izanagi, granting him an invincible revival for ten minutes.
"It seems Kakashi has found us."
In the distance, White Zetsu, never one to miss a good show, asked, "Are you going to go out and reunite with him? A reunion of old teammates must be touching."
Obito knew his emotions had spiked just now, causing his chakra to leak for an instant. But being discovered was harmless.
"I am Uchiha Madara now, not Uchiha Obito," he snapped, glaring at White Zetsu.
"Lord Madara, should we leave now?" White Zetsu immediately corrected himself.
"Leaving now is not in Uchiha Madara's character," Obito replied, a flicker of excitement flashing in his eyes. "Why not announce Uchiha Madara's return to Konoha with great fanfare!"
"Don't forget the Eye of the Moon Plan," White Zetsu reminded him.
"How boring," Obito snorted. "Then let me test how much Kakashi has improved over the years."
"Come out!" Kakashi's voice cut through their conversation.
"Kid, hasn't anyone taught you to be polite to your elders?" Obito asked in Uchiha Madara's tone as he walked out.
"Who are you?" Kakashi carefully examined the mask covering Obito's face.
"It's been too long since I returned to Konoha. The youngsters these days are truly disappointing," Obito said, shaking his head.
"Playing tricks!" Without hesitation, Kakashi lunged forward, thrusting his ninja blade.
Obito stood still, doing nothing. Though Kakashi was puzzled, his movements didn't stop. In the next second, the blade passed straight through Obito's body.
Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Is that all you've got?" Obito seized the moment of distraction and kicked.
Kakashi instinctively raised his arms to block. A powerful force slammed into him, and he used the momentum to retreat.
Obito raised a hand. Various ninja tools appeared out of thin air, raining down on Kakashi like a storm.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!"
Kitazawa appeared in front of Kakashi with a Body Flicker. He gripped Zangetsu and swung it with force. A scorching aura flared as the blade vibrated violently, releasing a massive flaming arc.
The falling weapons scattered under the impact.
"Kitazawa, be careful!" Kakashi warned.
"Kakashi, the famous genius — is this your new teammate? He doesn't look like much," Obito said, glancing at Kitazawa.
"You know me?" Kakashi's gaze sharpened. The words "new teammate" reminded him of Obito and Rin Nohara.
Kitazawa caught the subtle hint. Knowing the masked man was Obito, he understood the hidden meaning behind the remark.
"No, I only heard that you personally killed your teammate," Obito said flatly.
A brilliant flash of lightning erupted. Kakashi revealed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Lightning Release: Raikiri(Lightning Cutter)!"
With a single Body Flicker, he appeared in front of Obito. But the high-intensity current and rapid thrust passed harmlessly through him.
Obito casually flicked his wrist. A chain shot out, catching Kakashi before he could react.
Kakashi quickly slashed at it with his Raikiri, but the chain didn't budge.
Obito was about to speak when Kitazawa cut him off.
A roaring water dragon surged toward Obito. He raised an eyebrow and pulled on the chain, dragging Kakashi into the dragon's path.
But at the last moment, the water dragon veered away, easily avoiding Kakashi and continuing toward Obito.
"Water Release is barely adequate," Obito muttered, standing still as two giant shuriken flew out and sliced the water dragon into four pieces.
A white blade light gleamed. Kakashi suddenly broke free from the chain and stabbed at Obito.
Obito caught the chain and blocked the strike.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Crimson Claw!"
Kitazawa immediately formed hand seals. Flames engulfed the shuriken as they flew.
Kakashi twisted his ninja blade at incredible speed, changing its angle and slashing diagonally toward Obito's head.
"A futile effort," Obito said, shaking his head.
He released the chain, his body slipping into intangibility and ignoring both the flaming shuriken and Kakashi's ninja blade.
Kakashi's strike missed, and he retreated to stand beside Kitazawa.
"This is a Space–Time Ninjutsu," Kitazawa murmured.
Obito had clearly been using Kamui since he appeared. Its intangibility could last up to five minutes, allowing him to ignore any attack. But in that state, he also couldn't strike.
To attack, he had to revert to his physical form — even using Kamui to absorb or release other objects required him to be tangible. There was also a forced return to physicality once the five-minute limit ended.
Yet Obito's Hashirama cells let him use Kamui repeatedly with almost no cooldown. In short, it was a heaven-defying ability.
"Mhm." Kakashi nodded.
His teacher, Minato Namikaze, had been a master of the Flying Thunder God Technique, another Space–Time Ninjutsu, so Kakashi recognized it.
"Did you notice anything?" Kakashi asked, thinking aloud. He had exchanged blows with Obito twice but hadn't found a real weakness.
"We need to hit him the moment he attacks," Kitazawa replied.
Kakashi blinked, momentarily stunned. Had Kitazawa actually pinpointed the flaw? He had asked only out of a "nothing to lose" attitude.
Although Kitazawa was strong, he was still a ninja academy teacher; his experience and vision should have been inferior. But clearly, he had misjudged him.
"I'll take the lead in attacking next. You look for an opening," Kitazawa continued.
"Can you handle it?" Kakashi asked, worried. "How about I take the lead?"
"You have the Sharingan; you're better at spotting the opening," Kitazawa said after a pause. "Besides, we're in Konoha. Once the commotion gets big enough, reinforcements will come."
"What? Plotting how to deal with me?" Obito's tone dripped with disdain. "A useless endeavor!"
Kitazawa activated Senju Chakra Mode. There was no visible change — unlike the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, which cloaked the body in visible arcs of lightning — so he wasn't worried about exposing himself.
At most, Kakashi would think he'd been hiding his true strength, just like Kurenai and Kabuto had.
There were two main ways to counter Kamui. One was like Minato Namikaze: strike when Obito became tangible.
The other was like Konan: overwhelm him with continuous attacks for five minutes, forcing him to materialize.
Kitazawa planned to use both. With Senju Chakra Mode, he could mimic Konan's tactic. This was why he wanted to lead the assault. Even though his mode lasted only three minutes, that would be enough time for help to arrive.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Kitazawa's hands blurred through seals. Almost instantly, he spat out a giant fireball.
Obito's gaze sharpened. Why are his hand signs suddenly so fast?
He flickered out of the way, but before he landed, another roar erupted — a water dragon surged toward him.
What's going on? Obito twisted aside, ignoring the dragon.
As it passed through him, a flaming shuriken followed. One attack after another came in waves.
Kakashi was astonished. Kitazawa's hand seals were even faster than his own! But there was no time to dwell on it.
He immediately joined in the assault. If Kitazawa attacked alone, their intentions would be too obvious.
Obito grew annoyed as he dodged. Kitazawa and Kakashi's coordination was seamless. He had no time to counterattack, relying solely on his intangibility. At this rate, the five minutes would expire quickly, forcing him to materialize.
Even a moment of tangibility under this barrage would guarantee he got hit. And dodging nonstop was humiliating.
Still, Obito didn't believe they had truly figured out Kamui's weakness. They'd simply stumbled on a pattern and, combined with decent power, produced the current effect.
"It seems I'll have to show you a thing or two." He charged at them, unleashing his full power. A scarlet light flared in his eyes.
Kitazawa and Kakashi's movements slowed.
Now! Obito seized the gap in their ninjutsu and dropped his intangibility.
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!" He raised his hands. Countless branches shot forward like sharp blades.
"Wood Release?!" Kakashi froze for an instant. The branches pierced toward his left side.
As expected, Obito thought. Any Konoha ninja would be shocked by a sudden display of Wood Release.
But the next second, Kitazawa's body turned to mud.
"What?" Obito was stunned. He couldn't believe Kitazawa had reacted so quickly.
With a bang, the Kakashi who'd been skewered vanished.
"A Shadow Clone?" Obito was startled again.
A brilliant surge of lightning erupted. Obito immediately sensed a terrifying presence behind him.
No! He tried to use Kamui, but it was too late. Instinctively, he spun, raising his hands to shield himself.
"Raikiri!"
Moving like a bolt, Kakashi severed Obito's left arm and, without losing momentum, pierced through his body.
Blood sprayed.
Obito coughed violently. He had never imagined he would one day suffer the same fate he'd dealt to Rin.
At the same time, Kitazawa rushed forward at an extremely fast speed. But suddenly, his body began to sprout white substances like cotton candy.
Is this White Zetsu's Spore Technique? Kitazawa unhesitatingly abandoned Obito and immediately formed hand signs.
So-called spores are actually parts of Zetsu's cells that have differentiated. Spores are extremely concealed; before activation, even a Kage cannot detect them.
In the original work, the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumī fell victim to the Spore Technique.
Once triggered, the Spore Technique transforms into an expanding substance similar to Zetsu, enveloping the target. While restraining the target, it also absorbs the target's Chakra.
However, spores are very fragile, so they are easily broken free from. But what Kitazawa was thinking of was not breaking free, but Sealing Technique.
Evil Sealing Method!
Kitazawa pressed his hands onto the spores. In an instant, black cursed seals appeared, covering the entire spore. Although the spore was not a complete Zetsu, it was a part of Zetsu.
This half of a Zetsu, delivered to him, could not be refused. Besides, even without Zetsu's obstruction, Kitazawa couldn't kill Obito because he had entered the Kamui intangibility state the moment he was injured.
Without leaving any harsh words, Obito's body twisted and disappeared from the spot.
As the Evil Sealing Method took effect, Zetsu's spores immediately stopped expanding and lost their ability to move. Kitazawa nodded in satisfaction.
Sealing Technique truly is the underlying logic of the Ninja World.
Kitazawa took out a Summoning Storage Scroll and stored half of Zetsu. He turned around and looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi was in a daze, and at his feet was Obito's severed arm.
Kitazawa's eyes lit up involuntarily. He walked over and also placed this severed arm into the Summoning Storage Scroll.
"Why are you spacing out?" Kitazawa closed the scroll and said. "That guy has a Space-Time Ninjutsu; it's normal that we couldn't keep him."
"That's not the reason," Kakashi frowned and said. "His eyes gave me a very familiar feeling."
"Sharingan, of course, you're familiar with it," Kitazawa smiled and said.
After driving Obito away, he also felt relieved. Plus, he was seriously injured and would probably need some time to recover, so he naturally wouldn't go looking for Itachi, nor would there be a night of clan annihilation.
Although their encounter with Obito was quite sudden, thinking about it carefully, it was also very reasonable. After all, since Obito came to Konoha Village, he would definitely run over to see Kakashi.
"It's not Sharingan—never mind, now is not the time to think about this," Kakashi changed the subject, saying very seriously, "We must go see Hokage-sama immediately!"
Wood Release and Sharingan appearing on the same person—if such news got out, Konoha Village would surely experience a major upheaval.
"Kitazawa! Kakashi!" Kosuke arrived late. "What just happened?"
Actually, it wasn't too late; it was mainly that their battle ended too quickly.
And the commotion earlier was small, so Kosuke thought Kakashi and Kitazawa were sparring. It wasn't until the commotion became too loud to be a spar that he rushed over.
"Nothing, Kakashi and I were sparring," Kitazawa shook his head and said. "Kosuke-senpai, you should continue with your class."
"Alright then." Although Kosuke was a little confused, seeing that both of them were fine, he didn't ask any more questions.
"The fewer people who know about this, the better," Kitazawa said after Kosuke left.
"Mm." Kakashi nodded.
Given that it concerned Wood Release and Sharingan, not letting Maruboshi Kosuke know was actually for his own good.
"Do you want that severed arm?" Kitazawa suddenly thought of something and asked.
"No," Kakashi said indifferently.
"We're going to see Hokage-sama now," Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
There was no harm in telling Sarutobi Hiruzen about this. It could make Konoha Village vigilant in advance, so that when they encountered Obito, they wouldn't be completely unaware.
The two immediately hurried to the Hokage Building.
"It's rare to see both of you together," Sarutobi Hiruzen felt surprised when he saw them.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said in a deep voice. "Kitazawa and I were attacked by a mysterious masked man at the Ninja Academy."
"Someone actually broke into Konoha Village?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression immediately became serious, and he asked, "Where is he? Did you catch him?"
Kakashi and Kitazawa appearing before him naturally proved that they were unharmed.
"No," Kakashi replied. "We couldn't keep him."
"Even with your strength, you let him escape?" Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Kitazawa and Kakashi were both the best among the elite Jonin. But from another perspective, anyone who could escape from their hands must be one of the top powerhouses in the Ninja World.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was confident that he could guess the identity of the mysterious masked man by the Ninjutsu he used.
However, just as he was about to inquire, Kakashi's words left him in a daze.
"He has Space-Time Ninjutsu," Kakashi took a deep breath and said. "He also has Sharingan and Wood Release."
"What did you say?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly stood up, his face full of disbelief.
This is insane! Wood Release and Sharingan—how did those come together?
Who made such a mistake? No, that's not right!
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood the Senju Clan and also the Uchiha Clan; such a situation was impossible. At this moment, the name Danzo appeared in his mind.