When Kakashi unleashed his full power, even he was shaken by the force coursing through him.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that one day he'd be able to wield this kind of strength.
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a jutsu that drastically heightened the user's speed.
If he could enter the second stage, he would truly become like living lightning itself.
And at such speed, every strike carried overwhelming force.
If I'd had this back then, Kakashi thought bitterly, when that boulder came crashing down on Obito… Wouldn't I have been able to smash it apart?
If I'd been able to use this when the Mist ANBU ambushed us… couldn't I have taken Rin and escaped alive?
Memories and regrets surged in his chest, but this was still a battle.
Even if Senju Haruto was holding back, it didn't mean he was going to stand there like a training dummy, taking every strike without resistance.
And right now, of all times, Kakashi was distracted.
Boom!
Haruto pushed his chakra outward in a sudden burst.
Caught off guard, Kakashi felt searing pain in his leg, snapping his mind back to the present.
This was no time to dwell on the past.
Twisting midair, Kakashi spun his body a hundred and eighty degrees to ease the force on his leg. His left hand seized his right wrist, channeling his Lightning Release chakra into his palm.
"Raikiri!"
His battle cry rang out as he lunged forward. The chakra mode amplified the speed and destructive power of his Lightning Cutter, pushing it to terrifying heights.
In Kakashi's mind, even Haruto wouldn't escape unscathed from this blow.
And indeed, the clash unfolded exactly as he'd hoped—his Raikiri tore into Haruto's chakra shroud, cutting through it by sheer force, surging straight toward the novel in Haruto's hand.
Haruto sighed, commenting mid-battle as if critiquing a sparring partner:
"Using Raikiri while cloaked in Lightning Release Chakra Mode… I'll give you this much, Kakashi, the two do complement each other. But a head-on strike like that only works on people who don't know you."
With an almost bored air, he shifted the novel into his other hand and snatched Kakashi's wrist in his right, hurling him away like a ragdoll.
Thud!
Kakashi crashed into the ground, tumbling hard across the dirt before grinding to a halt.
The lightning in his hand flickered and died.
Raikiri was powerful, no doubt. But its drawback was obvious—such violent chakra couldn't be sustained for long.
It was a technique meant to seize a single fleeting opening and decide the battle in an instant.
Without Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi wouldn't even be able to use it effectively.
But without a Raikiri-level jutsu, he had no way of breaking through Haruto's defenses.
He was trapped between two impossible choices.
"If I use Raikiri, I can't create an opening. If I don't use it, I can't pierce that barrier…"
Suddenly, Kakashi froze. His brow furrowed as realization struck him.
"Wait… is Haruto not just testing me? Is he trying to see how I'll use that single fleeting chance when it appears?"
The thought made him shiver. His Sharingan whirled as he replayed the fight in his mind.
Haruto himself had once told him—out of all the shinobi he knew, Kakashi was one of the sharpest when it came to analyzing combat.
But in truth, Kakashi was completely wrong.
"…Huh."
Watching Kakashi sent flying again, Haruto frowned slightly.
Did I use too much chakra?
He couldn't even cut through my chakra field.
Wait, is Kakashi really this weak? This guy is supposed to become the Sixth Hokage!
"Besides, at this point in time, Kakashi should already be almost Shippuden-level. Aside from Kamui, he should be at full strength…"
Haruto paused, then sucked in a breath.
"No, he's even got Lightning Release Chakra Mode right now. So why does this feel so off?"
Unless… it's not that Kakashi's too weak… but that I'm just too strong?
But all I did was use basic chakra manipulation. What am I supposed to do—fight barehanded?
…Barehanded?
That might actually work.
"But still—if Kakashi rushes in with Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Raikiri, and I don't defend myself with chakra, wouldn't that hurt like hell?"
Haruto frowned. The Naruto world, in his understanding, was high offense, low defense.
Every jutsu looked devastating, but most shinobi weren't all that durable.
Aside from the Third Raikage, most could be killed by even relatively ordinary techniques.
"…Maybe I should reinforce myself with Sage Mode?"
Nodding at the idea, Haruto drew in natural energy, slipping into Sage Mode.
Unlike other techniques, Sage Mode's real strength lay in amplifying ninjutsu.
Barehanded strikes didn't get the same kind of boost.
Even Naruto in Sage Mode—when he kicked Pain's Deva Path squarely, catching him completely unguarded—failed to do serious damage.
That alone proved the point.
"…Huh?"
Kakashi blinked in shock. His Sharingan locked onto Haruto, analyzing every shift in his chakra.
Just when he'd carefully adjusted his strategy… Haruto dissolved the chakra barrier entirely.
He now stood there with no protective layer, seemingly full of openings from head to toe.
"What the hell…?"
Kakashi squinted, checking again with his Sharingan. The results were the same.
But Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Sharingan both drained chakra quickly.
By Kakashi's calculation, he could sustain this state for maybe half a minute longer.
Whatever Haruto was planning, he didn't have the luxury of time to figure it out.
No point hesitating.
Planting his foot, Kakashi detonated forward.
Crack!
The ground shattered beneath him as his body streaked like lightning, closing in on Haruto in an instant.
At that very moment, Haruto opened his eyes—now glowing with the calm power of Sage Mode.
Kakashi was already within arm's reach, his right hand curled into a tight fist, driving straight for Haruto's forehead.
But Haruto's eyes narrowed for an entirely different reason.
"…That angle…"
It wasn't the speed, nor the power, that caught him off guard.
It was Kakashi's stance.
The position of his body practically begged for a counter.
Before Haruto even consciously decided, his right leg shot up.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, his kick connected.
Kakashi was blasted backward, sent flying once again.
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