Kakashi felt it immediately—something had seized his body, holding him in place, freezing his kunai just before it could pierce forward.
And in that same instant, Orochimaru's figure vanished from before his eyes.
"Genjutsu? No… a binding technique," Kakashi muttered, his voice low.
Within a moment, his body was released, movement restored—but the single fleeting chance to defeat Orochimaru had already slipped away.
Binding Jutsu was by no means an advanced technique.
It was only D-rank, a basic art that even Academy graduates could perform.
But its strength scaled with the power of the user.
And to immobilize someone of Kakashi's level, even for a heartbeat, was proof enough that only a shinobi like Orochimaru could have done it.
Kakashi's chakra reserves were already thin, and his injuries only worsened the drain. Maintaining Lightning Release Chakra Mode for long was impossible.
As Orochimaru slipped free of his strike, the crackling cloak of lightning around Kakashi began to fade.
"…It's already dissipating?" Orochimaru mused aloud, his golden eyes narrowing as he studied Kakashi from head to toe.
He had to admit—the technique Kakashi had used moments ago had truly impressed him.
Once enveloped in Lightning Chakra Mode, both Kakashi's speed and raw strength had spiked dramatically.
And when paired with that unique Sharingan of his… it had indeed been troublesome.
If Kakashi had not been wounded, Orochimaru wasn't entirely certain he would have escaped unscathed.
"What a pity," Orochimaru said with a silken chuckle. "If you had simply let that little girl heal you earlier, perhaps the outcome would have been very different."
The moment the words left his lips, his figure blurred—vanishing once more.
"He's gone?!" Karin gasped, her voice breaking into panic.
"He hasn't disappeared," Senju Haruto replied calmly, without even thinking. "Your eyes just can't follow him."
This was a technique Haruto knew well himself.
It was also called Shunshin no Jutsu—Body Flicker. But unlike the Flying Thunder God once used by Namikaze Minato, it did not bend space-time.
Instead, it used a surge of chakra to explosively accelerate the body, making it appear as though the caster had vanished into thin air.
The chakra cost varied depending on distance and terrain.
In Konoha, the one who had mastered this art to its highest level was Uchiha Shisui, earning him the title Shunshin no Shisui.
This was the true danger of the Body Flicker.
Even if one knew everything about it, countering it remained a near-impossible task.
And now, Kakashi was injured. His Lightning Chakra Mode had already burned away most of his reserves.
Even if his Sharingan could track Orochimaru's movements, his body could no longer keep up.
Shhh!
Orochimaru materialized directly behind Kakashi, a kunai flashing into his hand as though conjured from the void. With a serpent's grin, he mirrored Kakashi's earlier strike, thrusting straight for the Copy Ninja's throat.
But just as the blade was about to pierce flesh—
Kakashi vanished.
The sight was so abrupt, so unnatural, that even Orochimaru froze for a moment, eyes widening in disbelief.
Kakashi's chakra is nearly depleted. He shouldn't be capable of such a flawless Body Flicker…
The realization struck him instantly. Orochimaru's head snapped to the side—
And there was Kakashi, already at Karin's side, alive and unscathed.
It hadn't been his own doing.
It was Senju Haruto who had intervened.
"…Impossible," Orochimaru thought, his expression sharpening.
This boy—by all appearances, merely a chūnin-level shinobi from the Leaf—had snatched Kakashi out of his grasp in the blink of an eye.
Had he underestimated him all this time?
For the first time, Orochimaru's gaze locked onto Haruto in earnest, studying him carefully.
Karin, noticing this shift, hurriedly thrust her arm out toward Kakashi.
"Kakashi—why not use this chance to test the results of your training?" Haruto said, his voice low, measured.
Kakashi hesitated, a trace of doubt in his eyes.
He knew Orochimaru was one of the Three Legendary Sannin, standing on equal footing with Jiraiya.
But Haruto continued, his tone cutting through Kakashi's uncertainty.
"Orochimaru has an obvious weakness," Haruto said. "Because of his Living Corpse Reincarnation, his resistance to genjutsu is almost nonexistent."
Haruto's mind turned quickly, recalling what he knew.
At this time, Orochimaru should still be a member of Akatsuki. Yet he wore none of their signature cloaks.
Which could only mean one thing: he had already left them.
And the reason for his departure was simple—he had been defeated once by Uchiha Itachi.
If Orochimaru could not overcome Itachi, then he could hardly be considered Haruto's true opponent.
A single Mangekyō-level genjutsu would be enough to end him.
This wasn't arrogance, but simple fact.
In truth, even Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan genjutsu had once been enough to suppress Orochimaru.
If Haruto truly wanted to, he could crush him in an instant.
The only reason he hadn't was because he wanted to measure something else.
He wanted to see how Kakashi—the shinobi he had trained and tempered—measured up against Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.
How many Orochimaru's worth of strength has Kakashi gained?
Kakashi glanced sideways at Haruto's calm face.
And in that instant, he understood what Haruto truly intended.
His hesitation vanished.
He leaned forward and sank his teeth lightly into Karin's offered arm.
A rush of chakra flooded into his body, racing through his veins, knitting torn flesh, mending broken muscles, erasing every injury in an instant.
Kakashi's eyes widened, stunned.
He had known of Karin's ability. But experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely.
The shock of complete recovery left him momentarily speechless.
Karin, however, exhaled deeply in relief.
She had finally met someone she was determined to follow. There was no way she would let this chance slip through her fingers.
Taking a steadying breath, she sneaked a glance at Haruto's face.
No one will take me away from him, she swore silently. I'll stay by his side. I'll be his right hand, no matter what.
But Haruto remained indifferent to her thoughts, his eyes fixed forward, watching Orochimaru.
Waiting.
Expecting.
Kakashi rose slowly to his feet, bracing briefly against his knees before straightening to full height. His fists clenched, filled with new strength and energy.
"Orochimaru," he said, his voice low and heavy.
His feelings were complicated.
If not for Senju Haruto, he would never have even dreamed of standing toe-to-toe with one of Konoha's Sannin.
But Orochimaru's gaze had already shifted.
Kakashi's Lightning Chakra Mode had impressed him, yes—but Haruto's Body Flicker was what truly unsettled him.
The Shunshin was only a D-rank technique, after all.
But the weaker the technique, the more it depended on the raw power of the one who used it.
"This boy…" Orochimaru thought, his tongue brushing against his lips. "…is stronger than Kakashi."
But that was fine.
In fact, it was perfect.
For he had just the technique with which to test them both.
A slow smile curled across Orochimaru's pale face.
He clapped his hands together sharply.
The ground trembled.
And with a deep, groaning rumble, a plain wooden coffin began to rise from the earth, as though clawing its way out from the underworld itself.
Edo Tensei.