Astonished Obito

"What a huge loss. Barely any money, and we even ran into enemies that strong. Seriously..."

In the Land of Waves, Kitagawa Gen supported Kakashi, who was still walking a little unsteadily, as they headed toward the town.

Though they had been intercepted by Itachi Uchiha and Biwa Juzo, in a sense, their mission could be considered complete.

After all, the mission had already exceeded its expected scope, and they did not have Naruto with them here either.

Naturally, they had the right to end the mission outright, and Kakashi's current condition clearly was not suited for continuing it.

Kakashi, in particular, needed rest and treatment more than anything now.

Perhaps because they were not in Konoha, or perhaps because his teammates were not nearby, Itachi Uchiha seemed to have held back a little this time.

The damage Tsukuyomi inflicted on Kakashi was not as severe as in Kitagawa Gen's memories. Even though he was still half-crippled, at least he was not nearly robbed of his ability to move like in those memories.

"Though I expected there to be something wrong with this mission, I didn't think it would be this unlucky."

Kakashi rubbed his messy mop of white hair and spoke somewhat weakly.

"To think we'd run into the rogue ninjas Biwa Juzo and Itachi Uchiha right away. Especially Itachi Uchiha's eyes. They really are hard to deal with."

"True. I've heard Teacher Guy evaluate you the same way."

Hearing that, Kitagawa Gen could not help smiling, then continued.

"That's why Teacher Guy has always been training himself not to look at your eyes, judging your attacks by movement alone. Should Teacher Kakashi learn that too?"

"That guy..."

Kakashi pressed his lips together. He was not surprised at all that Guy had come up with a combat technique like that, but an idea also formed in his mind.

Perhaps this really was a decent way to handle it?

Only, to him, it was more of a backup plan, because after experiencing Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi this time, he had also come up with other ways to respond.

Most importantly, after going through this, he felt his eye seemed to have undergone some strange change too...

"But speaking of which, what's going on with your Lightning Release?"

Shaking his head, Kakashi stopped dwelling on those matters. He planned to give himself a proper check once they returned.

What he was more curious about now was still Kitagawa Gen's Lightning Release. That technique had really left a deep impression on him.

"Teacher Kakashi, didn't I already tell you my line of thinking?"

Kitagawa Gen shrugged, but after thinking for a moment, he still explained a little further.

"But now that I say it, it's strange too. Although I've always felt that controlling Lightning Release didn't seem as difficult as I imagined, I also knew that achieving extreme shape transformation and nature transformation would be very difficult.

It's just that, for some reason, while fighting Biwa Juzo, I seemed to understand how to do it. Although I'm still not skilled with it, I actually succeeded on the first try."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Gen deliberately raised his hand, and the Chakra inside him began surging continuously.

In an instant, a stream of purple electricity condensed in his hand. The current quickly covered his palm and turned into the shape of a blade!

"Like this..."

Looking at the Purple Electricity in Kitagawa Gen's hand, Kakashi's eyelid could not help twitching.

Naturally, he could sense how powerful this technique was, and he understood its value even more clearly!

Even though he could tell that this technique did not seem stable yet, because arcs of electricity were always jumping irregularly.

But the problem was, this kid had basically succeeded at such a highly difficult technique on his first try!

This talent...

"Kids these days really are more terrifying than the last."

Only after a long while did Kakashi speak helplessly yet seriously.

"Under extremely dangerous circumstances, ninja have a certain chance of achieving an incredible breakthrough. You most likely encountered that kind of situation. I have to say, your luck is really good."

"Is that so?"

Kitagawa Gen nodded. This was exactly the effect he wanted. After all, the Otsutsuki bloodline was truly too absurd!

He was even considering whether, whenever he had some breakthrough in the future, he should pull a "tatakae" as long as he could guarantee his own safety.

"However, that also proves your talent."

Just as he was thinking, Kakashi spoke again.

"If you didn't have enough talent, even under such extreme circumstances, it would be hard to achieve any breakthrough. Your talent in Lightning Release is probably far stronger than mine..."

"Huh?"

However, the moment Kakashi finished speaking, a voice suddenly rang out above them!

"Talent stronger than yours? Kakashi, that really is rare. And you looking like this is even rarer."

That voice instantly made both Kitagawa Gen and Kakashi freeze. The two of them immediately looked up.

They saw a white-haired man with a huge "oil" character written on his forehead protector looking at them with a smile on his face!

At the sight of this guy, both of them let out a breath at the same time, because this fellow was none other than Jiraiya...

"Our progress is too slow right now, and we have too few people."

In the Land of Water, inside Kirigakure's office, the masked Obito Uchiha was pondering something.

At present, Kirigakure's situation was not very optimistic. The air of rebellion could be found everywhere throughout the entire village.

But he did not care. What he paid most attention to was still the Akatsuki's situation.

Only, the Akatsuki's formation speed was much slower than he had imagined. At least for now, there were not enough usable hands.

"Besides that, there's Nagato..."

At this stage, Nagato still needed to keep "recharging" the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path so that it could slowly recover.

There was one thing he did not quite understand. Just how much power had Madara Uchiha drawn from it to make the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path turn into this wretched state?

"How much longer will it be before I can build that world that belongs to me?"

Thinking of this whole series of troublesome matters, Obito Uchiha could not help murmuring. But at that moment, a Zetsu suddenly emerged from the ground...

"Obito, there's news."

"Hm?"

Obito Uchiha frowned. Only after glaring at that Zetsu did he speak.

"Don't forget, I am Madara Uchiha now!"

"Hee-hee."

The black-and-white Zetsu's white half of the face gave an unconcerned, strange laugh, then said with some excitement.

"We just got news. When Itachi Uchiha and Biwa Juzo were carrying out a mission, they ran into an acquaintance of yours. Guess who?"

"Hmph, I'm not interested in playing riddles with you."

Obito Uchiha swept him a cold glance. Fortunately, Black Zetsu took over the topic at that moment.

"It was Kakashi Hatake. Itachi Uchiha and the others ran into that guy's squad."

"Kakashi?"

Hearing that name, Obito Uchiha clearly paused for a moment, then snorted coldly and spoke with disdain.

"To think it was that trash. But that trash is in the Anbu, so Itachi Uchiha would have trouble if he ran into them. Nothing happened, right?"

"No, he isn't part of the Anbu right now."

White Zetsu giggled at that moment and could not help speaking again.

"And he's even teaching a student now. Only one student, too!"

"That trash left the Anbu, and he's teaching a student?"

Obito Uchiha was a little puzzled. If that was the case, then if he ran into Itachi Uchiha and the others, that guy should have been dead beyond doubt!

"What exactly happened?"

"Supposedly, it was that student of Kakashi's who discovered Itachi Uchiha, which allowed them to contact Konoha for reinforcements ahead of time."

Black Zetsu thought for a moment, then took the initiative to speak.

"I have to say, this disciple of Kakashi's is a genius. He's only around thirteen or fourteen, yet he held off Biwa Juzo and even saved Kakashi.

In the end, because Itachi Uchiha had exhausted himself too heavily using the Mangekyo, and Biwa Juzo lost his ability to fight, they retreated."

Of course, neither he nor Obito Uchiha believed Itachi Uchiha's nonsense.

Others did not know, but they were very clear that Itachi Uchiha was a traitor through and through!

"Kakashi's disciple?"

Obito Uchiha frowned. This piqued his interest slightly, but that was all.

After all, he was no longer the Obito Uchiha he once was!

"Speaking of which, it really is interesting."

But just then, whether White Zetsu was deliberately trying to anger him or not, he suddenly laughed unconcernedly.

"In the past, whoever Kakashi wanted to protect was doomed.

But this time, he took the initiative to protect this little brat, and nothing happened. It really is unbelievable.

Tell me, did his luck turn around?"

That single brief sentence made Obito Uchiha's eyes change.

New author, new book. Please add to your collection and keep reading~