At this moment, Tsunade and Jiraiya...
fell into a state of anxiety...
Just moments ago...
the two of them...
had watched helplessly as Kakashi was swallowed up and vanished by the Masked Man in an instant.
The two had roamed the Shinobi World for many years and survived countless perils, yet they had never been so thoroughly humiliated.
Right in front of two of the Legendary Sannin, Kakashi had been taken into the Kamui space.
"Damn it, that Masked Man's Sharingan is a Mangekyo..."
"He doesn't seem to be Uchiha Itachi..."
Tsunade's expression darkened...
Her chakra-infused fist slammed into the ground without restraint. The earth split apart like a spiderweb, sending countless chunks of stone flying.
The violent tremor made the surrounding trees shudder. Anxiety and rage flickered in her eyes...
"What does that Masked Man want?"
"Most likely... he's after Kakashi's Sharingan."
Jiraiya's tone was somewhat irritated...
The mysterious Masked Man who had suddenly appeared earlier, with that scarlet Sharingan, had filled Jiraiya with a sense of unease.
Before Tsunade and Jiraiya had recovered from the shock of the Masked Man's sudden attack on Kakashi, the space around them twisted violently once more.
A vortex-like tear in the void abruptly appeared, carrying powerful spatial tremors that sent the surrounding leaves swirling through the air.
Two figures leaped out of the warped space at the same time. They were none other than Kakashi and the mysterious Masked Man!
Their bodies moved like the wind as they engaged in an exceptionally fierce and nimble clash in midair.
Several sharp kunai flew rapidly between them...
Their collisions rang out with crisp, piercing clangs.
The kunai fell as densely as a rainstorm, but Obito's figure flickered into something illusory, deftly evading every attack. In an instant, he appeared behind Jiraiya.
"Watch out!"
Kakashi reacted swiftly, decisively forming a complex sequence of hand seals.
As he performed the technique... Kakashi gave the matter some thought and unleashed a Water Style technique he had never learned before...
Water Style: Azure Rain!
With his low shout, the air instantly grew damp, gathering vast amounts of water vapor and mist.
Like countless supple threads, they rapidly spread in every direction, intercepting every kunai flying toward Jiraiya.
Water currents and kunai collided fiercely, producing an unceasing series of sharp metallic clangs. Seeing that the situation had turned against him, Obito did not continue the fight.
He spun through the air, nimbly flipped once, then opened the Kamui space again.
As space twisted violently, his body rapidly phased away and disappeared from everyone's sight, leaving behind not even the slightest trace.
The forest fell silent once more.
Kakashi stood where he was, gasping for breath.
Only then did Tsunade and Jiraiya recover from the perilous situation. The two hurried toward the heavily breathing Kakashi.
"Kakashi, are you all right?"
Kakashi shook his head slightly and steadied his breathing...
"I'm fine... It's just that his spatial ninjutsu consumed quite a bit of my chakra."
Jiraiya frowned deeply. "Do you have any leads? Who exactly is that guy?"
Kakashi pondered for a moment before saying in a low, slow voice, "He seems to come from an organization called Akatsuki, one that seeks to destroy the world."
"Akatsuki?"
Jiraiya's expression changed instantly, his eyes clearly revealing his shock.
"I inferred from what he said that the purpose of this Akatsuki organization is very clear..."
"They want to use the meteorite summoned by Uchiha Yuan to ensure a successful impact and completely destroy the Shinobi World, achieving what they call absolute peace."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade and Jiraiya immediately looked at each other.
Kakashi did not pause, continuing in a low voice, "Based on the information that guy accidentally let slip, Akatsuki's current members include Uchiha Itachi, in addition to Orochimaru."
"And their leader is a shinobi who possesses the legendary Rinnegan."
At that moment, hearing about the Rinnegan, Jiraiya could no longer hold himself together...
His thoughts raced, as though he had fallen into deep contemplation and worry.
The Rinnegan... Could those children he had once taught in Amegakure be connected to this matter?
Tsunade was somewhat suspicious. "Kakashi, how did you learn all this intelligence?"
Kakashi spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious expression...
"The Masked Man was too pleased with himself and wanted to show off Akatsuki's strength to me. He seems to have carelessly revealed this information by accident."
Though it was nonsense, Kakashi spoke with complete conviction...
Because Obito was exactly that kind of person...
"Perhaps he's merely an intern member of Akatsuki, so he's somewhat immature mentally."
At that, Kakashi continued smearing Obito's name with obvious delight...
"He didn't seem very bright..."
Kakashi's explanation was a little far-fetched, but Tsunade could not find any flaws in it for the moment. In addition, Kakashi was directly tied to the Hokage, so although Tsunade had doubts,
she mostly suspected that the Masked Man had deliberately fed them false information rather than directing her suspicions toward Kakashi.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, remained silent for a while before finally unable to resist asking in a low voice, "Kakashi, did you hear where that organization is based... Could it be in Amegakure?"
"I didn't hear him mention that."
But this important intelligence had to be reported to the village as soon as possible.
Just as the three prepared to leave, Tsunade suddenly looked at Kakashi curiously.
"By the way, Kakashi, that Water Style technique you used just now seemed to be new?"
Kakashi was slightly taken aback...
"Water Style: Azure Rain is a minor ninjutsu I recently created myself. Its main purpose is to activate my subsequent techniques."
His tone was casual, but Tsunade and Jiraiya both revealed surprised expressions.
They naturally understood that creating ninjutsu was far from easy. It required an exceptionally deep understanding of chakra's nature transformation and shape transformation.
"To be able to create ninjutsu on your own, your talent and comprehension truly live up to their reputation."
Tsunade's gaze narrowed slightly as she carefully recalled the scene of Kakashi performing the technique.
That fine mist, delicate as silk, had appeared soft and harmless, yet it had faintly carried an unfathomable quality.
Especially Kakashi's mention of an activating technique, which made her vaguely grasp a special implication.
"So you intend to use this technique as a foundation to continue developing more powerful techniques?"
Kakashi nodded upon hearing this...
Ever since he had been able to freely close his Sharingan, Kakashi's thoughts had flowed like a spring, and countless new technique ideas had emerged in his mind.
Water Style: Azure Rain was the first original Water Style technique he had come up with.
In Kakashi's vision, this Water Style technique would have many more variations in the future, even laying the groundwork for other powerful ninjutsu...
Now that Kakashi was no longer restrained by the Sharingan, his strength had begun to rise explosively...
Before you continue