The Masked Man looked at Kakashi, who was holding up his Lightning Cutter, and spoke with a hint of mockery.
"Heh, so you're the famous Kakashi Hatake."
Kakashi's Sharingan locked firmly onto the Masked Man. From his words, he detected a peculiar tone of mockery.
"Who are you? How dare you invade Konoha?"
The only response to Kakashi was the Masked Man's silent laughter.
The Masked Man's indifference enraged Kakashi, and he charged toward him at full speed.
Kakashi reached out with his left hand for the man's mask, wanting to see who he really was.
The Masked Man's body suddenly turned intangible, and Kakashi's Lightning Cutter once again cleaved through empty air!
"How could this be..."
A trace of surprise flashed through Kakashi's eyes. It missed again?
How did this guy do it?
The blade in the Masked Man's hand sliced through Kakashi's skin, and bright-red blood slowly seeped through his coat.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Kakashi gasped heavily. Using Lightning Cutter twice in succession had rapidly drained his blue bar.
He retreated several steps and stood beside Eiji.
"I can't attack his body at all. Eiji, we need to come up with a thorough battle plan."
Eiji hesitated for a moment. "Actually, Captain Kakashi, there's no need to make things so complicated..."
Kakashi ignored Eiji. Several battle plans had already appeared in his mind.
"Listen to me."
"He really is a troublesome opponent. Not only does he possess a strange ninjutsu that can ignore attacks, but judging from Ryoma's death, he can also use Wood Style just like Tenzo."
"His Chakra is somewhat disordered. It seems he just went through a battle. This is probably when he's at his weakest..."
Eiji tried to interrupt Kakashi. Look at me. Please, look at me.
Couldn't brilliant Senior Kakashi figure out that I was the one who crack! hit him like that?
Clearly, Kakashi had not thought of that. He was still trying to devise tactics for Eiji.
"We'll attack him from both sides. He'll definitely reveal an opening."
"Even if we can't defeat him, we at least need to hold out until reinforcements arrive."
The Masked Man rolled his arm. Under the effects of the Hashirama Cells, his wounds began to slowly heal.
"Fire Style: Violent Wind Dance!"
The Masked Man formed hand seals rapidly, interrupting the two who had been talking incessantly.
Are you two done yet? This is a fight!
The space before the Masked Man twisted violently, generating a fierce gale.
Then he spat out a gigantic fire serpent.
Driven by the gale, the fire serpent grew larger and larger before instantly swallowing Eiji and Kakashi.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Eiji slapped his hands together, and a massive Water Dragon Tornado surged up from the ground.
When the two collided, a huge amount of mist rose into the air.
"I absolutely won't let you hurt my companion. Senior Kakashi, I'll definitely protect you!"
The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched. Why did he suddenly get so fired up?
The Masked Man crooked a finger. The ground suddenly churned like boiling asphalt, and countless vines wrapped in glowing Chakra burst from beneath it.
"Useless Kakashi. You couldn't protect your companion, and now you have to stand behind a little brat?"
The Masked Man's words struck Kakashi deeply. He could not help recalling the painful memory of watching his two closest friends die before his eyes.
"Wood Style: Hell's Chaos!"
Thorny vines grew rapidly, converging into towering trees covered in thorns.
The area was transformed into a thorny wasteland that no one could approach.
Eiji grabbed Kakashi and frantically retreated, escaping the reach of the thorns.
"Senior Kakashi, what are you spacing out for?"
Eiji's shout brought the dazed Kakashi back to his senses. "I'm truly sorry."
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Wood Style Ninjutsu. You really are that murderer."
"And what's with that eye? Could you be a Rogue Ninja from the Uchiha clan?"
Kakashi had naturally noticed the Masked Man's Sharingan as well.
How could a member of the Uchiha clan possess a technique like Wood Style?
Who exactly is this person?
"Senior Kakashi, why has this person called you useless so many times? Is there some story between the two of you?"
Kakashi shook his head lightly. "No. I don't know him."
The Masked Man's ears twitched. He heard footsteps drawing closer and closer.
"That's enough for today."
"Uchiha Eiji, the genius ninja of the Uchiha family, and the Copy Ninja, the battle hero Kakashi Hatake."
"Next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."
As he spoke, the Masked Man's Sharingan flashed with a spatial-temporal vortex, and his body slowly vanished along with it.
Until the moment he disappeared, the Masked Man kept staring hard at Eiji, afraid that Eiji might pull out some other strange ninjutsu.
But Eiji did nothing.
He merely raised his middle finger.
If Flying Thunder God scared you stupid, just say so. Why put on airs for no reason?
How is that any different from a grade-schooler saying, "Just you wait—I'll get you sooner or later"?
Perhaps they could have captured the Masked Man today, but Eiji did not want to butcher this hen that laid golden eggs.
Eiji knew that the Masked Man was interested in him, which meant he would definitely come to Konoha several more times.
And every time he came to Konoha, Eiji could defeat him and complete the mission of protecting the villagers.
That's right. Eiji was treating the Masked Man like an experience piñata.
Kakashi dispelled the lightning around his hand and looked thoughtful.
The invader knew his and Eiji's names.
Could this strange Masked Man have been targeting the two of them?
And what exactly was that strange ninjutsu?
Then, how had he mastered the Kekkei Genkai of Wood Style?
Could he have joined forces with Orochimaru?
Finally, why the hell did he keep calling me useless?
Kakashi felt as though countless question marks had appeared inside his head.
Suppressing his doubts, he looked at Eiji, who had fought alongside him.
"Eiji, you aren't injured, are you?"
"I'm fine."
Eiji was more than fine. He had also obtained a lot of gold coins.
[Even in times of peace, one must remain vigilant at all times] [As the Second Hokage, you once again protected the safety of the villagers and the Jinchuriki] [Through this battle, your understanding of Sharingan ocular techniques has become clearer] [Ninja World Scientist has passively upgraded. When the host learns ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or genjutsu, success is guaranteed as long as it conforms to scientific theory]
Eiji thought for a moment. Could he upgrade the Sharingan too?
As everyone knew, the condition for awakening the Sharingan was an intense emotional upheaval.
But Eiji was an orphan, and all his friends were doing perfectly well. A powerful emotional fluctuation was clearly unrealistic.
Wait. A flash of white light streaked through Eiji's mind.
So it can be done this way!
System, listen carefully. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will protect the village.
This is my Will of Fire, you hear!
[Detected Lord Tobirama's blazing Will of Fire] [It conforms to the theory of powerful emotional fluctuations. The Sharingan that Lord Tobirama somehow awakened has upgraded to the Three Tomoe]
As the system's voice faded, the tomoe in Eiji's eyes began to spin.
A moment later, the scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan in Eiji's eyes glittered with dazzling red light.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Feeling the power surging from his eyes, Eiji let out the wild laughter of the Uchiha.
His emotions rose along with his surging ocular power, and he even felt that he could barely suppress them.
"The Three Tomoe Sharingan is indeed impressive."
Kakashi looked at Eiji from the side, a complicated expression appearing on his face.
He was perfectly fine just now. How did he suddenly turn into this?
While Kakashi was pondering, Eiji had already returned to normal.
"Let's go, Senior Kakashi. We need to hurry and report this matter to the Hokage."
Faced with Eiji's sudden calmness, Kakashi was even more bewildered.
Are all descendants of your Uchiha clan like this, switching back and forth?
Just like that guy—completely crazy.
Hokage Building.
After receiving the news, Hiruzen climbed out of bed and hurried to the office.
Upon hearing that the invader had been driven away, Hiruzen did not look relieved.
The fact that two genius ninjas working together had still failed to capture their opponent was enough to show how extremely dangerous he was.
"I'm truly sorry, Hokage. We let the invader escape."
Hiruzen had no intention of blaming Eiji and Kakashi. Judging from their descriptions, even he might not have been able to capture that opponent personally.
"Go back and get some rest. Since this operation failed, he probably won't dare come again for a while."
Before you continue