A Stiff Upper Lip

Dark clouds loomed, signaling a change in the landscape.

Kakashi channeled lightning that rained down relentlessly, as if the end of the world had arrived.

"Hurry up!"

Sasuke sensed something was wrong. Given the Power of Destruction of the lightning, this place was not safe. Sasuke reminded the others to retreat to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

After saying that, Sasuke left first. Seeing Sasuke's actions, Naruto and Sakura, along with Tazuna, followed Sasuke.

"Try my strongest move, my dear brother."

"Lightning Release, Thunder God's Formation"

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, lightning poured down from the dark clouds.

"Boom!"

Kakashi pointed his katana at Karot, and thousands of bolts of lightning shot towards Karot as if on command.

"Well done, Kakashi."

Karot sincerely praised Kakashi, and Kakashi's improvement in strength greatly pleased Karot. In this dangerous Ninja World, strength is always the guarantee of one's safety. As Karot's only two weaknesses, Karot naturally hoped that Kakashi would become as strong as possible.

This battle was also a test for Kakashi to show Karot that he had been improving all these years. Kakashi knew Karot 'Kakashi intention as soon as he made a move; this is the tacit understanding between the two brothers.

Karot kept dodging, but the power of lightning seemed to be equipped with Dragon Radar, relentlessly chasing after Karot.

"That's amazing!"

"Is this even human strength?"

Sasuke and Naruto stood atop the tree, completely unable to comprehend the scene. Each explosion caused by the lightning created a deep crater in the ground. If such power were to strike a person, they would likely be reduced to ashes.

Karot knew he couldn't keep hiding, because the lightning had already caught his attention. As long as Karot was alive, the lightning would follow him. The solution was simple: either withstand the lightning with his body or eliminate the lightning's master, Kakashi.

A bolt of lightning the size of a fist shot straight at Karot. Karot made his move, abandoning his previous dodging and slapping the lightning with his hand, causing it to change direction.

"Boom."

The storm from the explosion tousled Karot's hair.

"You can do that?"

Sasuke saw how easily Kakashi's attack was dealt with by Karot.

"What happened, Sasuke?"

Naruto saw that Sasuke's expression had changed drastically, so he quickly asked him what was wrong. Sasuke then told Naruto everything he had seen.

"That's amazing!"

Naruto's eyes were shining; he had already made Karot his idol.

"Let's finish this quickly!"

Kakuzu, carrying the unconscious Zabuza, watched the battle between Karot and Kakashi. He didn't want to waste time waiting; he'd rather make money. He wasn't worried about Karot getting hurt. Kakuzu had traveled with Karot for years and witnessed Karot's strength firsthand, knowing that this kind of situation was child's play for Karot.

"What should I do? I'm no match for this person."

Haku, who had been secretly observing Zabuza, couldn't find a suitable opportunity to appear. He wanted to save Zabuza, but he never had the chance.

"It's very powerful, but it doesn't work on me, my dear brother."

Karot stood still, and whenever lightning got close, he would use his energy to deflect it. He didn't even have to lift a finger.

"Snort."

Kakashi hadn't expected that his elaborate and ingenious attack would have absolutely no effect on Karot. This left Kakashi feeling frustrated. He had considered that the move might not be very effective, but he hadn't expected it to be completely useless.

Defeating Karot would actually be quite simple; it would just require Taijutsu. Unfortunately, Karot's Taijutsu was overwhelming in the Ninja World. Apart from Guy, who had opened the Gate of Death, having a chance to compete with Karot didn't seem to have much interest in anyone else. To cooperate with his brother, Karot had been holding back, remaining on the defensive and never launching an attack.

I refuse to believe it.

Kakashi increased the amount of Chakra in his body, and the lightning that followed became even thicker. In the end, it became like a waterfall cascading down from the heavens.

"Oh, that makes it even more interesting."

Thunderfall cascaded down directly onto Karot.

"Aha."

Karot unleashed his power, and a lightning waterfall appeared directly above Karot, its force clashing with Karot's.

"Boom."

The two forces collided, and invisible shockwaves rippled outwards.

"Oops."

Sasuke and Naruto were thrown back by the blast wave, crashing from the treetops to the ground.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Naruto stood up from the ground and rubbed his butt. Sasuke wasn't much better off, but he was just putting on a brave face. The aloofness of the Uchiha Clan prevented him from doing the same thing as Naruto.

Even Kakuzu was nearly blown away by the shockwave. However, as a Kage Level shinobi, he managed to dodge it. Kakuzu brought the unconscious Zabuza to them Zabuza him to the ground without considering whether it would cause further injury.

It's you.

Upon seeing Kakuzu's sudden appearance, the group was initially on guard, but they relaxed their guard after seeing Kakuzu face clearly, because he had appeared with Karot and was not an enemy.

"Uncle, who do you think will win?"

Naruto, always so outgoing, asked Kakuzu, completely ignoring Zabuza who had been thrown to the ground.

Even Sasuke quietly approached the two, wanting to hear the old man's opinion. Since he could follow the powerful Karot, this old man's strength must not be too bad either.

"Of course Karot will win."

Kakuzu not to notice Sasuke's subtle actions and even kindly answered Naruto's question. Kakuzu had already sensed a large entity inside Naruto, and since Naruto was from Konoha, he knew Naruto was the Nine-Tails 'Kakuzu Jinchuriki. Don't ask how he figured it out; as an old Ninja World, if he didn't have some special skills, he would have been forgotten long ago. Kakuzu answered out of respect for the future Naruto. After all, as a Jinchuriki, as long as he doesn't die young, he'll definitely have a place among the future strong ninja.

Kakuzu's answer was exactly what Naruto and Sasuke had expected; it wasn't that Kakashi was too weak, but rather that his opponent was a monster.

"Kakashi, how long can you keep using Chakra like this?"

Karot noticed that Kakashi was starting to sweat, and that Kakashi's body was beginning to struggle to maintain that level of Chakra.

"You don't need to worry about that. I can hold out for a day."

Kakashi's only truly stubborn trait right now is his mouth.