Kakashi: Itachi, don't hurt Sasuke... Huh?

"They really did have other motives."

Kakashi was not surprised by Kisame's duplicity and sudden attack.

The next second, he saw Shirozumi step in front of him, and his expression immediately tightened.

They had only exchanged a single move before, so he had been unable to tell what the other man had done.

Now, because he had activated his Sharingan during the fight with Zabuza, Kakashi wanted to try again.

His three-tomoe Sharingan stared intently at Shirozumi.

Shirozumi was quite accommodating, immediately raising both hands to form seals.

Kakashi promptly followed along.

"Young man, be careful! That's the Copy Ninja—Sharingan Kakashi. He can copy your ninjutsu!"

Seeing the familiar scene, Momochi Zabuza, who had been saved, hurriedly warned Shirozumi.

However...

What kind of technique required so many seals?

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Kakashi's forehead.

Worried as he was, Kakashi did not dare stop moving his hands.

His Sharingan remained fixed on Shirozumi's hands.

It observed every minute detail, even distinguishing the movements of Shirozumi's hand muscles as he shifted to the next seal. This let Kakashi predict the next seal in advance and form it even faster than Shirozumi himself.

That was how he had clashed with Zabuza earlier as well.

"Reaper Death Seal!"

"Reaper Death... what?!"

Kakashi confidently finished the seals ahead of Shirozumi and shouted the technique's name along with him.

But the moment he yelled it, Kakashi was startled.

What the hell was that?

Kakashi did not know the seal sequence for the Reaper Death Seal, but he knew its name. After all, his teacher Minato Namikaze had used the Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine-Tails.

Once this forbidden technique was used, it was uncertain whether the enemy would be sealed, but the caster would definitely die.

Kakashi had truly been frightened.

Only after sensing no Chakra Fluctuation did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Did that scare you? Will you still dare to copy ninjutsu so casually next time? And even cast it ahead of the original?"

Shirozumi shook out his hands.

Forming all those seals had made them a little sore.

Kakashi's face darkened at his words.

Wasn't that personality a little too awful?

But on second thought, what Shirozumi said made some sense.

If someone truly targeted him on purpose and formed seals for some kind of "self-destruct" technique...

And he chose to cast it a step ahead of them, wouldn't he be finished on the spot?

Having realized this, Kakashi became even more confused.

If the other party was deliberately helping him eliminate a weakness in his abilities, then was he an enemy or an ally?

"Hahahaha! I never thought Sharingan Kakashi would be toyed with by a young man! Hahahaha!"

Seeing Kakashi suffer a setback, Zabuza burst into laughter.

"You idiot who needs more than forty seals to use a single ninjutsu has no business laughing at anyone else."

Shirozumi's words brought Zabuza's laughter to an abrupt stop.

"Kisame, is he your subordinate?"

Zabuza's expression darkened.

"No, I suppose I'm his subordinate."

Kisame answered casually.

"What?"

Zabuza frowned.

Before he could say anything else, the Masked Man Loli hiding in the shadows finally could not resist jumping out.

Thinking about it, Zabuza really was a terrifying character.

At the end of Shippuden, standing before Kaguya Otsutsuki were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and a "Masked Man."

The same lineup now stood before Zabuza.

"Who are you?"

Hearing the commotion, Kakashi turned his gaze toward them, holding a kunai across his body.

"Everyone, I am an Anbu of Kirigakure. My mission is to capture the Rogue Ninja Zabuza and recover the Kubikiribōchō. Could you hand this man over to me?"

Haku still used the excuse he had prepared beforehand, trying to persuade them.

"It really is a Kirigakure Anbu mask..."

Kakashi found the current situation utterly speechless.

If it had only been Zabuza, this person's appearance would not have been an issue.

But now, not only was Zabuza here, Kisame Hoshigaki was here as well.

The key was that they of Konoha had even cooperated with Kisame Hoshigaki, who was also a Rogue Ninja from Kirigakure.

With that line of reasoning, was he forcing everyone to kill him to keep their mouths shut?

"Haku, you idiot, stop talking!"

Zabuza cut Haku off.

Calling out the name made it clear that the two sides knew each other.

Kakashi instantly understood that this person was an impostor, here to rescue Zabuza.

"Zabuza-sama?"

Haku was confused.

"Kisame, what are you trying to do? Don't tell me you want my sword?"

Zabuza said nothing more to Haku and instead looked at Kisame.

Having just been defeated by Kakashi, he had no ability to resist Kisame.

Kakashi had also expended quite a bit of Chakra and had several deadweights with him. Against a ninja like Kisame, who possessed enormous Chakra reserves and was in perfect condition after waiting at his leisure, Kakashi would inevitably have no choice but to retreat.

In other words, whether Zabuza lived or died depended entirely on the other party.

But Kisame did not answer Zabuza. Instead, he looked at Shirozumi.

"What would we want your sword for? Since we've saved you, you, your sword, and this subordinate of yours will all become members of our branch."

Shirozumi spoke.

The moment Shirozumi said that, Kakashi's group immediately became alert.

A branch? That meant there was a headquarters as well?

Could the other side be a new force gathering Rogue Ninjas somewhere, with Rogue Ninjas at its core?

"...An organization capable of taking in a ninja as strong as you, Kisame, must not be simple. I can agree, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask first."

After weighing things for a moment, Zabuza chose to agree.

He then said nothing further, turning his gaze toward Kakashi and the others.

Kakashi's expression was grave.

Kakashi did not believe that an organization gathering Rogue Ninjas was planning to do anything good.

If left unchecked, it would sooner or later threaten the village's safety.

It would be best to find a way to obtain more intelligence.

But the current situation was clearly not the time to gather intelligence.

Putting his three subordinates in danger for the sake of intelligence went against the ninja way Kakashi had always followed.

"We..."

"Strategist, the mission has been completed."

Just as Kakashi was about to say something and retreat directly, a flock of crows suddenly flew over, gathering into Uchiha Itachi. He handed a scroll to Shirozumi.

"Uchiha Itachi?"

The instant Kakashi saw Itachi, he inwardly realized that things were bad.

Sure enough, just as that thought crossed his mind, Sasuke behind him began trembling all over. He hurled a Fuma Shuriken, then charged forward with a kunai raised.

"Itachi!!!"

Sasuke rushed over with a crazed expression.

Shirozumi nodded, accepted the mission scroll, and exchanged a few words with Itachi.

Only then did Itachi slowly turn his head and activate his Sharingan.

The three tomoe spun, directly transforming into the Mangekyo.

"Stop! Itachi! Don't hurt Sasuke..."

Kakashi's face changed drastically as he hurriedly shouted.

He had only gotten halfway through shouting...

Kakashi suddenly found the surroundings around him changing, and himself bound to a Cross.

Uh.

So he wasn't attacking Sasuke?

Outside Tsukuyomi Space, Sasuke was startled as well.

After all, he was far too familiar with Itachi's eyes.

The moment he saw those eyes, it meant he was about to relive the night of the clan massacre.

Yet this time, it hadn't happened?

After touching himself to make sure he was fine, Sasuke turned around and saw Kakashi face-plant into the water, with Naruto and Sakura carrying him ashore.