The Show Begins (Please Follow)

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Hikari."

The mist gradually dissipated, and Hikari's figure appeared beside Haori, though Haori's expression was somewhat helpless at this moment.

Especially when he saw the flames of Amaterasu still burning and circling him on the ground, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

In fact, the moment he saw these flames, he had already guessed that it must have been Hikari's doing.

Madara's ocular jutsu had never been explained; no one knew what his true ability was.

But no matter how one thought about it, it likely wasn't the technique of Amaterasu, and Haori had his own theories.

Madara always gave people one impression—that he was overwhelmingly powerful, and every ounce of strength he displayed felt terrifying.

So, was it possible that one of his ocular jutsus was to enhance the power of any technique he used?

Of course, this was just a guess, and given his subsequent performance, he had truly never displayed Amaterasu.

Therefore, the only one currently capable of using Amaterasu was Hikari.

And this Amaterasu is a bit different; the fact that its form can be controlled like this—could her other ocular jutsu be Kagutsuchi?

Haori was secretly curious, but facing such flames, even though he knew they were protecting him, he could feel that they might erupt at any moment.

Consequently, he didn't dare move a muscle, which led to a rather awkward situation.

Kisame and Zabuza had both run away.

The two had been sent flying by the massive shockwave earlier, and such immense power had made them sense a crisis.

Moreover, they both knew that such a commotion would likely attract more enemies.

Added to the fact that the pressure Haori exerted on them was simply too great, they exchanged a glance and made their decision.

They bailed!

Hikari didn't know what Haori was thinking; she just glanced at the flames on the ground, and in an instant, they vanished without a trace.

"Is your ability Amaterasu?"

Haori held back for a moment, but in the end, he couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, one of my abilities is Amaterasu."

Hikari looked at Haori, thought for a moment, and nodded.

One of her abilities.

Haori felt a bit speechless; he was now completely certain that Hikari had truly been implanted with more than one ocular jutsu.

However, he didn't continue to ask. Probing into others' secrets was impolite, and now was not the time.

He wasn't sure about the current situation of Kakashi and Rin, and he had to find them quickly.

He didn't want Obito to have it so easy, and this also concerned his mission!

"I have two other teammates whose whereabouts are unknown, and I need to go find them."

Thinking of this, Haori said softly to Hikari.

"Also, you had better avoid using this kind of power as much as possible."

"Why?"

Hikari looked at Haori in confusion, and after a moment of thought, she asked curiously.

"Are you worried that I'm too conspicuous and will be noticed by others?"

You're only realizing that now?

Haori felt a bit helpless, but when he spoke, he shifted his perspective to explain: "Although I don't have your eyes, I have read through some books."

"Books?" Hikari blinked.

"Yes. Although the Mangekyo Sharingan is the ultimate power of the Uchiha, these eyes have a clear drawback."

Haori's expression became slightly more serious.

"The more you use them, the faster these eyes will be sealed, until they are completely sealed and you are plunged into eternal darkness."

"These eyes may have granted you power, but they have also stripped you of everything else."

"So, I want you to promise me: unless you encounter real danger, do not use its power lightly, okay?"

You don't want me to fall into darkness again?

Hikari looked at Haori quietly, and after a moment, she nodded gently: "I promise you, Haori."

"Good."

Hearing this, Haori breathed a slight sigh of relief. Although it was likely that he had already attracted Madara's attention, it was still necessary to keep a low profile from now on.

It was just that he couldn't help but feel that Hikari might have misunderstood his intentions.

"Captain, does this brat really know anything?"

At a cave on the other side of the forest, several Kirigakure Anbu wearing masks looked at the unconscious Rin, and one of them couldn't help but ask curiously.

"According to the intelligence, this brat is a student of Namikaze Minato."

The Anbu captain leading the squad glanced at his subordinates, thought for a moment, and spoke up.

"Not just him, that white-haired guy is as well. And Namikaze Minato was involved in the entire peace negotiation process between Konoha and Iwagakure this time."

"As his students, I imagine we can pry some intelligence out of them, which would make it easy for us to complete this sabotage mission."

"Do you really want to let those damn Konoha ninja end the war just like that? Don't forget the humiliation they've forced upon us!"

The hatred between Konoha and Kirigakure has always run deep. Even with the incident where the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage perished together, it did not change the fact that their primary conflict remained with Konoha.

Perhaps the old legends are true—back when Konoha was founded, Senju Hashirama invited the various great clans then residing in the Land of Fire, who would later form Kirigakure.

However, they refused one by one, and the result was that Uchiha Madara personally took action, driving them into the sea, which led to the eventual founding of Kirigakure.

Of course, whether this story is true or not, no one can say for sure, as those great clans would never admit it.

Likewise, no one dared to ask, but the Land of Whirlpools, which had been very close to Konoha, was indeed destroyed by Kirigakure.

"Is that so? It seems this brat still has some value."

Following the Anbu captain's explanation, the other Kirigakure Anbu no longer had any doubts.

"Alright, once she wakes up, prepare to interrogate her for information. Leave one person to keep watch, and the rest of you go clear our tracks first."

"Yes, Captain!"

These Anbu replied loudly at once, and soon they left the area, leaving only one person behind to guard the cave entrance.

Yet, after they departed, a stone in the corner of the cave suddenly shifted slightly, and then shattered silently.

Kakashi popped his body out, his scarlet eye staring fixedly at the remaining Kirigakure ninja, the chakra within his body rippling slightly.

"Hm?"

The Kirigakure Anbu sensed something at that very moment, but the instant he turned his head, Kakashi had already moved!

The blade in his hand danced lightly, and by the time Kakashi stood firmly, his short sword had already been sheathed.

And this Kirigakure Anbu had been taken out without a sound!

Kakashi took a deep breath, looking at the unconscious Rin with a mixture of relief and guilt.

If his strength hadn't been lacking, how could Rin have been abducted?

Fortunately, the Kirigakure Anbu who intercepted him didn't seem to have any intention of fighting to the death; the noise of the explosion was so great that it made them worry about more enemies arriving.

That was the only reason Kakashi was able to catch up so quickly and, with the assistance of his ninja hounds, find Rin's location!

"It's okay now, Rin."

Looking at the unconscious Rin, Kakashi sighed inwardly.

"This time, I will absolutely not let the past repeat itself. I will definitely protect all of this!"

However, what Kakashi did not know was that a pair of eyes was watching them from deep underground.

That eerie chakra flowed invisibly throughout the cave—

"Madara-sama."

In the underground chamber in the Land of Grass, the head of White Zetsu emerged from the wall once again.

"Obito is ready, and he wants to see you now."

"Mm."

Madara nodded slightly, then asked.

"How are things going with Iwagakure and Konoha?"

"They have both moved out and are heading toward that location."

White Zetsu reported truthfully; doing all of this silently was of no difficulty to him at all.

"And as per Madara-sama's request, Iwagakure will arrive early, while Konoha will be a bit slower."

"Then let Obito come see me."

Madara nodded, a playful smile appearing on his aged face.

"After preparing for so long and waiting for so long, it is finally time for the show to begin."

New author here, begging for your continued readership. Your follow-up reads determine everything for a book; letting it sit in your library too long will kill it.

Thank you, everyone! Orz