Fierce Battle! Kakashi!

"Kakashi Hatake."

Kakashi corrected him.

For some reason, upon hearing the name "Gojo Satoru," a flicker of inexplicable irritation rose within Kakashi.

He glanced back at the kunai that had streaked away, piercing through the clouds and vanishing from sight.

"Is this your ninjutsu? Or a summoning?"

Lin Qing did not answer his question, saying calmly, "We only wish to leave—to leave this village that does not welcome us. Please, make things easy for us."

Since Konoha did not want the power of the Uchiha, a silent departure was the best and most dignified approach for both sides.

By rights, with the entire Uchiha clan dead, all related assets should have belonged to the two survivors, Lin Qing and Sasuke.

They had not asked for them.

They had not even gone to demand "severance pay."

Just as Lin Qing had said, he only wanted to slip away quietly; that was all.

Was it truly necessary to drive them to extinction?

Snap—

Kakashi closed the Icha Icha Paradise in his hands and lifted the forehead protector covering his left eye. He poured chakra into his eyes, faintly catching sight of a tall, statue-like figure standing behind Lin Qing.

"Sorry, this isn't personal. It's just work."

He drew three shuriken from his waist and threw them with a backhand motion.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Star Platinum swung its fists, knocking them all away.

The Kakashi in front of him vanished, and a subtle sound of wind came from behind Lin Qing.

Star Platinum turned around.

The bright moon cast silver light, and the tall silhouette of Star Platinum threw a heavy shadow, enveloping Kakashi as he closed in from behind.

With wild, flowing hair and eyes that commanded awe without anger, it looked like a wrathful Vajra; merely gazing at it brought a terrifying sense of oppression.

Kakashi was about to dodge, but how could he be faster than Star Platinum?

Star Platinum grabbed Kakashi by the head and slammed him into the ground with a full swing.

Boom—

Water sprayed everywhere.

Kakashi transformed into a splash of water.

Water Clone Technique.

This was merely a probe.

From the shadows a dozen meters away, Kakashi thought:

Just as the intelligence reports said, within a two-meter radius, it is invincible in close combat. Even Guy has never given me this kind of pressure.

In that case, I'll try ninjutsu.

Danzo's orders could not control Kakashi, and besides, his mastery of ninjutsu ensured he would not harm little Sasuke.

Kakashi formed hand seals rapidly.

"Water Style! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Kakashi's seal speed was astonishingly fast; before the water from the Water Clone had even hit the ground, it transformed into a water dragon that soared into the sky.

The water dragon surged with terrifying momentum, its scarlet eyes filled with killing intent as it opened its gaping maw to tear into Lin Qing.

"ORA!"

Star Platinum threw a heavy punch, and a dent instantly appeared on the water dragon's ferocious head.

Giving the water dragon no time to recover, and accompanied by Star Platinum's roar, it rained punch after punch upon the dragon, intending to forcibly shatter a B-rank ninjutsu with nothing but its fists.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Lin Qing's feet gave way, and he was dragged into the earth.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.

To perform three consecutive ninjutsu in such a short time, and with such exquisite coordination.

The Water Clone to probe, the Water Dragon Bullet to lure, and the Headhunter Jutsu to subdue—throughout the entire process, the real body kept its distance from Lin Qing, achieving the effect of an entire ninja squad by himself.

He was truly worthy of being Konoha's master of ninjutsu.

The water dragon struggled to entangle Star Platinum with its final breath. It would take half a second for Star Platinum to return, which was enough time for Kakashi to place a kunai against Lin Qing's throat.

I've won.

The very moment that thought crossed Kakashi's mind—

Star Platinum, which had been battling the water dragon, vanished into thin air. Immediately following, vines surged forth.

Purple vines coiled like ropes around the nearby buildings, and at the very last moment before Lin Qing was trapped in the ground, they pulled him out and tossed him high into the sky.

The howling gale ruffled Lin Qing's hair.

But Kakashi could see clearly that Lin Qing's eyes were incomparably calm.

Kakashi sensed danger.

The vines vanished, and Star Platinum appeared once more.

It grabbed Lin Qing's arm, spun twice in the air, and hurled Lin Qing toward Kakashi like a baseball.

Seeing Lin Qing closing in at high speed, Kakashi's heart skipped a beat; he pushed off the ground to retreat outside the attack radius of Star Platinum.

But it was too late—

"ORA!"

A fist harder than diamond slammed into Kakashi's face.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke flashed by.

All that remained was a wooden log.

Substitution Technique.

Little Sasuke had seen his fair share of the world, and he noticed the paper tag attached to the log.

"Watch out! It's an Explosive Tag!"

The rhythm of the battle between the two was so fast that Sasuke couldn't react at all, only finding a gap to shout a warning now.

Star Platinum smashed the log with one fist while extending a finger with the other.

With absolute precision and speed, its fingertip acted like a scalpel, slicing the Explosive Tag off the log and severing the fuse, denying the tag any chance to detonate.

Ten meters away, Kakashi reappeared, his eyes filled with gravity.

Before they truly crossed blades, Kakashi had held a sliver of contempt for Lin Qing, thinking he merely possessed a unique ability.

Kakashi had seen plenty of ninjas who relied on a single trick to get by; once a countermeasure was found, they were easily dealt with.

But now, Kakashi realized things were not that simple.

The key was not the ability of the Stand.

It was Lin Qing, the one wielding that power.

His calmness on the battlefield, his instantaneous judgment... they were formidable.

Beside them, little Sasuke sensed the heavy atmosphere and instinctively clenched his small fists.

It was not just Sasuke watching this battle.

Inside the Hokage office, the Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, peering into the crystal ball before him.

Dozens of flying insects hovered in the air, their compound eyes looking down from above, transmitting the scene to the Aburame Clan.

The Hyuga Clan was even more direct; their Byakugan pierced through walls to watch the live broadcast.

Countless eyes, each harboring their own complex thoughts, watched this fight.

"Kakashi has grown stronger again; his tactical choices and the speed of his ninjutsu execution are flawless."

"Yet, facing such a Kakashi, he doesn't fall behind in the slightest..."

All eyes were fixed on Lin Qing.

His file was not hard to look up: the most famous loser of the Uchiha, firmly committed to a life of doing nothing.

Could it be that for over a decade, he had been faking it?

Why?

To steal intelligence?

No, stealing intelligence requires climbing the ranks; staying at the bottom yields no critical information.

So... was he simply a recluse?

Pairs of eyes filled with different emotions looked at Lin Qing, each harboring the same question in their hearts:

"Who exactly are you?"

If Lin Qing could hear this question, his answer would be:

"Just an ordinary unlucky guy."

He had studied day and night his whole life, and just as he was about to start working and earning money, he transmigrated.

Transmigration would have been fine, but the moment he opened his eyes, his entire clan had been slaughtered, and he had even lost the right to slack off and wait for death.

The powers that be didn't just fail to comfort the survivors; they wanted to wipe him out entirely.

The JOJO Stand System he received was less of a transmigration perk and more of a balancing compensation for this misfortune.

"Brother Qing, can you win?" Sasuke asked.

Lin Qing had created too many miracles tonight, but Kakashi Hatake was also a powerhouse forged in the real blood and steel of the battlefield; the high-frequency combat had already begun to expose Lin Qing's strengths and weaknesses—

Absolute dominance in close-quarters combat, yet weakness at medium to long range.

As long as Kakashi kept harassing him with ninjutsu, maintaining distance, and stalling for time while waiting for reinforcements, Lin Qing would be forced into a passive defense.

As for throwing Lin Qing with Star Platinum to close the gap rapidly as he had done before, not only would it place a heavy burden on Lin Qing's body, but there would also be a distinct time lag.

Kakashi would have sufficient time to dodge or perform a Substitution Technique.

The problem that even Sasuke could see was equally apparent to the personnel hiding in the shadows and monitoring the battle.

"The fight is over."

Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head slightly, leaning his aged and weary body back against his chair.

A hand appeared, drawing the audience's attention.

Lin Qing gently patted Sasuke's little head, ruffling his center-parted hair, and said with a smile:

"We will win."

Win?

With what would he win?

Lin Qing launched another assault on Kakashi, and as they tangled together, Star Platinum seized another opening and swung a fist down.

A familiar puff of smoke flashed; Kakashi had used the Substitution Technique, reappearing over ten meters away, ready to face the next wave of attacks.

But Lin Qing did not move.

Lin Qing, who had been pressing the attack the entire time, stood quietly in place, and Star Platinum vanished.

Danzo, watching from behind the scenes, snorted coldly at the monitor: "After all that big talk, has he finally given up?"

He voiced the inner thoughts of many.

Even Sasuke, standing at the scene, thought Lin Qing had given up.

Only Kakashi felt his hair stand on end.

He sensed a profound crisis and was about to dodge away again, only to discover...

He couldn't move?!

Several purple vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Kakashi's feet and waist. The vines tightened like steel cables, pinning him in place.

"When?!" Kakashi asked.

"From the moment you thought you had grasped my weaknesses and believed you were guaranteed a win."

It wasn't just Kakashi who observed during a fight.

He had identified Lin Qing's weaknesses.

Conversely, Lin Qing had also observed Kakashi's.

First, his chakra was insufficient, making him hesitant to use large-scale long-range ninjutsu.

Second, the effective range of his Substitution Technique was roughly ten to fifteen meters.

Based on these two points, Lin Qing had continuously switched to Hermit Purple throughout the battle, all to establish a blockade net of Hermit Purple with a twenty-meter radius centered on himself.

No matter which direction Kakashi dodged to when using the Substitution Technique, he would inevitably fall into the entanglement of Hermit Purple.

The Substitution Technique was not teleportation; with his entire body bound, Kakashi could no longer escape.

But... so what?

Lin Qing could only use the power of one Stand at a time.

This was the result of Kakashi's observations.

Hermit Purple could not inflict actual physical damage on Kakashi, and once Lin Qing switched Stands, Kakashi, having prepared in advance, could immediately use the Substitution Technique to dodge any attack.

"I know what you're thinking."

Lin Qing pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

Kakashi was stunned to realize it was the Explosive Tag he had casually stuck to the wooden log when he first performed the Substitution Technique.

"I may not be able to hurt you, but this... should be able to."

Lin Qing reignited the Explosive Tag, tossed it in front of Kakashi, and patted Sasuke's little head.

"Let's go."

Sasuke looked back at the Explosive Tag lying on the ground.

"Aren't you going to stick it on him?"

Lin Qing shook his head.

There was no need.

Kakashi had held back earlier; his moves were not aimed at vital points. Lin Qing had no grudge against him, so there was naturally no need to kill him.

Kakashi stared blankly at the backs of the two figures, one large and one small, as they walked away.

He was known as the Copy Ninja; since his debut, he had copied countless ninjutsu, and during the war years, he had seen a great many mysterious Kekkei Genkai.

Lin Qing's substitution technique surpassed his understanding.

But what surpassed his understanding even more was Lin Qing himself.

Kakashi curled his lips into a smile:

"What a truly interesting young man."

BOOM—

The flames of the explosion soared into the sky.

Lin Qing left the explosion behind him, and along with it, the identity of a Konoha ninja.

He raised his hand and waved it at those behind him.

This scene was like a famous painting, branded into the memories of the many observers.

The flames of the explosion vanished, and Lin Qing and his companion plunged into the darkness, disappearing from sight.