"Guy, please be okay!"
Nohara Rin's voice was choked with sobs as she turned Guy over from where he lay facedown on the ground. His chest had caved in, and several of his ribs were clearly broken.
She gently placed a hand on Guy's chest, and Nohara Rin felt a little relieved. She could feel a faint pulse beneath her palm, which meant his heart was still beating.
Nohara Rin immediately began using Medical Ninjutsu. A gentle, pale yellow chakra glowed in her palm as she worked to heal the injuries to Guy's chest.
But she had only just begun when the light before her suddenly dimmed. She instinctively glanced up and saw a tall figure standing in front of her. His cold eyes stared straight at her, filling her with an almost suffocating sense of oppression.
It was Uesugi Shinji, the man who had just gravely injured Guy with a single blow.
"Rin!"
Kakashi and Obito shouted in unison when they saw what was happening. Their faces were filled with alarm as they charged toward Uesugi Shinji as fast as they could. Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, who were nearby, didn't hesitate either; they immediately followed Obito.
A dazzling flash of lightning suddenly crackled around Kakashi's right hand. In everyone's ears rang a sound like hundreds or thousands of birds chirping.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
Kakashi fixed his gaze on Uesugi Shinji, anger and murderous intent plain in his eyes. With the Chidori enhancing his Ninjutsu, his body seemed to merge with the lightning as he charged forward at top speed!
"Hm!?" Uesugi Shinji was slightly surprised. Kakashi's speed had far surpassed what an ordinary elite Jonin could achieve with Taijutsu alone.
Without special training or some kind of special ability, human eyes simply couldn't keep up with movement that fast.
Just as Uesugi Shinji had surmised, everything before Kakashi's eyes had become a blur. He could barely make out his enemy.
But he was so worried about Nohara Rin and so afraid Uesugi Shinji would hurt her that he had no choice but to use Chidori, a technique he still couldn't control properly. Even in the future, he would need the enhanced visual perception granted by his transplanted Sharingan to wield the speed of Chidori and the Lightning Blade with ease.
Like a bolt of lightning, Kakashi reached Uesugi Shinji in an instant. The bundle of Lightning Release chakra extending from his right hand shot forward, aiming to pierce straight through Uesugi Shinji's body with a single strike.
Even if he couldn't hurt him, he could at least force him back!
Unfortunately, the trajectory of Kakashi's movements was impossible for even the Chidori's own user to control, yet it was perfectly clear to Uesugi Shinji.
After all, he was someone capable of holding the Yellow Flash at bay!
Uesugi Shinji didn't take a single step back in the face of Kakashi's impressive attack. He simply reached out with his left hand and caught Kakashi's right wrist with pinpoint precision as he thrust it forward, maintaining the Chidori.
"Impossible!" Kakashi's eyes widened, disbelief filling his gaze.
Before he could break free of Uesugi Shinji's grip, Kakashi felt himself suddenly lifted off the ground. Uesugi Shinji hoisted him up and slammed him down hard.
With a loud crash, Kakashi struck the ground back-first, leaving a shallow crater. Pain surged from his back through his entire body, as if a heavy hammer had struck every bone in his body.
A large mouthful of blood burst from his lips. The violent impact had also left thin trails of blood running from his eyes, nose, and ears. It was a gruesome sight.
Kakashi struggled to stay conscious. He wanted to react at once, but neither his dizzy mind nor his agonized body would obey him.
He saw his enemy raise his other hand high, the Wakizashi in his grip aimed straight down at him. Suddenly, Kakashi felt a sense of peace unlike anything he had ever known.
Is this where it all ends? Maybe that's not so bad.
In that moment, he thought of his father, White Fang, who had taken his own life. He thought of his own brief career as a ninja, and suddenly felt that dying here might not be such a bad way to escape it all.
Kakashi had moved so fast with the Chidori that his fight with Uesugi Shinji had lasted no more than the blink of an eye. Obito and the other two, who had also charged at Uesugi Shinji, were still some distance away. They couldn't reach Kakashi in time to help; all they could do was watch as he was about to die beneath Uesugi Shinji's Wakizashi.
But although Obito and the others couldn't get there in time to save Kakashi, someone else managed to act. Nohara Rin abandoned her attempt to treat the gravely injured Guy and immediately drew a Kunai, stabbing toward Uesugi Shinji's back.
Nohara Rin's attack wasn't very powerful, but Uesugi Shinji was only human. Unlike Senju Hashirama, Naruto, and other inhuman beings who could shrug off all kinds of attacks, he had to interrupt his assault on Kakashi for the moment.
He turned slightly to evade Nohara Rin's attack, then reflexively spun around to counter. The Wakizashi in his hand swept backward in a horizontal slash.
But when he saw that his attacker was Nohara Rin, the target he needed to capture alive, he subtly turned his right hand so that the blade's back faced her. That way, even if the strike landed, it wouldn't inflict a fatal wound.
Uesugi Shinji's adjustment to his Wakizashi was extremely subtle. To Obito and the others, it looked as though he was about to cut the delicate Nohara Rin in half.
Obito's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. Time seemed to freeze before him. The gentle smile that had always graced the face of the girl he loved had vanished. All he could see now was Nohara Rin's frightened, despairing expression.
"No!!!"
Bright red blood streamed from Obito's eyes, and a strange crimson pattern suddenly appeared in his pupils!
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