Opening Eyes and Rescue

"Swish!"

"Slice!"

The two sharp blades struck their respective targets at the same time, yet produced entirely different sounds.

Blue lightning and brilliant red sprays of blood reflected each other in the air, forming two dazzling streaks of color.

After that brief instant of combat, life and death were decided. The loser lay on the ground forever, while the victor gained the precious right to survive. The cruel side of war was laid completely bare.

Obito, whose expression had been somewhat vacant, finally came to his senses. He turned to look at the companion who had saved his life, his gaze complicated, filled with both surprise and concern. Seeing the blood on the other's face, all his emotions ultimately turned into an anxious cry: "Kakashi?"

Kakashi shook his head in a slight daze, then wiped the blood from his face, revealing an uninjured visage. In a calm tone, he said, "I'm fine! It's the enemy's blood. They were too close, so I couldn't dodge it in time."

The instant he had been attacked, Kakashi had activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode to block the enemy's sneak attack. Thus, unlike in the original story, his left eye had not been slashed blind.

Unfortunately, he was still too young, and the Hatake Clan's physique was far inferior to that of the Senju and Uzumaki clans. So even though he had learned the highest realm of the Mysterious Peacock Method from Nawaki, his chakra reserves were still only at the level of a special jonin. Lightning Release Chakra Mode could only be maintained for three minutes at most, so it could not be used regularly. He could only activate it temporarily for defense when facing danger.

To conserve chakra, Kakashi had activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode only at the instant of the enemy's attack