Eat My Move, Night Knock!!

"Is that so...?"

Kakashi lowered his head and spoke very softly, as if he were talking to himself.

There was no emotion in Kou's eyes, only an almost honest calm.

This tranquility itself is the answer, an answer that comes from the heart...

But precisely because it was sincere, Kakashi was very clear that no matter what he said, he could not change Koko's current decision.

He is such a "persistent" person.

Kakashi remained silent for a moment, then sighed heavily in his heart.

"So, in the end, it still came to this?"

He raised his head and looked at Kou again.

The bitterness and sadness that had just surged in the eye that wasn't covered by the Forehead Protector had been completely suppressed.

All that remained in that eye was unwavering determination!

"It seems I can't convince you to leave Akatsuki."

Kakashi spoke in a low voice as he reached out and grasped the White Fang's Tanto he had inherited from his father, which was hanging at his waist.

The blade was slowly drawn from its sheath, making a crisp sound.

"Cheng!!"

The silver blade reflected a cold arc of light in the sunlight, making the half-masked profile of the face exceptionally clear.

"Although I don't know exactly what you mean by 'goal,' one thing I'm certain of."

Kakashi held his White Fang erect in front of him, his right eye, protruding from his Forehead Protector, peering over the blade and locking onto Kou's figure.

"Your decision to stay with Akatsuki will definitely put you in danger."

"Xiao is not a place where one can peacefully pursue their ideals; you should know this better than anyone else."

"I won't give up, knock."

His voice was steady, but every word carried a heartfelt determination:

Even if it means drawing my sword against you, I... will bring you back to Konoha!

Kai looked up the instant Kakashi finished speaking.

This man, who usually expresses his emotions with enthusiastic words, fell silent at this moment, which was unusual for him.

He didn't shout about youth as usual; instead, he silently lowered his center of gravity, took a half step back with his left foot, and placed his fists in front of him, one in front of the other.

With his calloused fists, he aimed at his dearest friend in front of him.

Kou Jiangkai's every move was observed, and a deep sense of longing flashed in his eyes.

He was all too familiar with that pose.

That's the starting stance Kai uses when he's going all out.

Looking at his two old friends who were fully prepared, he rubbed the back of his head with a slight sense of annoyance, making his casually tied black hair even more disheveled.

"This is... a completely unsurprising development."

He sighed helplessly, though he was complaining, he appeared quite composed.

"Although, I didn't expect to just pack up and leave."

He silently added a sentence in his heart, and his eyes immediately became serious.

Without revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan, he would fight Guy and Kakashi to test their current strength...

This was part of the plan in itself.

Before leaving Konoha, he thought he would be completely left behind by these two guys.

Before I left, Kakashi was still in a period of depression, but with his father Hatake Sakumo in contact with him for a long time, it was only a matter of time before he got out of that depression.

As long as Kakashi stops being so decadent, it's only a matter of time before he breaks through to the "Kage" level.

At that time, Kai also entered a period of explosive growth in his strength...

Specialize in one thing, accumulate knowledge and experience, and reach the pinnacle!

Although Kai never flaunted his true strength in front of him, he was quite aware of it...

Back then, Guy was undoubtedly the strongest among his peers, aside from Obito, who was overpowered!

At that time, I was still stuck at a bottleneck in my strength, with no glimmer of hope for a breakthrough.

I really suffered for a long time during that period.

But now... it's completely different.

Looking at Kakashi and Guy in front of him, a confident smile crept onto his lips.

Even without revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan, he is now completely fearless against Kakashi and Guy, whose strength far surpasses that of the original timeline!

The Eight Inner Gates, Lightning Release: Swift Thunder, plus his own Body Flicker Technique honed over many years...

Putting everything else aside, in terms of speed alone, when I go all out, I am undoubtedly the strongest in the Ninja World!

Given my current situation, how far can I go in front of the two of them...?

He was indeed somewhat curious about this.

He slowly gathered his emotions and gently placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Just as he was about to pull out the "Firebirth" from his waist, he suddenly felt someone tug at his sleeve.

"Tsk, all that effort I put into building up these emotions..."

While mentally complaining, Koko suddenly turned his head and looked at Obito beside him with a displeased expression.

"Um... Senior Kou."

Obito, clutching his sleeves, adopted a weak, pitiful, and helpless posture, and said in a comical tone:

"There are so many of them on the other side, are we really going to fight? He's just an intern, he's really weak!"

As for fighting... I'm really not much help with that.

How about we make a strategic retreat? Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, running away is the best. Tobi can go first, okay?

As he spoke, he even awkwardly tucked his knees together and covered his crotch with both hands, as if he was about to wet himself in fear.

Looking at the dramatic woman in front of him, everything went black for a moment.

"You? Weak?! You lie without even thinking, don't you!"

"Just say you want to slack off, stop pretending! You're shameless!"

Kou took a deep breath and swallowed back the rant that was about to burst out.

He looked at Obito with displeasure, then suddenly seemed to remember something and gave a kind smile.

He then raised his hand and slapped Obito hard on the shoulder.

Obito looked up in confusion, staring at Kō's suddenly unusually kind smiling face, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

"Go to hell!!!"

After confirming that Obito was indeed in physical form and not in a hollow state, Kotori's smile instantly turned from kind to ferocious.

His right foot shot up instantly, and with the fastest explosive force in the Ninja World, he kicked Obito hard in the buttocks!!

The force of that kick could easily shatter even rock!

With a dull thud, Obito was kicked straight into the air.

"Take this— Night Knock!!!"

Obito's figure froze in mid-air; in the instant he was kicked away, he understood everything.

That familiar, both nostalgic and infuriating pain in my buttocks was burning all the way up!

Hearing the pleasurable words coming from the ground, Obito abruptly turned his head, staring intently at the ecstatic expression on Kō's face. His expression beneath the mask instantly turned ferocious.

"Uchiha Kuro, you just wait and see!!"

Kouchi stood still, hands on his hips, completely ignoring Obito's fierce glare, a pleased smile playing on his lips.

"Cool!!"

Kakashi looked up in astonishment at the orange meteor hurtling toward them at incredible speed.

The strange man wearing the Spiral Mask was spinning rapidly in mid-air, his limbs flailing wildly like a scarecrow blown away by the wind.

Kakashi stared at Obito in mid-air, momentarily stunned.

"Isn't this guy... one of Akatsuki's comrades?"

His dead fish eyes widened involuntarily, and he muttered in bewilderment:

"Is the atmosphere in Akatsuki that bad? They actually used such a ruthless method..."

Kakashi muttered to himself while subconsciously glancing at Guy beside him.

Kai was looking down, his brows furrowed, as if he was troubled by something.

"Night Knock..."

He stroked his chin and nodded solemnly:

"Hmm, that's a really good name!!"

"No, now is not the time to think about that!"

Kakashi grabbed Guy's shoulder, a flash of lightning appeared beneath his feet, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Kai reacted to his press, using his legs to propel himself away from the spot at the same time as Kakashi.

Kisame stood on the dirt road not far behind them, his rugged, shark-like face full of helplessness.

He looked at the "Mizukage" who was still somersaulting at extremely high speed in the air, and sighed inwardly with extreme exhaustion.

He was already used to the daily "fights" between these two adults.

Kisame, resigned to his fate, pulled out Samehada, which was wrapped in layers of bandages, from behind and instantly appeared where Kakashi and Guy had been standing with a speed disproportionate to his size.

He seemed to exert all his strength as he swung the knife violently into the air.

Samehada's broad blade caught Obito just as he was about to crash Obito.

Obito and Kisame exchanged a glance, silently giving their outstanding employee a thumbs up in their hearts.

After regaining his footing, he instantly activated his intangibility.

Under the shocked gazes of Kakashi, Guy, and Kabuto, he passed through Samehada like a phantom, then crashed heavily to the ground with an extremely flamboyant gesture, making a muffled thud.

"They actually resorted to a sneak attack..."

Obito sprang up from the ground, pointing in the direction of the knock with his mud-covered fingers, and angrily accused the attacker in a comically broken voice.

"Senior Kou!! You're so despicable!!"

Kō crossed his arms and looked at Obito, who was pointing at him and cursing him, with Obito.

He slowly raised his right hand and pointed a middle finger at Obito.

Kou then cleared his throat, put on a serious expression, and gestured with his Obito towards Obito:

"That big guy from Mist Village, and that bespectacled brat behind him, are yours to deal with, intern."

He then shifted his gaze to Kakashi and Guy, the roguish smile on his lips slowly fading, replaced by a serious, somewhat expectant smile:

"As for those two troublesome guys... leave them to me."