Morning Peacock

At this moment, on the battlefield against Kakashi's side...

Kou's attention was briefly drawn to the ear-piercing scream.

His hand Hand Seals slowed down involuntarily for a moment.

Looking at the wrecked forest and Obito lying in the pile of rubble, he silently rolled his eyes.

"What... is this guy doing?"

Kou shook his head and murmured to himself:

"Never mind, I won't die anyway... No! It would be better if I died!"

He indifferently shifted his gaze back to Kakashi and Guy directly in front of him, continuing to rapidly Hand Seals.

At this moment, Kakashi stared blankly at the Masked Man lying in the ruins of the woodland, his life hanging in the balance, and subconsciously began to doubt his earlier assumption:

"Could it be... that my judgment was wrong?"

He subconsciously asked himself a question, but immediately dismissed the thought:

"No, the technique that guy used earlier was almost exactly the same as the Space-Time Ninjutsu that Minato-sensei described!"

Thinking about this, Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little doubtful again:

"But... he was indeed hit head-on by Kisame's attack just now."

"Judging from the injuries caused by that stab, without the timely intervention of a top-tier medical-nin, there was even a risk of immediate death..."

"If he was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident' attack, if he possessed the strength to escape unscathed from the Fourth Hokage, how could he have been injured to this extent by Kisame's ordinary sword swing?"

Was this a deliberate act of deception, or... did I really mistake someone for someone else?

"What are you doing, Kakashi?!"

Just as Kakashi was deep in thought, an urgent shout suddenly pulled Kakashi out of the quagmire of his thoughts.

He looked up, and what came into view was no longer the scorching dragon head about to pounce on him, but Kai's broad and reliable back.

Kai had Body Flicker Technique in front of him, facing the several fiery dragon heads that were baring their fangs and claws as they lunged forward.

He turned his head to the side, his voice containing no blame, only undisguised, heavy worry:

"I don't know what you discovered, but being distracted during battle is so unlike you, Kakashi!"

Kakashi's chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed down the moment he heard those words.

Kai is right, now is not the time to think about these things!

Kakashi instantly calmed down.

Leaving aside the fact that there is no concrete evidence to prove that the Masked Man was involved in the Nine-Tails Incident, even if he really was the mastermind behind it all...

The being who could escape unscathed from Minato-sensei and control the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha is definitely not someone that I and Guy can handle in our current state!

The most important thing now is to bring Koto back!

Then, tell them the whole story of this clue in your mind—which wasn't complete yet, but was clear enough to report to Minato-sensei and Lord Jiraiya!

Kakashi made his decision, then gripped the White Fang's Tanto tightly again, and the arcs of electricity from the Chidori Current began to dance on the blade once more.

His voice had regained its usual calm and composure:

"Sorry, Kai, I'm counting on you from now on!"

Upon hearing Kakashi's response, Kai's face, which had been tense just moments before, instantly broke into a bright smile.

He turned his head again, facing the several fiery dragon heads that were now almost within reach, his eyes once more filled with fierce fighting spirit:

"Ohhh!! Youth--Big Bang!!"

With a loud shout, Kai's muscles bulged all over his body in an instant!

Green steam erupted from every acupoint on his body, creating a visible green shockwave around him!

"Eight Inner Gates - Sixth Gate, Gate of View, Open!!"

Kai's skin turned bright red at that moment!

His veins bulged and twisted beneath his skin, and his entire body radiated a scorching heat that seemed to ignite the surrounding air!

The green steam churned in the air, and the violent air waves spread outwards in layers, even causing the attacks of the approaching fire dragon heads to visibly stagnate under this pressure.

"Morning Peacock!!"

With a youthful roar, Kai's fists instantly turned into an indistinct blur.

With Guy's lightning-fast punches, countless fireballs, generated by air friction but containing no Chakra yet possessing terrifying impact and scorching heat, poured out from Guy's fist!

The scorching rain of fire, like peacock tail feathers fluttering in the sky, swept forward, covering everything in its path!

The once menacing fiery dragon head was shattered in mid-air by Morning Peacock's barrage of punches!

In an instant, the fiery dragon's head was completely shattered, but the fire rain from the Morning Peacock continued unabated, pouring down densely in the direction of Kou!

Gazing at the rain of fire that pierced through his Dragon Flame Song Technique, there was no surprise in his Three Tomoe Sharingan.

It would be truly strange if Guy and Kakashi couldn't even break through this technique.

After all... this technique was originally designed to buy time for oneself.

He gazed calmly at the fiery rain filling the sky, a serene smile appearing on his lips.

The hands that had been moving rapidly across her chest had stopped at some point.

My "technique" is ready!

"Good!!"

Kai looked at the rain of fire about to strike the target and couldn't help but smile with excitement.

He suddenly turned his head and shouted excitedly at Kakashi:

"Stay close to me, Kakashi! Let's take advantage of this momentum and close the distance with him the moment we dodge Morning Peacock!"

In close combat, with our teamwork, Kou is definitely no match for us!

Before he could finish speaking, he was already poised to strike, his toes propelling him forward, creating two shallow dents in the ground.

"Wait a minute, Kai!"

Kakashi reached out and grabbed the back of Guy's bodysuit collar.

His left eye was fixed intently on Kou, or more precisely... on Kou's hand!

The hands that were just rapidly Hand Seals now hung quietly at their sides, with only the index and middle fingers of the right hand pointing straight forward.

And on Kou's lips was a calm smile that made Kakashi's alarm bells ring.

Kakashi stared intently at the door in front of him and said in a solemn voice:

Things... aren't that simple.