Daytime Tiger and Thunder Hunt!

The blazing Kakkō reached Kakashi and Guy in less than a moment.

Kakashi's Three Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye spun wildly.

Even with all his might, he could barely keep up with the speed at which the hot current was advancing.

"This coverage area, this distance... there's no way to avoid it!"

Kakashi made a conclusion in his mind, his eyes filled with deep solemnity.

The sweat evaporates the moment it seeps from the skin, leaving not even a trace of dampness.

Under the intense heat, the clothing began to curl and char, emitting a soft crackling sound.

Even Kai's green bodysuit was now shimmering with a dark red glow.

In that life-or-death moment, Kakashi's mind remained remarkably calm:

Water Release would instantly evaporate, Earth Release couldn't withstand this level of Ninjutsu.

They were too close; his speed wasn't fast enough to escape the spell's range. Even if Kai was incredibly fast, he couldn't possibly escape with him in such a short time...

Conventional methods are all ineffective!

"It seems we have no choice but to use that move!"

Kakashi stared intently at the surging heat before him, while simultaneously sensing the terrifying power contained within the Sharingan in his left eye socket.

"Obito, lend me your power!"

A resolute glint flashed in Kakashi's eyes, and the three Tomo within them began to spin rapidly, drawing closer together to form a completely new pattern...

"Eight Inner Gates - Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder, Open!!"

Just a split second before the Mitsudomoe in Kakashi's eyes were about to connect, accompanied by a roar, a burst of Chakra so violent it was almost tangible exploded from Guy's body in front of him!

A terrifying cloud of blue steam erupted from Kai's body!

The originally unstoppable heat wave was actually blocked by the impact of this blue steam!

Centered on Kai, a semi-transparent blue Chakra shield was forcibly opened up amidst the torrent of high temperature, isolating the heat energy that was enough to melt rocks!

"Kai?!"

Kakashi stared at the figure enveloped in blue steam. The Tomo in that Sharingan, which were about to connect, suddenly stopped.

Upon hearing Kakashi's call, Kai instantly turned around and gave Kakashi a big smile.

Kakashi looked at Guy in front of him and was immediately taken aback.

Bathed in the crimson Kakkō of the setting sun, before the Blazing Flame Sun Wheel that could scorch an entire forest, Kai's smile was brighter than ever.

"Kai! Uncle Dai said that the Seventh Gate puts too much strain on the body and should never be used unless absolutely necessary!"

Kakashi's voice suddenly rose, his tone filled with an unusual seriousness:

"Besides, you've only recently mastered this power. If you use it now, you won't even be able to stand up in the battles to come!"

I have a way to counter this move, you...

"Kakashi!!"

Kai interrupted him calmly and called out Kakashi's name seriously.

Kakashi stared blankly into Guy's eyes.

Beneath Kay's short black hair, which was wildly blowing in the heat and blue steam, were dark eyes that held no impulsiveness or recklessness, only a quiet, almost stubborn determination.

That wasn't the impetuousness of a hot-blooded youth who disregarded the consequences; it was a calm judgment made by a man after seeing everything clearly on the battlefield!

"If we don't face this knock with all our might... then we can't call ourselves his best friends."

Kai's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Kakashi's heart:

"He... he's already given it his all!"

He presented us with everything he had grown since leaving Konoha, and everything he had accumulated over the past five years, without reservation.

So now, we are the ones who are lagging behind!

As Kai spoke solemnly, he raised his hand and pointed with his thumb to his chest, which was still emitting blue steam.

A radiant smile, almost dazzling, appeared on her face, reddened by the intense heat.

"He's really gotten stronger!"

"He's become so much stronger than he was back in Konoha..."

"But... are we just going to settle for falling behind, Kakashi?!"

Kai's tone suddenly shifted, his words filled with passionate fervor:

"Are we really going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime moment of youthful reunion, and just watch Kou leave, leaving him all alone?!"

Kai completely ignored Kakashi's bewildered expression and reached out his hand to him.

"Let us, before we kneel, display everything we have accumulated over the years!"

Only in this way can we let him know... that we now have the strength to stand by his side, help him, and protect him!

Kai looked at Kakashi solemnly and shouted excitedly:

"Let's use our fiery youth to reignite that passionate spirit in Kou!"

The moment he finished speaking, blue steam and crimson Kakkō reflected on Kai's face, making his features, which would never be dulled by time, shine brightly.

Kakashi looked at the hand extended in front of him, and at his ever-optimistic best friend, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face beneath the mask.

Passion is something a ninja should learn to abandon first.

But at this moment, he also felt his blood getting slightly hot.

"Just this once, Kai."

Kakashi responded lazily as he stood beside Guy, directly in front of the scorching torrent that was hurtling towards them with overwhelming force!

The Lightning Release Chakra in his White Fang's Tanto erupted with unprecedented density and intensity!

Countless arcs of lightning, like Chidori, danced wildly across the silver-white blade, enveloping the entire short sword in a core of lightning that emitted a blinding blue-white light.

The lightning was no longer the thin arcs of electricity that usually clung to the blade, but a ferocious beast that had been suppressed to its limit and was eager to tear everything apart!

At that moment, the cries of Chidori even drowned out the roar of the flames advancing!

Kai looked at Kakashi's eyes, one black and one red, illuminated by both lightning and Kakkō, and a smile of excitement appeared on his lips.

"Here we go, Kakashi!!"

Kai stared at the heatwave ahead and spoke with great enthusiasm.

"Ah."

Kakashi responded softly, his left Three Tomoe Sharingan, gazing ahead as if trying to pierce through the heatwave and see, beyond the scorching heat, that familiar face...

"Let me see what Kakashi has to offer!!"

"Our... exhilarating combo attack!!!"

Kai shouted excitedly.

He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and the immense power surging within him in his Gate of Wonder state began to gather, compress, and gather again wildly in his clasped palms.

"Daytime Tiger!! (Andy Lau!!)"

Kai pushed his palms forward, unleashing the compressed air cannonball in his palms with all his might!

A ball of high-pressure gas, compressed to its critical point, violently expanded the instant it left the palm, transforming into a pure white tiger!

The white tiger formed by the shockwave soared into the air, and the soil and rocks below were crushed into dust the moment it took off!

It opened its enormous maw and roared silently, charging head-on into the torrent of flames with a speed no less than that of the Blazing Flame Sun Wheel!

"Thunder Hunt!!"

Kakashi's White Fang also lashed out at the same instant.

This is the strongest strike of the Hatake Blade Technique: Chidori Current, where Kakashi pushes the nature and form transformations of his Lightning Release Chakra to their limits simultaneously.

The ultimate technique combines the penetrating power of Chidori, capable of slicing through lightning, with the essence of the Hatake Blade Technique passed down through generations—

A silver-white lightning wolf, composed entirely of Lightning Release Chakra, broke free from White Fang's blade.

It was faster than the Daytime Tiger, leaving a blinding trail of lightning in the air as it flanked the Daytime Tiger from the left and right, forming an encirclement.

White and blue, shockwaves and lightning, the pinnacle of Taijutsu and the ultimate of Ninjutsu, all intertwined perfectly at this moment!

The Daytime Tiger met the Blazing Flame Sun Wheel's attack head-on. The massive high-pressure air mass and the solidified thermal shockwave exploded into a blinding white light the instant they made contact.

Meanwhile, Thunder Hunt attacked from the flank. The silver-white Lei Wolf transformed its entire body into a slashing weapon, cutting the torrent of flames in half from the side!

The Daytime Tiger overwhelmed them from the front with brute force, while the Thunder Hunt tore them apart from the side with its sharp edge!

The shockwave from the white tiger and the slash from the silver-blue thunder wolf worked in perfect unison, simultaneously shattering the once unstoppable Blazing Flame Sun Wheel from both the front and the side!

Not far away, Obito, who was lying in a pile of rubble pretending to be dead, watched this scene, and the single eye hidden under his mask suddenly contracted!

"Kakashi and Guy, those two... they've actually grown to this level?!"

Obito muttered to himself, his expression unconsciously darkening beneath the mask.

The plan regarding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is likely to be more complicated than previously anticipated...

His gaze involuntarily fell on Kakashi's left eye.

Obito watched as the Sharingan slowly receded from the edge of the Mangekyo back to its Mitsudomoe state, the Sharingan between light and shadow.