Kakashi's doubts

On the battlefield not far away

As Kakashi and Guy tore his Blazing Flame Sun Wheel apart with overwhelming force, a hint of surprise flashed in his Three Tomoe Sharingan.

But the unexpected incident quickly subsided.

"So he really has grown to this level? Kakashi, Guy."

Kou calmly watched the scene unfold before him, feeling the aura that even made his skin begin to sting.

He already had a decision in his mind regarding the outcome of this contest.

I... lost.

Even though "Blazing Flame Sun Wheel" can indeed be considered the pinnacle of his Fire Release skills, it is still slightly inferior in the face of the full cooperation of Kakashi and Guy.

Without my awakening of the Mangekyo, I would have been absolutely unable to contend with Kakashi and Guy working together.

He silently drew a conclusion in his heart about this exchange.

But there was no trace of disappointment in his eyes.

After all... he had already achieved his goal.

Gazing at Kakashi and Guy's faces, which shimmered in the interplay of Kakkō and lightning, he murmured softly to himself.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi, Guy, I didn't actually use my full strength from beginning to end."

I'm so sorry I couldn't give you all a good time.

Kou glanced one last time at Kakashi and Guy in front of him, and muttered to himself:

Lightning Release: Swift Thunder!

His figure vanished from the spot in the next instant, leaving not even a trace.

Immediately afterwards, the residual heat wave from the Blazing Flame Sun Wheel collided violently with the combined shockwave from the Day Tiger Thunder Hunt in the center of the earthen path, exploding into a mushroom cloud large enough to illuminate half the sky.

The ground was blasted into a huge crater several meters in diameter. The surrounding trees were uprooted by the shockwave, and large areas of jungle were razed to the ground in just a few breaths!

Thick smoke and dust billowed into the air, enveloping the entire battlefield in a gray-white smoke screen.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Kakashi and Guy stood in place.

To be precise, Kai was already kneeling on the ground, his whole body still trembling slightly uncontrollably.

But both of their eyes were desperately searching for a figure in the scorched earth ahead.

The figure that was knocking... had already disappeared.

The light in Kai's eyes shifted from anticipation to disappointment, only to be replaced in a fleeting moment by a renewed fighting spirit.

He grinned and gave that ever-present thumbs-up in the direction where the knock had disappeared:

"Truly worthy of being called Kou! Even his running exudes such youthful energy!"

But you just wait... We will definitely bring you back, knock!

Kakashi's disappointment was even greater than Guy's, but he quickly suppressed it.

He had long known that with Kou's current strength, even if he and Kai joined forces to blast the attack back, they would have no chance of stopping Kou.

Kakashi simply stared silently in the direction where Kō had disappeared, at the sky still filled with falling sparks and ash, and said softly:

"Knock... One day, we will meet again."

"Kakashi- senpai!!"

From afar, Dou's urgent shouts could be heard.

Kakashi turned his head and saw Kabuto and Kisame standing beside the ruins of the forest that Obito had destroyed.

Kabuto waved his hand vigorously at him and shouted loudly:

"That masked guy—he's gone!!"

Kakashi frowned slightly, but there was no surprise in his eyes.

He turned his gaze back to the direction where Kou had disappeared, silently piecing together all the clues revealed by this encounter in his mind:

"Knock, that masked man... did you rescue him?"

What exactly is your relationship with that so-called "Uchiha Madara"?

Was your decision to leave Konoha and join Akatsuki related to him?

"If he really is the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident that Minato-sensei mentioned... then do you know about this?"

Thinking of this, Kakashi closed his eyes with a heavy heart.

He slowly sheathed the White Fang at his waist, the blade rubbing against the scabbard with a very soft sound, as if drawing a period to this reunion that he did not want to draw.

Regarding Kou's experiences over the years, and Kou's true thoughts now, I... ultimately know nothing about it.

But he couldn't stand there any longer, couldn't continue to sigh like that.

Kakashi reopened his eyes, and the calm and decisiveness he once had returned to his one black and one red pupil:

"The most important thing now is to inform Minato-sensei and Lord Jiraiya of the information that the masked man is very likely the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident, and the fact that he is currently active around Kōjin!"

Thinking of this, a thoughtful look flashed in Kakashi's eyes:

"If it were Minato-sensei, he might be able to deduce..."

Thump.

A dull thud interrupted Kakashi's train of thought.

He turned his head sharply and saw Kai's body, still slightly steaming, fall forward.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed sharply as he watched this scene.

His reaction was incredibly fast; he instantly appeared beside Kai and caught him steadily.

"Kai! Are you alright?!"

Kakashi looked at Guy with concern, and what came into view was Guy's face, which looked almost completely exhausted.

The aftereffects of opening the Gate of Wonder are relentlessly taking effect on this body that has always been incredibly strong.

The redness on his skin had not yet faded, but his lips had turned a pale purple.

At this moment, Kai was completely devoid of his previous enthusiasm; he looked like a rag that had been wrung out of its last bit of moisture.

Even in this state, Kai's mouth was still stubbornly moving.

Even with white foam constantly overflowing from the corners of his mouth, he was still trying to spell out a complete syllable.

After confirming that Kai was not in mortal danger but was just severely weak, Kakashi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally slowly settled back into his chest.

He cradled Kai's head, letting him lean on his shoulder, his voice full of helplessness:

"That's why I told you, Kai, I have a way to deal with that move, you don't need to..."

"Youth..."

His response was a weak, almost inaudible sob from Kaina.

Kakashi stared at the thumb that was standing upright in front of him, still trembling slightly, and remained silent for several breaths before letting out a deep sigh.

He waved to Kabuto in the distance. Kabuto had already noticed that something was wrong with Guy, so he nodded immediately and quickly rushed towards their location.

Kisame stood quietly in place, watching the three from Konoha reunite.

Out of the corner of his eye, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward a low hill not far away.

The fleeting image from just moments ago remained etched deep in his mind.

The moment the mist rose, Lord Kou appeared silently in the ravaged forest ruins, scooped up the bloodied and Lord Madara from under the rubble, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and then disappeared into the woods with him...

Kisame withdrew his gaze and silently prayed in his heart:

"I hope Lord Madara will be safe and sound..."

In the distance, on that inconspicuous little hill.

On the distant hill, Kōji looked at Obito, who had just emerged from the Kamui Dimension and whose body had fully recovered, his face filled with speechlessness:

"So why didn't you activate your intangibility just now?"

Our script doesn't include a scene where you get blasted away by Samehada.

He paused, his expression becoming subtle, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain as he looked at Obito.

"Could it be... that you actually have that kind of fetish?"

Obito did not respond to his sarcasm as he usually did.

He simply sat there quietly, the single eye on his mask staring at Kou with a deep sense of solemnity.

Seeing his unusually serious expression, the teasing smile on her lips slowly faded.

"Is the plan not going very smoothly? We successfully misled Konoha, making them focus their attention on the Land of Water, and also figured out the approximate upper limit of Kakashi and Guy's current strength."

"It looks like a huge profit for them... Why are you acting like you're the one who suffered a huge loss, like you just ate the Pakkun?"

Obito was silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked straight at Koto, his voice hoarse and low.

His voice was so soft that it was almost swallowed up by the wind on the hill:

"That Kakashi guy... he might have figured something out about me."

Kou's expression changed drastically in that instant.

(Sorry, I was busy yesterday, I'm making up for it today!)