"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Kakashi paid no attention to Nadare Rōga's words. After swiftly forming Hand Seals, he opened his mouth and spat out a massive fireball.
The intense heat from the fireball evaporated the snow all around them.
"Heh. Using Fire Release Ninjutsu in the Land of Snow? You're still far too green, kid." Nadare Rōga twisted aside and easily dodged the fireball.
"So he dodged it!"
Kakashi wasn't surprised that the Great Fireball hadn't hurt his opponent. He was already weaker than Nadare Rōga, and the heavy snowfall only made things worse. His opponent's Ice Release was undoubtedly even stronger here.
But Kakashi had a plan of his own. He glanced over to the side, where Naraku was almost out of sight.
That was right—he wasn't planning to fight Nadare Rōga in earnest. At most, he only needed to buy some time.
Nadare Rōga had realized this, too. He looked toward Naraku. "I can't let you get away that easily."
"Ice Release: Nadare Rōga!"
Snowflakes rose rapidly from the ground, gathering together until they formed several Snow Wolves.
The Snow Wolves opened their jaws and lunged at Kakashi, intent on tearing him apart.
Kakashi didn't panic. He pushed off the ground and retreated, forming Hand Seals all the while.
"What's this?"
Nadare Rōga had kept his attention on Kakashi, and when he saw the familiar Hand Seals, his face filled with surprise.
"Ice Shield: One-Horned White Whale."
As Kakashi finished his Hand Seals, he gave a low shout. A massive White Whale burst from the snow.
It looked much like the one Nadare Rōga had summoned earlier, only smaller.
The massive White Whale charged into the pack of wolves, its tremendous force kicking up a storm of white snow.
Boom!
The White Whale collided with the wolves, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. The impact wiped out most of the pack, and the White Whale's body was riddled with deep gouges.
"So he has the Sharingan."
Nadare Rōga murmured as he looked at Kakashi's crimson left eye.
He had spent several years roaming outside the Land of Snow with Kazahana Dōtō. He wasn't very familiar with the Sharingan, but it wasn't entirely unknown to him, either.
He put aside his contempt for Kakashi and began to treat him as an equal.
Thud!
Nadare Rōga pushed off with both feet and shot toward Kakashi, forming Hand Seals as he moved.
"Ice Release: Young Eagle Pecking Strike."
In an instant, dozens of young eagles made of ice appeared around him.
Each was about the size of an adult's palm. Their sharp beaks gleamed with a cold light as they raced toward Kakashi.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air rang with the sound of objects cutting through it.
"If that's how it is..."
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
Kakashi reacted in a flash. In an instant, dozens of spinning Shuriken appeared in front of him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Shuriken crashed hard into the young eagles of ice, and the impact sent snow flying from the ground.
Nadare Rōga's expression turned serious. The swirling snow blocked his view.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, something sliced through the air. A silver short blade tore through it and shot toward Nadare Rōga.
A mere flurry of snow couldn't possibly block the Sharingan's sight.
The short blade struck Nadare Rōga, but the next moment, Kakashi realized something was wrong. The blade had been stopped by the armor on Nadare Rōga's body.
"Heh. You're still too young, kid." Nadare Rōga chuckled. A moment later, white mist hissed out from his armor.
Wherever the mist passed, the surrounding air instantly froze.
"Armor infused with special energy?" Kakashi said, watching Nadare Rōga's strange armor from dozens of meters away.
Kakashi frowned. This was getting more and more troublesome. He took a Kunai from inside his clothes. The short blade from earlier had been engulfed by the mist from the armor and turned into a lump of ice.
The two of them resumed their fierce battle.
"Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale."
"Ice Shield: Nadare Rōga!"
Nadare Rōga was getting anxious now that Naraku had gone far away. Kazahana Dōtō had ordered him to bring back Kazahana Koyuki; Kakashi wasn't his target.
Desperate to break away, he unleashed two techniques in quick succession.
The huge White Whale and dozens of ice wolves charged at Kakashi, while Nadare Rōga himself turned and headed toward Naraku.
"How could I let you leave?" Kakashi thought. Then a brilliant blue light rose from his hands.
Blue lightning crackled like a thousand chirping birds.
"Chidori!"
With lightning in hand, Kakashi smashed through the White Whale and tore apart the pack of wolves. Then, without hesitation, he once again blocked Nadare Rōga's path.
"Hah... hah..."
His chest heaving, Kakashi had used one technique after another. He was almost out of chakra and could use Chidori only one more time at most.
"He should be far away by now," Kakashi murmured.
"Ice Release: Snow Tiger Pounce!"
Nadare Rōga gave him no time to catch his breath. He swiftly formed Hand Seals and unleashed another powerful technique.
Two white tigers, each more than two meters tall, appeared in an instant. Like real tigers, they leaped straight at Kakashi.
Nadare Rōga could tell that Kakashi was nearly out of chakra. Thanks to the surrounding environment, using Ice Release Ninjutsu cost him very little chakra, and he still had plenty left.
So all he had to do was keep using techniques until Kakashi ran out of strength.
Kakashi had naturally noticed what he was trying to do, but he had no good way to respond. His chakra reserves really were his weakness.
He had actually had plenty of chakra to begin with. The Hatake Clan wasn't known for its chakra reserves, but its members still had more chakra than ordinary ninja.
But ever since he'd transplanted Obito's left eye, half of his chakra had been drained away.
Kakashi had no Uchiha Clan blood, so he couldn't turn off the Sharingan. It drained his chakra constantly, which was why he usually covered it with his Forehead Protector.
Even so, that only slowed the chakra loss a little.
With almost no chakra left, Kakashi chose not to meet the attack head-on this time. He simply used his agility to dodge the white tigers.
I need to find a way to retreat, Kakashi thought helplessly.
Kakashi knew full well that with so little chakra left, he could no longer hold his own against Nadare Rōga.
Roar!
Just then, the white tiger Kakashi had dodged abruptly turned and pounced at him again.