Let's talk about it when we get back to the village.

Inside a hidden cave.

Naraku brought the unconscious Fuyubana Koyuki here and slowly laid the girl down on the ground.

Looking at her adorable face, Naraku couldn't help but sigh inwardly, She really is a future superstar.

"Sorry to keep our big star waiting here for a while."

Poof! Poof!

Amidst a burst of white smoke, Naraku created two shadow clones to guard Fuyubana Koyuki, then walked out of the cave and headed in the direction of Kakashi and the others.

Kai, you should be feeling the pressure now, right? Naraku thought to himself.

In truth, if he and Kakashi joined forces, they would have nothing to fear from Rouga Nadare. After all, the man was at most a Jonin who relied on the advantage of the environment and his special armor to gain the upper hand.

If he and Kakashi worked together, they wouldn't be invincible below the Kage level, but they would at least be in an impregnable position.

The reason he chose not to face Rouga Nadare alongside Kakashi was partly due to their mission; after all, their objective was merely to rescue Fuyubana Koyuki.

If they both stayed behind to deal with Rouga Nadare and Fuyubana Dotō arrived, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The other reason was Kakashi himself. He wanted the man to feel some pressure, or more accurately, he wanted Kakashi to realize the drawbacks of the Sharingan.

While the Sharingan was powerful, it depended on the user. For someone like Kakashi, who lacked Uchiha blood, the Sharingan was undoubtedly more of a hindrance than a help.

If not for the Sharingan, how could his strength have stagnated for over a decade in the original story? One had to remember that his talent was second to none among anyone in the Hokage's world.

If for no other reason than the enemies to come, Naraku was determined to change Kakashi's current situation, or at the very least, help him resolve the issue with his Sharingan.

On the other side, Kakashi was now completely on the defensive against Rouga Nadare's fierce onslaught.

Due to his chakra levels, he dared not unleash any major techniques and could only blindly dodge the opponent's attacks, though he still managed to stall the man's advance.

"What an annoying brat," Rouga Nadare, who had been entangled by him the whole time, felt a surge of irritation.

"Since that's the case, I'll finish you off first!"

Rouga Nadare stepped forward, white mist erupting from his armor once more. He charged toward Kakashi at high speed, simultaneously weaving hand signs to release over a dozen Snow Wolves.

The Snow Wolves surrounded Kakashi, leaving him unable to break free for the moment.

"There's really no helping it; this bit of chakra is truly not enough," Kakashi smiled helplessly beneath his mask, then quickly wove hand signs as deep blue lightning appeared once more.

However, this time the lightning did not gather in his hands but instead coursed over his body, blue arcs flickering across his frame.

Chidori Current—a jutsu developed by Sasuke in the original timeline, which Kakashi had developed over a decade early thanks to Naraku's hints.

Crackle! Crackle!

As the lightning flashed, the Chidori Current not only strengthened Kakashi's body but also granted him decent defensive capabilities. The Snow Wolves lunging at him were shattered by the electricity before they could even touch him.

"Come on."

Kakashi pushed off with his feet, colliding head-on with the incoming Rouga Nadare.

The two began to trade blows in taijutsu. Although Rouga Nadare's armor had strong defensive capabilities and possessed some special abilities, Kakashi, surrounded by lightning, was no slouch. After several exchanges, neither side had gained the upper hand.

However, Kakashi knew this was only temporary. In fact, after unleashing the Chidori Current, his chakra was nearing depletion; he could not maintain this state for long.

The aftermath of their battle kicked up a flurry of snow. After dodging another attack, Kakashi lost all desire to continue fighting and turned to retreat in the other direction.

Rouga Nadare glanced at him but ultimately abandoned the idea of pursuit, as the direction Kakashi left in was different from the one Naraku and Fuyubana Koyuki had taken, and in his heart, he didn't truly want to kill Kakashi.

He then turned and chased in the direction of Naraku and the others.

Before long, Kakashi reunited with Naraku, who had just emerged from the cave. As for Rouga Nadare, he was merely chasing the shadow clone Naraku had left behind.

They returned to the cave together; it was a spot they had scouted in advance, extremely well-hidden, and unlikely to be discovered by Rouga Nadare in the short term.

Upon entering the cave, Kakashi immediately began to recover his chakra.

"How was it, Kai? Should you consider it now?" Naraku asked suddenly.

Hearing this, Kakashi looked at Naraku with his exposed right eye in a deadpan expression. "Let's talk about it after we return to the village."

He then closed his eyes and began to focus on absorbing chakra.

Naraku didn't say anything more. Some things shouldn't be pushed too far; he believed Kakashi would come to his own realization, and besides, the man hadn't explicitly refused, had he?

Sharingan, heh. Just wait until you're sealed away.

While Kakashi absorbed chakra, Naraku took some dry rations from his pack. After such a long trek, he needed to replenish his own energy.

As for soldier pills, those foul-smelling, terrible-tasting things—Naraku was afraid he'd stop growing if he ate them.

One day later, in a small town on the outskirts of the Land of Snow.

A silver-haired youth arrived, accompanied by two children around seven or eight years old.

These three were none other than Naraku and his companions.

After leaving the Land of Snow, they decided to come here to restock on food, as their destination, the Land of Artisans, was still quite a distance away.

If it were just Naraku and Kakashi, they might have just grabbed some dry rations and set off, but that wouldn't do now; they were traveling with a seven or eight-year-old girl, so they needed to prepare extra food and water.

"Brother Kakashi, Brother Naraku, will I ever be able to return to the Land of Snow?" Fuyubana Koyuki asked the two of them, her eyes rimmed with red.

Although she was young, she understood certain things; coupled with the fact that children in this world were generally precocious, there were some matters that Kakashi and the others couldn't hide from her even if they wanted to.

Kakashi did not answer her question, as he believed in his heart that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Fuyubana Koyuki would likely never be able to return to the Land of Snow for the rest of her life.

"You can. When you grow up, Brother will take you back to the Land of Snow, how about that?" Naraku spoke up at this moment.

"Really?"

"Really!"

Hearing this, Kakashi didn't pay it much mind, assuming it was merely something Naraku had said to coax her and make her happy.