Kakashi Couldn't Stop Him

Yun Yan was somewhat displeased as he looked at Kakashi, who had suddenly appeared and blocked his path. Expressionless, he said directly,

"Kakashi, is something wrong with you? Couldn't you just watch from the sidelines? Why did you have to come out and stop me?"

To be honest, Kakashi did not want to step in either. But since he had seen all this, he could not remain indifferent at a time like this.

Maintaining a wary, cautious stance, Kakashi looked seriously at Yun Yan, his expression even carrying a hint of earnest persuasion.

"Yun Yan, this is inside the village. You cannot kill people at will, much less fellow village ninja."

Yun Yan narrowed his eyes, his mood worsening.

"You shouldn't be saying that to me. You should be saying it to those two, to Root, to Danzō.

"I had no intention of attacking fellow village ninja here. Those two bastards forced my hand first.

"If I hadn't struck first, Izumi and I would have been the ones suffering.

"So, Kakashi, move aside."

Kakashi had no rebuttal to that. The reasoning was obvious—no matter how one looked at it, Root was in the wrong.

Kakashi let out a deep sigh, but his expression remained resolute.

"Sorry, Yun Yan. I can't move aside. I can't just stand by and watch this happen."

Yun Yan seemed to be gradually losing his patience.

"Kakashi, can't you be a little more sensible? It would be easy to pretend you never saw this."

Kakashi's tone was deeply sincere.

"But the truth is, I did see it.

"Yun Yan, take my advice. You've already killed one Root ninja, so I assume you've vented your anger?

"In that case, let the other Root ninja go for now. Their scheme never succeeded in the first place. From beginning to end, they were trapped in your genjutsu, weren't they?

"This matter can't be allowed to escalate completely."

If Kakashi had tried to persuade Yun Yan in some other way, Yun Yan might have had the slightest chance of listening.

But Kakashi had chosen to persuade him by saying that this matter could not be allowed to escalate!

More of that theory about sacrificing oneself and swallowing one's grievances for the so-called greater good. He was probably another guy poisoned by the Will of Fire.

That immediately brought out Yun Yan's obstinacy. Instead, he became angry!

Yun Yan's expression turned hostile, his face becoming somewhat frightening, giving off an exceptionally dangerous feeling.

"To hell with not letting this escalate! Those bastards came to assassinate me—why should I just take it? Why should I have to suffer grievances? There's no such logic!

"Kakashi, stop trying to persuade me. I'm taking these two bastards' lives today. Forget you trying to stop me—even if the Third Hokage were standing here today, I'd still kill them!"

Kakashi's body suddenly tensed, his nerves growing taut.

"Yun Yan, is there really no room for compromise?"

"Cut the crap! Keep talking and keep blocking me, and I'll beat you up too!"

Things had reached this point, and Kakashi was utterly helpless.

In truth, who would want to save these two Root ninja? Kakashi honestly would not have cared if they simply died here.

But Kakashi's duties would not allow him to stand there and watch. If Hiruzen Sarutobi learned of this afterward, and found out that Kakashi had remained indifferent while fellow village ninja were killed, he would inevitably face some repercussions.

So, Kakashi could only step in and block Yun Yan out of sheer necessity.

And he had to make it look like he was giving it his all.

As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense and the situation seemed truly impossible to contain, Kakashi decisively used his signature technique, Chidori.

His hands rapidly formed seals. He spread his legs, lowered his body and shifted his center of gravity downward. His left hand gripped his right as lightning-nature chakra gathered and roared, sharp screeches accompanying the incessant flickering of blue lightning.

Kakashi held Chidori steadily in his right hand. Blue lightning flashed and screeched continuously in his palm, its power anything but ordinary!

To be honest, Chidori was not only powerful, but its appearance and the commotion it created were indeed impressive. It was the kind of technique that could intimidate people at a glance.

The moment Yun Yan saw Kakashi use even this technique, he instinctively felt angry.

Was Kakashi really planning to attack him? Did he not know what it meant to stand by and watch? He was far too rigid!

Later, he would definitely beat Kakashi up to vent the anger in his heart.

But that anger was only instinctive.

Yun Yan might have been unruly, but that did not mean he lacked reason or could not think.

Looking at the Chidori in Kakashi's hand, Yun Yan frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Why had this guy only used Chidori? Why not Lightning Cutter, which was stronger and quieter?

I see. Kakashi disliked Root ninja too. He had only come out to stop him because of his duty. In truth, whether the Root ninja lived or died had nothing to do with him.

Burdened by responsibility, Kakashi had no choice but to intervene. Yet he did not want to get serious, and he could not make his act too obvious either, so... he had chosen Chidori.

This technique was flashy and fairly powerful. It looked as though Kakashi was taking it seriously, but in reality, he had already held back. He did not want to truly face Yun Yan.

Having seen through Kakashi's real thoughts, Yun Yan smiled inwardly.

Fine. Since you have such concerns, I'll cooperate with you.

I'll make sure that even if Hiruzen Sarutobi finds out afterward, he won't be able to blame you.

After all... you simply couldn't stop me at all, could you?

With that thought, Yun Yan's gaze sharpened, and he officially made his move.

Yun Yan mobilized the wind-nature chakra within his body. This clear, delicate wind-style chakra surfaced over his body. Under Yun Yan's extraordinarily refined control, it began acting upon his body, causing his entire person to undergo a wondrous transformation.

What was wind?

It could be understood as moving air.

That concept could be broken down into two parts: movement and air.

That was what Yun Yan was doing now.

As the wind-style chakra spread throughout his body and took effect, Yun Yan's presence began to turn indistinct through some exquisite method. His entire body seemed to merge into the air!

Kakashi, standing directly opposite Yun Yan, felt it most clearly.

He sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly lifted his forehead protector, activating the Three-Tomoe Sharingan hidden beneath it.

Yet even with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, Kakashi could not see through Yun Yan's technique. He could only sense that Yun Yan had become elusive and unpredictable, utterly impossible to grasp!

This feeling... was dangerous!

The next second, Yun Yan's entire body seemed to transform into a wisp of breeze, which howled forward swiftly and indistinctly!

Kakashi only saw Yun Yan blur before his eyes. Both his body and presence had become extremely vague.

The only thing he could still make out through the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was that Yun Yan's body seemed to have become a gale rushing straight toward him!

He had never encountered such a strange and dangerous sensation before. In that instant, Kakashi's scalp went numb.

There was no time to think further. Vaguely sensing Yun Yan drawing closer and closer, Kakashi could only grip the Chidori in his right hand and thrust it forward with all his might!

Kakashi's instincts were quite accurate. The direction in which his Chidori stabbed was indeed where Yun Yan was.

However, it was not that Yun Yan looked down on him, but this Chidori was still far from enough.

The breeze drifted past, the gale howled, and the powerful wind formed from Yun Yan's body merging into the air swept smoothly past Kakashi's side.

Wind did not merely drift past. As that gust blew by Kakashi, the Chidori in his hand was unknowingly shattered and dispersed!

With a crack, Chidori gave a mournful cry. Under the caress of the breeze, Kakashi's Chidori fractured layer by layer. The blue lightning lost its momentum and was swiftly extinguished by the wind into tiny blue sparks!

By the time that gust truly blew past Kakashi's body, the Chidori in his hand had completely vanished!

To be honest, Kakashi stood there blankly, staring blankly ahead, a thin layer of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

What had just happened?

Yun Yan had merged into the air, his body becoming a gust of wind.

That gust had swept past him, and the Chidori in his hand had been shattered without him even noticing?

That was impossible. Chidori was his signature technique, and also the strongest A-rank lightning-style ninjutsu he had developed through the shape transformation of lightning-nature chakra!

Kakashi knew Yun Yan was unfathomable and had expected that he might not be Yun Yan's match.

But for his signature technique to be defeated so inexplicably, without him knowing what had happened from beginning to end—this was far too terrifying!