Yu and Kakashi!

As Riu watched Kakashi appear before him, his eyes deepened after a flicker of surprise. Kakashi, good thing it was you who came. If it had been someone else, a simple meal might have ended with someone dead...

Riu asked calmly, "Oh? You noticed my arrival. Looks like there are a few sharp-nosed fellows in Konoha's Root after all..."

Kakashi frowned and said coldly, "Root? You seem to have misunderstood something. I'm not with Root. I'm with Konoha's ANBU!"

Sure enough, after I intimidated Danzo last time, he no longer dared openly target the Fourth Hokage and Kushina. So Kakashi never took the risk of joining Root and instead joined the ANBU directly under the Fourth Hokage.

But Kakashi... if you were sharp enough to notice my arrival, why couldn't you face the gap between us? What blinded your eyes? I suppose I need to teach you a proper lesson!

"Root or ANBU, you'll die here all the same!"

With those chilling words, Riu's figure flashed behind Kakashi without warning.

"What!?"

Crack!

By the time Kakashi noticed, a kunai had already pierced straight through his chest and back!

"Urgh!!" Kakashi spat out a mouthful of blood. Crackle, crackle... Then his body dissipated, turning into a powerful bolt of lightning!

Bathed in Lightning Release, Riu thought, Heh, just as expected. A Lightning Release Shadow Clone...

Whoosh! Kakashi's true body, which had been lying in ambush nearby, rushed out. His thoughts raced. To be safe, I used a Lightning Release Shadow Clone right from the start, but I didn't expect it to be destroyed so quickly. It's still under my control. According to the intelligence, Uchiha Riu must become tangible the instant he attacks. Therefore, the Lightning Release triggered when my clone vanished must have worked! His body is already paralyzed. Now is the time to kill him!

Whoosh! Kakashi's short blade, wrapped in intense Lightning Release Chakra, slashed toward Riu's neck!

Clang! Yet Riu casually caught the lightning-covered blade between just two fingers!

"H-how is this possible? He should have been struck by my lightning and unable to move!!" Cold sweat soaked Kakashi's back.

Yes, it had struck Riu, but Lightning Release at that level was no more than a breeze against his face. It had no effect whatsoever. He could stand there and let Kakashi shock him for ten years without even furrowing his brow!

Bang!

Riu kicked Kakashi flying. Kakashi crashed through a wall, every bone in his body feeling as though it were about to fall apart, leaving him unable to move.

Looking at the short blade in his hand, Riu murmured, "Oh, White Fang's Blade? Your father's keepsake was destroyed in the battle at Kannabi Bridge. Looks like it has been reforged. Having lost the Sharingan, do you want to inherit White Fang's will once more? But it seems you've forgotten something, Kakashi..."

Holding the short blade, Riu walked toward Kakashi.

This is bad, Captain Kakashi is in danger!

At that moment, two ANBU members lying in ambush nearby saw that things had gone wrong and charged toward Yūhi Uzuki. They intended to seize Yūhi Uzuki as a hostage and make Riu hesitate...

Lightning Blade Art: Falling Thunder!

Yūhi Uzuki instantly drew her blades, unleashing fierce lightning...

"Ah!!" The two ANBU were struck and fell to the ground, unable to move.

"Jing Teng, Shang Tiao!!" Kakashi shouted.

Yūhi Uzuki sheathed both blades, swift as lightning.

Riu reached Kakashi, drove White Fang's Blade into the wall beside him, and said, "Reckless actions will only get you and those around you killed. You haven't learned a thing from your past lessons, Kakashi..."

Kakashi's eyes widened as he asked in a trembling voice, "Y-you... who are you?"

"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that you need to see yourself clearly, Kakashi!" Riu's Sharingan met Kakashi's eyes!

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

In Kakashi's mind, the scenes of Rin's death and Obito's death... surfaced again and again!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! No, no, don't make me see this!!!"

Kakashi abruptly sat up and found himself on a bed in Hidden Leaf Hospital, drenched in sweat. Bandages were still wrapped around his abdomen.

"Pant, pant, pant..." He gasped, still shaken.

"Kakashi, you're awake." Sitting in a chair beside the bed was a blonde female ninja with a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, a valiant air, and an incomparably voluptuous figure. Her long, slender legs were crossed as her brown eyes watched Kakashi.

Kakashi jolted. "Lady Tsunade, w-what exactly happened?"

Tsunade said, "You were caught in an enemy genjutsu, and your mind was severely stimulated. When the patrolling ANBU found you, you had already passed out..."

"What about Jing Teng and Shang Tiao?!" Kakashi asked urgently.

"They're both fine. They only suffered minor injuries. I've already heard what happened from them," Tsunade said.

"Whew." Kakashi let out a long breath and clutched his aching head.

Tsunade said solemnly, "Kakashi, you possess extremely keen observational skills. That is a precious talent for a ninja and for the ANBU. But remember this: never misjudge the difference in strength between yourself and the enemy. The fact that you survived this time is unbelievable to me..."

"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade. I arrogantly believed that as long as I caught him off guard, I could kill the enemy. I was afraid of missing the opportunity, so I didn't report it..." Kakashi paused. "No, that's not right. Those are just excuses. I was simply too eager to earn merit. I wanted to make up for my past mistakes, as well as the gap of the past half year..."

"To face your mistakes and correct them, Kakashi... you will become an excellent ninja someday." The Third Hokage entered at that moment.

"Lord Third, you're all right now!" Kakashi said in surprise.

"Ho ho ho, it's all thanks to Tsunade!" the Third Hokage laughed. He was considerably thinner than before, but his complexion showed no sign of serious trouble.

"Geezer, don't just lecture Kakashi. You need to reflect on yourself too. If you'd been injured any more severely, even I would have been powerless to save you!" Tsunade sternly reprimanded her teacher.

"My, Tsunade is as strict as ever..." The Third Hokage smiled, but his expression soon turned grave. "I simply never expected that Uchiha Riu could enter and leave Konoha so freely. If Kakashi hadn't discovered him this time, we would have remained completely in the dark. It seems we must alter the formula of Konoha's barrier. Though it may not be able to stop him either..."

Even an enemy Lord Third is helpless against, and I arrogantly thought I could take him down alone! What a disgrace. Kakashi lowered his eyes, clenching his fists in frustration. Then he thought, But why didn't he kill me? Was it because I was too weak, because I wasn't worth his effort? Then what did he mean by those words? Why does he know so much about me? Who exactly is he...

"Yu, you treated Kakashi differently. You really are Uchiha Obito, aren't you..." On the rooftop of the building next to Konoha's hospital ward, Xiyang asked Riu, who had been staring at that window beside her.

"Who knows... We should get going too~"

Whoosh! Through the Space-Time Vortex, Riu took Yūhi Uzuki back to their base.

"What are you planning to do next?" Xiyang asked.

"The Five Kage Summit seems to have been initiated by that Fourth Raikage because of me. The meeting will be held in the neutral samurai nation, the Land of Iron. The Kage of each nation have just set out... Hmm, I can barely make it in time. It'll save me the trouble of gathering them one by one, too. There's something I need to announce to them..."

"What is it?"

"The founding of the Shinobi World's sixth great ninja village: Shadow Village!"