Kakashi's Misconception
"Wait! Two of them are missing!" Kakashi Hatake, hidden in the shadows, suddenly noticed that two of Kato Osamu's group were missing. He was shocked. "Even the Sharingan didn't detect anything unusual?" His heart sank. Looking at the countless villagers on the platform, he clenched his fists but didn't make a move.
"As expected, these people are definitely not simple..." Kakashi Hatake was already preparing to leave, since it was just his intuition and he hadn't revealed any other flaws. But unexpectedly, something seemed to have happened to this group?
If he can't even detect the enemy's movements, then he can't be sure whether he has been exposed...
"Let's go... You take her back first... I'll be back soon..." Kato Osamu touched Mei Terumi's cheek, turned his head slightly. Although he wanted to conceal his whereabouts, since he had already been discovered, there was no need to hide anymore. Kato Osamu chuckled and glanced in the direction where Kakashi Hatake was hiding, which already made Kakashi Hatake startled and uncertain.
"Alright, then come back soon..."
Mei Terumi and Hinata Hyuga gradually left, while Kato Osamu, with Kushina Uzumaki in tow, slowly walked out of Konoha.
Now that Kakashi Hatake had noticed their presence, Kato Osamu wanted to have a chat with this former 'acquaintance'. With a flick of his hand, a beam of blue light shot towards Kakashi Hatake.
"Kakashi Hatake... it's been a long time..." A voice suddenly echoed in Kakashi Hatake's mind. This voice, both strange and familiar, made Kakashi Hatake's eyes widen instantly...
"It was him!" The memories of the dead surged back, and the boy from the Root, who always wore a large hooded trench coat, reappeared in his mind...
After Kato Osamu defected from Konoha, although Minato Namikaze held a high position and was only temporarily removed from Konoha without being officially labeled missing-nin, everyone in the know understood that Kato Osamu was a complete traitor, Kakashi Hatake was one of them...
But after all these years, why has Kato Osamu, who almost disappeared after leaving Konoha, suddenly reappeared in Konoha? And what is his purpose?
"Kato Osamu..." Kakashi Hatake no longer cared about the others who had left; his Sharingan began to spin wildly in his eyes.
Even based on the intelligence he had, he understood that the man in the distance with a little girl was extremely dangerous!
"Kakashi Hatake, you don't want Konoha to suffer heavy casualties, do you...?"
Kato Osamu chuckled softly and led Kushina Uzumaki towards the remote forest of Konoha.
"What exactly are you trying to do..." Kakashi Hatake glanced warily at the bustling training ground, then looked at Kato Osamu, who were gradually venturing deeper into the jungle. He gritted his teeth, but also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
In his view, Kato Osamu was unwilling to expose himself in the area where Konoha people gathered because he was still wary of Konoha and the Hokage. If that was the case, he might have a chance to capture him!
"Kakashi Hatake's here. I think you must have a lot to say to him..." With a smile, he patted Kushina Uzumaki's head. Kushina Uzumaki glared at Kato Osamu, looking in Kakashi Hatake's direction with a hint of resentment in her eyes.
Kakashi Hatake cautiously entered the jungle, his Kunai tightly gripped in his hand, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.
But when he went deeper into the jungle, he only saw Kato Osamu leaning quietly against a big tree with a slight smile on his lips, while the little girl beside him stared at him intently and gave a cold snort.
Kakashi Hatake instantly realized that the little girl was an enemy, not a friend, and not a villager of Konoha, but rather an accomplice of Kato Osamu...
Then there's no need to worry...
"You seem quite confident..." Kato Osamu's gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at Kakashi Hatake's eager expression.
"Kato Osamu... tell me your purpose... otherwise..."
"What else can you do? Capture me and curry favor with the Third?"
"It seems I still have to defeat you first..." Kakashi Hatake no longer hesitated, his Kunai flying out of his hand in an instant, and his figure rushing towards Kato Osamu.
Kakashi Hatake has been known as a genius since childhood, and in Konoha now, there are only a handful of people who can reliably defeat him.
"How loyal..." Kato Osamu smiled as he watched Kakashi Hatake rushing towards him. He lightly tapped the air in front of him, and a long, black sword appeared out of the void.
"Bang..." The long sword was held back, Kunai's attack was instantly blocked.
"Face... back... left rib..." Kakashi Hatake's eyes were filled with horror. His moves seemed to have been completely seen through, and every attack was instantly blocked. Kato Osamu hadn't even moved an inch...
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" In the instant he leaped into the air, his hands quickly formed hand seals, and a swamp appeared beneath Kato Osamu's feet, the churning mud seemingly threatening to engulf everything.
"Is that all you've got... Kakashi Hatake, the era of traditional ninjas is over..." Kato Osamu chuckled lightly, his body remaining perfectly still. He simply tapped his foot lightly, and an invisible wave rippled outwards from beneath him, instantly melting away the churning mud, returning it to normal earth... Kakashi Hatake's Ninjutsu seemed completely ineffective...
"No... this is impossible!" Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened. He had never seen such a strange technique since the day he became a ninja...
"This is my last chance. Let me see just how far our strongest genius of this generation in Konoha has grown..."
Seeing the slightly disdainful look in Kato Osamu's eyes, Kakashi Hatake narrowed his eyes. Although he still didn't know exactly how Kato had achieved this effect, he knew that if he didn't go all out, his chances of survival were slim...
"Squeak squeak squeak..." Suddenly, streaks of lightning appeared in Kakashi Hatake's hands, and his Sharingan began to spin rapidly. His gaze was fixed on Kato Osamu as he unleashed his strongest killing move.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
A massive surge of lightning, combined with Kakashi Hatake's high-speed dash, instantly uprooted the trees in the entire jungle like harvested wheat. Even with the high-speed dynamic vision of his Sharingan, Kato Osamu remained motionless, watching Kakashi Hatake's approach with a slight smile. An ominous premonition rose in Kakashi Hatake's heart...
"Yin Yang Spirit Transformation Technique!"
The immense impact of the Lightning Release vanished the instant it touched Kato Osamu, as if a mud ox had entered the sea. Kakashi Hatake's entire body passed right through Kato Osamu's, and the two seemed to exist in different spaces, their figures intertwined...
Kato Osamu had long ago been able to merge his body and soul into one, the soul being the body and the body being the soul. With the enhancement of Yin–Yang Release, he further modified the Spirit Transformation Technique to the point where he could freely switch between the real and the unreal, no longer as the previous Spirit Transformation Technique where the soul left the body and the body was completely immobile...
"Snap..." Kakashi Hatake's right hand was grabbed by Kato Osamu. Turning his head, Kakashi Hatake's eyes were filled with disbelief; all of Kato Osamu's techniques were beyond his comprehension...
"Squeak..." The lightning in his hand had weakened to the point of being almost inaudible, but it was still squeaking. "Very good Lightning Release Ninjutsu..." Kato Osamu grabbed Kakashi Hatake's right hand with one hand, and suddenly raised the other hand. His large hand, covered with black rune chains, slapped Kakashi Hatake across the face.
Like a cannonball, Kakashi Hatake's body slammed into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust...
"Pfft..." A mouthful of blood gushed out. Kakashi Hatake looked up as Kato Osamu slowly walked towards him. The little girl who had been hiding in the corner since the start of the battle also looked at him, but this time, her eyes held a hint of pity...
"My... my Chakra..." Suddenly, jet-black rune chains appeared on his body, embedding themselves into Kakashi Hatake's flesh and meridians like maggots clinging to bone. His Chakra was completely frozen, unable to be mobilized even a fraction. He could only rely on his body's original strength to struggle and try to stand up...
"Cough cough... Kato Osamu... what... what kind of technique did you use...?" One arm hung limply at his side as if broken, the other supporting him on the ground, his chest covered in blood, Kakashi Hatake still looked up at Kato Osamu...
"Truly worthy of being Jonin of Konoha, even now he still has to be loyal to Konoha..." With a Kunai, Kakashi Hatake's hand, which he seemed to be marking with at his side, was pierced by the Kunai. Despite the pain, Kakashi Hatake didn't utter a sound, only large beads of cold sweat dripping from his forehead to the ground...
"Kill me..." Kakashi Hatake slumped to the ground, feeling a strange sense of relief in what he thought was the last moment of his life. "I've... I've... lived enough..."
"Osamu-kun..." Kushina Uzumaki clenched her fists slightly as she looked at Kakashi Hatake's miserable state. She hadn't intended to speak, but involuntarily stepped forward, her eyes pleading as she looked at Kato Osamu ...
"Let Kakashi Hatake go... that's enough... he's had a hard time too..." Looking at Kushina Uzumaki's pleading, Kato Osamu's eyes flickered slightly. "If you think it's for your sake, you're probably overthinking it..."
"I've disliked him for a long time... for a very long time..."
"Who... are you?" Kakashi Hatake finally turned his attention to Kushina Uzumaki. He hadn't expected that the little girl beside Kato Osamu would plead for him, and even seemed to know him very well...
"It's alright... After today... we're completely cut off from each other..." Kushina Uzumaki looked at Kato Osamu without turning around; her cold voice clearly stated her stance...
Kakashi Hatake may have his difficulties, but his indifference towards his own child is also a fact. Kushina Uzumaki cannot accept that Kakashi Hatake, once considered her favorite disciple, could be so heartless and ungrateful...
"Fine... let it be..." A twitch at her ear signaled that the commotion from the battle had attracted the attention of others. Kato Osamu gave Kakashi Hatake one last disdainful look, thinking how boring it would be to kill Kakashi Hatake like this, especially if Obito Uchiha were present...
With a slight smile, Kato Osamu picked up Kushina Uzumaki and vanished into the jungle in an instant...
"Quick! A battle has broken out here!"
"There is an injured Anbu Ninja!"
"Kakashi Hatake... senpai?" Wearing Anbu mask, Uzuki Yugao followed behind the other Anbu. She recognized Kakashi Hatake at a glance, lying on the shattered ground, but before she could speak, Kakashi Hatake had already fallen unconscious...