Kakashi Hatake

A heart-rending pain seemed to tear his soul apart, and the boy let out a low roar as he leaped up abruptly from the bed.

The boy only felt his head muddled and spinning, as if it were about to burst, and a string of memories that did not belong to him slowly appeared in his mind.

He staggered over to the mirror, and seeing himself in the glass, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

The moonlight outside the window spilled over the boy's silver-white hair, and a black mask covered a face that was still somewhat youthful.

The boy gently steadied the Konoha forehead protector on his left eye, and his thoughts gradually became clear, no longer in the chaotic state from just a moment before.

The boy murmured softly, "I time-traveled? I've become Kakashi Hatake?"

What happened just before?

The boy tried to recall what happened before his time-travel, but no matter how hard he tried to think back, his mind remained completely blank.

No, I'm not a time-traveler, I am Kakashi Hatake... I... ah!

Kakashi Hatake fell to his knees, clutching his head with both hands, the expression on his face painful and distorted.

Obito, Rin, Teacher Minato!

Everything from the past was still vivid in his mind; he could still remember Obito being crushed to death by a boulder to save him, could remember Rin falling beneath his Raikiri, and could remember the day Teacher Minato sacrificed himself, when the last thread of connection in his life was severed.

The forehead protector on his left eye had somehow slipped off and fallen to the ground, the crimson Sharingan looking exceptionally eerie in the night.

Kakashi gripped his chest hard and slowly stood back up.

"Although I don't know what happened, but..."

"I am Kakashi Hatake!"

"Phew."

Seeming to have finally completed his self-recognition, the boy let out a breath of relief.

"Hmph, but anyway..."

As if remembering something, Kakashi walked over to the mirror once again, and then gently pulled down his mask.

"I knew it, I'm so damn handsome!"

Kakashi lay back down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to think.

What on earth had just happened, and why did he have an extra set of memories concerning the future?

These memories felt both like watching from the sidelines as someone else, and like his own personal experience; this sensation was truly too bizarre!

The world I'm in seems to just be an anime? Where on earth did this kind of understanding come from?

Kakashi muttered lowly, Why can't I remember anything else besides this portion of memories?

Though he desperately wanted to know what on earth was going on with himself, whenever he tried to recall and trace the source of the memories, Kakashi would feel that soul-tearing sensation, forcing him to give up.

His intuition told Kakashi that the secrets hidden within this were not something the present him could explore, and it was better to focus on the immediate matters first.

According to the memories...

During the Nine-Tails Rebellion, the Fourth seemed to have sacrificed himself, defusing a massive crisis.

Yet only Kakashi knew that an even greater crisis, one about to sweep through the entire Shinobi World, was coming.

A terrifying entity powerful enough to make the entire Shinobi World tremble in fear—one who dominated the Warring States Period—was about to cross through time, attempting to overturn the entire Shinobi World anew.

The Nine-Tails Rebellion was merely the prologue of the plot.

Kakashi looked out the window; even in the night, the villagers of Konoha were still working hard to rebuild their homes destroyed by the Nine-Tails, and the Sharingan could clearly capture the hope brimming on their faces.

Kakashi sighed, then made a secret resolution.

Teacher Minato, rest assured, I will definitely take care of Naruto for you.

Right now, the Nine-Tails Rebellion had not long passed, and there were still twelve years left before the start of the plot.

This time was neither long nor short, and he needed to seize the moment and work hard to improve himself.

After all, in this cruel world, only by possessing strong enough strength could one manage to protect others.

Thinking of this, Kakashi gave a self-deprecating smile, It's a pity I seemed to have faded into the crowd in the end...

A genius boy who could become a Jōnin at age twelve ended up forced into stalemates with everyone in the later stages.

His chakra would vanish the moment he needed it, and he even became a unit of measurement for chakra.

Hey, how many kakashis of chakra do you have?

What, you're asking what a kakashi means?

Why, it means Kakashi, of course!

Kakashi gently stroked his left eye socket. Analyzing based on the memories, there should be mainly two reasons.

"I" in the memories became decadent due to losing loved ones one after another, missing the golden training period of a ninja.

Now, I already know everything that is about to happen, so this one can naturally be avoided.

Secondly, it's because of this Sharingan.

As if sensing something, the three pitch-black tomoe of the Sharingan slowly rotated.

The Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai possessed by the Uchiha Clan, and without the Uchiha Bloodline, the Sharingan cannot be deactivated at all.

Furthermore, compared to the Uchiha Clan, his own chakra consumption when using the Sharingan was multiplied several times over, and the physical toll it took was the same.

The entire foundation of the Hokage was chakra; without chakra, no matter how formidable a dōjutsu was, it could not be used, and even cracking one's eyeballs open from staring would be useless.

If I want to increase my strength, I have to start with the Sharingan and chakra.

Come to think of it, since Obito and I awakened our eyes together, can I try for the Mangekyō Sharingan right now?

Kakashi sat up abruptly, licking the corners of his somewhat dry mouth.

An indescribable and marvelous change had occurred within him, and Kakashi could clearly sense that his mental energy had undergone a qualitative leap.

Perhaps he really could unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan right now!

Even though using the Mangekyō Sharingan would place an enormous burden on his body and carried the risk of blindness.

Yet, developing the ability of his left eye so much earlier than in the original work was equivalent to gaining an extra trump card to save his life.

Kamui, as one of the rare ninjutsu in Hokage that involved space-time, was truly amazing!

Kakashi took a deep breath, then tried to gather his chakra into his left eye.

"Kamui!" Kakashi growled in a low voice.

Opening his eyes once more, a pitch-black dart that looked as if it were formed by three scythes emerged amidst the blood-red color.

The chakra throughout his entire body was drained frantically, and Kakashi felt a pang of regret.

Damn it, my chakra doesn't seem quite enough...

The pitch-black dart that had been spinning at high speed slowed down, and after revolving a few times, it even showed signs of dissipating, faintly taking on the appearance of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Hah, I failed...

Just as Kakashi felt that he had failed, it was as if a shackle within the depths of his soul had been unlocked, and a strange power surged along his meridian channels straight into his left eye.

A mysterious purple light merged with the rotating pattern inside the Mangekyō Sharingan and vanished in a flash, as though it had never appeared at all.

Kakashi widened his eyes; the black dart took shape once more, and a powerful force began to breed within his left eye.

Fresh blood flowed from Kakashi's left eye, slowly dripping onto the ground, yet Kakashi remained completely oblivious.

This... what is this?

Before Kakashi's eyes, a scene of a thousand peaks standing like halberds and ten thousand precipices unfolding like screens appeared.

Is this Obito's dimension? Why am I seeing the dimension?

And the dimension connected by Kamui doesn't seem to be like this either? Kakashi was somewhat baffled.

The scene before his eyes was both like a painting and like a truly existing world.

Kakashi peered closely, only to see an elderly man with white hair and a youthful complexion, dressed in Taoist robes, sitting serenely atop a mountain peak, his figure flickering in and out of the clouds, so that even the Sharingan could not make out his true appearance.

This...

Kakashi was now one hundred percent certain that some kind of change had definitely occurred in his Kamui!