You Still Read "Dragon Raja"?

Terrifying energy that made one's heart tremble brewed within the thunder. The rampaging Lightning Release chakra tore through the air, producing a sizzling roar.

This move, Pseudo-Senjutsu: Heavenly Thunder, was a new technique Kakashi had created after long periods of research.

Although he could not merge and refine Senjutsu Chakra himself, he possessed a unique advantage: under his Sage Art control, Natural Energy was incredibly obedient.

It was no exaggeration to say that Natural Energy was like an extension of his own arms.

So, in order to make use of the Natural Energy within his body, Kakashi had come up with a compromise.

First, he used the Lightning Release he was most proficient in. Then, at the moment he hurled out the lightning chakra, he injected it with Natural Energy to deal tons of damage.

It sounded easy enough, but even reaching this level required an extremely high degree of control over both chakra and Natural Energy.

If he injected too little Natural Energy, it would not achieve the intended effect. If he injected too much, it could trigger the lightning chakra's rampage before it even left his hand.

Don't ask how Kakashi knew that. During those days, he had nearly been tortured to death by his own lightning.

Still, hard work paid off. After nearly leveling the clearing outside the village, Kakashi had finally mastered this terrifying Pseudo-Senjutsu. At the same time, he looked forward even more to true Sage Arts.

Kakashi stared intently at his opponent. Let's see what you can use to block ten years' worth of my power.

But in the next moment, something happened that made Kakashi's scalp tingle.

The mirror image gave a wicked smile, his hands flashing as he rapidly formed seals.

"Ox—Rabbit—Monkey—Snake—Goat, Pseudo-Senjutsu: Heavenly Thunder!"

Damn it!

Kakashi's expression darkened. He had not expected the other side to copy even a technique that used Natural Energy.

Kakashi was utterly speechless inside. Am I the Copy Ninja, or are you the Copy Ninja?

The ninjutsu I copied might not be copyrighted, but was it really okay for you to copy a technique copied by the Copy Ninja right in front of the Copy Ninja?

Alarm bells rang loudly in Kakashi's mind, and the mirror image's danger level shot up sharply in his estimation.

The two bolts of lightning intertwined, erupting with deafening thunder. The house was riddled with holes by the dancing arcs of electricity in the air.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A dirt wall carved with dog heads rose before each of them at the same time, blocking the now-weakened lightning attacks.

"This is getting troublesome," Kakashi muttered.

Being able to imitate chakra was not particularly rare. In the vast Shinobi World, he had heard of such things before.

But to perfectly imitate even Natural Energy—what exactly was this bizarre thing before him?

Kakashi gave a soft laugh. At the brink of life and death, he had instead relaxed.

"There's no good solution left at this point. Looks like I can only go all out."

"I'm betting there's something on me that you can't imitate!"

"Hah." Kakashi took a deep breath. His next plan required incredibly precise control over chakra and Natural Energy, so he needed to focus completely.

"Then let's do this again." Kakashi's gaze turned cold as his fingers flashed through seals.

The 'Kakashi' opposite him curled his lips. "It's useless. I know this move too."

"Rooster—Snake—Monkey—Goat—Ox—Rabbit—Goat, Pseudo-Senjutsu: Lightning Storm!" Both completed their seals almost simultaneously.

Even more violent lightning chakra than before erupted from their bodies. Standing at the center of the lightning storm, they were like small boats tossed beneath raging waves.

The roof was pierced through in an instant by the violent current. Realizing something was wrong, the mirror image's expression changed.

"This much chakra... Damn it, are you trying to die with me?"

Kakashi ignored the mirror image and mobilized all the chakra and Natural Energy in his body, gathering it along the pathways leading to his left eye.

"Kamui!"

A pitch-black shuriken appeared within Kakashi's left eye. Seeing this, the mirror image did the same.

"Kamui!"

The lightning chakra filling the room seemed to have found somewhere to vent itself, surging madly toward the two Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Damn it!" The mirror image's expression twisted viciously. "There isn't enough chakra to maintain Kamui!"

"How is this possible?!" It was the first time the mirror image had lost its composure. "Why can you still maintain Kamui? Everything about us is the same!"

Kakashi merely smiled without answering. He had gambled that the other side could not replicate the strange thing within him—a mysterious existence connected to another world!

When facing a mysterious existence, use something even more mysterious to restrain it. That was Kakashi's idea.

The lightning storm rushing toward Kakashi was completely absorbed. If one looked closely, one would notice a flash of purple light passing through his left eye.

Kakashi looked toward the mirror image. Having lost the support of chakra, the shuriken in the mirror image's right eye shattered, and a remaining bolt of lightning pierced his chest like a sword.

The mirror image looked down at the gaping hole in his chest, then struggled to raise his head. "I didn't expect you to defeat me, but all of this is futile."

"When I return to this world, all traitors shall die!" The mirror image no longer sounded like Kakashi. His voice was overbearing and tyrannical, like that of a king.

Kakashi tossed a shuriken at him. "What the hell are you talking about? You still read 'Dragon Raja'?"

The mirror image revealed a surprised expression. "Could it be that you're Old—"

Before he could finish speaking, the flying shuriken struck him. He then turned into fragments of a mirror and fell to the ground.

Kakashi put his forehead protector back on, covering his left eye, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Why have I been saying such inexplicable things lately? What are Happy Planet... and Dragon Raja?"

"And what was that guy trying to say at the end? Dad?... Husband?"

"Tch, he really knew how to leave someone hanging."

Just as Kakashi thought everything had settled, an unexpected change occurred.

A purple light suddenly emerged from among the mirror fragments and shot straight toward Kakashi's face!

Kakashi had no time to react. This purple light was even faster than his teacher!

The purple light had no physical form. It passed directly through his forehead protector and drilled fiercely into Kakashi's left eye.

"Ah!"

Kakashi's whole body tilted backward, but he quickly steadied himself and regained his balance.

"Th-this is... where?" Kakashi looked around in confusion.

He was standing amid a world of ice and snow. Silver-white frost blanketed the earth, and sky and land merged into one.

"Could this be the Land of Snow? How did I suddenly get here?" Thoughts churned through Kakashi's mind.

There seemed to be someone ahead!

Kakashi cautiously moved closer. With barely any chakra left, it was best to be careful.