Yamato, Hurry Up

Kakashi raised the blade in his hand once more.

Li Bai's sword carries a hint of drunkenness, relying not only on exquisite swordsmanship when striking, but also drawing somewhat on bodily instinct.

He swung it a hundred times, a thousand times. The short blade, which should not have been heavy, now felt as though it weighed a thousand jun.

Sweat soaked Kakashi's clothes, yet he did not stop, continuing to swing the blade over and over again in an attempt to recreate Li Bai's sword intent.

Wrong, still wrong, again!

Natural energy began to circulate within his body, flowing through the meridians with a trace of coolness as Kakashi recovered his strength once more.

He swung the blade faster and faster until, at a certain moment, Kakashi felt a "momentum" faintly form where the blade fell—a momentum capable of covering all the vital points of an enemy's entire body.

"Done!" Kakashi felt a surge of excitement.

He carefully returned the short blade to its scabbard, then began relaxing the muscles all over his body.

Under the high-intensity training, he could feel his limbs trembling.

If Teacher Minato were here, he would definitely come up with some dorky name for my swordsmanship.

A smile touched Kakashi's face, but the amusement concealed nothing but sorrow.

Since Teacher Minato isn't here, and that idiot Obito isn't here either, I'll just have to think of a name myself.

Remembering how the sword Qi looked like a blooming green lotus when Li Bai swung his sword, Kakashi got an idea.

"How about 'Bloom'!" Kakashi was amused by his own thought. No way, it definitely has to be called Green Lotus.

In the empty Hatake residence, Kakashi's laughter echoed all around.

Outside the ANBU gates, a group of ANBU shinobi gathered, and even Kakashi was summoned.

Kakashi had long since unclipped his forehead protector, replacing it with his own ANBU mask.

With nearly half of Konoha's elite summoned by the Third, Kakashi knew clearly that Orochimaru must have defected.

Only Orochimaru was worthy of such a massive battle array.

Soon, the Third walked out of the ANBU gates wearing his Hokage robe, accompanied by a familiar figure—Shimura Danzō!

Hmph, the Third really let this guy off after all, Kakashi's gaze turned cold.

Danzo stood behind the Third with his hands behind his back. When the Third was around, he was simply the Third's shadow.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was solemn. "The reason for this emergency summons is to swiftly capture the rogue ninja Orochimaru, who escaped during our previous operation."

Kakashi sighed inwardly, realizing the Third ultimately lacked the heart to strike down his own student.

After all, the Third had personally participated in the previous capture attempt. If the Third had gone all out, subduing Orochimaru would have been child's play.

If the Third knew that their next meeting as master and apprentice would mark his own demise, one wondered what he would feel.

The Third said in a ringing voice, "The knowledge, intelligence, and techniques Orochimaru possesses are Konoha's precious treasures. We must stop him before he leaves the Fire Country!"

"Should this information fall into the hands of other countries, Konoha will suffer massive losses."

"Everyone, please search with all your might and bring Orochimaru back alive if possible. Dismissed!"

ANBU shinobi, including Kakashi, flashed away and sprinted toward the village outskirts.

Shimura Danzō looked at the Third. "You really are protective of your student, Sarutobi..."

"This time I will assist you with all my might. For Konoha, I will do everything I can."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Then I leave it to you, Danzo."

While the other shinobi were full of vigor, leaping up and down through the forest and bounding back and forth, Kakashi could not muster any enthusiasm.

Even if he ran into Orochimaru, he could not beat him; even if he could beat him, he could not kill him; and if he did kill him, the guy might just revive!

A slippery snake! I'm not playing with him!

Well, come to think of it, didn't Orochimaru's defection involve the plotline of the Iburi clan, which related to Yamato...

Regarding the young man Yamato—ah, Kinoe as he currently was—Kakashi held a rather favorable impression.

"In that case, I'll just head straight for the Iburi clan."

Kakashi shifted his direction, gliding past tree after tree as he hurried along the route in his memory.

The bodies of the Iburi clan could turn into smoke, but they were unable to stably control their own abilities, resulting in heavy casualties.

For experimental purposes, Orochimaru had helped the Iburi clan stabilize their abilities, which was why the entire clan felt a deep sense of gratitude toward him.

The Iburi clan was the most crucial link in Orochimaru's defection plan. By absorbing the blood of the Iburi clan, he could gain the ability to atomize into mist, thereby easily escaping the ANBU blockade.

However, only Iburi Yukimi's state was completely perfect, so Orochimaru's target was precisely this young girl.

And if nothing went wrong... the young girl should be with Yamato right now... hm...

Kakashi quickly arrived at the entrance of the cave where the Iburi clan resided.

Possessing great skill and bold by nature, Kakashi walked straight into the cave.

The cave was wreathed in thick smoke, and Kakashi knew this was the atomized Iburi clan.

Seeing a wisp of smoke try to burrow into his body, Kakashi started forming hand seals without a second word.

Sure, he was here to trigger the plot, but you trying to burrow into my body was going too far.

"Rabbit-Rooster-Rat-Dragon-Rooster, Wind Release: Gale Dance!"

A fierce gale erupted from Kakashi's hands, blowing the smoke away into the distance just like that.

Seeing this, endless billows of smoke surged toward Kakashi.

Kakashi screamed frantically in his heart: Yamato, hurry the hell up! If you don't come soon, I'll have no choice but to use lethal force.

As if sensing Kakashi's thoughts, a youth slightly shorter than Kakashi appeared.

"Don't kill him. Let me handle him. The information he brings is likely the key to Lord Orochimaru's escape."

Yamato rushed to Kakashi's side in a single bound and whispered, "Kakashi Hatake, do not resist."

Kakashi let out a relieved sigh. If you hadn't come, I really would have had no choice but to beat them to death. That would be quite cruel.

"Wood Release: Prison Technique."

Four wooden pillars emerged from the ground, binding Kakashi's limbs tightly and leaving him suspended in midair.

Seeing that Kakashi genuinely trusted him and offered no resistance, Yamato felt somewhat conflicted.

Coincidentally, Kakashi's feelings at this moment were also quite complicated, as he always felt this posture was somewhat humiliating.

"Alright, I'll be in charge of interrogating him. You all go make preparations; Lord Orochimaru might arrive at any time."

wisps of swirling smoke gradually transformed into human shapes, a sight that still felt novel to Kakashi even after having seen it once before.

"What a unique clan. Why did Smoker randomly cross my mind?"

"Hmm... what even is a Smoker?" Kakashi wondered out of habit.