The next morning, damp mist penetrated the cracks in the tent, bringing with it a chilly earthy smell. Liao suddenly sat up from the cot, his forehead covered with fine cold sweat. He subconsciously reached out to touch his side, but only touched the cold and rough canvas sheets.
The tent was empty, and the ambiguous smell mixed with the scent of powder and body heat last night had long since dissipated, replaced by the pungent smell of gun oil.
Liao fell back a little slumped, put his arms across his eyes, and let out a long, somewhat annoyed sigh. It felt like a fire was burning in his body, but it was extinguished by a basin of cold water, leaving behind a wet ashes on the ground, which made him panic.
"What's wrong?"
A somewhat joking voice came from the corner.
Sato was sitting at a simple wooden table, holding a piece of velvet cloth in his hand and carefully wiping his spectacle lenses. He didn't even raise his head, as if he could guess the young man's thoughts just by listening to Liao's breathing. "You look so lost so early in the morning, are you having an erotic dream?"
Liao removed his arm and stared blankly at the hanging lamp swaying in the wind on the roof of the tent, with a helpless smile on his lips.
"It's just that it didn't work out... that makes me sad."
He is a normal man. The decision he made last night to push away the warm and fragrant jade in his arms, although intellectually correct, was an honest one. The feeling of confusion and loss was more heart-wrenching than the pain of the wound.
Sato put on his glasses, pushed up the frame, and a cold light flashed on the lenses. He stood up, picked up a fully loaded magazine from the table, and threw it to Liao on the bed.
Snap.
Liao subconsciously caught it. The heavy brass bullet was cold in his hands, and the touch of metal instantly made him sober.
"Don't think about those useless things." Sato walked to the tent door and lifted the Gate of Opening curtain. The noise outside and the cold wind came in together. "If you have a fire in your heart that you can't vent? Then go to the battlefield. Pull the trigger a few more times, and the recoil will shatter those excess hormones and make you feel much better."
Liao clenched the magazine in his hand, feeling the cold edges sting his palm. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and the confusion in his eyes disappeared, and he regained the coldness and hardness of a warrior.
"You are right, teacher."
Land of Grass hinterland, thirty miles north of Forest of No Return.
This is a wasteland with strange rocks and rugged rocks. Days of rain have soaked the gray-brown soil into soft mud.
Kakashi Hatake was sitting on a protruding rock, holding the book "Make-Out Paradise" with a somewhat worn cover in his hand. The rainwater slid down his silver hair, dripped on the waterproof mask, and quietly seeped into his collar. He watched with interest, as if the surroundings were not a battlefield where sudden death could occur at any time, but Konoha's afternoon cafe.
"Hmm~" Kakashi couldn't help laughing when he saw the wonderful part.
"Although I really don't want to disturb your enjoyment of reading, as an enemy, don't you respect me too much?"
A lazy and somewhat helpless voice came through the rain curtain.
Kakashi didn't look up, just turned a page of the book, his eyes still stayed on the text, and his tone was as calm as if he was chatting with an old friend. "Darui, Kumogakure's future 'Raikage candidate'. To be honest, I thought you would arrive later."
Fifty meters below the giant rock, a young man with dark skin and white bangs covering his left eye was scratching the back of his head with a "really troublesome" expression on his face. His Forehead Protector was tied to his shoulder, with a tattoo of the word "Thunder" engraved on his right arm, and the large folding knife was lazily carried on his shoulder.
"There is no way, the BOSS is pressing hard." Darui sighed, but his eyes became sharp in an instant, "Furthermore, I heard that the famous 'Copy Ninja' brought a group of ANBU wiped out Explosion Corps of Iwagakure. In order to prevent Kumogakure's troops from turning into corpses, I can only be a little more diligent."
Kakashi finally closed the book and carefully stuffed it into the waterproof compartment of his ninja bag. He stood up, patted the water stains on his butt, and the exposed dead fish eye slightly curved. "Being diligent is a good thing, but sometimes, being diligent can also kill people."
"Let's try it."
Before he finished speaking, Darui's figure had already disappeared from the spot.
Without any forward movement of Hand Seals, pure Body Flicker Technique exploded. Amidst the splash of mud, a black lightning was like a poisonous snake tearing through the night, instantly spanning a distance of fifty meters and piercing Kakashi's throat.
Storm Release·Laser Circus!
Kakashi stood still and did not move at all. Just when the lightning was about to touch his skin, his body fell backwards in an extremely unreasonable manner, and his spine was bent at a strange angle as if there were no bones.
Zhi--!
The lightning passed over the tip of his nose and burned a few strands of silver hair.
"So fast." Kakashi thought to himself, but his movements were not slow at all. While leaning back, he supported the ground with one hand, and his whole body spun into the air like a top. His right leg was wrapped with the fierce wind pressure, and he fiercely drew Darui's big knife that followed.
Bang!
The flesh-and-blood body collided with the stainless steel sword, making a crisp sound of gold and iron.
Under Kakashi's trouser legs, there was a faint flash of metallic cold light - it was the "Lightweight Hydraulic Shin Guards" specially made by First Arsenal, which could instantly erupt with a kicking force of more than one ton.
Darui felt that the tiger's mouth was numb, and he almost let go of the big knife on his shoulder. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he used this huge impact to slide backwards to relieve his force, and his feet plowed two deep grooves in the mud.
"This is not Taijutsu." Darui shook his sore wrist and looked solemnly, "Can Konoha's technology allow an ordinary kick to produce such power?"
"Times have changed, Darui." Kakashi landed, not in the traditional ninja starting position, but lowered his hands naturally, and moved his fingertips slightly, as if he was adjusting something, "Effortless and efficient, this is now Konoha."
"A boring excuse."
Darui snorted coldly, his hands moved quickly Hand Seals, chakra was compressed crazily in his palms, "Storm Release·Laser trick!"
Dozens of dazzling beams bloomed from his hands, like self-aware tracking missiles, overwhelmingly covering Kakashi. This ninjutsu combines the speed of Lightning Release with the flexibility of Water Release, making it extremely difficult to dodge.
Faced with this airtight offensive, Kakashi did not use Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall to defend as Hand Seals, but slowly pulled up the skewed Forehead Protector.
The scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly lit up in the rain.
"Although Storm Release is very fast, as long as the attack is guided by chakra, there is a trajectory to follow."
The next second, Kakashi moved.
He shuttled through the gaps in the beams, and his movements were extremely concise. He turned sideways, lowered his head, slid, and jumped. Every movement was precise and he had already predicted the landing point of each beam. The deadly lasers flew past his clothes, and the scorching air flow rolled up his silver hair, but they were still unable to hurt him at all.
Darui's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Is this...Sharingan?"
"Got you."
Kakashi's voice suddenly sounded in Darui's ears.
At the moment when he avoided the last beam of light, Kakashi had already stepped forward. He held a Kunai in his backhand. The tip of Kunai was wrapped with a high-frequency oscillating light blue chakra flow - the property change application of "Chidori", "Chidori Blade".
Copied from Sasuke.
Darui reacted extremely quickly and swept across with the wide-edged sword, trying to force Kakashi back.
But Kakashi did not retreat. His Kunai accurately stabbed the force-bearing node of the broadsword, and the high-frequency vibration instantly destroyed the chakra attachment on the blade. Immediately afterwards, his left hand formed a palm, and a device the size of a coin appeared in the palm of his hand.
Buzz--!
The moment the device was attached to Darui's chest, a harsh sound wave pulse erupted.
Kumogakure's unique Lightning Release Chakra Armor, under the impact of this sound wave targeting a specific frequency, experienced brief chaos and stagnation.
"What?!" Darui was shocked. Lightning Release Armor is the Kumogakure ninja's signature defense, but it was interfered with by a small device?
When masters fight each other, a moment of stagnation can mean the difference between life and death.
Kakashi's eyes were unwavering, and his right knee pushed hard into Darui's abdomen. Without the cushioning of Lightning Release Armor, this knee hit was firmly penetrated into the flesh.
"Ahem!"
Darui spit out a mouthful of bitter water, arched his body into a prawn, flew backwards, and heavily smashed a huge rock behind him.
Smoke and dust are everywhere.
Kakashi did not pursue. He stood in the rain, gently shook the water droplets on Kunai, pressed the earphone with his left hand, and whispered, "Data collection is complete, Kumogakure The frequency band of Lightning Release Armor is confirmed and will be uploaded to the Arsenal database when I return. It is recommended that the next batch of 'Spellbreaker' shock mines be adjusted accordingly."
"Roger, Captain Kakashi." Deer Shadow's calm voice came from the earphones, "In addition, there are two Kumogakure ANBU approaching at the nine o'clock direction, 800 meters away."
"Got it."
Kakashi cut off the communication and looked at Darui who was slowly standing up in the ruins.
Darui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the original laziness in his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and fear.
"That... was not a ninjutsu." Darui stared at Kakashi, "A sonic weapon specifically aimed at Lightning Release Armor? Have you already studied Kumogakure thoroughly?"
"As long as it is a technique, it has weaknesses. As long as there is data, it can be deconstructed." Kakashi's voice was calm and cold, "Darui, you are a genius. Your 'Storm Release' is very strong, and your swordsmanship is also very sharp. But you cannot be without flaws."
"Flaw?" Darui laughed angrily, and the black lightning on his body began to surge crazily. This was his pride as the heir to "Black Lightning Release", "Then let me see if some powers can be cracked with those little toys!"
Lightning Release·Dark spots!
The black thunder and lightning turned into a ferocious cheetah, rushing towards Kakashi with a fierce aura. The density of this chakra was so high that even the surrounding rainwater was electrolyzed and vaporized in an instant.
Kakashi looked at the roaring thunder beast and sighed softly.
"Still don't understand? I'm not targeting you."
Kakashi steadily injected chakra into Kunai in his hand.
With the injection of chakra, a precision mechanical structure popped up from the handle of Kunai, and instantly expanded into a short knife that exuded a faint blue light - it was the "White Fang II" that combined the technologies of Chakra Metal and Scientific Ninja Tool.
"But the entire era is targeting you."
Kakashi's figure disappeared instantly.
This time, there were no fancy evasions or precise calculations. There was only a pure white light that flashed away in the black thunder and lightning.
Hatake-Style Swordsmanship·Void Severance.
The black thunder leopard solidified in mid-air, and then neatly split into two parts from the middle, turning into arcs of electricity that scattered across the sky.
That white light penetrated the Thunder Beast and also penetrated Darui's defense.
The two stood with their backs facing each other.
The rain is getting heavier and heavier.
Tick tock.
A drop of blood slid down Darui's cheek. On his left shoulder, the armor was neatly broken, and a wide and long wound was oozing blood. If Kakashi's knife had been deflected by another inch, it would not have been the armor that was broken, but his neck.
Darui's hand holding the broadsword was trembling slightly. Not because of fear, but because of a deep sense of powerlessness.
His ninjutsu was targeted, his defense was broken, and even the speed and reaction he was proud of seemed so clumsy with the help of the opponent's extremely sophisticated tactics.
"Why don't you kill me?" Darui didn't look back, his voice was hoarse.
"It's easy to kill you." Kakashi put away the short knife, pulled Forehead Protector down again to cover Sharingan, and his tone returned to his lazy look, "But I will kill you, That bad-tempered Raikage will probably really go crazy and launch an all-out war at all costs. Although Konoha is not afraid now, that kid Naruto said that he must obtain the greatest victory at the minimum price."
He turned around and looked at Darui's back. "Go back and tell Raikage that the outcome of this war does not depend on how many people you can kill, but on how long you can hold out. Your food supply has been cut off, your intelligence network has leaked, and even your proud ninjutsu system has become obsolete in the face of the new rules."
"Darui, Kumogakure have lost. The moment you decided to form an alliance with Iwagakure, you lost."
Darui was silent for a long time.
"That's all." Kakashi took out the book "Make-Out Paradise" from the ninja bag, opened it and turned around to leave, leaving only a bleak back. "You can slowly realize it for yourself. As a child who loves to learn, I am going to start reading."
"Right."
After walking a few steps, Kakashi suddenly stopped and said without looking back, "There are thirty induction mines buried nearby. I suggest you be careful when walking and don't step on them. They are the latest model and they are quite powerful."
Watching Kakashi disappear in the rain curtain, Darui stood there, letting the cold rain wash away his wounds.
He suddenly felt that the big knife in his hand was extremely heavy.
"Is this... Konoha of Naruto Uzumaki?"
Darui took a deep breath, endured the severe pain, and staggered in the opposite direction.
Hundreds of miles away, Konoha First Arsenal, core control room.
A huge holographic map is suspended in the air, densely marked with red and blue light spots.
"Kakashi won." Sasuke said calmly, "Darui is retreating."
"As expected." Naruto gently dropped the chess piece on the map representing 'Kumogakure', "Kakashi knows how to hit the face that hurts the most with the least effort. Darui is a very good mouthpiece. His frustration will destroy Raikage's confidence more than any information."