[After stabilizing his chakra, Kakashi activated his Sharingan and unleashed his legendary 50-50 power, perfectly copying Zabuza's Water Dragon Jutsu.]
[This move left Zabuza utterly stunned—he even began doubting his life choices.]
[Next, Kakashi launched a wave-crashing shoulder strike followed by a kunai acupuncture barrage. Even someone as tough as Zabuza couldn't withstand Kakashi's fierce assault, losing his fighting strength in an instant.]
[Just as the battle was about to end, Haku suddenly appeared, tricked Kakashi, and escaped with Zabuza.]
[More than a week later, Kakashi faced Zabuza again. This time, Kakashi was calm and composed, fully mastering his 50-50 ability.]
[In the heat of battle, Kakashi activated his special 50-50 mode, tanked a direct hit from Zabuza's Executioner's Blade, and then used the Fang Pursuit Jutsu—summoning his ninja hounds to bite and trap Zabuza. He followed up by charging his Chidori, shut down his 50-50 mode, and aimed for a one-hit kill. But just then, Haku appeared out of nowhere and took the hit with his life.]
[Seeing Haku die broke Zabuza's spirit. With no will to fight left, Kakashi grabbed him by the neck of fate—and crushed both of his arms.]
[Having lost his arms, Zabuza realized how twisted Gato's actions were. He sacrificed his own life to take Gato down.]
[After both Haku and Zabuza fell, Kakashi still showed them respect. He buried them side by side.]
[And just like that, Konoha's number one elite technician squad won their first battle.]
"Kakashi, that 50-50 skill of yours… kinda has something special to it."
In the timeline of the Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru's raspy voice sent chills down Kakashi's spine.
In terms of raw combat power, Kakashi with dual Mangekyō Sharingan could easily crush Orochimaru.
After all, Orochimaru's weaknesses were just too obvious.
With the enhancement from the Sharingan, Kakashi only needed to use a high-level genjutsu once—more than likely, that would be enough to deal with him.
Even in a straight-up fight, Kakashi could go full mecha mode—just one Kamui-infused shuriken could kill Orochimaru on the spot.
So, from a power standpoint, Kakashi no longer feared Orochimaru.
The only reason he still felt a bit uneasy about him was because Orochimaru was just too twisted.
Unless absolutely necessary, Kakashi really didn't want to deal with him.
"Orochimaru-sama, that whole 'fifty-fifty' thing is completely made up."
"That's not necessarily true. Think about it—from the very first mission with Team 7 until now, haven't you managed to go a few rounds with pretty much everyone you've fought?"
"Well, as a jōnin of Konoha, being able to hold my own against strong opponents is just a basic requirement, isn't it?"
Kakashi would never admit he had some kind of "fifty-fifty" power.
If he really had that kind of ability, he wouldn't have died during Pain's invasion.
If it weren't for Naruto talking Nagato down and making him use Rinne Rebirth, Hatake Kakashi would've already gone to the Pure Land to join his father.
"Hmm, you're not wrong."
Orochimaru gave Kakashi a meaningful glance.
Of course, he knew that the whole "fifty-fifty" idea was nonsense—but that didn't stop him from wanting to experiment on Kakashi.
The main thing was, researching Kakashi had great cost-efficiency.
The Sharingan aside, if he actually managed to figure out the secret behind this so-called fifty-fifty power, that would be incredibly entertaining.
With Konoha's personnel reserves, if every genin could be injected with that kind of strength, then they wouldn't be mere cannon fodder anymore.
They'd become combat units capable of threatening even mid- and high-ranking jōnin.
Even if the Reanimation Jutsu fails in the future, and the light screen cuts off connections to other timelines, Konoha can still remain the number one shinobi village in the world thanks to this power.
"Kakashi."
"Yes."
"Come to my lab tomorrow morning. I'll inject you with Hashirama's cells. That way, you won't need to cover your eye anymore."
"Hashirama cells? Lord Orochimaru, is that really safe?"
Orochimaru smiled gently at Kakashi. "The technique is already perfected. It's absolutely safe."
"...Alright then. I'll leave it to you, Lord Orochimaru."
"Hehehe, it's no trouble at all."
[After the escort mission ended, the four returned to the village, full of spirit, as the people of the Land of Waves cheered them on.]
[As time passed, it soon came time for the Chūnin Exams held by the great nations. Kakashi believed his three students had good potential, and this was the perfect chance for them to become mid-level technicians.]
[So he recommended Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to take the Chūnin Exams.]
[But this well-meaning act also planted the seeds for the disbandment of the First Technician Squad.]
[During the exams, Sasuke from the team caught the eye of Orochimaru, a top figure in the world of science and technology. The moment they met, Orochimaru gifted Sasuke the Cursed Seal of Heaven, which could enhance his power.]
[Soon after, Kakashi discovered Sasuke's little secret.]
[Kakashi knew full well that, as a famous face in the ninja world, he couldn't compare to a brilliant and twisted scientist like Orochimaru who had real influence. But even so, he still wanted to keep Sasuke, to stop such a talented member of his team from going down the wrong path.]
[So Kakashi temporarily sealed the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke's neck. After successfully sealing it, Orochimaru appeared and confronted Kakashi.]
[To ease the tense and awkward atmosphere of meeting Orochimaru, Kakashi acted on instinct—he formed a Chidori and warned Orochimaru: if you try to take Sasuke, I, the Lightning Master, will die with you right here, right now.]
[But Orochimaru didn't take Chidori seriously, because he knew Kakashi's chakra reserves simply weren't enough to sustain it for long.]
[Even so, Orochimaru didn't take Sasuke away right then. He left on his own accord.]
[Afterwards, Kakashi realized he didn't have the power to kill Orochimaru.]
[Later, before the third round of the Chūnin Exams, Kakashi focused on training Sasuke—who also had a Lightning attribute and the Sharingan.]
[Kakashi knew that if he didn't train Sasuke, then once the official match began and Sasuke had to face Gaara—the guy who kills without hesitation—he would die on the spot.]
"Wait a minute, something's not right here."
In the timeline of the Fourth Hokage.
Minato Namikaze stared at the video on the glowing screen, frowning. He felt like something was off.
"A rogue like Orochimaru sneaking back into the village is one thing. He knows the village's defenses well, so it's not surprising he got in unnoticed."
"But what's going on with Sasuke here?"
Two months ago, the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, had a second son. His name was Sasuke.
Minato knew—this handsome kid on the screen was ninety-nine percent likely to be Fugaku's son.
As the son of the Uchiha clan head, Orochimaru would have to be out of his mind to target Sasuke.
Wasn't he afraid of the Uchiha clan's retaliation?
And more than that, in the first mission of Team 7, Sasuke used the Great Fireball Technique, which showed he had a fire nature.
So here's the question—why did Sasuke, who clearly has the Uchiha's traditional fire affinity, choose to learn Lightning Release from Kakashi instead?
Is Chidori really that much stronger than the Uchiha clan's Fire Style?
"This kind of situation is definitely suspicious."
"Unless..."
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