"Hehe, it's finally over!"
"I didn't expect that we'd lose two people this time. Even the boss was seriously injured... this is a heavy loss."
Opposite the Raikage, the last two Nokizaru members, who had been planning to retreat when the situation turned unfavorable, now stared at the sudden shift with crazed eyes.
Although the loss was considerable, both of them trembled with excitement at the thought of what they were about to gain.
Needless to say, the mission reward was substantial. And the heads of two major figures—Raikage and Tsunade—would fetch a huge price on the underground exchange! Not to mention Kakashi's head and his Sharingan!
"Raikage, do you want to hand over the scroll yourself, or should we take it from you?" One of them stepped forward, his voice cold as he eyed the Raikage, who was on the verge of exploding.
"No need for such trouble. I'll just use my clone and search him directly." The other man formed hand seals with both hands, preparing to summon a clone to avoid complications.
"We're in trouble. The Raikage has lost his ability to fight back. Once they're done with him, they'll turn to us. Even with Shizune's help, we won't be able to stop those two Nokizaru members." Kakashi took a deep breath, his eyes somber. "Ishikawa, now's the time. You three and Shizune must take Lady Tsunade and leave. Don't waste time resisting—I'll hold them off and buy you time…"
"Buy time? Teacher, you can only use one more ninjutsu at most. How are you going to stop them? If we split our strength like this, we'll all end up dead!" Ishikawa shook his head with a bitter smile, clearly not placing any hope in the idea.
The enemy wasn't stupid. Knowing Kakashi was about to explode, they wouldn't waste time and fight him seriously.
"No—they want my Sharingan. That means… I can launch two attacks," Kakashi said as he struggled to his feet, his tone steady, his expression calm and resolute.
"You're going to…" Ishikawa's heart skipped a beat as he caught the resolve in Kakashi's eyes.
"Yes. I'll use self-destruction as my second strike. When they take my Sharingan, I'll detonate and at least take one of them with me."
"Sensei!!" Although he had vaguely guessed it, hearing Kakashi say it aloud still struck Ishikawa like a lightning bolt.
No one remains unmoved when someone chooses to protect them with their life—and Ishikawa was no exception.
For the first time, he felt the weight of true companionship in a life-or-death crisis…
"Teacher Kakashi…"
"Kakashi, you…"
Taro, Jiro, and Shizune's expressions shifted, their eyes darkening as they struggled to speak. Even Shizune, experienced as she was, couldn't hide the pain, while the two younger brothers were already crying.
"I understand, Kakashi." Though she hated to admit it, reason won over emotion. Shizune took a deep breath, gazing at her once-genius classmate with eyes full of sorrow, and finally nodded.
She knew that even if she joined the fight and helped kill the enemies, Kakashi would still die. The risk wasn't worth it.
Her duty now was to remove the Exploding Worms from Tsunade, Ishikawa, and the others—saving lives that could still be saved.
And afterward… her own death was inevitable. No one else could perform the surgery on her. This was her moment to prove her worth.
"Phew…"
Looking at everyone's sorrowful expressions, Ishikawa suddenly exhaled and made up his mind. "I'm sorry, sensei. Your plan is too costly and risky, and it doesn't guarantee our survival."
Kakashi was just about to scold him when Ishikawa raised his hand to stop him. "At this point, we have no choice but to try that impossible method. Maybe—just maybe—it'll shift the tide and save us all."
"What? You have a plan?!"
"That's impossible! In this situation, unless you can kill a Jonin, there's no way we can win!"
Kakashi and Shizune exclaimed in unison, unable to believe that Ishikawa could have the strength or strategy to turn things around.
"Hahaha, you're right. What can that kid do?"
"Exactly. His future is nothing but death!!"
Almost simultaneously, the two who had retrieved the Ninja Scroll from the Raikage sneered with disdain. As they spoke, both wore sinister smiles, drew their kunai, and launched an attack...
"There's no time to explain. Go stop them and buy me some time," Ishikawa decided quickly, urging Shizune and his two younger brothers. He scooped Tsunade into his arms and retreated rapidly to create distance.
"Believe in Big Brother—and fight!"
The two younger brothers exchanged glances and, without hesitation, formed hand seals and unleashed all their chakra.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique..."
"Water Style: Water Wave..."
With two loud explosions, a blazing fireball and a surging stream of water were launched simultaneously.
Under the speechless gazes of Shizune and Kakashi, the two opposing techniques collided instantly, generating a massive wave of steam that veiled the battlefield…
And then, uh… nothing happened!
"Hahaha, I can't believe this. Don't these two fools know that water and fire cancel each other out? What's the point of neutralizing your own jutsu?"
"Haha! Well, it's not completely useless. The mist is thick enough to barely block our view. I suppose that delays us… for a second."
Laughter burst out through the mist, loud and unfiltered, leaving Taro and Jiro glancing at each other in mutual embarrassment!
This was so humiliating. They'd been too caught up in helping their big brother to think clearly!!
"Kakashi, these are your students?" Shizune asked flatly, unable to hide her disbelief. She never imagined that the disciples of the great genius Kakashi could be such airheads.
"Ahem… Actually, Ishikawa is my most promising student," Kakashi said quickly, though disappointment was written all over his face. He couldn't even bear to look at the two of them.
At such a critical moment, to waste precious chakra like that… truly embarrassing.
"Ishikawa?" Shizune turned her head instinctively, but what she saw froze her in place like a thunderbolt had struck.
Noticing Shizune's stunned expression, Kakashi furrowed his brows and turned to look as well. And what he saw was:
"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade. But right now, this is the only method that might work. I have no other option," Ishikawa whispered, gazing into Tsunade's tear-streaked, dazed face—then made his decision.
He kissed her.
"Hmm…"
In that instant, Tsunade—who had been paralyzed by grief—shivered violently. Her beautiful brown eyes flew open in disbelief, staring wide at the black-haired boy now pressed against her.
This brat—how dare he! How could he…
'Forced kiss!!'
'That's your method? Are you sure you're not just taking advantage of me, you little bastard?!'
At that moment, Shizune and Kakashi both completely broke down, howling in shame and fury, eyes blazing with raw, unfiltered rage.
Especially Kakashi—his pride shattered into a million pieces. Just thinking that this disgrace of a disciple was his 'proudest' made his whole face burn with humiliation!
No, I want to blow myself up right now. And I'm taking that shameless brat with me...