The clank of kunai broke the momentary silence.
Kaoru held his distance, eyes locked on Kakashi's stance. He could have closed the gap and pressed the attack, but instinct and caution kept him far. His chakra reserves were running low, while Kakashi appeared nearly untouched. Kaoru's clone he had destroyed earlier had been too weak, lacking enough chakra to force the Copy Ninja to use anything significant.
But that wasn't the only reason Kaoru stayed cautious.
He was confident that he could win in a direct fight. But if Kakashi activated the Mangekyo, then it could be over with just one Kamui.
Kaoru shifted his footing, launching occasional shuriken from a distance. He didn't expect them to land. He was testing, trying to bait him into making the first move.
'I need to know if he can use the full power of that eye.'
If Rin was dead in this version of the world, then it was reasonable to assume that both Obito and Kakashi had awakened the Mangekyo already. But having it and being able to wield it were two different things entirely.
From what Kaoru remembered, Kakashi had relied on the basic three-tomoe Sharingan for most of the series. His Mangekyo wasn't revealed until much later. But this world wasn't an exact copy of the story he remembered. The presence of Toji Senju alone had shattered any illusion of his memories being ironclad.
He couldn't assume anything. Not here, when he was facing one of the strongest Konoha shinobi.
Kaoru threw three shuriken at Kakashi and quickly repositioned until the mist Misa had created stood behind his opponent.
He was forcing Kakashi to keep his back to it. It would not only put pressure on Konoha nin, but it would also allow Kaoru to better monitor Misa's situation.
"So you're not going to attack?" Kakashi's voice came from beneath the mask, calm and cold.
Kaoru blinked, surprised. 'Since when is he talkative?'
His eyes narrowed again, subtly confirming the red glow behind the ANBU mask. It was a Sharingan. Definitely. That much was certain.
"I'm waiting for my friend to finish yours and come help me," Kaoru replied with a smirk. "What? Getting nervous?"
Kakashi glanced toward the mist from the corner of his eye. But his gaze returned to Kaoru just as quickly.
"Your friend's going to lose soon," he said, voice relaxed, almost amused.
Kaoru raised a brow. 'Can't he see what's happening inside the mist?'
He was sure Sharingan could see through chakra-based obstructions like mist. And yet... Kakashi's words didn't align with what Kaoru was seeing. Misa clearly had the upper hand. The wolf-masked ANBU was already wounded - minor injuries so far, but the scrapes and cuts were stacking up. Sooner or later, it would start to affect him.
'Is it really Kakashi? Or someone else with the Sharingan?' Kaoru's confidence wavered, just a fraction.
But before the thought could even form properly, he found his answer.
A burst of chakra erupted from within the mist - sudden, massive, and suffocating. The sheer pressure of it made Kaoru's breath hitch, his glowing cyan eyes widening reflexively.
'Shit. He was holding back that much chakra?'
Moments like this reminded Kaoru of the limits of his Suijingan.
No matter how much his sensory skills had improved, his dojutsu still couldn't perfectly gauge chakra quantity. A skilled shinobi could suppress their chakra, masking themselves to seem weaker than they truly were, sometimes by an entire tier. And Sujingan simply was not suited for that task.
'This guy isn't stronger than Kakashi,but the sheer density of his chakra… it's too much. I might have to start using my real strength here.'
Until now, Kaoru had kept his trump cards hidden.
He understood the cost of revealing them. The moment he did, unless he eliminated all four Konoha shinobi, those techniques would no longer be secrets. Even if they didn't spread to the public, every jonin and above in the Hidden Leaf would know. And once that happened, any element of surprise would be gone.
So Kaoru had kept those cards close, waiting for the moment when his life would be in danger.
But now, he would have to change the approach.
"Now will you attack?" Kakashi asked, smirking behind his mask. "Or are you planning to stall until your friend dies?"
Kaoru didn't answer. His decision was already made.
He wasn't in immediate danger; he could easily escape if needed, but Misa's situation wasn't so certain.
Water exploded upward from the ground, forming a massive wave that roared forward, crashing toward Kakashi with enough force to tear through trees and soil alike.
Kakashi didn't hesitate. He recognized instantly that this wasn't something he could counter or dodge. His hands moved in a blur, forming seals before he slammed his palms against the ground.
Kaoru's eyes narrowed as he observed every movement, but at the same time, he made a hand sign of his own. A new clone materialized at his side and vanished without pause, sent to reinforce Misa before her opponent could regain momentum.
'That puts me under 40% chakra left. But it's worth it.'
Unlike most water-style users, Kaoru didn't simply create the wave and send it forward. He maintained control, guiding it in real time. Using Suijingan in that way drained more chakra, but he wasn't just aiming to attack Kakashi, he was preparing the battlefield.
As the wave surged, a thick earthen barrier rose in front of Kakashi.
Kaoru frowned.
'He's using a regular Earth Wall? He can't use Rashomon? Or does he think that's enough to stop it?'
The choice surprised him. Had he known in advance, he would've committed to a stronger wave. As it stood, the current struck the barrier hard, the impact sending vibrations through the ground.
Cracks splintered along the surface of the wall, but it held. Barely.
Still, Kaoru's objective wasn't to break through.
The water splashed in all directions, flooding the battlefield. Pooled remnants gathered along the ground, forming shallow puddles across the terrain.
Kaoru's Suijingan glowed brighter.
From the scattered water, dozens of dark blue needles began to form - sharp, condensed, and deadly. With a single thought, he launched them.
Kakashi's body blurred as he kicked off the ground, leaping to the side just as the needles tore into where he'd stood. The spot erupted, shredded by the force.
But despite avoiding the hit, Kakashi had no time to counter.
Kaoru was already in pursuit.
'The Sharingan won't help him here. He can't copy anything I do. I don't use hand signs.'
Kakashi's infamous title, the Copy Ninja, meant nothing to him. No one, not even someone with a Sharingan, could replicate his water manipulation. There was no technique to mirror. Kaoru's control didn't come from scrolls or hand seals. It came from his bloodline.
And now, he was taking the fight into close quarters.
'Let's see if all that miserable training actually paid off…'
Nagizume gleamed beneath the moonlight as Kaoru closed the distance, blade swinging in a tight arc toward Kakashi's side. The Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking his movements. Kakashi was already shifting his weight, reading the strike, stepping just beyond the blade's edge…
Or so he thought.
A sharp crack split the air.
Kakashi's mask fractured at the cheek, a red line blooming beneath it. Blood spilled down, staining the lower edge of the shattered porcelain.
His eyes widened.
The glaive's tip… it had changed.
Nagizume had subtly changed, its tip morphing into a flexible whip-like extension. A satisfied smile passed across Kaoru's face as he pulled the blade back.
But the moment didn't last.
Kaoru followed up without pause, his next attacks a flurry of dark blue needles launched from all angles. The Sharingan gave Kakashi a significant edge, especially in close combat; its ability to read the subtle shifts in movement allowed him to dodge narrowly, again and again.
'This is different. Even Itachi's Sharingan didn't keep up like this.'
During their fight, Itachi's eye hadn't been fully matured. It lacked the clarity and response time of Kakashi's, or rather Obito's. Yet, despite the difference, Kaoru still held the upper hand.
Kakashi could dodge, but he couldn't retaliate.
Not under this pressure.
Kaoru kept weaving attacks from every angle, using his water control to force movement, keeping Kakashi off balance, and his kenjutsu to cut his escape routes. It drained chakra, but not as much as in Kakashi's case. Suijingan was part of Kaoru's bloodline. His body had grown with it, adapted to its demands.
Kakashi's eye was a gift. Powerful, yes, but foreign. Unnatural. His body wasn't built to endure the strain. Every second he relied on it, his chakra slipped away.
'He's going to retaliate soon.'
And just like Kaoru predicted, Kakashi moved, though not in the way he expected.
The ground beneath Kaoru shifted.
A hand shot upward, clamping onto his ankle and locking him in place. Another clone, buried beneath his feet.
Kaoru's mind numbed in shame.
'I fell for the same trick…'
All this time, Kakashi hadn't been just dodging. He'd been guiding. Thanks to his exceptional footwork and Sharingan, he had maneuvered Kaoru into the exact spot he wanted.
And now it was his turn to strike.
Kaoru reacted instantly. A water tentacle burst from the ground, lashing toward the clone, but it didn't land. Another figure erupted from the earth, slicing the tentacle with a kunai, the other hand crackling with lightning.
'Shit. Why didn't I sense that?'
His mind raced.
'I know the Suijingan can't see underground because of all the water particles in the soil, but even so… I should've sensed the chakra.'
His mind raced as his body fought to dodge the attack, though there was a reason why Kaoru didn't struggle harder to free himself. A thin layer of dark blue water enveloped him in a swirling shell, thickening with every heartbeat.
And then he felt it.
The presence behind him. The faint shift of air and the crackle of lightning.
Three Kakashis closed in at once, striking from different angles.
The clone attacking from below, aiming for Kaoru's waist, was the first to fall. A dark blue tentacle intercepted it mid-lunge, crushing it into smoke before redirecting toward the second clone.
Kaoru's trapped leg was now free.
He twisted his body to evade the attack, but Kakashi's real self had already closed the distance. His hand, crackling with lightning, penetrated the barrier Kaoru had formed. The defense wasn't thick enough yet.
The chakra-infused palm tore into Kaoru's shoulder, searing through flesh with a hiss, barely missing bone. Steam rose from the charred trail it left behind.
Kaoru reacted instantly. His knee shot up, slamming into Kakashi's abdomen and burying deep. The impact launched the jonin back several meters. A second later, the remaining clone vanished in a puff of smoke as the tentacle managed to penetrate its chest.
Kaoru immediately examined the wound. He couldn't fully see it, but he didn't need to. He had already confirmed that the damage wasn't critical. The dark blue barrier was already sealing the entry point, preventing blood loss. And thanks to his near-complete chakra pathways, his recovery rate had increased drastically.
'I shouldn't have tried to conserve chakra,' Kaoru thought bitterly.
That hesitation had cost him. He'd let Kakashi get in too close, all for the sake of saving energy in case the wolf-masked ANBU destroyed his clone and Misa was in danger. And now he was paying the price.
'Looks like I'll have to reveal one of my trump cards. At least I'll get a proper test out of it.'
His hand moved to the center of his chest.
The seal broke.
The ground trembled as a massive surge of chakra exploded outward from Kaoru's body. A burst of wind tore through the clearing. Leaves scattered. Dust lifted. And water responded.
Droplets began to materialize, floating in the air around him and Kakashi. Hundreds of them at first. Then thousands. All suspended in air, their color darkening with each passing second.
Kakashi's instincts screamed at him to move. His Sharingan spun wildly, trying to read the patterns forming ahead of him.
But his feet didn't budge.
The droplets weren't attacking. Not yet. But every one of them radiated pressure, especially for someone who knew exactly what Kaoru could do with them.
Kakashi clenched his fists, sweat glinting at his temple.
Kaoru's breathing, on the other hand, was calm. Controlled. The chakra, which was roaring seconds ago, had stilled and settled.
Then, from beneath his collar and down his arms, dark obsidian markings emerged. They looked like ink - tattooed water waves etched directly into his skin. They didn't reach his face, but they climbed past his elbows, visible beneath his sleeves.
Kakashi's body tensed.
Kaoru's presence was already domineering before, but now, for some reason, it seemed menacing. And for a good reason.
Because Kaoru's mind was racing with a single thought:
'Should I kill them all?'
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