Under Kakashi's watchful gaze, Shadow One slowly stood up.
His arms were covered with burns from Lightning Release, and his whole body was riddled with wounds from the earlier impact.
However, his expression remained eerily calm. His eyes kept sizing up Kakashi.
Because Kakashi had used up all his strength, he could no longer maintain the Transformation Technique. So what Shadow One saw now was Kakashi's true face.
That face was well-known, even now, in an era when Namikaze Minato's name had shaken the world and the Black Fang had become a new legend.
Shadow One murmured, "A subordinate of the Yellow Flash… teammate of the Black Fang… the son of Konoha's White Fang… the genius ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, right?"
"I didn't expect you'd come all the way to the Hidden Mist. You're the spy everyone's talking about, aren't you?"
"Master Genji's actions have already touched the village's reverse scale. To think he actually colluded with Konoha, trying to overthrow the Mizukage's rule…"
"He deserves to die!"
Kakashi looked a little helpless. This powerful ninja… clearly had misunderstood something.
But glancing at Terumi Mei, who was still treating her wound nearby, it seemed this misunderstanding couldn't be cleared up now anyway.
He could only say, "Konoha is a village that yearns for peace. We have absolutely no intention of undermining the unity of other villages. Sometimes, instead of blaming others, why don't you look for the problem in yourselves?"
Shadow One snorted, "Of course I know Konoha, so hypocritical, vile, and shameless. Joining hands with Genji, was that the will of your Third Hokage, or… of that Yellow Flash himself?"
Kakashi simply spread his hands, just like Obito used to, "This, uh… Lord ANBU Captain of the Mist, my teacher Minato is a good man. How could he ever harbor bad intentions?"
Shadow One replied coldly, "So it was Namikaze Minato's idea. Does he think that now he's just become Hokage, he can also seize control of the Hidden Mist while he's at it? Every Hokage of Konoha, none of them are good people!"
Now Kakashi truly understood the kind of frustration Obito used to feel. He shrugged.
"Anyway, no matter what I say, you won't believe me. So I won't bother explaining. Besides… since you've seen my real face, to keep it secret, I'll just have to end your life here."
Shadow One shifted his feet again, melting into the shadows around him. His voice was calm.
"Hatake Kakashi of Konoha… you think you have the ability to kill me? Perhaps it's the other way around. I should be the one capturing you. You're an even bigger catch than Terumi Mei."
Kakashi frowned. The only reason he had managed to arrive at the perfect moment was because he'd left his own mark on Terumi Mei earlier.
Back when he studied the Flying Thunder God Technique under Minato-sensei, although he never mastered the teleportation part, he had learned most of the marking method, about seventy or eighty percent.
And just now, it had come in handy.
When he arrived, he happened to see Shadow One emerge out of the darkness, suddenly appearing beside Terumi Mei to launch a sneak attack.
There had been no warning, no visible movement, he'd just appeared out of thin air. It was clearly similar to a space-time ninjutsu.
Kakashi had plenty of experience dealing with that sort of thing.
And every ninja he knew who could use space-time techniques was incredibly strong. Especially since such shinobi, even if they couldn't win in a direct fight, were experts at escaping, they were almost impossible to capture.
Thinking of this, Kakashi's expression grew serious. He tested, "Didn't expect that in the Hidden Mist, there's someone else who possesses the same kind of ability as my teacher, Minato-sensei. You're definitely not some nobody. Who are you really?"
When Shadow One heard Kakashi mention Namikaze Minato, a flicker of admiration appeared on his face.
"To be compared to the legendary Yellow Flash, I'm still far from worthy. But even from the little I've learned, I can tell his space-time ninjutsu surpasses mine. He's destined to be Hokage, while I… I'm just a rat hiding in the dark."
Strangely, Kakashi felt a deep sense of deja vu. He even allowed himself a rare joke, "How about you just defect to Konoha instead? You could take my friend's place. He's currently leading one of our departments. Maybe… you're exactly the kind of talent he's looking for."
Shadow One was no fool. From that one sentence, he deduced a huge amount of information.
"You mean Root, don't you? I've dealt with them before, we're old acquaintances. But tell me, when did the shadow of the shinobi world, Shimura Danzo, ever become your friend?"
"So that means… Root's leadership changed along with the Hokage. Since you called him your friend, could it be… the Black Fang?"
Kakashi's expression instantly tensed. A single offhand remark had been seized by the enemy, extracting sensitive intelligence.
As expected, no information specialist was to be underestimated.
In that regard, Kakashi still had room to grow.
He didn't bring it up again. Instead, he shifted into a battle stance,
"Even if you possess an ability similar to my teacher's, I also have plenty of experience fighting such opponents. A friend of mine once told me, space-time ninjutsu isn't invincible."
Seeing this, Shadow One also took a combat stance. Their earlier conversation had merely been a way to buy time.
Kakashi had been stalling for Terumi Mei's recovery; Shadow One, for the cooldown of his technique.
Now that both had achieved what they needed, battle was inevitable.
The air around them grew heavy with tension.
And then, Shadow One made the first move.
He flashed forward, forming hand seals as he did.
"Darkness Strangulation Technique!"
Instantly, the shadows around Kakashi seemed to come alive—twisting restlessly, writhing toward him to ensnare his body.
Kakashi was startled. It looked very similar to the Nara clan's Shadow Neck Binding Technique. Though not quite the same, the principle was alike.
But as a speed-type ninja, the shadows' pace wasn't fast enough. With a single Body Flicker, he escaped.
Just as he slipped out of danger, Shadow One's form melted back into the darkness, vanishing completely.
A moment later, he reappeared within the same shadows that had just tried to strangle Kakashi.
Forced to shift his position, Kakashi's stance inevitably opened up slightly. At that instant, Shadow One launched his attack.
Kakashi, however, was no longer as surprised by Shadow One's shadow-based ninjutsu as before. He'd experienced similar tactics many times.
Every ninja who mastered space-time techniques loved to strike at the brief opening created when their enemy dodged or countered.
But in that very moment, they themselves also exposed a flaw. To defeat a space-time user, one had to reverse and exploit that flaw instead.
As if he'd predicted it, Kakashi drew the sword strapped to his back. The blade sparked with blue lightning, which gradually deepened into a vivid violet.
He swung the blade right toward Shadow One's position.
This was, Kakashi's Purple Lightning, One Slash!