The moment Hatake Kakashi and Uehara Naraku clashed, Kakashi immediately spotted Naraku's weakness: "His kenjutsu is poor... this is an opportunity!"
Hatake Kakashi swung his kunai, intending to seize the opening Uehara left while wielding his sword and tried to subdue him in one move.
However, Uehara Naraku suddenly thrust his purple broadsword into the ground, and his hands quickly performed hand seals to release a defensive barrier: "Secret Technique! Soul Guard!"
This barrier directly protected Uehara Naraku.
Even though Kakashi and Might Guy tried desperately to attack, they were blocked out of the barrier, forced to look helplessly at Uehara continuing his hand seals inside.
Two seconds later, the barrier collapsed.
Two seconds later, Uehara Naraku completed his hand seals.
"Lighting Release: Heavenly Thunder Prison Jutsu!"
As a shrill cold shout rang out, a thunderstorm cloud formed above Uehara Naraku's head, lightning bolts snaked within, striking towards Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy!
Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy moved even faster!
Compared to other ninjas Uehara had encountered, their combat instincts drove them to easily dodge the first lightning strike.
However, Hatake Kakashi was a bit bewildered.
What was up with this lightning release ninjutsu from Uehara Naraku? He remembered that this lightning release ninjutsu shouldn't be performed with these hand seals, right?
Having witnessed Uehara Naraku's lightning release ninjutsu firsthand, Kakashi distinctly remembered those chaotic hand seal gestures.
Unfortunately, there was no time to ponder these; Hatake Kakashi hastily advised Might Guy on how to defend against such rapid lightning attacks: "Guy, don't stay in one spot for more than 0.5 seconds!"
"Got it!"
Might Guy nodded quickly.
Many ninjas, caught off guard, would be struck by the second lightning strike after dodging the first, and once hit by one, there's no escape from the remaining countless strikes.
Thus, every lightning strike must be dodged!
Soon, Uehara Naraku concluded the Lightning Release: Heavenly Thunder Prison with only a few hundred points of chakra; he merely intended to probe Kakashi and Might Guy with it.
"Dynamic Entry!"
Might Guy, leveraging his swift movement, shattered a piece of concrete underfoot and aimed a flying kick at Uehara Naraku!
Uehara Naraku raised his arms to guard and activated Spiky Defense, surrounding himself with an orange-yellow grid-like protective shield.
Obviously, against a taijutsu ninja, this was the most suitable move.
However, the next moment, Might Guy deftly twisted his body, brushing past Uehara Naraku and forcibly cutting off his attack.
Might Guy landed on the ground, saying in a deep voice, "I was watching you fight Lee just now; this move will rebound our taijutsu attacks, right?"
"Hmm?"
Uehara Naraku's expression changed, glancing sharply at Hatake Kakashi on the other side, who, under Might Guy's feigned attack cover, had completed his hand seals!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A blazing fireball charged at Uehara, especially since Kakashi was very close, making it nearly unavoidable, barely giving time for hand seals to defend.
Uehara Naraku gritted his teeth, slammed his palms together, and muttered, "Water Release: Roaring Wave!"
A massive wave surged into the sky!
In an instant, the Great Fireball Jutsu was submerged by the wave!
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
The surging wave, with its remaining force, rushed towards Hatake Kakashi, but was blocked by the Earth Flow Wall Jutsu he had prepared in advance.
Sweat slowly seeped from Hatake Kakashi's nostrils, and he couldn't help but feel a bit startled, "The last time I encountered Uehara, he used his eyes for hand seals to perform a powerful water release jutsu... now he can complete it with just one hand seal?"
Thankfully, he still had teammates.
After the ninjutsu exchange ended, Might Guy's taijutsu attack resumed!
And when Might Guy's taijutsu couldn't make a breakthrough, Hatake Kakashi would seize the cover to release ninjutsu.
Their cooperation was seamless.
"Then there's no helping it."
Uehara Naraku swiftly raised his palm, quickly performed hand seals, looked towards Might Guy, and softly urged, "Twisted Space!"
Five bizarrely shaped pillars rose from the ground!
A space cage rapidly formed relying on the five pillars around Might Guy, trapping him inside unable to move!
The duration of this cage was set by Uehara Naraku to 20 seconds.
This time was enough for him to first defeat Kakashi!
Uehara Naraku then shunpo'd to Kakashi's back, aiming a fierce punch at his body!
Crack...
A piece of rock shattered into pieces.
Hatake Kakashi had actually prepared a Substitution Jutsu.
Uehara Naraku's silhouette flickered, reappearing at Kakashi's back, intending to continue his assault when Hatake Kakashi turned, grabbed a kunai, and stabbed fiercely towards him!
Uehara Naraku didn't want to activate The Moment of Holy Judgment's invincible defense for this kunai, as he needed to save the invincible skill for confronting Might Guy in Six Gates, Seven Gates, or even Eight Gates state.
Blood splattered on Uehara's body!
However, he had a strong recovery ability, so this injury was insignificant.
Just as Hatake Kakashi thought he'd succeeded, Uehara Naraku grabbed his hair and struck his face with a knee!
Zzzt!
Lightning coursed into Uehara Naraku's body.
Unbeknownst to him, Hatake Kakashi had surprisingly conjured a lightning clone; these ninja world geniuses were always that treacherous when using various clones, catching Uehara Naraku off guard and suffering some loss.
"You genius ninjas always have some bizarre tactics."
Uehara Naraku furrowed his brow, inexplicably thinking of how Uchiha Itachi had outplayed Uchiha Obito, only to be outplayed by Kakashi in turn.
Can this be tolerated?
Uehara Naraku quickly clasped his hands to form hand seals, and a small hurricane appeared by his side. In an instant, the hurricane began to expand, swiftly engulfing the entire high platform!
"Wind Release: Hurricane Roar!"
This is not enough!
Uehara Naraku suddenly spread his hands wide, and a torrent of waves surged from beneath his feet, flowing into the hurricane.
The hurricane, wrapped in waves, instantly sucked Hatake Kakashi into its core!
The hurricane and waves moved in a straight line across the arena, destroying a massive portion of the underlying structures, obliterating everything in their path!
Uehara Naraku watched as Hatake Kakashi's figure drifted helplessly in the hurricane waves, seemingly unable to resist, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the next moment, Hatake Kakashi removed the mask covering his Sharingan, and the three tomoe began to spin wildly, transforming into a Mangekyo. He began to slowly absorb the hurricane waves into a mysterious void!
"You really can hold your own, Kakashi..."
Uehara Naraku sighed. Hatake Kakashi always managed to surprise his enemies even when pushed to their limits.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Hatake Kakashi landed heavily on the ground, panting from exhaustion, having nearly depleted his chakra to prevent the hurricane waves from destroying the arena.
He had even unusually employed the power of his Sharingan.
It must be mentioned that during an encounter with Uehara's version of Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi had been given a hint about the Sharingan, which led to the development of his absorption ability.
"I'm almost out of chakra..."
Hatake Kakashi knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his hand on the ground, looking at Uehara Naraku, who still seemed full of energy.
It was at times like these that Kakashi envied his enemy's chakra.
A barrage of cards shot rapidly towards Kakashi!
"Kamui!"
Hatake Kakashi pushed himself to the limit, exhausting his chakra to absorb the oncoming cards.
"Kakashi, don't you ever get tired?"
But just then, Uehara Naraku appeared instantly with a shunpo and punched Kakashi on the head, knocking him unconscious to the ground.
Side mission: Defeat Hatake Kakashi (1/1), task completed, rewarded with a hidden legacy mission.
Hidden legacy mission: Return the favor, seize power, name it correctly.
Hatake Kakashi, as expected of the Seventh Class's teacher, truly provided a generous reward.
But what is with this terrible line...
Uehara Naraku furrowed his brow, coldly saying, "Murong Fu of Gusu... forget it, Liberator Selas."
Mission complete.
Heroic legacy activated.
Energy Lock Chain: A new chakra weapon, consuming 3 chakra per second in existence, allowing one to absorb chakra from an enemy upon contact or restraint with the lock chain.
The Way of Others: Extend an energy lock chain towards an enemy to steal their ultimate ninjutsu for personal use, usable once without consumption, with a skill cooldown of 40 seconds.
Profitable!
Even though the methods of attack due to the heroic legacy reduced the skills by two, both of these skills are undoubtedly very powerful.
Energy Lock Chain can steal chakra from enemies, and The Way of Others can steal the enemy's ultimate ninjutsu for one free use.
Uehara Naraku slowly turned his gaze towards Might Guy, waving to dissolve the twisted space prison, with a somewhat excited expression, "Next up is Might Guy!"
"Lord Uehara Naraku, can you release Kakashi first?"
Might Guy pointed at the unconscious Hatake Kakashi beside Uehara Naraku, solemnly saying, "Otherwise, our battle might endanger him..."
Uehara Naraku: "..."
Is his good-guy image that ingrained?
Why does even Might Guy think I'm very accommodating?
Uehara Naraku sighed and kicked Hatake Kakashi over in Might Guy's direction: "Sorry, Guy, my hands are tied..."
"Yes, I understand."
Might Guy handed Hatake Kakashi over to an Anbu before turning to Uehara Naraku, saying, "Ever since hearing the evaluation from Lee, Tenten, and Neji, I've wanted to face you, but I never imagined it would be in circumstances like this..."
"I didn't imagine it either."
Uehara Naraku's face was somewhat sorrowful.
Might Guy suddenly clenched his fists, speaking solemnly, "We must know why we fight, and at the very least, I want to know your intentions..."
"I just want Konoha to agree to all the terms in that alliance document!"
Uehara Naraku's expression was exceptionally determined, looking as though he would stop at nothing for the interests of The Hidden Rain Village.
"Well, there's no other way..."
Might Guy shook his head, suddenly stomping with force, shattering the stone beneath his foot, "Then please guide me; this is my special move I kept to defeat Kakashi... Eight Gates: Seventh Gate, Wonder Gate: Open!"
Might Guy directly opened the Seventh Gate!
A surge of blue chakra instantly caused a wave of air pressure!
How strong is Might Guy in the state of the Seventh Gate? At least, he could take down Hoshigaki Kisame with no problem!
Uehara Naraku's mouth twitched: "This is your special move to defeat Hatake Kakashi... you're trying to kill him!"