Kakashi felt as if some invisible shackle had finally broken.
'Father… you were right.If I can't protect my comrades… then I really am the lowest of the low.'
He jumped back a step and began forming hand seals.
Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
The sharp sound of piercing lightning grew louder—like a thousand birds crying out in unison.
From the back, Kiyohara observed carefully as Kakashi formed his technique.
"Chidori"… once he masters it, he'll use it until the finale.
Kiyohara watched the blue lightning arc form with unwavering focus.
If only he had a Sharingan, he could steal this technique too.
'I'll avenge Obito.'
Kakashi's thoughts burned.
His left eye snapped open, revealing two spinning tomoe.
The Sharingan granted him powerful dynamic vision,letting him read Hikari's movements and track the path of his own Chidori with clarity.
The jutsu's greatest weakness—lack of perception at high speed—was completely nullified.
In fact, Chidori might've been made for Uchiha to begin with.
"This brat's too fast!"
Hikari gritted his teeth.
If he could just swing first and strike Kakashi's neck,the chakra forming Chidori would scatter and he'd be safe.
But just then—
Whoosh!
A wind-charged shuriken cut through the air!
"Kiyohara…"
Kakashi didn't need to look back.Only one person infused Wind Release into shuriken like that—Kiyohara.
The realization warmed his heart.
He had underestimated the guy…yet here he was, helping again and again.
"Damn it!"
Hikari realized too late that Kiyohara was trying to divert him.But Kakashi was too fast—there was no time to dodge.
If he killed Kakashi now, he'd be struck by the shuriken.
In the end, he twisted his stance, letting the blade strike his arm instead of a vital point—then slashed at Kakashi with all his might.
Slice!
But he'd underestimated Chidori's speed.The lightning tore through his blade, pierced his chest—and Kiyohara's shuriken embedded right in his forehead.
Double kill.
"Haa… haa…"
Kakashi panted heavily.
That strike had nearly emptied his chakra reserves.He doubted he could use Chidori again—and forcing it would probably knock him unconscious.
Even so…
He staggered over to Rin, staring at Obito buried beneath the rocks.
Kiyohara, meanwhile, got back to looting.
According to rogue Kiyohara, the enemy's reinforcements were drawing close.If he didn't act fast, there'd be nothing left to loot.
"Wait, is this… chakra metal?"
Kiyohara's eyes widened.
Chakra metal was rare.
Sure, you could channel chakra into anything—even a pencil could become a weapon that way.
But the quality of that enhancement varied.
Chakra metal enhanced chakra flow, boosting jutsu performance drastically.
He quickly picked up the broken blade, then the other one Hikari had strapped to his wrists—plus the third intact one.
"Can we forge ninja tools with this?"
he asked rogue Kiyohara.
To be honest, the only time he'd seen chakra metal used was on Asuma Sarutobi's trench knives.
That "young master" of the Sarutobi clan was basically the richest student in their year.
He even wrote a school essay titled My Father, the Hokage,which reportedly made it all the way to the principal.
Kiyohara could only sigh.
Konoha—no, the shinobi world at large—was a deeply nepotistic society.
"Should be enough. If we remelt it, you could forge a decent sword."
Rebel Kiyohara nodded.
Hikari's blades didn't have hilts.He had just wrapped them to his wrists like hidden daggers.
Kiyohara could reforge them into a proper blade with a handle.
"But hiring a blacksmith won't be cheap."
Another reminder: ninja training was expensive as hell.
Beyond physical limits, a civilian ninja also had to battle resource limitations.
No access to high-grade jutsu, no funds for better gear.Without proper tools, even skilled shinobi lost a huge chunk of their strength.
"Good thing I've developed a habit of looting."
Kiyohara sped up, stuffing gear into his scroll.
He was already thinking about buying a better sealing scroll—his current one couldn't keep up with his… business model.
After all, during wartime, looting enemy corpses was the best side hustle for shinobi.
Who had time to wait for mission payouts just to repay their debts?
"Kiyohara, something's moving outside."
Yūhi Kurenai whispered.
Even she could feel the presence closing in.
"I know."
Kiyohara sealed up the last of the gear.
Then turned to Kakashi.
"Whatever you have to say, say it fast. We're leaving."
Unless someone here had Earth Release mastery—or could open the Eight Gates—there was no way they could move the boulder crushing Obito without killing him.
"Kakashi… take Rin and leave. The enemy's reinforcements… they're coming."
Obito's voice was weak.
His nerves were slowly returning,his brain catching up to the horrific loss of his body.
The pain was excruciating.His lower half especially—it took everything he had to keep from screaming.
"Earth Style: Ground Split Palm!"
An Iwa shinobi unit appeared, forming seals and slamming their palms into the ground.
BOOM!
The terrain split violently, dust and debris flying everywhere.
Kakashi could only look back at Obito one last time—and follow the others to escape.
"Kakashi… I'm leaving Rin in your hands."
Obito gave his final words.
Then the rocks came crashing down,burying him completely in the crevice made by the Earth Style jutsu.
Everything was sealed in silence.
Meanwhile…
Far away on the front lines, Minato Namikaze's expression shifted.
He could feel it—one of the Flying Thunder God kunai he'd placed earlier… was resonating strangely.
Something had happened.
He had to go.