The cave felt tighter the moment they stepped closer, the air thick with hidden chakra and something heavier beneath it, something wrong, as Kakashi and Obito stopped at the entrance and sensed it clearly.
Rin.
Inside.
Kakashi's gaze shifted slightly as he scanned the darkness ahead, picking up multiple presences layered together, steady but alert, waiting for them to make the first move.
"Let's move."
Inside the cave, Rin sat tied and motionless, her body still under genjutsu, while enemy shinobi stood nearby, their heads turning the moment they sensed the two outside.
"They're here."
"You take the information. We'll deal with them."
"Camouflage Jutsu."
Outside
"Let's move—" Obito started.
"Where to?"
The voice came from nothing.
Obito turned—
Too late.
The attack came fast, but Kakashi stepped in first, his chakra blade cutting forward in one clean motion that drove straight through the attacker's chest before the strike could land.
The body dropped.
Gone again.
Invisible.
Silence returned, but this time it was heavier, because the presence didn't feel hidden anymore; it felt erased, like it wasn't there at all.
No chakra.
No movement.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
How do you fight something that leaves nothing behind?
A thought lingered.
I have to use it.
A pause.
It's the only way.
"Obito—behind you!"
Kakashi moved instantly, shoving Obito out of the way as the invisible strike came down, blocking it just enough to avoid a fatal hit, but not enough to escape clean.
A cut.
Deep.
"Tch—"
The enemy vanished again.
"Kakashi!" Obito shouted. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine."
Kakashi straightened.
"Focus."
They stood again, side by side, the space around them empty but wrong, like something was breathing just outside their awareness.
"What do we do?" Obito said. "We can't see him!"
Kakashi took a slow breath. "...Obito."
A pause.
"Do you trust me?"
Obito blinked. "...what?"
"Do you trust me?" More serious now. Not a question so much as a test.
"...yeah."
"Then close your eyes."
"What?!"
"I won't say it again." A pause. "...close them."
Obito hesitated — then obeyed.
The enemy watched. Laughed. "Giving up?"
A shift in the air.
Kakashi's eyes opened.
Changed.
Red.
The world slowed, lines forming where nothing existed before, the invisible becoming visible in the smallest details, the enemy's path revealed in a way no normal eye could follow.
Kakashi moved.
One step.
One strike.
The blade pierced deep into the enemy's chest, forcing him into visibility mid-attack, his eyes wide as he stared at Kakashi in shock.
"...how—"
His gaze lifted.
"...sha—"
A kunai flew.
Straight through his throat.
Silence.
Kakashi's eye dimmed.
Hidden again.
Obito opened his eyes slowly. "...Kakashi... how did you—"
Kakashi turned away. "...we don't have time." A breath. "Let's move."
The cave opened into a wider chamber as Kakashi and Obito stepped inside, the air thick with chakra and dust, the final enemy turning slowly as if he had already expected them.
"So... they were all pathetic."
He turned fully.
And saw them.
Obito's eyes moved past him instantly, locking onto Rin tied against the wall, unmoving, her head slightly lowered as if she wasn't even aware they were there.
He stepped forward.
Kakashi's hand stopped him.
"She's under genjutsu."
The enemy smirked.
"Smart kids."
Blades slid into his hands.
"Let's see how long that lasts."
The attack came straight for Kakashi, but before it could land, Obito stepped in, intercepting the strike with a kunai, forcing the enemy to shift his angle mid-motion.
Kakashi followed immediately. In sync.
A counter from the left. A strike from the right.
The enemy blocked one, dodged another, but not both. A cut landed.
He stepped back.
"...not bad."
The enemy twisted, throwing a blade toward Obito while lunging at Kakashi, trying to break their rhythm, separate them. Obito deflected. Kakashi stepped through.
Close. Too close.
This time faster, their movements sharper, no hesitation between them as Kakashi attacked low while Obito forced the enemy upward, cutting off his escape routes one by one.
Cornered.
The enemy staggered back, his balance breaking for a second too long as Kakashi's blade pressed forward and Obito followed with a direct hit that forced him down to one knee.
An opening.
Kakashi took it.
The blade stopped at his chest.
Obito didn't wait.
"Rin—!"
He cut the ropes quickly, hands shaking slightly as he caught her before she fell, his voice softer now, almost afraid.
"...Rin... wake up..."
Kakashi moved closer, placing a hand lightly against her forehead, focusing for a brief moment as he broke the genjutsu with precise control.
Rin's eyes opened.
"...Obito...Kakashi...?"
Obito smiled.
Relief.
"We're here." A small pause. "To save you."
For a moment, everything felt still.
"I see..."
They turned.
The enemy stood again. Bleeding. Smiling.
"You kids are strong..."
A pause.
"...but still little shits."
His hands slammed together. "Earth Style—"
The ground trembled.
"Rock Breaker!"
The cave shook violently as the enemy's jutsu spread through the ground, cracks racing across the walls and ceiling as massive chunks of rock began to break loose, turning the entire space into a collapsing trap with no clear escape and no safe direction.
The air filled with dust and sound at once, every impact echoing louder than the last as the structure above them started giving way piece by piece, faster than any of them could predict or react to.
Kakashi's eyes moved quickly, tracking the falling debris and unstable ground as he understood immediately what was happening and how little time they had left before everything came down.
"Run!"
They moved.
Fast.
All three of them pushed forward through the chaos, dodging falling rocks and uneven ground as the cave continued to collapse around them, each step becoming harder as the space narrowed and the air thickened.
Smaller rocks began to fall first, striking around them in unpredictable patterns, forcing them to adjust their path constantly while larger pieces above threatened to come down at any moment.
Kakashi stayed slightly ahead, guiding their direction, his focus sharp even as the environment turned against them with increasing violence and pressure.
Then—
A rock fell from above without warning, striking Kakashi directly and knocking him to the ground before he could react, his body hitting hard as the momentum of the collapse didn't stop.
Rin turned instantly, her breath catching as she saw him fall, her instincts overriding everything as she rushed toward him despite the danger still closing in.
"Kakashi!"
He didn't move.
Obito heard her voice cut through everything, sharp and clear even in the chaos, and without thinking, he turned back, his eyes locking onto Kakashi on the ground.
At the same moment, his gaze shifted upward, catching sight of something far worse: a massive slab of rock breaking loose above, already falling, already too close to avoid.
There was no time to think, no time to plan, only a single instinct that drove his body forward as he ran straight toward Kakashi without hesitation.
He grabbed him.
Threw him aside.
Then looked up.
The rock was already there, descending with unstoppable force as the distance closed too fast for escape, too fast for any kind of defence, leaving nothing but the moment itself.
Obito stood there, breathing steady despite everything, his body no longer moving as he accepted what was coming, not out of fear but out of decision.
Kakashi forced himself up, vision blurred and body heavy as the impact still echoed through him, but his eyes found the one thing that mattered through the dust and falling debris.
Obito.
The rock above him.
Minato's voice echoed in his mind, calm and steady even now, cutting through the noise with words that carried weight far beyond the moment.
Kakashi... you have a Sharingan.
Obito.
You know what that means.
Protect what's left.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO..."
Kakashi stood.
His body moved before the pain could stop him, before doubt could return, as something deeper took over and pushed everything else aside.
Chakra surged through him, wild and sharp, gathering into his hand as lightning formed violently, tearing through the air with a sound that drowned everything else out.
Chidori.
He moved.
Faster than before.
Kakashi reached him in an instant, his body cutting through the collapsing space as the Chidori drove upward into the falling rock, the impact exploding through it with overwhelming force.
Cracks spread instantly across the massive slab, lightning tearing it apart from the inside as the structure failed all at once under the pressure of his strike.
The rock shattered.
Fragments burst outward in every direction.
The force pushed them back.
Dust swallowed everything as the pieces crashed around them, the sound fading slowly as the collapse lost its momentum, leaving behind only broken stone and heavy silence where death had been seconds ago.
The cave finally went silent as the last pieces of rock settled, dust still hanging in the air as everything slowed down, the chaos fading into a heavy stillness that made it hard to tell if the danger was truly over or just waiting.
Obito rubbed his head slowly, trying to steady himself as his breath came unevenly, his mind still catching up to what had just happened: the explosion, the impact, the moment that should have ended everything.
For a second, nothing made sense, only fragments of movement and sound that refused to form into something clear enough to understand.
He looked up.
Rin stood a few steps away, unmoving, her eyes wide and fixed on something behind him, something that made her expression freeze between shock and disbelief.
Obito followed her gaze slowly, turning his head with hesitation, as if part of him already knew what he was going to see but didn't want to confirm it.
And when he did—
Everything stopped.
Kakashi.
Kakashi Hatake stood there, covered in dust and small fragments of broken rock, his body steady despite everything, but something about him was different now, something that didn't match what Obito had always known.
His right eye.
Sharingan.
Obito's breath caught as recognition hit instantly, not as confusion, not as doubt, but as something deeper, something personal, something he had thought about more times than he could count.
The same eye.
Why him...?
The same power.
Why him...?
The same thing he had dreamed of.
Why him...?
To surpass him.
Why him...?
To prove himself.
To make everyone proud.
"Kakashi... you..."
The words refused to come out.
"...have the sh... sha—"
Kakashi's expression shifted the moment he realised, his hand moving quickly to cover his right eye as if hiding it could undo what had already been seen, what had already been understood.
But it was too late.
Obito took a step forward, his voice breaking as confusion and disbelief collided all at once, his thoughts refusing to settle into something clear.
"How...?"
"I mean—why—no—"
"How is this possible?!"
His voice cracked again, louder this time, raw and unfiltered in a way it hadn't been before, not anger alone, but something mixed with it, shock, hurt, something deeper he couldn't name.
"You have a Sharingan!"
"And you're not a Uchiha!"
"How did you get it?!"
Kakashi stepped forward slightly, his voice quieter now, controlled but not cold, as if he already knew this moment would come but still wasn't ready for it.
"Obito..."
"Calm down."
Obito shook his head immediately.
"Calm down?!"
"How can I calm down?!"
His fists clenched as he stared at Kakashi, his voice breaking again under the weight of everything hitting him at once.
"You have the Sharingan... and you never said anything...!"
"How—how do you even—"
Kakashi interrupted him gently.
"Obito... please."
A pause.
"I know you have questions. And I will answer them." His voice softened just slightly. "But not now. We don't have time. For now... let's go."
Obito opened his mouth again, ready to argue, ready to push further, but before he could say anything, Rin stepped forward, placing a hand lightly on his arm.
"Obito..."
"He's right."
"He said he'll tell us."
A pause.
"Trust him."
Obito looked at her, then back at Kakashi, the conflict still there in his eyes, still unresolved, still burning, but slowly held back by something else.
Trust.
A long breath.
"...fine."
He turned slightly.
"But remember this, Kakashi."
"You're not hiding this from me."
Kakashi exhaled quietly.
"...I know."
He nodded once.
___________________________
The moment they stepped out of the collapsing cave, the open air hit them hard, dust still trailing behind as the structure gave one final rumble, and before they could fully steady themselves, a voice echoed from ahead, slow and mocking.
"Ohh... how stubborn."
"Still alive, I see."
Obito and Rin reacted instantly, stepping forward into defensive positions despite their injuries, their bodies tense and ready as they faced the enemy once more without hesitation.
Kakashi didn't move.
He stood still.
Still covering his eye.
The enemy smirked, rolling his shoulders slightly as if amused by the situation, his gaze moving between the three of them like he was already deciding how this would end.
"Come on, crybabies."
"Let's settle this."
Kakashi's voice cut through the tension, low and controlled, but darker than before, carrying a weight that made even Obito pause as he spoke without looking at them.
"Obito. Rin."
"Go back to the village."
Obito turned sharply.
"What—?"
Kakashi didn't move, his gaze fixed forward as he spoke again, calmer now but firmer, like there was no room left for argument.
"Go somewhere safe."
"You're both already injured."
"And we need someone to complete the mission."
Obito stared at him, disbelief written clearly across his face as the words settled in, not matching what he expected, not matching what he believed.
"Kakashi... are you out of your mind?"
"You're telling us to leave you here?!"
His voice rose, frustration and anger mixing as he stepped closer, refusing to accept what he was hearing.
"Did you forget what I said?"
"I'll never leave a teammate behind!"
Kakashi finally looked at him.
"Obito. Listen to me." You're not leaving me behind. You're helping me."
Obito went still.
Kakashi's voice softened slightly, but the resolve underneath it didn't move.
"If you stay... we all lose. If you go... we still have a chance."
He turned slightly toward Rin. "...please. Believe me."
Silence fell between them, heavy and uncertain as both Obito and Rin looked at each other, the conflict clear but slowly giving way to something else.
Trust.
A decision.
They nodded.
Obito looked back at Kakashi, still not fully accepting it, but choosing to move anyway, his voice lower now, carrying something different.
"...you better come back, Bakakashi."
Kakashi didn't smile.
But he nodded.
And with that, Obito and Rin turned and left, disappearing into the distance as the battlefield shifted again, leaving Kakashi alone facing what was coming next.
Alone.
But not the same as before.
The enemy watched as Obito and Rin disappeared into the distance, his smirk widening as he turned back toward Kakashi Hatake, clearly amused by what he had just witnessed.
"You're really stupid."
"Sending them away..."
"Are you a hero or something?"
He laughed.
"...heh... heh...hehahah...HAA... HAA... HAHAHA... HEH... HA... HAHAHAHAHA—!"
Kakashi laughed too.
The sound was different.
Lower.
Colder.
The enemy stopped.
Something felt wrong.
Kakashi's laughter faded slowly as he lowered his head slightly, his voice quieter now but carrying something far heavier than before, something that didn't belong to a normal battlefield.
"You think I sent them away... to save them?"
A pause.
"...no."
Another.
"No..no. No..."
Kakashi lifted his head.
"I sent them away..."
"...so I can kill you."
A breath.
"...alone."
"...slowly."
The enemy's grip tightened around his weapon as something crawled up his spine, a feeling he couldn't explain but couldn't ignore either.
Danger.
Real danger.
Kakashi removed his hand from his eye, his right eye visible now, red and steady, watching without emotion as his other hand brought out his chakra sabre, the blade forming with a sharp hum.
"You were the one... who put Rin in genjutsu."
A pause.
"And the one... who tried to kill my teammates."
Another.
"...my friends."
His gaze sharpened.
"So yeah, let's settle this."
A flash of movement cut through the space between them, his blade slashing across the enemy's chest in a deep, clean line that forced him back before he could even react.
AH—! AGHH—!!
The second cut landed across his body, deeper this time, forcing a scream out of him as his stance broke, his balance collapsing under the pressure.
He dropped.
One knee.
Struggling.
Kakashi stepped closer.
"...who's the crybaby now?"
"Go on... tell me now—what do you see?"
The enemy tried to stand, forcing his weapon up again, anger overtaking fear as he glared at Kakashi with what little strength he had left.
"...an arrogant kid..."
"...trying to follow his father—"
He never finished.
Two kunai flew.
"AAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH—!! MY EYES—!!"
Kakashi didn't react.
"How bad."
A pause.
"...but don't worry."
"Now you can see nothing."
The enemy struggled, blind, broken, rage spilling out in broken words as he tried to speak again through pain.
"You—piece of—just like your—"
Kakashi stepped in.
The blade drove forward.
Straight through his chest.
Silence.
"Shh...Shh.... it's okay...scream all you want... no one will hear you."
The body fell.
Still.
Kakashi didn't turn.
"...and you."
A pause.
"Don't worry."
"I have something for you, too."
Behind him, more enemies.
Frozen.
Kakashi turned.
From his already bloodied eye, blood slipped down, slow and steady..., tracing his face...
and just like that,
He wasn't a human anymore
It...was
It...was...like...
like..lik
Death had opened its eye.
And in that moment—
They understood.
They were already dead.
Chakra surged again, louder this time, sharper, filling the air with a sound that grew rapidly until it drowned everything else out, a piercing cry that tore through the battlefield.
"Come on."
"Show me."
"...what you've got."