Even if Konoha and Kirigakure had discovered Kakashi's true identity and guessed he wasn't actually dead, it just meant one more place he couldn't easily go. With so many ninja becoming exiles or defectors due to the war these past few years, one more or one less hardly mattered. How many resources could Konoha possibly spare to hunt him down?
Kakashi had considered this back when he discarded his forehead protector. He always found those missing-nin who put a slash through their village symbol rather childishly dramatic; announcing your identity should be done with more subtlety.
Training his body, increasing his chakra, constantly growing stronger – that was the silver-haired youth's current focus. For major undertakings, he preferred to plan meticulously before acting. Recklessly charging forward required overwhelming strength he didn't always possess.
Admittedly, he hadn't expected Kirigakure to dispatch a four-Jōnin team composed entirely of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist just to capture a couple of defectors.
During the ensuing escape, Kakashi carried the orange-haired girl, who had been knocked unconscious almost instantly by their opponents. A chilling cold settled in his heart. His own body hadn't fully recovered from its previous ailments, and Mei had become a burden. This situation was a hundred times worse than the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.
This was the first time Kakashi had encountered opponents truly equal to him in the war.
His Raikiri assassination attempt had failed.
Chidori – One Thousand Birds. This technique combined both chakra nature transformation and shape manipulation. By concentrating high-intensity Lightning Release chakra in the palm, the hand becomes like a blade with extreme piercing power. It earned its name from the sound it produced, like the chirping of a thousand birds. Its drawback was the need for a high-speed charge towards the opponent, which could lead to tunnel vision, making it difficult to see counter-attacks.
There were several ways to mitigate this weakness. First, extend the attack range, forming variations like the Chidori Sharp Spear or Chidori Current. Second, acquire a Sharingan for the left eye.
The first method was certainly feasible, but Kakashi had also devised a third.
By utilizing the distinct chirping sound of the Chidori to cast a sound-based Genjutsu, he could perform a frontal assassination while the enemy's attention was focused elsewhere. This was the true essence of Chidori, the complete Raikiri – Lightning Cutter.
The technique was originally developed for assassination; using it merely as a thrusting attack was a waste of its potential. Regarding sound-based Genjutsu, Kakashi had specifically searched through Konoha's vast ninjutsu records, eventually learning a challenging A-rank sound illusion from a particular scroll. He integrated this into the Chidori, perfecting it into the S-rank, seal-less ninjutsu: Raikiri.
Since then, it had proven overwhelmingly effective in combat. From its first use at Kannabi Bridge until now, no ninja had managed to evade this "first-sight kill," not even those experienced Kirigakure Anbu he'd faced earlier.
But these opponents were members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, different from ordinary Jōnin. Each possessed the qualifications to potentially become Mizukage. Kakashi recognized two of their blades: the Longsword Nuibari (Sewing Needle) and the Blast Sword Shibuki (Splash). The sharp-toothed fellow wielding Nuibari had blocked his Raikiri.
When the first strike failed, Kakashi immediately retreated. However, the Nuibari user was also highly skilled. The rapidly deployed needle-like blade pierced Kakashi's shoulder and narrowly missed impaling the girl's heart. If it had been just slightly off, Mei wouldn't have merely fainted.
Calm down, stay calm. The silver-haired youth frantically searched his mind for a strategy. The two chakra signatures pursuing him weren't significantly faster, lagging just slightly behind, but they consistently kept pace. Further away, two more chakra signatures were converging on his position. Are these two trying to corner me with the others, or are they just toying with me like a cat playing with a mouse?
Blood seeped from the girl's chest and back. Her eyelids fluttered faintly, her face contorted in agony; she was clearly enduring immense pain.
Treating someone while sprinting was nearly impossible, but Kakashi couldn't afford to hesitate. Relying on his knowledge of the human body, his fingers glowed with faint blue chakra light. He carefully extracted a ten-centimeter-long silver needle from the girl's chest wound, then cauterized the injury to stop the bleeding.
Chase battles were incredibly draining. The girl's severe injuries were weakening her rapidly. And the damned system is still upgrading, Kakashi cursed inwardly, I can't even open the four areas yet. There are still 30 hours until the upgrade finishes.
More than a full day.
His single eye scanned the surrounding terrain. Kakashi had immediately fled the urban area when the fight began, not trusting these Kiri ninja to show mercy to civilians. Fighting within the city would have hindered him, but out here, in the wilderness, it was their home ground. Thankfully, he had somewhat adapted to the Land of Water's perpetually damp climate.
Raiton: Rai Bunshin! (Lightning Release: Lightning Clone)
Using his customary Lightning Clone technique, Kakashi hoped the clone could buy him some time. If he could just create enough distance during that window, maybe stimulating his body with Lightning Release chakra could provide the burst of speed needed to escape their pursuit.
The clone remained behind, concealing its presence and setting an ambush, awaiting the arrival of the two pursuers.
"Doton: Yomi Numa!" (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!)
"Not bad, little brat. Got the guts to stay behind and cover the retreat."
"Idiot, that's obviously a clone! The girl is gone!"
"Hmph. I take back what I said. A clone, huh? I'll finish you in ten seconds."
The Longsword, Nuibari – the blade that pierces all and stitches them together. Its attack range was long, its lethality high, capable of rendering enemies helpless. A steel wire attached to its hilt could be used to pierce and bind multiple enemies. Both the wire and the blade itself were offensive tools.
Kakashi accessed the information stored in his mind. Data on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen wasn't exactly top secret; all nations kept records on powerful enemy ninja and their capabilities, especially for someone like Kakashi with his unique memory access. The matchup wasn't favourable; Kakashi wasn't adept at dealing with control-type shinobi. Still, leaving half his chakra for the clone wasn't just for a suicidal delaying tactic. If an opportunity arose, wounding one of them would be beneficial.
The clone's fingers traced patterns in the air. Several invisible senbon made of lightning shot silently towards the two Swordsmen, targeting their vital points.
The battle-hardened ninja leaped backward, landing deftly on tree branches before pushing off forcefully.
"Chōtō Ninpō: Jisatsu Sōen!" (Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Sewing!)
Multiple steel wires erupted from the ground, instantly snaring the clone's ankles, immobilizing it completely. The Nuibari user had anticipated the counter-attack even as he dodged.
Crack!
The wires sliced clean through a section of wood – the clone had used a substitution just in time.
The crackling sound of lightning flared again. Using the Body Flicker technique, the clone appeared instantly behind the wielder of the Blast Sword, Shibuki, a Chidori poised to strike.
The Kiri ninja, who had seemed relaxed and confident moments before, froze abruptly. He swung his massive blade backward with incredible speed. An explosion erupted, the force slamming into the Lightning Clone, sending it flying but not quite dissipating it.
It can still fight.
"Hey, hey, are you gonna handle this or not? It's almost been ten seconds, you know?" the Shibuki wielder casually asked his partner, unfurling the explosive scroll attached to his sword. "If you can't finish him soon, I'm just gonna blow him up."
Despite his casual tone, his hands moved swiftly.
A large-scale explosion detonated, making evasion impossible for the clone. In its final moments, the Lightning Clone lunged towards the Shibuki wielder in a self-destructing attack, but ultimately failed to leave even a scratch.
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