Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 528 His Beliefs

Kakashi couldn't quite describe his feelings.

When he charged in unarmed, it seemed he was truly just trying his luck. But when he actually grasped his enemy's hands and they were both bathed in the explosion of the Tailed Beast Ball, he was shattered by the sheer absurdity of it all.

Would a normal person try to evade an attack by taking the enemy with them?

Don't give him that clingy nonsense. He saw the masked man grab him and then instantly switch to his ethereal form when attacked. He could have easily dodged the attack alone, thus avoiding revealing the secret of this technique, but he still chose to... take him along with him into ethereal form.

Kakashi was locked in a struggle with the masked man, both continuously enveloped within the blast radius without a moment's respite. The masked man quickly realized something was wrong; after understanding the situation, his exposed eyes blazed with rage. He then began dragging Kakashi along, attempting to escape the blast radius in this way.

But it was no use. Kakashi was seriously holding him back, and the two of them staggered along, moving much slower than usual, almost at a snail's pace. Even so... that idiot didn't even consider shaking off the hand that was holding him; instead, he gripped it even tighter, giving Kakashi no chance to escape.

"Are you going to 'sacrifice' for your comrades? Kakashi with the Sharingan."

You failed to protect anyone, and now you're going to die a glorious death with that eye? Who gave you the right to degrade your own life?! Kakashi!

"I want to protect his beliefs."

The little hero who once said, "Anyone who doesn't cherish their comrades is the worst of the worst," is now living up to that belief and fighting to protect his comrades.

"Hehe, hahahaha!"

Time ticked by, five minutes seemed like a long time on the battlefield, but once the countdown began, it didn't feel so long. The masked man burst into maniacal laughter upon hearing the answer. He abruptly closed the distance between them, his blood-red eyes meeting blood-red eyes, the patterns within them perfectly identical.

"Is his belief that he should just stand by and watch his teacher lure the enemy to his death? Well, he really is a good student of yours."

Before seeing the eye clearly, Kakashi first saw another space shrouded in darkness, a dark and empty space with only gray platforms of varying heights randomly interspersed.

This is a different space from the battlefield. The so-called "invisibility" is a spatial ninjutsu that allows one to teleport to another space to avoid damage when attacked by the enemy. That's why all their attacks appear to pass through the masked man's body on the battlefield, because that part of the masked man is not actually on the battlefield.

His Sharingan had become somewhat nearsighted from frequent use. Naruto had given him medicine, but it could only alleviate the physical discomfort and did nothing to reduce the strain on his eyes. However, during his desperate escape, he still noticed something that shouldn't be there: a small box that looked strangely familiar, and a pair of spiky, earthy-colored clay figures.

Who is this person? The answer is obvious.

Kakashi uttered the name with difficulty, saying, "...Obito, what I want to protect is the belief you told me."

The roar of the explosions continued, but the two entangled figures at the center stopped moving, frozen in place. Just before the very last moment of the five minutes, the Tailed Beast Ball suddenly stopped just before it hit their faces. Obito, who had already prepared even Izanagi, seized this brief respite and dragged Kakashi into a space only the two of them could access.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his clenched hands loosened, followed by a heavy punch to his cheek. Kakashi didn't completely dodge, but the brief dizziness didn't impair his judgment. He blocked the next kick, and simultaneously thrust his kunai towards his opponent's thigh.

Obito retracted his leg; he no longer used a normal kunai. A chain that had fallen from his sleeve swept across like a whip. He threw the kunai, its sharp point piercing the hollowed-out joint, altering the trajectory of the chain's end, barely grazing his leaping afterimage. The mid-air kick was caught. Obito's taijutsu had improved significantly; during their second grappling match, they had both learned to use his hand seals.

The Great Fireball was blocked by the Earth Barrier. Obito used his fallen kunai to create a false direction for the attack, but his real body came from the other side and was met with a kick to the neck.

But Kakashi had anticipated everything. Another Kakashi emerged from the ground and grabbed Obito's hand holding the black rod. The battle was full of deception. As Obito's other hand also conjured a black rod, Kakashi, emerging from the ground, became a flash of lightning. Briefly paralyzed, Obito was kicked away by Kakashi, finally revealing the biggest weakness of the match.

From the moment he guessed the masked man's identity, Kakashi was overwhelmed with self-blame. He felt that perhaps he had failed too much and had not fulfilled his promise, which led Obito astray.

But... Naruto's scolding actually brought him back to his senses.

Responsibility cannot be evaded; even if he escapes, there will be others busy making up for his responsibilities.

If all the blame lies with him, then he shouldn't run away, but rather try his best to make amends. It would be best if Obito could come to his senses; if not, then let him end it all himself.

Then, he should also set off on his journey.

"Obito..."

Obito, who had rolled away, charged at him again. At this moment when the battle had already been decided and the seal of reconciliation had been formed, Obito greeted his pause with a black rod.

Isn't there any other possibility? Do they really have to risk their lives?

Lightning flashed on the kunai, and the raised hand trembled slightly. Kakashi knew very well the power of this attack; they might end up dying together.

Who can stop all of this?

The thunder drowned out the sound of shattering, but the light could not be obscured. The strange phenomenon halted the impending clash of deadly attacks, and the two looked up, gazing at the "sky" with incredulous eyes.

Naruto smiled at them through the broken crack, his entire body glowing, the golden light even changing his clothes, black magatama adorning his flowing golden cloak, making him look like an ancient legend stepping out of a mural.

For the first time, a "sun" rose in the black space.