"You don't need to do that, do you?" Kakashi was helpless. I just told you not to look directly into the Sharingan; you don't need to completely blindfold yourself, do you?
"Yes, I do. Come on."
As soon as his words fell, Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously launched their synchronized attack.
Sasuke arrived first, his Kusanagi blade slashing straight at Kakashi's cheek.
"So fast."
Kakashi inwardly marveled. He dodged his head back and raised his kunai to block. The kunai snapped, and the blade was also pushed back slightly. Kakashi thought he had dodged it, but then the Kusanagi blade suddenly extended, leaving a small cut on his mask.
After a brief exchange, Sasuke passed Kakashi, using his Kusanagi blade to stab the ground for deceleration. He drifted in an arc through the rubble, then pulled out his blade and attacked again.
At this moment, Naruto finally arrived. He launched a powerful whip kick towards Kakashi's waist, then suddenly remembered it might be useful tonight, so he moved his foot up a bit, changing it to a side kick to the ribs.
Naruto's speed was no slower than Sasuke's; his late arrival was due to his eyes.
Even without seeing, he could sense his surroundings, but vision was a crucial source of information for humans. Just like closing one's eyes, one couldn't be sure if they were walking in a straight line. The sudden loss of sight would make the brain make incorrect judgments.
He could adapt, but it took time, and Naruto was currently in the adaptation phase.
"A pincer attack, huh?" Kakashi's Sharingan moved rapidly, looking at the people on his left and right. Their attacks arrived in a blink, leaving no time to think. Kakashi undignifiedly flopped to the ground.
Both attacks missed simultaneously. Sasuke, moving too fast, couldn't easily stop. He reversed his grip on the sword to prevent accidental injury. His other hand propped on Naruto's leg, turning the side whip kick into a downward whip kick. He himself flipped over Naruto's head, preventing a collision.
In the air, he aimed the Kusanagi blade along Kakashi's rolling path and flung it.
The left leg's whip kick swept empty. Naruto pivoted on his left leg, turned, and then delivered a sweeping leg attack. At the same time, his hand reached out along the trajectory of the Kusanagi blade, and sure enough, he grabbed a steel wire. With a strong pull, he dragged Sasuke down again.
Kakashi dodged a series of attacks, finally crossing his hands to block above his head. He was stopped from retreating further when Sasuke's knees slammed him into the stone blocks behind him.
"Yay!" Sakura cheered from the side.
"I'm your teacher, aren't I?" Kakashi rubbed his aching arm and then touched the small tear on his mask. Looking at the two opposite him, "You two aren't giving me any leeway, are you?"
He couldn't even say he'd win against either of them individually. Now that they were teaming up, and with coordination, it was impossible to fight.
Sasuke retrieved the steel wire, pulling back the Kusanagi blade. Naruto directly approached Kakashi. "Stop talking, Kakashi-sensei. Dragging this out is bad for you. Let's finish this quickly."
You know it's bad for me, huh? Kakashi quickly made hand seals. Just as he was about to use Earth Style to buy himself some time, he saw Naruto pull out a stone. The stone quickly grew to a square shape.
Naruto delivered a roundhouse kick to the stone. The stone let out a whoosh.
"Boom." The stone shattered upon impact, scattering fragments. Kakashi crouched in a crevice in the ground to dodge. Before he could finish his hand seals, a blond figure appeared in his field of vision, stomping heavily on him.
"How pathetic." Jiraiya, watching, gloated. He can't even make hand seals. For a ninja, that's practically crippling.
"If you don't strive for improvement, you'll be next," Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.
"We're not kids anymore. There's no need to compete with children, right?" Jiraiya muttered.
"Boom."
A loud bang interrupted the three combatants, who all looked in that direction.
"It's nothing. You all continue." Tsunade, standing on a tree branch, retracted her fist. Beside her, half a broken tree slowly fell.
In the distance, Iruka looked at the person with half their body buried in the ground and asked, "Jiraiya-sensei? Are you...?"
Spitting out two mouthfuls of dirt, Jiraiya sat up. "It's too noisy over there; I came here for some peace and quiet. By the way, what are you doing here?"
On the other side, the battle continued.
Dodging a massive Fūma Shuriken flying from behind, Kakashi truly felt the progress of these two. From casually blocking them when they graduated to now only being able to block them, or even not daring to block them, it was truly evident.
A flying kick approached. Kakashi took a deep breath and said, "Can we stop?"
The leg stopped before his eyes. The strong wind blew the three cuts on his mask, revealing a bit of skin underneath. Sasuke had slashed them, upholding their pre-battle plan of only hitting the face.
By then, the battle had lasted three minutes in total.
"Alright," Naruto retracted his leg. He could sense that Kakashi's chakra was less than a fifth remaining and was still being consumed.
Tiring Kakashi out didn't fit his plan, so Naruto decisively stopped.
"Then I really appreciate it." Kakashi deactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan. A tremendous sense of fatigue washed over him. He sat on the ground without any regard for his image, breathing heavily.
Naruto removed his blindfold. His crosshairs locked onto Kakashi. He didn't know what to say. The Sharingan had made Kakashi, but it had also burdened him.
Without this eye, he would have difficulty catching Naruto's movements. With this eye, he was like Ultraman, only able to last a few minutes. However, if he hadn't had this eye from the beginning, Kakashi might not have been so 'dead fish' in the first place. Then, he might not necessarily be able to defeat his current self based on pure strength.
Sasuke walked over, swung his arm, and his Kusanagi blade immediately returned to its sheath. He said, "Use it less in the future."
He was about to say something else, but then Sakura, who had rushed over from behind, tackled him, making him stumble. Sakura tilted her head and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, do you need healing?"
"No need, just a little rest will do," Kakashi waved his hand and smiled at the three in front of him.
You've already surpassed me.
Sensei, your children can now stand on their own.
After holding it in for a long time, Sasuke finally managed to pull Sakura off him and asked the question he had wanted to ask: "How did your Sharingan evolve?"
Naruto decided to give them time to talk. He subtly pulled Sakura aside and whispered, "Sakura-chan, that medicine, is there an antidote?"
Kakashi still hadn't noticed he was poisoned. Firstly, he hadn't expected anyone to poison a brick. Secondly, he hadn't expected someone to poison it in a way that affected themselves too.
"You're poisoned too!?" Sakura looked at him in disbelief.
"Yeah," Naruto nodded. When the powder spread, if he held his breath, Kakashi would notice, so he simply inhaled it too.
"But I haven't made an antidote," Sakura's words made Naruto's heart drop to his stomach. Is this going to be a classic Wuxia detox scene tonight?
Considering his wife's age, Naruto asked nervously, "How long will it take to make one?"
Sakura lightly tapped her chin, calculated, and said, "Some materials are hard to get. It'll probably take about three hours."
"Okay, when we get back later, you make it quickly."
"Alright." Sakura chuckled secretly. This was the first time she had seen someone poison themselves along with their target.
The two returned to the others. Sasuke's expression was conflicted. They hadn't talked much, but Kakashi couldn't explain how he awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. He just naturally used it. The most recent mental stimulation he received was from Tsukuyomi.
Could being under Tsukuyomi also awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?
Sasuke was still pondering this question before Naruto sent him away.
In the afternoon, Naruto was distracted during training, anxiously waiting for Sakura's antidote. Time felt like ages. In the end, he could only meditate to calm his mind.
Around five in the afternoon, when Sakura arrived, Naruto was sitting behind the Hokage Rock, seemingly in deep meditation like an old monk.
"Here, the antidote." Sakura handed Naruto a small bottle. Inside the bottle, a pale green liquid swirled slightly. "I was a bit busy this afternoon, so I'm a little late."
"It's fine." Naruto chugged it down. The weight in his heart was finally lifted, but the next moment, his heart sank again.
Kakashi had left the village!
"Kakashi has a mission," Tsunade replied calmly to Naruto's question.
"Then why didn't you call us?"
"Those are missions he specifically requested, and they're scheduled two months from now."
Holy cow.
Naruto cursed inwardly. I've even become the chosen one and learned to drop meteors. Is the will of the universe still targeting me?
Stepping out of the office, Naruto whispered, "Is there an antidote left?"
"N-no... no more." Sakura also sensed the seriousness of the problem.
"You make some first; I'll go chase Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto had to chase him. With Kakashi's foot speed, he definitely wouldn't leave the Land of Fire tonight. He'd stay in the forest. If the drug took effect, tomorrow's ninja world headlines would definitely be: "Shocking! Konoha's Copy Ninja spent the night in the forest, unable to control himself with..."
As for what "..." referred to whether it was an ape, a monkey, or some other animal that would depend on what was near Kakashi.
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