Green-Skinned Kakashi
Kakashi looked at Might Guy and let out a long sigh.
There was nothing he could do now. He had already agreed to it himself—so who else could he blame?
With no other choice, he slowly extended his trembling hands toward the bodysuit Guy was holding. Just as his fingers were about to touch it, however, he abruptly pulled back.
"…No. I still can't accept this. How about I use the Transformation Jutsu instead? What do you think, Guy?"
"That's perfectly fine!" Might Guy replied at once, flashing his trademark brilliant smile.
For some reason, Kakashi suddenly had the overwhelming urge to punch those sparkling teeth.
After getting Guy's approval, Kakashi turned toward Obito and Rin, his expression dark.
"You two… you'll keep this a secret, right?"
"No problem! Trust me—I won't say anything!" Obito declared, patting his chest.
Kakashi stared at him in silence. For some reason, that reassurance sounded incredibly unreliable.
"Hehe, don't worry, Kakashi. I'll keep an eye on Obito for you," Rin said, covering her smile.
Her words were comforting enough—after all, Rin had absolute leverage over Obito. As long as she disapproved, there was no way he would spread this around.
Still, paired with that barely concealed grin, it somehow made things even more irritating.
In the end, Kakashi clenched his teeth, raised his hand to form seals, and with a soft bang, activated the Transformation Jutsu.
In the next instant, Green-Skinned Kakashi appeared on the spot.
Might Guy gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up and shouted, "Excellent, Kakashi! Let's go!"
The two of them immediately dashed off.
This time, Kakashi ran especially hard, determined to end this ordeal as quickly as possible. He was so focused on escape that he failed to notice Obito's subtle movements behind him.
The moment Kakashi and Guy disappeared from sight, Obito finally pulled something from his pocket.
A camera.
It was the newest portable model, specially rented from a photography studio over the past two days—prepared precisely for this moment. Guaranteed to capture every heroic angle of Green-Skinned Kakashi.
Rin, who had been watching Kakashi leave, suddenly heard rapid click, click sounds nearby. She turned her head and saw Obito wildly snapping photos.
"Obito—" Rin lowered her voice. Logically, she should have shouted to warn Kakashi.
"Shh~ Keep it down," Obito whispered. "We'll share a picture with you later."
"Mm… okay. It's a promise." Rin nodded, her cheeks faintly tinged with red.
Click!
"Obito!"
"Hehe… sorry, I couldn't help it. It just looked too good." Obito scratched the back of his head, laughing sheepishly.
Of course, that was only on the surface.
Behind his back, his other hand was already discreetly removing the film from the camera. Green-Skinned Kakashi could be discarded—but Rin's photos absolutely had to be preserved.
Rin naturally noticed his small movements at such close range, but she pretended not to see, turning her head away.
Only the redness of her ears betrayed her.
Unfortunately, Obito was too busy safeguarding the film to notice.
At the same time, he also forgot to keep taking pictures—which, in hindsight, was probably for the best. By now, Kakashi and Guy were already on their way back. If Obito had delayed even a little longer, none of the photos would have survived.
The moment Kakashi returned, he immediately dispelled the Transformation Jutsu.
Right then and there, he swore that from now on, he would clearly define every single term of his bets with Might Guy. Never again would he agree so casually.
Regrettably, Kakashi failed to notice the brief exchange of glances between Obito and Guy.
And just like that, he missed his best chance to erase this dark chapter of his life.
---
Meanwhile, Shirō had no idea what spectacular scene he had just missed.
He was currently traversing the dense jungles of the Land of Fire.
There was no alternative—there were aerial patrols overhead, and the giant birds near key routes had long since been driven away. As a result, Shirō's progress was painfully slow.
A full day had passed, and he had not even completed a quarter of the journey.
The efficiency was abysmal, but there was nothing to be done.
After all, what he was after was far too important.
A month later, Shirō finally stepped into the territory of Bear Country. Two more days were spent gathering terrain data around Star Ninja Village before he reached his destination.
Standing atop a cliff, Shirō gazed down at the poisonous mist filling the canyon below. After a moment of contemplation, he summoned a flying bird and ascended into the sky to survey the area from above.
This time, he wasn't relying on a single plan.
The chances of a successful transaction were slim, and theft alone was unlikely to succeed. That meant Shirō had to be prepared to seize his objective by force.
If it came to that, there were only two possible outcomes.
Either he would take it and leave.
Or he would silence everyone involved.
Which path he chose would depend entirely on how much he exposed during the coming battle.
After circling above the canyon for half a day, Shirō finally finished calculating the leyline nodes in the region.
His operation could now begin.
Returning to the ground, Shirō adjusted the Magic Barrier he had previously designed, aligning it with the local leylines to amplify its suggestive and charming effects.
The barrier he intended to deploy was primarily suggestion-based.
Anyone approaching the perimeter would unconsciously turn back toward the center, ensuring that no one slipped through unnoticed.
It wasn't that Shirō didn't want to construct a destructive barrier—he knew how effective such measures could be. The problem was that his current level of magical theory simply couldn't support it.
So this would have to suffice.
In any case, the results would be similar.
Moreover, Shirō possessed Barrier-type Noble Phantasms. Even though he couldn't Project them yet, continued research would eventually make it possible.
Given that Shirō's Origin was Conceptual Realization, his Projection Magic theoretically shouldn't be limited to physical Noble Phantasms. As long as he could fully comprehend it, even a conceptual construct should be within reach.
However, perhaps because his Projection Magic was inherited from Red A, it leaned heavily toward materialized forms. Conceptual structures and barriers were far more difficult to analyze and reproduce than weapons.
For now, they remained beyond him.
He had once begun analyzing an E-rank Conceptual Noble Phantasm, but it offered little synergy with his combat system and minimal benefit to his cultivation. In the end, he set it aside.
Instead, he shifted his focus to a C-rank Conceptual Noble Phantasm.
The leap in difficulty was considerable—but for Shirō, this particular Noble Phantasm carried special significance.
Not only could it perfectly complement several of his existing Noble Phantasms, it also filled key gaps in his tactical framework and provided valuable insight into Barrier Magecraft.
The difficulty was high.
But so were the potential rewards.
Unfortunately, the step was indeed too ambitious. So far, Shirō had only managed to form a few preliminary concepts, and even those tended to stall quickly.
Still, this was merely an enhancement to his overall strategy, not a necessity.
So Shirō remained patient.
---
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