Fire rode the wind, and the wind fed the fire.
Beneath Kakashi's monstrous chakra reserves, the fused Wind-and-Fire Release technique erupted into a howling inferno tornado that slammed into the Raikage's path like a living wall.
The towering man stared at the cyclone of flame blocking his way, his face dark.
Just as he'd expected.
Kakashi's chakra volume was absurd, nearly on par with the Uzumaki clan's legendary reserves.
The Raikage's fists clenched. Lightning exploded across his body in crackling sheets. Then, without hesitation, he charged straight into the firestorm that looked like it stretched from earth to sky.
This Konoha detachment was acting too strangely. To prevent any more surprises, they had to be crushed, fast, no matter the cost.
Far away on an elevated platform, the Raikage's advisor Dodai watched Kakashi carve through the Kumogakure ranks with the remnants of his team. The old man's eyes were grim.
He'd already reached the same conclusion as his Raikage.
"Someone."
Dodai beckoned a nearby Cloud ninja.
"Pass the order: pull two thousand men from the main force, have them leave camp immediately, and set up a perimeter watch."
The ninja hesitated. Two thousand just for lookout duty? Shouldn't every available blade be thrown at that suicidal Konoha squad instead?
But he swallowed the question and saluted.
Kakashi felt the shift. The corner of his eye flicked toward the platform. For a split second, his gaze locked with Dodai's across the battlefield.
Dodai of Kumogakure.
He'd only appeared in a handful of scenes in the original story, yet every one of them screamed ice-cold composure. Even when Madara dropped Tengai Shinsei on the alliance, Dodai hadn't wasted a single movement shielding random shinobi; he'd used his last second to protect one of Naruto's shadow clones instead.
If I kill him here…
Kakashi didn't have time to finish the thought. A massive silhouette burst from the heart of the fire tornado, barreling straight at him through walls of blistering flame.
Troublesome.
He had never intended to turn this into a counteroffensive. If he did, his already battered team would be bogged down by the Raikage and the endless swarm of Cloud ninja on their heels.
They'd be ground to nothing.
A frigid glint flashed in Kakashi's visible eye.
He took the lead. The White Fang blade sang. Cloud ninja in his path dropped in sprays of red as he charged, one direction only.
Straight toward Dodai.
"You dare?!"
The Raikage exploded out of the inferno, lightning armor blazing. He'd meant to end the Konoha squad in one decisive rush, but the moment he saw Kakashi gunning for his most trusted advisor, rage detonated inside him.
Dodai had served two Raikage. He was his father's contemporary. Half the village's machinery ran on Dodai's mind.
If the Fourth Raikage was Kumogakure's thunder, Dodai was its brain.
Lightning screamed. The Raikage shot after Kakashi like a bolt of pure wrath.
At that instant, the White Fang ignited with blinding light. Ferocious wind compressed to a screaming edge at the blade's tip. In Kakashi's vision, there was only the lone figure on the distant platform.
He's coming for me…
"Stop him."
Dodai didn't flinch. He simply turned and walked away. Dozens of Cloud ninja threw themselves at Kakashi without hesitation at their advisor's quiet command.
The White Fang hummed in Kakashi's grip. The first interceptor fell in two pieces. Chakra along the blade was already reaching its limit.
His gaze cut through the human wall, locking onto Dodai's retreating back.
Still so calm…
"Asahi Tora: Fūton – Dankū!"
A low roar tore from Kakashi's throat. Every drop of surging chakra in his body flooded the blade like a bursting dam.
White Fang fell.
Wind.
Wind at impossible speed.
One slash, and the blizzard itself seemed to part. The night split open. Every Cloud ninja in its path died before they hit the ground.
The lethal crescent of wind kept going, shredding distance, racing for Dodai's spine.
The Raikage's heart seized. He poured everything into closing the gap.
Too late.
The blade had already sung.
Dodai sensed death rushing up behind him, yet his expression never wavered.
Because someone else had arrived.
"Yo, yo, Killer Bee in the house, biyatch!"
A ridiculous rap cut through the chaos. A dark-skinned mountain of a man in Cloud gear, seven blades strapped to his back, physique rivaling the Raikage himself, planted himself behind Dodai with a grin.
The Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer Bee.
"Hmm… long-range wind-edge shaped with the sword, plus some crazy chakra output to keep cohesion that far out. Not bad, fool, ya almost had us!"
One look was all it took for Bee to dissect the technique.
The Dankū was already on him. Even Bee couldn't afford to play around. Crimson Tailed Beast chakra flared, but there wasn't time for a full cloak. He barely managed Version 1, three tails, before yanking a blade free and pouring every ounce of chakra he had into a desperate parry.
Steel met wind.
The sword shattered like glass. Blood painted the air. An arm hit the ground with a wet thud.
The Raikage, arriving a heartbeat later, felt relief and fury collide in his chest.
Dodai was alive.
But Killer Bee had paid for it with an arm.
Kakashi watched Cloud medics swarm the limb and reattach it in seconds. A flicker of regret passed through him.
If not for that idiot rapper, Dodai would be a corpse right now.
At least a severed arm, unlike Amaterasu, could be fixed. Still, Bee's combat strength would take a serious hit for the rest of this war.
Better than nothing.
"DIE!"
Lightning exploded behind him. The Raikage's Lariat came in like a battering ram, pure murder in his eyes.
Kakashi spun, White Fang flashing up to meet it.
"Asahi Tora: Katon – Ken'en."
A technique he'd learned from Uchiha Hikari's kenjutsu variant, fire chakra cloaked the blade and launched forward in a blazing arc.
Flame and lightning collided in a deafening roar. For one frozen moment, Kakashi and the Raikage locked eyes across the inferno, killing intent mirrored perfectly.
Kakashi disengaged after a single clash, arm numb from the impact. A glance behind told him the rest of the story: his team, numbers already cut in half, now completely encircled by Cloud ninja.
Ahead, Killer Bee had staunched the bleeding with Lightning Release chakra. The A–B combo was back together.
No miracles left.
They were in a killbox.
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