On the other side of the lake, Hoshigaki Kisame clashed with Asuma Sarutobi again and again. For all his monstrous strength, even he couldn't finish Asuma immediately. Their attacks collided in a blur.
Kisame finally formed hand signs and shouted, "Water Style, Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Two massive water dragons rose from the lake, twisting together as they devoured each other. The shockwaves of their clash rippled outward.
Right at the critical moment, Kakashi released the exact same jutsu.
"You're using the same technique as me?" Kisame sounded genuinely surprised that Kakashi had managed to mirror such a powerful Water Style in an instant. That wasn't something just anyone could do.
"What're you doing here?" Asuma asked, startled.
Kakashi answered, "I know I left this to you two earlier, but I still couldn't help worrying."
Across the battlefield, another Kakashi—his real body—appeared behind Itachi, kunai in hand.
"Kakashi Hatake?" Itachi turned slightly, voice cold.
"You're a rogue ninja," Kakashi said. "What are you doing back in the village?"
Outside the footage, Sasuke instantly sat up straight.
The high-speed jonin battle had dazzled him, but this question was what he wanted to know most. Why had Uchiha Itachi come back to Konoha at all?
In the video, Itachi slowly faced Kakashi. "Kakashi Hatake."
"Those eyes of yours… still the same," Kakashi said. "Well, you are the rightful heir to the Sharingan. Guess I'd better prepare for the worst."
Kakashi's gaze tightened. He already felt the danger radiating from those eyes.
"No wonder you can use the same jutsu as me," Kisame said, amused. "Didn't think there really was someone besides Itachi with eyes like that. You must be the Copy Ninja, Kakashi."
"I'm the one who should be surprised," Kakashi shot back. "Didn't expect the suspicious guys in the teahouse to be Uchiha Itachi and the monster of the Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame."
"So you know me after all." Kisame grinned.
"So you're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," Kakashi said, expression hardening. "And that thing on your back has to be Samehada."
Kakashi had never seen the Seven Swordsmen in person, but their reputation was enormous. Seven elite warriors, each wielding a legendary blade, each one a top-tier fighter of Kirigakure.
Every one of them was at least elite jonin level.
But one particular comment from Kisame immediately caught Kakashi's attention.
"Heard you fought Zabuza," Kisame said. "A guy worth cutting."
"Me? Fight Zabuza?" Kakashi frowned. Judging from the appearance of future Sasuke in the footage, this scene couldn't be far from his present—maybe within six months.
Which meant in less than half a year, he'd face two of the Seven Swordsmen?
Any one of them was enough to pose a serious threat to him.
He was confident in his abilities, but these weren't nobodies. They were legendary for a reason.
But before Kisame could act, Itachi's voice cut him off.
"Kisame. Don't."
"If you really fight him, you won't get away intact," Itachi said. "And if we drag this out any longer, every ninja in the village will come running."
"But—" Kisame tried.
"Our objective," Itachi said sharply. "You're not here to suffer."
Kakashi stepped forward. "Then I'd like to hear what that objective is."
The clone speaking dissolved into white smoke.
"We're only here to find something," Itachi said.
"And what exactly are you looking for?" Kakashi pressed.
"I'm not like Kisame. I won't take long." Itachi didn't answer the question. Instead, he flicked his wrist and sent a handful of shuriken flying.
Kakashi's instincts flared. He immediately formed signs.
"Ninja Art, Water Style, Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of surging water rose around Kakashi. At the same moment, sharpened water spikes shot toward him, only to be stopped just in time by his barrier.
"What speed…" Kakashi's voice shook. Itachi's technique activation was unbelievably fast.
Kakashi was a natural genius, and even so, his own casting speed, while fast, was still visible step by step. But Itachi had completed the entire sequence in the instant he raised his hand.
If Kakashi didn't have the Sharingan, he would have died without ever understanding how.
Outside the video, Kakashi's expression grew even heavier. Itachi was stronger than before. Much stronger.
Sasuke, watching everything, felt his mind go blank.
He was stunned by Itachi's casting speed.
Kakashi's hand signs had already been too fast for him to follow. But Itachi… Itachi's speed was beyond anything he could comprehend. He didn't even know when Itachi finished forming the technique.
"This… this huge of a gap?" Sasuke clenched his fists. He couldn't accept it.
If Itachi was this overwhelmingly strong, how was he supposed to challenge him someday? Forget revenge—he might never catch up at all.
Was he going to be inferior forever?
He suddenly hated himself for being satisfied with being top of the class. What had he even learned at the academy?
It felt like he had made progress, but compared to these monsters at the top, the gap was ridiculous.
Kakashi was already far beyond anyone Sasuke had ever imagined. His presence, his techniques, his speed… Sasuke had never witnessed anything like it.
The Uchiha clan had been wiped out when he was too young to understand strength. He had never truly seen what an Uchiha elite looked like in battle. He could only assume they were comparable to Kakashi.
This wasn't an insult to the clan. Kakashi's renown was massive.
Konoha's Number One Technician.