Chapter 347: Kakashi and Sakumo Hatake...

At the Allied Headquarters, the Fourth Raikage sat wide-eyed, staring in disbelief at Natsuro, who was calmly sipping tea nearby.

At this point, the Fourth Raikage was even more certain that the person in front of him was just a clone of Natsuro.

After all, he had already received reports from the front lines, the Third Raikage and Second Mizukage had both been effortlessly sealed by Natsuro alone.

There was no doubt, the one over there must be the real body.

Even so, the Fourth Raikage still seemed worried. He looked at him and asked, "Are you really confident you can face all five of those Leaf Village ninja on your own? They were all legendary figures in their time."

"Of course I am," Natsuro answered with a smile.

"Hmph. Don't be reckless. You're not just some random shinobi, you're our Allied Forces' Supreme Commander, and a crucial asset. Don't throw your life away trying to show off," the Fourth Raikage huffed.

His tone was harsh, but it was a rare expression of genuine concern for him.

"Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong," Natsuro said, glancing at the Raikage. In truth, he was feeling somewhat exhilarated.

He didn't particularly love fighting, but allowing himself to indulge once in a while was still refreshing, mind and body alike.

Even though it was just a Spiritual Shadow Clone, the clone's senses were directly connected to his real body. So the thrill of battle that the clone experienced, Natsuro himself could feel completely.

Also, the clone came with built-in limitations. If it had been his real body out there, the battle would've ended quickly, with a single Dimensional Slash from the Ink Blade.

But the Spiritual Clone, being essentially a shadow clone, would disperse upon taking a serious hit. That meant he couldn't use Swift Release: Instaneous Steps to it's full potential, as the physical stress from such extreme speeds would instantly shatter the clone.

As for Dimensional Slash, it wasn't entirely unusable, just that the clone could only manage one single slash. He couldn't follow up with a continuous barrage, because that required an advanced form of Instanteous Steps, called Divine Steps as a prerequisite.

So for the clone, the ninjutsu-style Dimensional Blade was much more practical than the taijutsu-style Dimensional Slash.

Did he believe the clone could defeat all five of those formidable opponents?

Absolutely.

Even if the clone's base stats couldn't match the real body's, the sheer luxury of jutsu at its disposal made up for it. Not having Divine Steps or Dimensional Slash was fine, as long as he didn't get touched. That was the real restriction.

On that front, shadow clones were a bit inferior to Wood Clones...

But researching Wood Release just to get a Wood Clone? That was going too far.

Sure, Natsuro knew the theory, Wood Release required Earth and Water attributes, maybe some Yang Release too—but developing it wasn't simple.

He still had his own path to forge. Wasting time on this right now wasn't worthwhile. Maybe when he hit a bottleneck in his growth, then it would be the right time to broaden his jutsu arsenal.

As for Magnetic Release and Swift Release, he researched those only because they were useful.

Swift Release combined his two strongest affinities: wind and lightning. It was easy to study, and he had a personal pursuit of speed.

"In all of martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon."

And it turned out, Swift Release had surprised him with its utility, he had reached a level of divine speed.

In close-range combat, if the distance was short enough, not even Flying Thunder God could activate faster than his godspeed. Though over long distances, Flying Thunder God was still faster.

Magnetic Release enhanced his Railgun abilities, sure, but its greatest benefit was airborne movement.

Flight was vital in high-level combat. While Magnetic Release couldn't grant direct flight, it could let him control nearby metal objects to hover and move in the air.

Of course, the Light-Weight Rock Technique from Iwagakure would've been even more ideal for that...But they weren't exactly handing that out.As Supreme Commander, Natsuro couldn't just go around demanding enemy villages' secret techniques.

"Hmph. Suit yourself. Just know that if you die, I'll be the one taking over as Supreme Commander," the Fourth Raikage muttered.

"Thanks for the concern, Chief of Staff," Natsuro replied with a grin.

The Fourth Raikage's face immediately darkened, but he didn't say anything else.

A little while later, Natsuro turned to Shikaku.

"Is something the matter, Lord Hokage?" Shikaku asked respectfully. Even if it was only a shadow clone, it was still their Hokage.

"Notify Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Might Guy. I'll be sending people from the battlefield to each of them shortly," Natsuro said.

Shikaku blinked, then his face lit up with joy. For Natsuro to say this meant that he was clearly in control of the situation on the battlefield.

When Shikaku had first learned Natsuro would face five legendary Kage-level ninja alone, he'd been extremely worried. But it had been the Hokage's decision, he couldn't intervene. He could only hope.

Now, though, the outcome said it all. Shikaku realized just how overwhelmingly powerful Natsuro had become, maybe even beyond his own ability to comprehend.

"I'll inform them right away."Shikaku nodded and turned to leave for the Intelligence Division.He would need to relay the message to Yamanaka Inoichi so it could be passed along to the relevant people.

"Wait—also call Shizune. Have her come here," Natsuro added suddenly.

"Yes, sir!"

After Shikaku left, the Fourth Raikage couldn't help but ask,"As far as I know, shadow clones only transmit their experiences when they're dispelled. More importantly, the real body usually can't communicate with a clone, right?"

He wanted to know how Natsuro's clone was keeping up with front-line updates.

He himself needed intel relayed from field units to HQ before getting the bigger picture.

Natsuro, however, clearly hadn't used that route, he hadn't received updates from the Intelligence Division at all. Otherwise, why would he need Shikaku to go inform them?

Maybe the Intel Division didn't even know what had happened out there. After all, the Fourth Division had already pulled back on Natsuro's suggestion earlier.

The Raikage stared intently, waiting for an answer.

"Hm. It's because this isn't an ordinary clone," Natsuro replied.

"So it is some kind of special Konoha-exclusive technique?" the Raikage muttered, as if his suspicions were confirmed.

Natsuro didn't correct him.In truth, Konoha's clone techniques weren't that special, except for the Spiritual Clone Technique.

But since that was indeed a Konoha-exclusive jutsu, the Raikage's guess wasn't entirely wrong.

....

Elsewhere, in the First Division

Kakashi Hatake stood, breathing heavily, back-to-back with another man. Before them stood the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"Never thought I'd see you join the Allied Shinobi Forces," Kakashi said.

"Hmph. You think I wanted to?"The ninja behind him, bandage-wrapped and eyebrowless, grunted in irritation."If it weren't for Haku dragging me along, and me finally getting sick of fake dreams... I wouldn't have bothered coming."

The man was Zabuza Momochi.

Beside him, Haku just smiled softly and didn't expose the lie.In truth, he hadn't insisted on bringing Zabuza—Zabuza had come entirely of his own will.

"I see... When I saw you two in the First Division, I thought I was seeing things," Kakashi said with a smile.Although the situation looked a bit grim, it was only a bit. He had faced far worse before—this wasn't enough to scare him.

"Hmph, when I first showed up to join the Alliance, I was almost arrested as a rogue ninja," Zabuza growled.

"But… aren't you a rogue ninja?" Kakashi replied, deadpan.

Zabuza's breath caught for a moment. He turned and glared at Kakashi.

"Still, after this war, I'll make sure your contributions are reported.You might actually get to live out your days in peace—no more ninja chasing after you," Kakashi added.

Zabuza didn't respond, but Kakashi's words clearly stirred something in him.

He turned to look at the older generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, his gaze settling on the Executioner's Blade in the hands of Jūzō Biwa.His eyes turned cold.

That was his weapon.Just because Jūzō was the original wielder didn't mean Zabuza had any respect for him.

The grudge of a stolen blade could only be resolved, with blood.

Truthfully, there was only one reason Zabuza joined the Alliance: he had finally found a life he wanted, something that gave meaning to his existence.

Then he got the news that someone was trying to cast the whole world into a genjutsu.

Zabuza had flown into a rage.

Is this personal?! You think you can erase everything I fought for?!

Originally, he had no intention of joining the Allied Shinobi Forces, even when he'd heard about it.But now?

"I'm going to skin that bastard alive!" Zabuza cursed viciously, then quickly shared all he knew about the Seven Swordsmen's abilities with Kakashi.

He was angry, but he understood the situation.

An enemy capable of starting a war of this scale... someone like him would just be cannon fodder against them.

Even against the original Seven Swordsmen in front of him, he couldn't fight them alone, he had to work with his division.

"Thanks for the intel," Kakashi said, visibly relieved.

In combat, having intelligence, or not—made all the difference.

Sure, there were Mist Village ninjas in his division too, but most of them knew little about the Seven Swordsmen.In the Mist, those guys had long since become legends.

But Zabuza was different, he was the wielder of the Executioner's Blade.

He knew the original generation well.

So after Zabuza finished briefing them, not only did Kakashi's side gain a strategic edge, but even the other squads, who had been holding back members of the Swordsmen—suddenly felt the pressure ease.

Even Might Guy, who hadn't opened the Eight Gates yet, found things much more manageable.

Haku smiled. This felt... nice.

He looked at the two Kekkei Genkai users in front of him.

One had Scorch Release, the other Explosion Release.

Both techniques relied heavily on temperature manipulation.

That didn't mean Ice Release had a direct advantage, though, it would come down to who had mastered their bloodline more deeply.

"Zabuza-sama… I'll do my best this time!" Haku's eyes were firm and unwavering.

This time, he wasn't fighting innocent people, he was up against the pawns of someone trying to rule the world.

Maybe they weren't even fighting of their own will...

But precisely because they were being forced—dragged from the afterlife to fight against their will, Haku believed it was his duty to return them to rest as soon as possible.

He formed hand seals, and in the next instant, the surrounding temperature dropped drastically.

"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!!"

...

"It's over."Kakashi looked at the sealed-up Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and finally let out a sigh of relief.

The Kekkei Genkai users had been giving Haku a hard time in the beginning, but once Zabuza joined him, Haku had surged with new power.He quickly turned the tables.

Their victory, and sealing, was all but guaranteed.

Kakashi scanned the area. It seemed like their battle had finally ended.

Now they could take a short break before heading to the next battlefield.

Just as Kakashi was resting with his eyes closed, he suddenly opened them.The Intelligence Division had contacted him.

A new mission? He wondered.

He hadn't had much time to rest, but if duty called, he couldn't refuse.

Then, after hearing the details from the Intelligence Division, Kakashi's eyes widened.

His father had been revived using Edo Tensei? And had faced Natsuro in battle?

But more importantly, his father was being teleported to him.

Suddenly, even someone as emotionally weathered as Kakashi, who had experienced all the pain and loss the world could throw at him, felt his heart tremble.

How... was he supposed to face his father?

Should he blame him for abandoning him as a child? Or forgive him?

For the first time in a long while, Kakashi felt his thoughts spiral.

But there was no more time to think.

In the next moment, two halves of a body appeared in front of him.

Kakashi's gaze turned complex.

He never expected to reunite with his father under these circumstances—, and not like this…

A father, defeated.

A father, sliced in two.

The feeling was... indescribably strange.

If you want to read more...

Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 402 - Two Years Later...