213 The Mysterious Man From Konoha

Kagura, now missing an arm, glared fiercely at Obito.

She didn't regret it. Even if she lost a limb, destroying his ninja tool meant he couldn't enter Sage Mode, giving them a fighting chance.

But Obito seemed to understand her thoughts. He grinned.

"Sorry… I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

He opened his arms. The natural energy that had escaped from the broken tool instantly flowed back into his body.

Red markings spread from his eyes down to his neck.

His forehead bulged slightly, showing that his control of Sage Mode wasn't on Simu's level yet, but it was more than enough to deal with the current threat.

"No way…" Kagura's expression turned pale.

With legends like Simu and Jiraiya, Sage Mode had once again shown its terrifying strength.

Enemies of Konoha were reminded of the fear brought by the First Hokage.

And now, besides Simu and Jiraiya, Obito had become the third to master Sage Mode.

That realization filled Kagura with despair.

Obito didn't care about her reaction.\He possessed both the Uchiha's power and Hashirama's cells, Right now, he was the person closest to becoming the next Uchiha Madara.

At the same time, Obito possessed both the Sage Body and the Sage Eyes.

But even with both, he was still far from reaching Uchiha Madara's level.

"Wood Style: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"

With a single hand sign, the towering trees around him reacted instantly.

Countless branches whipped out, attacking and crushing everything nearby.

Kagura, already injured, couldn't match Obito in Sage Mode.

She spat out fire dragons one after another, But each one was blocked by thick, growing branches. With every attack, her flames grew weaker.

Suddenly, Obito sensed a powerful presence behind him.

His expression turned sour.

"Damn it… Kakashi's ahead of me again."

He stopped holding back.

Dozens of branches slammed together like a closing fist, trapping the enemy inside.

The trapped members of the Guardian Ninja Twelve were crushed with overwhelming force.

Nearby ninjas tried to help, but in the forest of moving trees, they couldn't move freely—they were helpless.

Then, a flash of thunder streaked across the sky.

A massive Pteranodon dove down, It was Kakashi, reborn and dressed in black.

Seeing him, Obito pointed at himself proudly.

"Well? Pretty impressive, right? I took down the whole palace by myself!"

Obito grinned proudly.

Kakashi looked around and said flatly,

"Too slow."

"...What did you say?"

Obito's expression instantly turned sharp.

But Kakashi, still wearing his usual bored expression, hands in pockets, replied,

"Your fighting style is inefficient. No need for such large-scale jutsu."

Obito snapped back,

"You don't get it. This is the First Hokage's technique!"

Just as the two were about to start another argument, Kakashi's expression suddenly changed.

In a flash, he appeared in front of Obito.

Before Obito could even react, a bolt of lightning shot toward Kakashi!

Blonde hair, a massive build, and a body wrapped in terrifying thunder, The enemy's speed was overwhelming.

Kakashi barely had time to raise his arms, covering them in Armament Haki to block the hit.

The attacker's cold eyes locked on him 

The visitor's icy eyes locked on Kakashi, and his lightning-wrapped hand struck like a spear.

 "Hell Spike: Four-Finger Thrust!"

As soon as his fingers touched Kakashi, a burst of terrifying lightning exploded.

A pillar of thunder shot out, blasting Kakashi away like a cannonball!

He smashed through more than a dozen giant trees, and even the city wall behind him shattered before he finally stopped.

Amid the crackling thunder, golden hair rose slowly in the air.

The one who appeared was the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, Ai.

Seeing this, several Revolutionary Army ninjas charged toward him without hesitation.

But Ai only sneered.

His massive body vanished in a flash, Then, in the blink of an eye, he was already among them.

They couldn't even see him move just a flash of lightning And in an instant, six elite ninjas were torn apart by raw force.

The rest froze, stunned.

Ai scoffed,

"What's wrong? Too scared to fight when a real warrior shows up? So much for Freedom Fighter."

He was just about to move again When a rumble echoed from the distance.

From the broken rubble, Kakashi and Obito finally climbed out.

"So it was the Third Raikage himself," Kakashi muttered.

"No wonder those nobles had the guts to act bold."

Bright red blood dripped from the corner of Kakashi's mouth.

The arm he used to block the earlier attack was bent at an unnatural angle.

Even though it was covered in Armament Haki, the blow from the Third Raikage had still fractured his bones.

Kakashi gritted his teeth, held his broken arm, and took a deep breath.

Then, with a painful twist, he forced the bone back into place.

He quickly used the healing power of his Zoan fruit to recover.

Seeing this, Ai gave a subtle nod.

"You're a real man. As expected from his student."

The Third Raikage had clearly recognized both Kakashi and Obito.

Obito clenched his fists, furious.

"You bastard... I'm going to kill you!"

Watching Kakashi take that hit for him hurt more than being injured himself.

Without hesitation, Obito unleashed a powerful jutsu 

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

The ground cracked open, and a massive wooden dragon surged forward, roaring as it charged straight at Ai.

Even a Jōnin wouldn't be able to withstand such an attack head-on.

But Ai only sneered.

Lightning chakra flared around his hand, crackling like a blade 

Then, with a single swing, he shattered the wooden dragon like it was nothing.

Not only that, the Third Raikage Ai stepped on the broken wooden dragon and charged toward them at an even more terrifying speed.

He dashed forward like a thunderbolt.

Obito, with his Sharingan, could barely keep up with Ai's movements.

But Kakashi reacted first 

 He transformed into a Pteranodon, grabbed Obito with both feet, and lifted him into the air.

From above, Obito extended his palm and launched another Wood Style: Stormgun!

But to Ai, it was nothing.

With a simple horizontal chop, he split the massive wooden attack in half.

Like lightning, Ai appeared above them, raised one foot high, and brought it down like a thunder axe.

"If this is all the legendary Wood Style can do, then I'm disappointed"

For a battle fanatic like Ai, not being able to clash with the true power of the First Hokage was a huge letdown.

He had hoped to finally feel the might of the legendary Wood Style 

But this kid wasn't even close.

Obito could feel the contempt in Ai's eyes, and it made his blood boil.

Sage Chakra surged from his body as he threw a punch straight at Ai's attack!

But Kakashi's face changed.

The thunder axe instantly pierced through Obito's wooden hand and in the next second, Ai's lightning-wrapped kick chopped Obito's arm clean off.

If Kakashi hadn't pulled him back at the last moment, it wouldn't have just been his arm it would've been Obito's whole body.

"It's up to you, Kakashi!"

Obito yelled through gritted teeth, enduring the pain.

But his injury created an opening 

One Kakashi didn't waste.

Thunder surged around Kakashi's sharpened claws as he lunged straight at the Third Raikage's chest.

At that moment, Ai had just finished his previous attack and couldn't dodge in time.

He could only watch as Kakashi's claws slammed into him.

But… he didn't even flinch.

The instant his claws made contact, Kakashi felt like he wasn't striking a person but solid steel, compressed to the extreme.

A blast of lightning erupted as Ai was blown into the ground, leaving a huge crater.

But Kakashi didn't smile.

Because Ai stood up immediately, almost unharmed.

He glanced down at the faint red mark on his chest, then smirked.

"If this is all Hanyu Simu's apprentice can do…"

The thunder around his body flared violently.

"Then I'll gladly take both your lives."

At that moment, Kakashi and Obito both understood

They were still far from reaching the level of the strongest ninja in the world.

Even though Obito had begun to master Sage Mode…

Even though Kakashi had awakened the ancient Devil Fruit…

Against this kind of opponent, they couldn't even scratch him.

But it wasn't their fault.

Their strength was already top-tier among Jōnin 

Just one step away from Kage-level.

The problem was, Third Raikage Ai didn't follow the rules of normal power scaling.

His defense and offense were among the best in the entire ninja world.

Without a truly destructive jutsu, it was impossible to hurt him.

"Damn it… I've embarrassed our teacher," Obito muttered bitterly.

Kakashi stayed calm.

"If Lord Raikage kills us now, aren't you afraid of provoking Konoha?"

"After all, everyone knows, our Fourth Hokage never lets things slide."

He wasn't exaggerating.

When Rin was kidnapped, Konoha nearly wiped Kirigakure off the map.

It took the life of a Mizukage, seven swordsmen, the Three Tails, and countless ninjas to finally calm Konoha's fury.

But Ai only sneered.

"Why do you think I'm here in the first place?"

"The four great nation are already preparing to attack Konoha."

"Right now, all of Konoha's troops are at the borders. They don't have time to worry about you."

That's why the Third Raikage dared to use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to break into enemy territory 

To eliminate Simu's two disciples before war officially began.

And he intended to do it in a flash of lightning.

"Don't give them a chance to grow up!"

After all, the Black Shinigami was already feared across the ninja world.

And Konoha's current strength was terrifying enough.

If these young talents were allowed to mature, the other great nations would have no hope of resisting.

Kakashi sighed and glanced at Obito.

"You're just holding me back. I'll stop him, you run."

Obito shook his head without hesitation.

"No, I'll hold him off. You transform into a Pteranodon and escape."

Kakashi smiled slightly.

"Forget it. Let's stick together, alright?"

Then he looked at the Third Raikage and said calmly,

"Let's see if we can at least tear off a piece of his flesh."

"No problem," Obito replied.

Third Raikage Ai looked at the two of them, and a hint of nostalgia flickered in his eyes as if remembering the last eight tail Jinchuuriki.

"What a touching display of friendship," 

"But in the end, you'll both still die by my hands!"

As Raikage, Ai was determined to eliminate Konoha's new generation before they could grow.

He appeared before Kakashi and Obito like a bolt of lightning.

"Hell Spike · Three Hands!"

A powerful surge of thunder shot out, striking at the two of them like a long spear.

Just as Ai thought he had succeeded, a cloud of smoke appeared behind them.

Blue chakra surged, forming a blue skeleton that enveloped both of them.

The lightning spear slammed into the skeleton, piercing through its ribs.

However, it only managed to puncture a small crack, with the three fingers of the spear stuck firmly in the ribs.

Raikage Ai raised his head, recognizing the technique.

It was the Uchiha clan's secret technique, Susanoo.

But this...

His gaze shifted from the two young ninjas to the figure standing behind them.

He wore a white robe with six black symbols engraved on it, holding a white round fan.

A mask covered his face, beneath which shone a pair of deep, scarlet eyes.

His snow-white hair cascaded like a waterfall.

Just looking at him made Raikage Ai feel disoriented.

It was a sign that an illusion was about to take hold.

He quickly looked away, unwilling to meet the eyes of this mysterious man.

When did Konoha gain such a powerful figure?

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TO BE CONTINUED

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