Chapter 32: The Tragedy That Couldn’t Be Rewritten

Chapter 32: The Tragedy That Couldn't Be Rewritten

The sudden collapse of the cave sealed off the entire entrance in an instant.

Uchiha Obito, who had just rushed inside, was struck by a massive falling rock and fell to the ground on the spot.

"Obito!!"

Kakashi's voice was filled with shock and anger as he hurried forward.

Just as he was about to reach Obito, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Two figures leaped out from behind the rubble.

Focusing his gaze, Kakashi saw that one of them was his teammate, Nohara Rin.

The other was a young man, seemingly in his late teens or early twenties, wearing a Konoha headband. His face was unfamiliar.

"Kakashi! Obito!"

Nohara Rin also spotted Uchiha Obito, who was trapped under a boulder, and cried out in concern.

At that moment, Uchiha Dali landed on the ground, his gaze falling upon Obito, whose body was half-crushed beneath the rock.

"So, even though I encountered him, I still couldn't change his fate…"

He thought to himself in silence.

Releasing Nohara Rin, he let her return to her team.

"Who are you?"

Kakashi stood protectively in front of Rin, his eyes wary as he questioned Uchiha Dali.

"Uchiha Dali."

"So, you're that man?"

Hearing the name, Kakashi's expression tensed slightly.

"He just saved me, Kakashi," Rin quickly explained.

Meanwhile, Obito, still pinned under the boulder, coughed weakly and said, "The Man Who Surpassed 'Shisui of the Body Flicker'... I never expected to see you here… T-Thank you for saving Rin… cough cough…"

Uchiha Dali remained silent.

There was no time for further conversation. Kakashi and Rin rushed over to Obito's side.

"Kakashi, I don't think I'll make it."

"Please take care of Rin for me. Also, I have a gift for you—congratulations on becoming a jōnin…"

As in the original events, at Obito's request, Rin used medical ninjutsu to transplant his intact Sharingan into Kakashi's eye socket—a parting gift for his newly promoted teammate.

After the procedure, Obito fell completely silent.

Rin sobbed uncontrollably.

Uchiha Dali watched the scene quietly, feeling both helpless and speechless.

Just then, as their attention was diverted, a shadow suddenly flashed out from hiding, launching a silent attack toward Uchiha Dali's back.

Of course, Dali had already been fully aware of the enemy's every move.

The reason he hadn't dealt with the enemy himself was that he wanted Kakashi to handle it.

He wanted Kakashi to personally take down the enemy who had killed his closest friend and comrade.

As expected—

The moment the enemy struck at Uchiha Dali, Kakashi immediately sensed it and counterattacked.

With a sharp clang, Kakashi's blade—once belonging to his father, the famed "Konoha White Fang" Sakumo Hatake—snapped in half.

"You bastards still have time to cry over your dead friend? Then die and join them!!"

The attacker—Firelight—scoffed coldly after breaking Kakashi's sword and launched another assault.

What he didn't realize was that with Kakashi now wielding Obito's newly transplanted two-tomoe Sharingan, his every move was filled with openings.

The flow of his chakra, the signs of his impending attacks, even the subtle flaws in his movements—everything was laid bare before Kakashi's eyes.

Kakashi's Sharingan flickered, and a surge of realization hit him.

"So this is the power of the Sharingan…? My strength feels like it has increased by at least one level."

While absorbing this revelation, Kakashi instinctively dodged to his enemy's blind spot.

Firelight, being a jōnin of Iwagakure, wasn't an easy opponent, but Kakashi had clearly gained the upper hand.

After a brief clash, Kakashi unleashed a Chidori and, unsurprisingly, struck Firelight down on the spot.

With that, he had avenged Obito.

Uchiha Dali had been watching the fight from the sidelines. Seeing Kakashi eliminate the enemy, he finally approached.

"You haven't fully adapted to that eye yet," he commented.

"If you had, you would've been able to kill him during his second attack."

Kakashi tensed slightly at the evaluation and looked up at Uchiha Dali.

"This man… His strength is far beyond mine," he thought to himself. Then, regaining his composure, he said, "Thank you for saving Rin."

At the same time, he carefully observed the man before him.

The title of "The Man Who Surpassed Shisui of the Body Flicker" had spread across the battlefield.

Even though they had been stationed on a different front, Kakashi and his team had heard the rumors.

Now that he had met the man in person, he found him even more formidable than expected—powerful, young, and unpredictable.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him as well," Uchiha Dali said. "My condolences."

Kakashi fell silent and turned to look at Obito's lifeless body, still trapped beneath the rubble.

"Our mission is to destroy Kannabi Bridge and cut off Iwagakure's supply lines. The task isn't finished yet," he said, suppressing his grief.

"Then go complete your mission. I'll take care of the remaining enemies," Uchiha Dali responded.

"I'm counting on you."

Without further words, Kakashi took a final, sorrowful glance at Obito before leading a grief-stricken Rin away from the battlefield.

From a young age, they had been taught that the mission came first.

Even if their comrade's body lay before them, they had no choice but to press on.

Uchiha Dali, however, did not leave immediately. Instead, he activated his sensory abilities and discreetly scanned the surroundings.

He wasn't searching for enemy ninja from other villages—he was looking for a hidden presence.

At that moment, deep underground, Uchiha Madara was silently observing the events above.

He had witnessed everything that had transpired.

After all, this place was his hidden base.

"The Uchiha Clan these days… Have they really fallen to such a pitiful level? They can't even defend against a simple Earth Release technique," Madara muttered disdainfully.

Then, he turned to the figure fused with the roots of the Divine Tree—White Zetsu.

"The boy is still alive. Bring him down here. Be careful not to alert that other one."

By "that other one," he was, of course, referring to Uchiha Dali.

It seemed he had no intention of coming into contact with this famed Uchiha prodigy.