Chapter 110

"Thump!"

After Kaito's ninja blade passed over Kakashi's neck, accompanied by a dull sound and swirling smoke, a severed piece of wood fell onto the ground.

Yet, Kaito wasn't surprised by this at all. He turned his head to look at Kakashi who had reappeared not far away, then slightly swung the ninja blade in his hand.

The next moment, the chakra within his body suddenly burst out, and in an instant, he once again charged in front of Kakashi.

Such speed was incredible, and even Kaito himself was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"It seems adaptation will take some time, I have been busy implementing various reforms lately, which has led to a reduction in my training."

Kaito pondered to himself as he swung his blade towards Kakashi.

"As for the speed right now, I'm probably catching up to Shisui under full force, but compared to Shisui going all out, there is still a certain gap."

Shisui, that little guy, was naturally fast, his teleportation technique was unmatched in the shinobi world, and as for his eyes, Kaito was really guessing if they were speed oriented.

Otherwise, why was his chakra so far behind compared to mine, yet his speed was many times faster than mine.

Of course, this was just speculation, after all, this youngster's dojutsu did not seem to be oriented towards physical abilities at all.

However, Kaito quickly realized that he might have fallen into a misconception, which is that dojutsu and eye orientation may not be related at all.

"Perhaps, the ability of dojutsu is determined by the state of the awakener at that time, and the orientation of the eyes is based on the awakener's combat style habits?"

This issue was indeed worth considering, and the original work seemed to have mentioned it subtly.

The most typical one was Sasuke, the amount of his chakra as depicted in the original work was many times stronger than that of Uchiha Itachi.

However, his performance in terms of speed seemed mediocre, even getting beaten up by Killer Bee in swordsmanship during his Mangekyo Sharingan state.

But when he switched his eyes, his speed was surprisingly not weaker than Naruto in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, this might also explain some issues.

"Although there is no definitive evidence, this idea seems to have no problem.

According to this idea, in the original work, the Uchiha clan only mentioned having two Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, but the clan has been inherited for thousands of years, and there are not few people who have awakened their eyes in thousands of years.

It's impossible that there were no cases of brothers awakening their eyes simultaneously, but there are not many successful cases of integrating the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, which might be due to the problem of orientation leading to integration failure.

Now that I have supplemented the physical orientation, my eyes are also slowly improving, maybe my guess is right!"

Kaito pondered in his mind, but the speed of his handwork did not slow down at all.

Kakashi was indeed strong, but his shortcomings were very obvious, which is that his Sharingan eye was a huge burden for him.

Especially now, there is at least five years from the beginning of the original work, his control over his Sharingan has not reached the level in the original work.

Under such circumstances, the pressure he could exert on Kaito was really limited, especially after Kaito made up for his lack of speed, the current Kakashi was really not much of a threat to Kaito!

"Ding! Ding! Ding..."

The sound of clashing metal filled the air as Kaito moved with graceful agility, continually leveraging his speed to attack and evade, his ninja blade posing a constant threat to Kakashi.

Kakashi was decidedly on the defensive. With one eye shut tight, he relied solely on his Sharingan for combat. The deep crimson, three-pronged swirl rotated ceaselessly as he deftly dodged Kaito's attacks. However, his chakra was being drained at an alarming rate.

He wanted to use ninjutsu, but he found that he could not shake off Kaito's persistent assault, and regardless of his strategy, he simply could not put any distance between them.

This state of combat left him extremely flustered.

He had some intel on Kaito. Previously, Kaito was known for his proficiency in ninjutsu, particularly his mastery of the Fire Release technique, which was highly commendable.

But a few months ago, the man suddenly demonstrated formidable kenjutsu skills and even took out formidable opponents like Raiga in his mission reports.

Kakashi had witnessed that swordsmanship and was left in awe. Yet, he thought that while the swordsmanship was indeed impressive, Kaito's speed was somewhat lacking.

Today, to his surprise, he discovered that Kaito had made an incredible improvement, displaying a speed that was nearly impossible to counter.

"I can't keep going on like this..."

As he once again tried to distance himself, only to be immediately caught up and attacked by Kaito, Kakashi blocked the incoming blade, silently reflecting on his predicament.

Moreover, he sensed something quite subtle. It seemed as if the rhythm and smoothness of Kaito's attack were improving!

He was clear that if things continued this way, he wouldn't meet a good end.

Especially considering that the man before him had audaciously killed Danzō in front of the Third Hokage and almost all of Konoha's ninja!

"Boom!"

Kaito once again drew his blade, then used a teleportation technique to appear behind Kakashi. Just as his blade was about to strike down, Kakashi activated his Substitution Technique.

In such a ninja confrontation, the simplest and most basic ninjutsu often turned out to be the most effective.

However, Kakashi was also aware that his every move was probably being watched by Kaito. Hence, the moment he landed, he began to rapidly form seals.

Yet, Kaito's speed this time completely exceeded his expectations.

Kaito, who was originally tens of meters away from him, appeared before him again in less than a second!

"Space-time ninjutsu?"

Kakashi had seen similar techniques. This unimaginable speed was once displayed by his teacher, and now Kaito was showcasing it again!

"Hum!"

In an instant, Kaito's eyes transformed into the Mangekyou Sharingan state, as if those eyes held a bewitching power.

Accompanied by the influx of a strange power, Kakashi suddenly felt an unbearable pain in his head and promptly lost consciousness under the onslaught of this energy.

"What is... happening?"

He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly came to, his pupil dilating in the next moment.

Because before him lay a silver-haired middle-aged man, a ninja blade lodged in his abdomen, his blood soaking the floor.

"No..."

Kakashi extended his hand, subconsciously wanting to touch the man before him. But just then, space shifted around him, and amidst the dusk, he found himself suddenly transported to a street.

The street was buzzing with rumors, words so devastating that Kakashi struggled to breathe.

"Isn't that the guy's son?"

"Exactly, knowing full well it was a time of war, he abandoned his mission, causing us such heavy losses!"

"Despicable man, serves him right to commit suicide, people like him deserve hell!"

"..."

Confronted by such venomous words, Kakashi's fists involuntarily clenched. He had realized he was trapped in a genjutsu.

But such a genjutsu was making it very difficult for him to stay calm, as it felt like it had transported him back to his childhood.

"What is he trying to imply? Why is he doing this?"

Kakashi couldn't help but wonder in his mind, but soon he found that space had shifted once again.

Now, the silver moonlight illuminated the land. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki lay in a pool of blood, having handed baby Naruto over to the Third Hokage themselves.

As time fast-forwarded, he saw Naruto walking alone under the moonlight.

"Quickly, close the door, it's the Nine-Tails!"

"Why would that cursed child appear here, ruining the mood so late at night."

"Really, why don't they just kill this damned kid!"

The small figure, like his own from years past, was subjected to more vicious rumors than he ever had!

The bleak silhouette sent a chill through Kakashi's heart. He really wanted to say that this was the son of his own teacher, the sole descendant of the man who had protected Konoha.

But he couldn't utter the words, he didn't even know how to voice them.

"Are you awake yet?"

Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in Kakashi's ears, and he instantly recognized who it was.

The illusionary space shifted once again, and Kaito quietly appeared beside Kakashi, speaking calmly to him.

"It seems you're more awake now. Your eyes are much different than mine. Apart from the gap in power, you're also unable to see clearly through the fog."

In response to Kaito's words, Kakashi chose silence. But Kaito didn't seem to mind, he smiled faintly, and the illusionary space once again transformed.

In an instant, the silver moonlight morphed into a setting sun. In the twilight, the figures of young Kakashi and Naruto moved forward side by side.

The intertwining loneliness and rumors, everything felt exceptionally suffocating.

"Have you never wondered why your father was so attacked by public opinion? Just like you never wondered why Konoha concealed Naruto's identity."

Kaito turned his head to look at Kakashi, his finger pointing at the two solitary figures as he slowly spoke.

"And the way public opinion was directed at Naruto, it was so resolute, just like our Uchiha, does that give you some ideas?"

Kaito's words made Kakashi's body begin to stiffen. These were questions he had pondered, yet he had never found any answers.

Furthermore, he had never connected these things before!

"Your father once had a chance of becoming Hokage, but under such frenzied public attack, he committed suicide at home.

Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's child, although he's a jinchuriki, it doesn't justify concealing his identity.

Have you ever thought, growing up in such an environment of extreme hatred, he might bear resentment towards the village?

And have you ever considered, if living in such conditions, a little bit of kindness and warmth could make a lifelong impression?

Though the Uchiha did indeed have issues, why should we be vilified for problems created by others, without any real investigation?

And why was the public sentiment about us so negative that it even drove some of our clan members to desperate actions?"

Pausing slightly at this point, Kaito then continued with profound meaning.

"I told you earlier that you can happily tell Obito a hundred years from now that you haven't let his eye gather dust.

But when you meet your father, can you tell him what you've noticed, but can't do anything about?

When you see your teacher, can you happily tell him under what circumstances his child grew up?"

//

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