Battle of Legends (Part-3)

[A/N: Thanks to all of you for supporting this fanfic and telling me to continue to write it. You have no idea how much that meant to me!

I will do my best to create this into a fanfic that will be worth all your time.

Thank you!!]

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Ting-! Ting-!

The sound of metal destroying metal echoed across the battlefield as the fight between the Seven Demon Swordsman of the Mist and Kakashi reached the climax.

After fighting for multiple hours against an army of reanimated shinobis and the white zetsus, Kakashi's team was confronted yet another wave of enemies.

This time it were the notorious Seven Demon Swordsman of the Mist.

After the long drawn out battle and continuous use of chakra, Kakashi was already running on fumes.

But being the leader and the strongest member of the team Kakashi didn't hesitate for even a second and jumped into battle and displayed a level of swordsmanship and control over his chakra that left everyone witnessing the battle in awe.

The lightning danced around his feet and Sword as he dominated the battle even while fighting against seven opponents by himself.

The first one he took care of was Zabuza and Haku.

He injured their reanimated bodies almost as soon as they showed up on the battlefield and left them to be sealed by the other shinobis.

Right now only two of the Seven Demon Swordsman were left.

They were Mangetsu Hozuki and Juzo Biwa, another wielder of the Executioner's Blade.

Luckily, he didn't have to fight Kisame Hoshigaki in his current state as Guy was currently dealing with him.

Of course he still would have won, but he would have nothing left for the fights to come and the burden he would have put on his body would make fighting impossible for him for a few days and that result is not acceptable for one of the strongest forces of the Allied Shinobi Forces and the future Hokage.

However, Mangetsu Hozuki and Juzo Biwa were troublesome opponents as well.

Being from the Hozuki clan, Mangetsu's Kekkei Genkai of transforming his body into water is absolutely useless when faced against a powerful lightning user like Kakashi.

But his skills with the swords were not to be underestimated.

He was the most skilled with the sword than any other Swordsman of the mist in their entire history.

And Juzo biwa was also a powerful enough to be scouted by the Akatsuki which proves that he too is a very capable ninja.

"Whoo" Kakashi let out a small breathe to calm down and and focus on the fight.

'The opponent I need to focus on is Juzo. If I fight against Mangetsu in my current condition, even slight interference from Juzo will create an opening for Mangetsu to land an attack.'

'There is no need to use the Sharingan since the number of enemies have already dwindled down to two.'

Kakashi thought as he slid down his forehead protector to cover his left eye.

'I will take him out in one strike!'

Kakashi put his sword inside it's sheath.

He kept his hand over the hilt of his sword and bent down.

With a sudden flash of lightning, Kakashi appeared directly behind Juzo and sheathed his sword yet again as everyone witnessed the upper half of Juzo's body slide down to the ground completely separated from his lower half.

*Hahh* *Hahh*

Kakashi breathed heavily as he pointed his sword towards Mangetsu, "You are next."

Kakashi said and immediately engaged in a fight with Mangetsu and led him away from the previous battlefield to allow others to seal Juzo's body.

***

After a fight that lasted several minutes, Kakashi looked up at the sky and started breathing heavily as all of these fights have been extremely exhausting for him.

Not only has he had to fight previous members of the Akastsuki like Sasori, Deidara and Kakazu, he also fought against Kimimaru and other long forgotten shinobis with strange Kekkei genkais.

Even for a shinobi of the level of Kakashi, fighting so many S-ranked ninjas with immortal bodies and boundless amount of chakra while keeping the casualties to a minimum is an extremely difficult task.

'Finally! I can at least catch my breathe for a while now.'

Kakashi sat down on the ground and began using the method he developed to cultivate and restore his chakra.

Kakashi was inspired to create a method of chakra cultivation on his own after he witnessed Shirou Hatake using it in the Land of Waves.

He obviously didn't knew how Shirou was doing it but he could sense the movement of chakra and his change in breathing. He also noticed the efficiency of that cultivation method as he was able to recover a great deal of his chakra in just 10-15 minutes.

The chakra cultivation technique currently known in the world is required to be used only when you have the proper time and space to concentrate and not on a battlefield. Because of how long it takes to recover even a tiny bit of chakra this way.

Which is why Kakashi thrown himself into researching and creating the best possible Chakra cultivation technique.

Unlike Shirou's force control, Kakashi's chakra cultivation relies heavily on breathing and guiding his chakra through his meridians in a specific way.

His method works by inhaling huge amounts of oxygen into the lungs and moving his chakra in a way that it will follow his breathing rhythm and wash over his muscles just after the oxygen is delivered to his cells.

It was an extremely complicated method he came up with to release all the exhaustion and tension from his muscles and revitalise his body which would not have been possible to create without the help of his Sharingan.

Kakashi used this method for 15-20 minutes which allowed him to recover about 35% of his chakra which was more than enough for him to get back on the battlefield.

Kakashi stood up feeling rejuvenated and relaxed as he felt that he has already dealt with a huge number of enemy's forces and predicted that it will be a long time before anyone as strong as an S-ranked ninja comes his way.

There were many other battle company's who were fighting in the war and sending so many powerful shinobis to a single company was not something the enemy could afford.

However, Kakashi felt that he jinxed himself as he felt every single hair on his body tingle and a shiver ran down his spine.

He was forced by his instincts to duck down.

He felt a part of his hair getting sliced but he managed to save himself.

*Boom!*

He heard a loud crash and saw multiple trees as well as the surrounding area getting blown to bits and smoke covered his attacker's figure.

Kakashi brandished his sword, pulled up his forehead protector and got ready to fight.

The smoke was slowly clearing and revealed parts of the attacker's body which left Kakashi stunned.

He saw a familiar white short sword, a leaf Jonin vest, familiar white hair tied into a pony-tail.

The attacker waved his sword in a downward slash, a very simple move but it created a gust of wind strong enough to clear up all the smoke surrounding him.

And then Kakashi finally got to see the person he had wanted to see the most in his entire life.

He had wished that he could speak to him just one more time and tell him that he was proud of the decision he made, that he was proud to be called his son, that he loved him with all of his heart.

"D-Dad..?"

Kakshi murmured as a small tear rolled down his cheeks.

However, he received no response in return but the gaze of a man devoid of all emotions.

Sakumo Hatake, the white fang of the leaf, The Hated Hero, was already in complete control of Kabuto.

Sakumo attacked again which left a gash on Kakashi's chest and his blood gushed out.

"D-Dad..i-it's me. W-What ..are you doing...?" Kakashi muttered in disbelief as he managed to survive the previous attack though that was only thanks to the battle instincts he had developed.

He had no intention of moving but his body moved on itself and brought forward his sword coated in a thin layer of his chakra.

However, Sakumo's attack still managed to hit him as it sliced through his sword.

Sakumo started to walk towards Kakashi who was kneeling on the ground with his thoughts running wild.

Kakashi looked in Sakumo's eyes and felt goosebumps as those were the same eyes he remembered. The eyes of the person who had lost all reason to live and the man who killed himself unable to cope up with the villager's hate.

But that was the story for the world.

Kakashi knew it a bit differently.

Sakumo Hatake was not the man who would crumble just because the villagers started hating him and were disappointed with him.

He crumbled because he became a 'disappointment' and a 'scum' in his son's eyes.

This was the reason why Kakashi blamed himself for his death and refused to follow in his footsteps.

He learned the clan's techniques but nothing his father had left behind for him because he felt he didn't deserve it.

'Shinobi do not cry'

'Shinobi do not let their feelings get in the way of their mission'

The two quotes and teachings that he had heard throughout his life echoed in his mind.

"how?....How am I supposed to that?!" Kakashi yelled with more tears falling from his eyes.

"I love you Dad. I wish I had said that sooner. Maybe then....you'd still be alive. I am prou-" Kakashi didn't get to finish the last word as he felt Sakumo's blade stab his heart.

He didn't resist it either but rather accepted it.

Kakashi fell to the ground on his back and stared at the figure of his father looking at him with an indifferent look on his face.

'Sorry everyone. Naruto, Minato Sensei, Sakura, Sasuke, Guy. I will leave the fate of the world in your hands....at least I will meet you there. Right Rin?' Kakashi thought as he casted one last look at his reanimated father before his consciousness faded away.

But what he saw made him smile.

He saw a tear run down from his reanimated father's eyes.

'My words reached him'

***

"Hm? Where am I?" Kakashi said as he looked at his surroundings finding nothing but darkness until suddenly he looked back and saw a tiny dot of light.

He walked towards it finding it to get bigger and bigger until he was close enough to see what it was and also the person sitting beside it.

The familiar figure who he had just saw.

Tears welled up in his eyes yet again and he dashed towards his father and hugged him.

"DAD!!!"

Sakumo was surprised as he never saw this behaviour, he never saw him show this level of affection towards anyone even when Kakashi was a child.

But he wasn't a fool to deny this gesture as he smiled and hugged him back.

After a few seconds, Kakashi moved away from him while wiping his tears he said, "You have no idea how much I missed you."

"....I am sorry for leaving you behind like that. It must have been very hard. You have grown so much Kakashi." Sakumo said as he smiled and looked at Kakashi.

"Come on. Sit with me. Tell me about everything I have missed."

"Yeah. But I want to take it slow so you will be sitting here for long time."

"I don't mind at all. Besides I am not going anywhere. I have all the time in the world. And...I too have several important things to share with you."

"Like what?" Kakashi asked as he didn't expect to hear that

"You first." Sakumo said and Kakashi started telling him all of his experience in great detail while also sharing a laugh with his father here and there.

Kakashi felt at peace in this place. Talking to his father and telling him never ending stories.

The two of them talked for what felt like many days until Kakashi finally said everything he wanted to.

"You have become a splendid shinobi Kakashi" Sakumo said

"Thank dad-"

"But more importantly you became an even amazing person. I am proud of you Kakashi."

"Thanks" Kakashi said as he turned his look downwards at the flame as a peaceful smile dawned on his face.

Kakashi was enjoying everything in this moment, the cackle of the flames, the silence that permeated the space every few seconds. He felt at peace.

Not bound by responsibilities and duties he had when he was alive.

Sakumo let Kakashi bask in this feeling for a long time until Kakashi suddenly asked.

"How much longer can you stay here?"

"...A few years"

Kakashi's eyes suddenly opened wide as he looked at his father.

Kakashi looked around and realised that he forgot to ask or rather confirm something very important.

"Where are we? Is this truly the afterlife?" Kakashi asked

"No. In fact you are not dead yet....and I am here to make sure that you don't die."

"What?!"

"We are in a limb, your deep subconscious. Time works differently in here than outside."

Kakashi was speechless at this revelation.

"Just after I stabbed myself, I sealed a part of my soul inside your body. The seal has been regularly consuming your chakra ever since you were a kid limiting the full extent of your abilities. But now, the seal is broken."

"...why?" Kakashi asked for more explanation about his father's decisions

"For this very moment. I did say that I have a few very important thing to share with you right? They aren't about me apologising to you or anything related to me or my story. In fact they are all related to you."

"What is it?"

"Well let's start from the beginning. Do you know who your mother is?"

"Didn't you say that she was a regular civilian but abandoned me when I wasn't even an year old?"

"That was a lie."

"What?!" Kakashi exclaimed

"Your mother was an amazing Kunoichi and one of the strongest of her time. However, she kept a secret from everyone else, the fact that she was a pure blooded Senju."

"What?! How?! The Senju bloodline vanished years ago. Except for Lady Tsunade, there was no one."

"Like I said. It was a huge secret."

"Why keep that a secret? Isn't it good to be someone from such a powerful bloodline? The village would have embraced her as a hero." Kakashi said

"At that time, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage. And as soon as he became the Hokage...the Senju clan's extermination began!" Sakumo said in a furious tone whereas Kakashi was left stunned after hearing such a thing about the 'kind hearted' Hokage.