Chapter 414: Konoha Emergency Rescue
What a move, Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!
The masked man seemed as though he had mastered something akin to Sage Art: Goemon.
The flames of his Fire Release were twisted by Kamui's spatial distortion, whipping up a spiraling hurricane. This spiral had originally formed a water vortex.
Now, the flames instantly spread across the entire vortex, transforming it into a blazing fire tornado.
The original water vortex had surged upward into the sky, like a dragon drawing water… or like a dragon slurping coffee.
Once it reached a certain height, it would fall back down, cascading like the Yellow River descending from the heavens, crashing into the pit Kakashi had prepared with his Earth Style wall.
But now, the flames fell along with it into the pit. In an instant, roaring fire erupted inside, turning it into something like a massive oven.
Tsunade, who had been in the middle of fleeing back home, suddenly felt a wave of heat behind her. When she turned around, it felt like the sky was collapsing.
At this point, she had no choice but to deal with it.
If it had been the original situation, leaving it alone would've just been disgusting. But now, if the fire wasn't handled, Konoha would be reduced to ashes.
So Tsunade called in the ANBU, ordering them to investigate first, then handed over full responsibility for handling the situation, before slipping away herself.
Sometimes, Tsunade truly hated knowing too much.
What is the "curse of knowledge"?
It's when simply smelling something is basically the same as having already eaten it.
With Kakashi activating "burn mode" over there, molecular activity intensified, and the smell became even stronger.
After just giving a few orders and taking a couple of breaths, she was already struggling to hold it in.
If even she felt this way, then wouldn't the nearby villagers of Konoha all turn into greedy little gluttons?
---
Battlefield.
The masked man checked the situation inside Kamui's dimension.
White Zetsu was wrapping around his grandmother, swimming with her inside.
Since he hadn't expected to return immediately after stepping out earlier, the lens had been lost.
Now White Zetsu had to keep swimming constantly, keeping its head above the water to avoid being flooded.
As for why it didn't just shut things down completely?
White Zetsu hadn't thought of it.
The masked man hadn't thought of it either.
But at this point, the water inside was almost gone, so it wasn't much of a concern anymore.
"Kakashi, I've taken her. If you want to get her back, come to the place where you committed your unforgivable crime in ten days. We'll settle this then."
Amid the falling yellow torrent and raging flames, the masked man activated intangibility, issuing his challenge to Kakashi in a calm voice.
At this point, he no longer cared what he came into contact with.
Even though Kamui's dimension hadn't been fully cleared and there was still water up to his ankles, it didn't matter anymore.
"Ten days later?"
Kakashi heard the voice and silently committed it to memory.
At the same time, he fully confirmed it, this man was Obito.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop him from leaving.
After the masked man had been gone for a while, Kakashi's Kamui finally recovered enough to be closed.
Exhausted, Kakashi dropped to one knee.
He was utterly drained.
In the past, Kamui usage had been measured in uses. This time, it had been measured in duration.
But compared to his physical exhaustion, his heart felt even heavier.
If the masked man really was Obito… then why did he say that?
Why take his own grandmother hostage and tell him to come retrieve her?
Even without that hostage, Kakashi would still go, if only to confront him face-to-face and demand answers.
But why?
Could it be that Obito actually believed Kakashi liked old ladies?
---
As Kakashi lowered his head in thought, the ANBU Tsunade had called arrived.
The moment they saw the scene before them, they were stunned.
"As expected of Konoha's number one technician, Kakashi. You've just taken our job and developed a ninjutsu that usually requires our combined effort."
Morino Ibiki let out a sigh.
The ANBU squad he led all nodded in agreement.
In the original timeline, during the Pain invasion, when they faced the endlessly splitting summoned Hellhound, they each used different jutsu that combined into an "oven", roasting the creature alive into something like a beggar's chicken.
How many techniques had that required?
Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind, Earth Release: Sticky Earth Drop, Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique, Fire Release: Fired Pottery Technique.
Just coordinating those elements alone would normally require someone like the Third Hokage.
Seeing that Kakashi had things under control and no other enemies were nearby, Morino Ibiki began directing the ANBU to calm the civilians: "Everyone, don't panic! Jonin Kakashi has already contained the target and is handling it!"
"…From the looks of it, the target is probably some kind of monstrous summoned beast that lives year-round in… that kind of environment."
Morino Ibiki judged that the boiling mass in the pit resembled the kind of target they had practiced on with their "oven" technique, large summoned beasts or possibly a tailed beast.
It definitely wasn't a tailed beast. No tailed beast would live in something like that, nor would it produce such a substance upon death.
So it had to be a summoned beast.
The world is vast, and strange things are everywhere. A summoned beast like this wasn't impossible.
"Don't just stand there, put out the fire!"
---
Hearing the voices behind him, Kakashi quickly turned around and called for help.
If the flames here weren't controlled soon, he'd end up being the one blamed as the mastermind behind everything.
"Woof! Woof!"
Members of the Inuzuka clan arrived with their dogs.
"Kakashi, we're here to help!"
Inuzuka Hana and Inuzuka Tsume stood at the front with their respective dogs.
They claimed they were here to help, but in reality, their dogs had caught the scent and thought the cafeteria had opened.
"Water Release"
Pshhhh!
An ANBU member suddenly unleashed a Water Release technique, spraying a stream into the blazing pit.
Kakashi, who had just begun to relax upon seeing reinforcements arrive, instantly turned pale.
"Stop it!!!"
His Earth Style wall was already enduring intense flames. If it was doused with water now, without his chakra maintaining it, it would crack apart in moments.
And if that happened, wouldn't everything inside come pouring out?
Under normal circumstances, the correct approach would be to smother the fire with sand or gravel.
But unfortunately, the only proper place to learn such knowledge in Konoha was the Ninja Academy, and graduating didn't require mastering it.
As for the Chunin Exams, their core was practically cheating.
So it wasn't strange that this ANBU lacked such common sense.
ANBU isn't a rank above jonin, it's just a position. Within it are jonin, special jonin, and chunin alike.
Crack.
Kakashi heard the sound of his Earth wall fracturing beneath his feet.
He still had some chakra left.
Should he use Earth Style again?
No.
If he did, it would need to be even larger than the current one, enclosing the existing wall while also being thicker and wider, able to withstand both the water's impact and another round of intense flames.
Rather than that…
"I'm sorry, Obito. I have to protect Konoha!"
Kakashi leapt down, positioning himself in front of the crumbling Earth wall, assuming a stance of absolute resolve, like a lone guardian standing against ten thousand foes.
(End of this chapter)