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Inoichi Yamanaka threw on his flak jacket and burst out the door.
No mistake. The intensity is different from the attack at the Five Kage Summit, but that suffocating, dark undercurrent—that evil, overwhelming chakra… In all the ninja world, there's only one person who possesses it!
"Dad…?!"
Startled by the noise, Ino ran after him.
"Ino! An enemy has invaded Konoha!"
"What?! An enemy?!"
"It's urgent," Inoichi said, voice tight. "I need to get to the central command room. I must use the mind-transmission amplification equipment to alert the village!"
"What can I do?!"
"Get Shikamaru to the command room! With Lord Hokage and Shikaku both out of the village, he's the only one who can coordinate!"
"Understood!!!"
Knowing the severity, Ino immediately sprinted into action.
As he raced toward the command center, Inoichi mentally linked with Kakashi.
Inoichi-san. I was waiting for your call.
At that moment, in a residence in Konoha's southern district, Kakashi Hatake was already fully geared.
You sensed it too, then…
Kakashi pushed open the window. He leapt to the ground, then to a rooftop, his gaze fixed on the cold, murderous moon hanging in the dark clouds.
Yeah. I can smell the danger in the air. It's even thicker than the night the Nine-Tails attacked.
To know Konoha's barrier codes, to slip past the night watch ANBU… Very few in the world could manage that.
I'm en route to the command room. I need time!
Give me the enemy's location. I'll buy you that time.
Inoichi paused. Kakashi… Be prepared.
My resolve to give my life for Konoha was forged the day I became a ninja.
No. This might require something even more brutal.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Is it the invader's identity?
The assailant at the Five Kage Summit wasn't just that masked boy who resembled Sasuke. There was another. Lady Tsunade chose not to disclose it.
Kakashi held his breath. Tell me. I'm ready.
Inoichi slowly revealed the truth.
Even prepared, the sheer impact of the revelation rocked Kakashi to his core.
…This is the worst possible scenario.
You understand what this means.
Yeah. Kakashi clenched his fist.
Naruto… He'd always been seen as a calamity, a curse. Even after years of effort to change people's minds, the prejudice lingered.
Inoichi voiced the cruel reality. If Uchiha Madara truly uses him to destroy Konoha… I guarantee you, most of the village will blame Naruto for it.
Kakashi's grip tightened. His nails bit through the nylon of his tactical gloves, digging into his palm. No. What I fear isn't how others will see him. It's whether Naruto himself can survive this. How desperately he wants their acknowledgment. How fiercely he wants to become Hokage and protect this village.
If he ever regains control and learns that Madara used his body to destroy the very village and comrades he vowed to protect… That pain would be worse than death.
Silence hung between them.
Then, Inoichi spoke gravely. Then, as his teacher… if your resolve is absolute, turn your eyes to the summit above the Hokage Monument.
Kakashi shifted his gaze. There, silhouetted against the moon atop the stone faces, was a figure that seemed to merge with the night itself.
WHOOSH!
In the next instant, Kakashi vanished.
Above the Hokage Monument.
"Mobito" surveyed the twinkling lights of Konoha below. "With the power of the Rinnegan, I could reduce this village to dust in an instant."
"That's too merciful for these Hashirama sympathizers!" spat Izuna, his voice thick with resentment. "They must drown in fear. They must realize their own insignificance. They must struggle futilely before they die. Only then will my hatred be sated!"
"You want me to forgo a swift assault and engage them directly."
"Brother! Please! Restore the Uchiha's name! Show them who truly holds dominion over their fate!!"
"Mobito" slowly lowered his arms, which had been folded across his chest. "Very well. You are my brother, after all. However…"
His peripheral vision tracked a streak of white light hurtling toward the cliff face.
"It seems Konoha is not entirely without talent."
SHING!
A white tanto embedded itself in the rock before him.
WHOOSH…!
A white blur materialized beside it, a crackling blue chidori already lunging for his heart!
Izuna gasped. "The Flying Thunder God Technique?!"
SHUMP!
"Mobito" flickered aside, avoiding the Lightning Cutter. His eyes settled on the newcomer.
"Oh? Kakashi Hatake. You've grown."
Kakashi yanked his tanto free and stood tall, his gaze locked on the face of his student—a face now wearing an utterly alien expression.
"So… it's true. You're not Naruto."
"Kakashi Hatake," "Mobito" mused. "The chakra signature of the Sharingan in your left eye is gone. It seems you've met Uchiha Obito."
Kakashi's grip on the hilt tightened. "You know about Obito. Then his fall… is your doing."
"Hahaha… 'My doing'? Obito was a student of my own making."
Obito? Who is this Obito? Izuna thought, his mind racing. It seems my brother still keeps much from me.
"So after Obito," Kakashi growled, eyes burning, "you couldn't leave Naruto alone either?!"
"Mobito's" mind flashed to the fragmented memories of Naruto's past he'd glimpsed during his battle with Itachi. His expression darkened. "Kakashi. You are this boy's teacher. Tell me honestly… who is it that has never left him alone?"
Kakashi's pupils constricted. "You mean… you know about…?"
A dangerous, twisted smile spread across "Mobito's" face. "So I am curious. When everything this boy sought to protect is trampled beneath 'his own' feet… will he walk the same path as Obito?"
A chill, colder than any winter wind, shot down Kakashi's spine.
It solidified his resolve.
"I'd rather kill you here and now than let you destroy Naruto's dream!!"
"Mobito" scoffed. "Kill me? You?"
"But taking you with me… that, I can do!!!"
With the finality of a man stepping onto his own grave, Kakashi formed a secret hand seal.
—White Hatred Flare!
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