"They're on the move, Black Zetsu."
Deep underground, White Zetsu grinned as he pointed toward Naruto and Sasuke in the distance.
Black Zetsu's expression darkened.
"I can't believe how fast those two recovered."
It was honestly beyond what Black Zetsu had expected. He had assumed that, no matter what, the two of them would be completely immobilized for at least twenty-four hours. But after just one night, not only were they back on their feet, but they even had enough chakra to summon creatures.
Had he underestimated them too much?
"No choice, then. Obito still isn't ready. Use that instead."
Black Zetsu sighed.
"Contact Kisame."
"Ooh~" White Zetsu responded in his usual carefree tone.
At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on the ground, recovering their chakra. Naruto's recovery was faster—his powerful healing abilities from the Sage Body weren't just for show. Sasuke, though slightly slower, was still recovering well, thanks to Ichikishima Hime's assistance.
The only issue was that she was sitting way too close, making Sasuke a little uncomfortable.
Kurama had already returned to Naruto's inner world to sleep. There wasn't much for him to do outside, anyway. What was he supposed to do, carry Naruto and Sasuke on his back and run them home?
He wasn't like Sasuke, that stubborn guy.
Kurama didn't hate the Leaf Village, but he definitely wouldn't say he liked it either.
Besides, he had been up all night, and his internal clock was practically screaming at him to get some sleep.
Time slowly passed. About ten minutes later, Naruto suddenly sensed a chakra signature.
His brow furrowed as he instinctively opened his eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
Sasuke turned toward him.
"What?"
Naruto pointed in a certain direction, looking puzzled.
"I just sensed Kakashi-sensei's chakra over there."
In theory, that was normal. But what made Naruto suspicious was…
Kakashi's chakra felt way too weak. Almost like a low-level genin.
It was probably because he had been traveling long distances without resting, which drained too much chakra. After all, Kakashi wasn't exactly known for having a large chakra pool, even among jonin.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, coming to that conclusion.
That had to be it—what else could explain it? There was no way it was some kind of Transformation Jutsu. No jutsu could perfectly copy someone's chakra signature. That just wasn't possible.
Sasuke frowned slightly. He sensed something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it. However, he reasoned that if Naruto's perception hadn't picked up anything suspicious, then—
There was probably nothing to worry about.
After all, with both his Sage Sensing and the Six Paths' power, Naruto's perception shouldn't be wrong.
"Something happened in the Leaf Village."
Sasuke's expression turned serious.
He then turned to Ichikishima Hime.
"How long until Ryuchi Cave is ready for Reverse Summoning?"
Ichikishima Hime smiled with her eyes half-closed.
"Ryuchi Cave's connection to the ninja world is a bit far from the Leaf Village, so please be patient, Sasuke-sama. At most, in twenty minutes, we'll have you back in Konoha."
Half an hour passed quickly—especially considering it had taken them nearly two days to get here from Konohagakure.
"Hurry up," Sasuke sighed softly, not blaming Ichikishimahime.
"Yes," she replied with a cheerful smile.
Another two minutes went by as Naruto and Sasuke waited. Then, in the distance, Kakashi's figure finally appeared on the barren land.
Sasuke activated his Rinnegan and focused his gaze. "Huh? Is Kakashi… injured?"
Naruto followed Sasuke's line of sight and nodded. "Looks like it. His chakra feels really weak."
Something must have happened in Konohagakure.
The two exchanged a glance and decided not to wait any longer. They got up and rushed toward Kakashi.
Two more minutes passed, and the three finally met.
But just as they were about to reach each other, Naruto suddenly frowned and stopped in his tracks, holding out an arm to stop Sasuke as well.
Kakashi, looking exhausted, came to a halt about ten meters away from them. His gaze carried a deep sadness.
"Naruto, Sasuke, you need to return to Konohagakure immediately! The entire Akatsuki is there—Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama can barely hold on!"
Sasuke hesitated, then turned to look at Naruto. The question in his eyes was clear.
Naruto's frown deepened, his brows nearly knotting together. "Weird… I don't sense anything off about Kakashi-sensei, but… why does he feel hostile toward us?"
"Hostile?" Sasuke caught on right away. He turned back to Kakashi, his gaze now wary.
Kakashi seemed momentarily stunned. "What are you two doing?"
"Are you really Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, still frowning. "Why do you have hostility toward us?"
"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Kakashi sighed as if helpless, then raised a hand to cover his Sharingan before plopping down onto the ground. "I used up too much chakra. Naruto, help me recover a bit."
…Naruto scratched his head, confused.
Sasuke was just as puzzled. He had scrutinized Kakashi with his Tomoe Rinnegan so thoroughly that his eyes were practically burning—but he couldn't find anything off about him. Yet Naruto insisted he could sense hostility.
And considering the timing of Kakashi's arrival… something really did seem strange.
After thinking for a moment, Sasuke decided to test him. "Kakashi-sensei, I remember you know medical ninjutsu, right?"
Kakashi did know some basic healing jutsu—simple blood-clotting and minor recovery techniques. But unless someone really knew Kakashi well, they wouldn't be aware of that.
Even intelligence reports from other villages wouldn't mention that Konoha's Copy Ninja, elite Jonin Kakashi, had any medical skills.
Sasuke watched closely as Kakashi rolled his signature dead-fish eyes and grumbled, "Using chakra to recover chakra with a healing jutsu? Are you crazy, or am I crazy? What kind of glitch logic is that?"
"He's real." Sasuke immediately confirmed.
That kind of nonsense way of speaking—only someone who had spent time with Naruto, or more specifically, Kurama, would say things like that.
Even if an enemy had intel, they wouldn't know this kind of random speech pattern.
Only the real Kakashi could use such weird phrases so accurately.
"You're right." Naruto nodded in agreement.
Now that they were sure this was the real Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke lowered their guard and started walking toward him.
But just then, Kurama's voice rang in Naruto's mind.
"The real Kakashi would never feel hostile toward you two. Use your brain—this guy is obviously fake."
Naruto froze on the spot. Without thinking, he threw his arm out again, stopping Sasuke in his tracks.
But it was already too late!
Just as they let their guard down, Kakashi, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly flashed a strange smile. In an instant, he lunged forward, crossing nearly ten meters in the blink of an eye and appearing right in front of them.
"Transformation Jutsu!"
Sasuke's expression changed, and the Tomoe in his Rinnegan spun rapidly. A burst of black flames instantly engulfed Kakashi.
But it was too late.
As the flames consumed Kakashi, he tossed a strange crystal ball the size of a fist. The ball glowed with an eerie light and immediately enveloped the two of them.
Within the black flames, Kakashi's colors faded, turning completely white. A monstrous, twisted face emerged on his body.
"Limited Tsukuyomi… activated!"
The next second, he was completely devoured by the flames.
---
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