When Kakashi saw Uchiha Obito again, he remained cold and distant, unwilling to speak further.
Obito grabbed Kakashi's arm and said in a low voice, "Kakashi, I heard about your father..."
"And what do you want to say about it?" Kakashi replied flatly.
Obito looked at Kakashi with passionate eyes. "Kakashi, I know you're hurting right now, and I understand how you feel..."
Kakashi cut him off. "Stop it, Obito. You don't understand my feelings at all. If you're trying to comfort me, don't bother. Besides, we're not close, and I have nothing to say to you."
He yanked his arm free from Obito's grip and walked away.
Nohara Rin watched Kakashi with a sad expression. She couldn't understand why he had become so cold-hearted.
"Kakashi, aren't we friends?" Obito shouted after him.
Kakashi stopped walking and replied coldly, "Friends? Don't be so sentimental. I don't have any friends!"
As Kakashi continued walking, Namikaze Minato stepped in front of him. "Kakashi, what Sakumo-sama did was actually right. Comrades are very important, but because of the war, the villagers are too stressed. That's why this tragedy happened."
Kakashi looked up at Minato and asked, "You say my father did the right thing, but you also say the villagers were too stressed, which led to tragedy. So whose fault do you think all of this is?"
Minato frowned, then said solemnly, "It was the war's fault. If there hadn't been a war, this tragedy would never have happened."
"That's exactly what Sora-sensei said," Kakashi replied sarcastically. "He clearly doesn't understand anything, but he makes these meaningless explanations as if no one is to blame. You don't need to lecture me. In everyone's eyes, my father simply made a mistake. As a shinobi, there should be no concept of comrades. Comrades are just people who will hold us back!"
After saying this, Kakashi ignored Minato completely. Minato's words made him sick.
Minato's voice came from behind him again: "Then do you also think Sakumo-sama made a mistake?"
"Yes, Father made a mistake!" Kakashi replied without hesitation.
Because... Konoha isn't worth it!
Minato watched Kakashi retreat back with a heavy heart. In his mind, Kakashi's silhouette overlapped with Sora's.
Obito and Rin lowered their heads, looking disappointed. They considered Kakashi a friend, but he had drawn a clear line between them.
Minato approached Obito and Rin to comfort them. "Kakashi probably hasn't gotten over what happened with Sakumo-sama yet. As his friends, you should help him move past this."
Obito, still somewhat foolish at this time, immediately regained his fighting spirit. "I'll definitely help Kakashi recover!"
Minato smiled and said, "Good. Now it's time for us to go on our mission."
...
After Sora left the station, he immediately began his plan to make a name for himself in the shinobi world.
Every day, he activated his Observation Haki to search for Kumogakure shinobi. Any Cloud ninja that Sora found was attacked and killed by him.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
The Kumogakure forces noticed their numbers dwindling daily. Though not many were lost at once, the total added up to a significant number.
This couldn't continue. The commander of the Kumogakure forces immediately decided to gather troops to surround Sora.
An elite force of twenty shinobi—eight Jōnin and twelve Chūnin—was assembled and began searching for Sora.
At this time, Sora had just killed a Kumogakure team consisting of one Chūnin and three Genin. Dealing with enemies of this level was now easy for him, hardly worth taking seriously.
As soon as Sora sheathed his sword, his Observation Haki suddenly detected twenty Kumogakure shinobi heading toward him at high speed.
"Eight Jōnin? Are you coming to surround me? Perfect timing. Killing such small fry isn't enough to become famous in the shinobi world. These twenty should be sufficient."
Sora's eyes flashed with intense killing intent.
The twenty Kumogakure shinobi rushed to the location where Sora had killed their four comrades. Seeing more of their companions dead, all the Cloud ninjas were furious.
Their leader spoke coldly: "They were killed not long ago. Let's chase him quickly. We might still catch him!"
"No need to chase me. I've been waiting for you. You're really slow—I've been waiting for quite a while."
Sora jumped down from a tree trunk and faced the twenty Kumogakure shinobi head-on.
All the Cloud ninja glared at Sora with hatred in their eyes. "Blood-eyed Shura, Sora!"
"What are you calling my name for? You don't think I'll surrender just because you know who I am, do you? Enough talk—let's fight!"
Sora drew his sword and pointed the blade at the twenty Kumogakure shinobi facing him.
Their leader shouted, "Use that jutsu! Kill him directly—don't give him any chance to fight back!"
Five Chūnin-level Kumogakure shinobi formed hand seals simultaneously.
"Lightning Style! Thunder Pull!"
After completing the seals, they placed their hands on the ground.
Five pillars rose around them, with lightning surging between the pillars. As the electricity connected, a massive lightning prison formed, trapping both Sora and the twenty Kumogakure shinobi inside.
When Sora tried to use Thunderbolt Flash, he discovered that the lightning on his body was being pulled by the electrical barrier.
"I see. You've developed a jutsu to counter my Thunder Breathing?"
Whenever Sora attempted to use Lightning Style ninjutsu, he was affected by the pull of the lightning, causing his speed to decrease.
This meant that inside this lightning prison, the effectiveness of his Thunder Breathing would be greatly reduced.
The Kumogakure shinobi weren't finished yet. They prepared to kill Sora in a single strike to prevent any unexpected developments.
Four Jōnin-level Kumogakure shinobi used Thunder Body Flicker to appear in four directions around Sora, quickly forming hand seals in unison.
"Lightning Style! Hell Thunder!"
The four Jōnin raised their hands simultaneously. The lightning gathered in their palms flashed and shot upward, merging into a ball in the air.
In an instant, the lightning formed a sphere, creating a wall of thunder that surrounded Sora.
Sensing the powerful lightning, Sora's right eyelid twitched wildly, his sixth sense warning him that if this jutsu hit him, he would certainly die.
However, Sora covered his face and laughed maniacally. "Hahaha! You've made all these preparations to kill me, but do you really think you can defeat me so easily?"
His tone suddenly darkened as he added, "Well, you're welcome to try!"
Sora lowered the hand covering his face, and his Mangekyō Sharingan eyes suddenly opened wide.