—A sound!
Unlike the previous silent fireball, this time, the fireball was accompanied by a loud rumbling!
The moment he realised this, an image flashed in Kakashi's mind: the scene of Obito arriving here just now.
The image froze on the burn mark on his lips...
Like being struck by lightning, a bolt flashed through Kakashi's mind, connecting all the dots!
Could it be...
The fireball is flying towards him right now—is it real!?
Though there was still some doubt in his mind, Kakashi had no time to think further.
The speed of this fireball was much faster than a standard Great Fireball Technique. In the moment of his hesitation, it was about to engulf him!
At the critical moment, Kakashi leapt to the left with all his strength, narrowly dodging the whistling fireball!
At the same time, with the fireball no longer obstructing his view, Kakashi, still in midair, saw Obito kneeling on the ground, obviously exhausted.
So that's it!
So this was your trump card?
The two previous fireball projections were just a setup to make me drop my guard and mistake this real Great Fireball Technique as another illusion, trapping myself!
After dodging the fireball, Kakashi adjusted his stance and prepared to charge at Obito upon landing, giving him no chance.
It looks like it's really over this time.
Seeing Obito's dejected expression not far away, Kakashi let out a slight sigh of relief in his heart.
To be honest, the thought that an actual Great Fireball Technique nearly hit him still made Kakashi's spine tingle and his body feel cold.
Even though a giant fireball had just flown past him, he couldn't feel any heat at all.
Huh?
Wait!
A strong sense of discord appeared in Kakashi's mind again!
Even if it was just a psychological effect, with such a giant fireball flying past him, he should definitely feel some heat!
There seems to be only one possible explanation for this phenomenon...
Thinking of this, Kakashi turned his head sharply, as fast as he could!
Then he saw an unbelievable sight:
Another Obito emerged from the fireball, charging toward him just as he was landing, his back entirely exposed.
At that moment, Kakashi finally understood Obito's fundamental strategy.
Fake. It was all fake.
The fireball was fake, and the Obito lying on the ground was also fake!
The real Obito had been hiding inside the fireball all along, sneaking behind him to attack from his blind spot!
Kakashi also realised that the unusually loud "Great Fireball Technique" was intended not only to make him think the fireball was honest but also to cover the sound of Obito's quick approach.
From the very start, with the silent fireball projection, Obito had been setting up for this moment, hadn't he?
Finally, the moment arrived...
The opportunity that Natsuhiko-sensei spoke of!
Seeing Kakashi's shocked expression for the first time, Obito, who was flying out of the fireball, felt mixed emotions.
At the same time, he recalled the last time Teacher Xia Yan explained the tactics to him...
"Listen, Obito..."
In the Sealing Jutsu office, Natsuhiko was tapping the whiteboard with a pointer while explaining the battle tactics to him.
"Based on the information I've gathered, Kakashi's strength is probably even greater than I initially thought."
"So, if the initial burst strategy doesn't succeed, we might only get one more chance to create an opening."
"Obito, you haven't forgotten what I told you, right?"
"The characteristic of a ninja is that they are strong in attack but weak in defence. A single moment of carelessness can lead to defeat by a much weaker opponent."
"So we just need to create such an opportunity and seize it..."
"Then, even a genius like Kakashi isn't completely unbeatable."
"Teacher! Teacher!"
Obito raised his hand excitedly, "So, in the end, we'll use the Great Fireball Technique I just learned to determine the outcome, right?"
Natsuhiko showed a strange expression.
"Using the Great Fireball Technique to decide the outcome?"
"Isn't that like Lady Tsunade gambling? The result is decided before the game even starts!"
"No, at least Lady Tsunade sometimes wins money, but the Great Fireball Technique..."
"Sensei, I feel like you have a big problem with our Uchiha Clan's Great Fireball Technique," Obito said, looking helpless. "And wasn't it you who told me to learn this technique as best I could before duelling Kakashi?"
"That was just to help you understand the Great Fireball Technique better, to make the fireball projections more realistic," Natsuhiko explained. "In fact, the tactic involving the real and fake Great Fireball might work well against an ordinary ninja."
"But for a battle genius like Kakashi, it's very likely to be seen through."
"Huh? Then what should we do, Sensei?"
Obito was anxious upon realising that his hard-practiced trump card might not work against Kakashi.
Natsuhiko smiled slightly and said,
"Don't worry, since he is likely to see through it, let's just do the opposite and let him 'see through'..."
"But what he will see through is the illusion we've crafted with sound or lack thereof, along with various little details..."
"After all, in such a brief moment, even a genius like Kakashi can't immediately see through this nested strategy."
"So when the truth is revealed, and the gap of surprise is widened..."
"The difference in strength between you and Kakashi will narrow to its limit!"
"At that point, all you need to do is unleash your best move and leave the rest to the goddess of fate to decide..."
And now, this was the moment Teacher spoke of!
Recalling Natsuhiko Sensei's teachings, Obito was suddenly inspired. His hands naturally formed the Tiger Seal!
Yes, this was his most practised and best move!
Thousand—Years—of Death!!!
Wait a minute!
On the side, Natsuhiko, who was watching the fight, suddenly widened his eyes.
He had told Obito to use his best move, but he was referring to Obito's move that defeated the hawk, not the Thousand Years of Death!!
But it was already too late.
Obito had already charged behind Kakashi, his hands in the "sword finger" formation with chakra concentrated at his fingertips, precisely striking a specific spot as he had practised countless times on Kakashi's training dummy...
Realising what Obito was about to do, Kakashi, just as Obito hoped, showed a look of unprecedented shock and anger!
At the same time, his right hand instantly grabbed the short sword on his back...
"Kakashi—!!"
"Obito—!!"
Amidst their strained shouts, a blinding white light flashed...
...
...
...
In a rhythmic sway, Obito gradually regained consciousness.
The first thing that came into view was a head of healthy, lush white hair.
Does this hair... look familiar?
It seemed like only one person in all of Konoha had such unruly hair!?
Obito realised that he was being carried on the back of none other than Kakashi!
"You're finally awake, huh?—Wait, don't move!"
Kakashi was interrupted by Obito, who was struggling to get down.
Annoyed, he said, "You might be seriously injured; you need to go to the infirmary for a check-up."
Hearing this, Obito finally felt a dull pain in his left rib.
Fully awake now, he recalled the fight with Kakashi.
He was about to ask who had won, but given that Kakashi was carrying him to the infirmary, it was apparent who the winner was.
"So, I still lost..."
Obito murmured subconsciously.
He didn't quite feel the reality of it yet.
But as his memories became more apparent, he began to recall the last moment of that blinding white light...
What a fast sword!
Despite being in such a disadvantageous position, Kakashi could still counterattack and knock him out.
Obito couldn't help but take a deep look at the back of Kakashi's head.
This guy really is too unfair.
He didn't expect that, even after working hard for an entire semester, he would still be unable to beat this guy.
Obito felt a bit bitter in his heart.
To avoid thinking about this for a while and to alleviate the awkwardness of being carried by Kakashi, Obito casually asked,
"Kakashi, why do you seem to be walking awkwardly?"
Though he could only see the back of Kakashi's head, Obito sensed Kakashi's face, which seemed to darken.
After a long pause, he finally heard Kakashi mutter in a muffled voice:
"—None of your business!"
(End of Chapter)
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