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Seeing Gensou arrive, Sasuke finally breathed a sigh of relief, dispersing the lightning chakra from his sword and allowing himself to relax completely. With Gensou here, all the current problems seemed to vanish.
And indeed, that was the case.
Facing the approaching attacks from Kakashi, Kurenai, and the other Konoha ninjas, Gensou quickly formed hand seals and declared:
"Fire Style: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique!"
A large amount of high-temperature ash rapidly emerged, centering on Gensou and Sasuke. It concealed their figures and spread out like a thick fog in all directions.
Kakashi, who was closest, instantly realized the danger. Sensing the extreme heat from the ash, he stopped in his tracks. The level of mastery this unknown Uchiha had over Fire Style was far beyond what Kakashi had anticipated.
"Retreat!" he ordered.
Seeing the dangerously hot ash advancing toward them, Kakashi had no choice but to retreat quickly with the others.
Meanwhile, within the cloud of ash, Gensou looked toward the blue figure rapidly approaching in the distance and then glanced at Hotaru, who was in En's arms, staring at them with a complex expression.
Everything that needed to be done was finished, and Gensou had gained what he wanted. He saw no reason to linger any longer.
To avoid the possibility of Guy opening all Eight Gates in a moment of desperation, Gensou placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and, using the Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage, the two quickly sank into the ground, burrowing through the mountain like a dragon, and soon disappeared without a trace.
Boom, boom, boom! With a series of powerful punches, Guy swiftly dispersed the high-temperature ash.
Guy, who had just arrived, didn't hesitate. He immediately began punching at high speed, scattering the Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique.
But Sasuke and Gensou were already gone.
"Huh? Where did the enemies go?" Guy scratched his head in confusion.
Having learned from Hinata that Sasuke and the masked man had used Earth Style to escape at such speed that they were now beyond the range of the Byakugan, Kakashi sighed slightly and explained to Guy:
"They're already gone."
"Should we go after them?" Guy clenched his fists, his fighting spirit still high.
"After this experience, tracking Sasuke and the masked man will become much more difficult. Besides..." Kakashi trailed off, shaking his head as memories of the battle with the man possessing the Sharingan played in his mind.
The strength the man had shown was far beyond what he had anticipated.
Another Uchiha?
With such a figure, plus Sasuke's rapidly growing power, their current team configuration would stand little chance if they encountered them again. They might even suffer heavy losses.
"Though I hate to admit it, I'm sorry, everyone, but our mission to bring Sasuke back has failed again," Kakashi said calmly as he pulled his forehead protector back down to cover his Sharingan, then looked up at the sky.
At that moment, he felt his life was full of failures.
His mother had died early; his father had committed suicide; one of his closest friends had died saving him, while the other he had to kill with his own hands; his beloved teacher and mentor had also died on the same day.
And now, even his student had chosen to leave him, despite all his efforts to bring him back. No matter what Kakashi did, Sasuke never looked back.
It seemed that failure was the main theme running through his life.
Kakashi sometimes wondered how he had managed to hold on for so long.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out in his ears:
"The journey of youth isn't just about passion; it's also filled with regrets. Embracing those regrets and facing them head-on will make the flames of youth burn even brighter!"
Kakashi turned to see Guy cheering him on with a loud and energetic shout.
Indeed.
In his darkest moments, there had always been this friend who, despite the strange looks from others, consistently stayed true to himself, constantly pulling Kakashi back from the brink of despair.
Kakashi shook his head, dispersing the lingering gloom from his thoughts. He looked at Guy and said, "Guy, you still have the Eight Gates open. You should close them now."
Even with Guy's superhuman physique, keeping the Seventh Gate open for too long was taxing.
"I almost forgot! As expected of my lifelong rival, Kakashi, thanks for the reminder," Guy said, giving Kakashi a thumbs-up before deactivating the Eight Gates.
The next second, his body trembled, sweat poured down his face, and he began gasping for breath.
Kakashi moved forward to support the now-exhausted Guy.
"I'm fine. Youth doesn't allow for retreat! I can still do a thousand sit-ups, a thousand frog jumps, a thousand—"
Guy tried to prove himself again.
Kakashi ignored his nonsense and continued to support him, resuming his calm demeanor as he asked Kurenai, who had just finished checking Neji's condition and confirmed that his injuries weren't life-threatening:
"What's the deal with the little girl from the Tsuchigumo Clan?"
Although their mission to bring Sasuke back had failed, Kakashi still felt the need to investigate Sasuke and the other Uchiha's sudden appearance and their invasion of the Fire Temple and Katsuragi Mountain, hoping to find some useful information.
Kurenai, who had already questioned Hotaru when she brought her back, replied, "Hotaru is the current bearer of the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden jutsu. Sasuke and the masked man invaded the Tsuchigumo Clan to obtain the forbidden jutsu. But it's strange—the masked man didn't remove the jutsu from Hotaru; he just had her repeatedly use it and didn't harm her."
"So the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden jutsu is still with her?"
"Yes."
"That's odd. Could he have used the Sharingan to copy the jutsu?" Kakashi speculated, glancing at Hotaru, who was still beside En no Gyoja.
As someone known as the Copy Ninja, Kakashi knew well that while the Sharingan was excellent at copying jutsu, it was difficult to replicate forbidden techniques.
The masked man could have easily taken the forbidden jutsu or taken Hotaru herself, but instead, he just left after making her use the jutsu a few times. It was puzzling from a normal shinobi's perspective, and Kakashi couldn't quite understand it.
Meanwhile, Hotaru, noticing Kakashi's gaze, shrank back slightly, hiding a scroll inside her clothes.
Though her grandfather and the Konoha ninjas believed that the masked man was evil, she didn't see him that way.
He never tried to take the forbidden jutsu from her; at most, he just had her use it in front of him a few times. Although it was exhausting, she had gained some benefits from the experience, thanks to the various secret medicines he had given her.
Moreover, the masked man had even left her with a training scroll for Water-Style chakra control as a parting gift, perhaps as a reward for using the Anger of the Heavens technique so many times.
Such a person didn't seem like the greedy and evil type that adults often spoke of.
Additionally, the masked man's final words to her made a lot of sense.
Having a forbidden jutsu that others covet without the strength to protect it would only lead to a tragic end.
Relying on others wasn't as good as relying on herself.
Recalling the splendid but dangerous battle she had just witnessed between the ninjas, Hotaru made a decision. She would definitely study the contents of the training scroll the masked man had left her.
Speaking of which, since he left her a training scroll, it wouldn't be wrong to call him "Sensei," right?
(End of Chapter)