With a sudden "bang," just as Linton finished speaking, Kakashi charged forward. It was clear that Kakashi had been ready for battle all along and had no intention of listening to any explanation from Linton. Seeing that his opponent wasn't on guard, Kakashi launched a direct attack.
But was Linton really unprepared? Of course not. As soon as Kakashi made his move, a familiar voice rang out.
"Hostile target detected. Activating automatic combat mode."
Raising a hand, Linton clenched his fist and grabbed the kunai Kakashi had thrust forward. With a slight squeeze, Kakashi immediately felt Linton's strength, as just the grip made his hand ache.
"Fire Style: Great—"
Kakashi had intended to launch a Great Fireball Technique right in Linton's face, but Linton was faster. Raising his hand, he delivered a punch directly to Kakashi's face, interrupting Kakashi's skill with sheer physical force.
Suddenly, a figure appeared to Linton's right. Linton hadn't noticed it, but his body reacted on its own, throwing a punch in that direction. There was a loud "bang," followed by a puff of white smoke—it seemed he had destroyed a shadow clone. Linton hadn't seen when Kakashi had created the clone, but this caused Kakashi to quickly retreat, putting some distance between them again.
"Please provide combat intelligence," the combat system immediately requested from Linton, clearly confused by the appearance of the shadow clone.
"Just a clone technique," Linton replied. "The clone's power is about one-tenth of the original. Just take it out easily."
As he spoke, Linton's body leaped into the air, spinning and bringing his leg down in a downward kick toward Kakashi. Once in automatic combat mode, Linton became much more aggressive, unlike when he fought under his own control, where he was more hesitant.
With a loud "bang," the attack hit Kakashi, cracking the ground beneath him. However, the Kakashi that had been hit turned into a log in the next second, while a figure rushed forward from the side.
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!" Kakashi unleashed a bolt of lightning, one of his strongest Lightning Style techniques. But to his surprise, even the speed of lightning wasn't enough to hit Linton. Linton dodged effortlessly, and in the next instant, he appeared right in front of Kakashi.
"Bang!" An elbow strike hit Kakashi squarely in the chest, leaving him no time to dodge. Kakashi grimaced in pain and coughed up a bit of blood, though the mask covered it. As he was about to be sent flying, Kakashi managed to raise his hand.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Spear!"
A thin bolt of lightning shot toward Linton. Linton had to admit, Kakashi's combat instincts were sharp, always thinking of counterattacking. But it didn't matter. After his recent enhancements, Linton's physical abilities were extraordinary. With the system's control, his martial prowess was pushed to the extreme. Only a Taijutsu master like Guy might be able to challenge him now, but Kakashi? He had been outclassed.
Linton ducked to dodge Kakashi's lightning attack, then followed up with a kick to Kakashi's right side. Kakashi flew to the left, crashing into a nearby rock with a resounding thud.
"Wait!" Though several rounds had been exchanged, the fight had only lasted a few seconds. Sasuke, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally snapped out of it. Seeing Kakashi in danger, he rushed forward, intending to intervene. Sensing this, Linton activated his Sharingan, and in an instant, Sasuke was frozen in place, unable to move.
The next second, Sasuke activated his own Sharingan, but the difference between the two was vast. No matter how much Sasuke struggled, he couldn't break free.
Lying on the ground, Kakashi quickly reacted as well, hurriedly pulling up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan, closing his right eye and staring at Linton with his left. He knew the basics of fighting an Uchiha—you could only meet a Sharingan's gaze with another Sharingan, or you'd fall prey to its Genjutsu.
"Obito's eye, huh?" Linton remarked after a glance.
"What? How do you..." Kakashi was shocked for a moment, but then he remembered that his teacher had returned with Linton. Did the two of them know each other? Had his teacher told him?
"Still, even though it's a Sharingan, there's a huge difference in quality," Linton continued. "Yours was transplanted, and you only have one... Want to see the true power of the Uchiha's Sharingan?"
As Linton spoke, the tomoe in his eyes began to spin rapidly, and soon, a massive black shadow appeared behind him. Seeing the black skeleton, Sasuke, frozen in place, stopped struggling entirely, staring in awe. "This... this is the true power of the Sharingan?"
"Susano'o..." Kakashi muttered. Of course, he knew what it was. After all, he had been in the Anbu, and he had researched the Sharingan. Susano'o, a skill unlocked with the Mangekyo Sharingan, was now the stuff of legends. He hadn't expected to see it in person.
With a deafening crash, the giant hand came crashing down on Kakashi's location. The sheer force of the impact cracked the ground, threatening to shatter the entire stone pillar. Linton could feel that the attack had landed.
Kakashi, possessing the Sharingan, should have been able to see Linton's movements, but his body couldn't keep up. He had taken a hard hit to the chest earlier, making it difficult to catch his breath. This final blow landed solidly. Looking down, Linton saw Kakashi embedded in the ground, severely injured.
"Battle over," the system confirmed. It seemed this time Kakashi wasn't a clone. A second later, Linton deactivated Susano'o and checked on Kakashi.
Kakashi wasn't dead. Linton had held back somewhat, as he could control Susano'o. If the system had handled the fight, Kakashi would have been dead for sure. Linton chose Susano'o to finish the battle without killing him.
The system didn't require that he kill his opponent to declare victory—defeating them was enough. Linton had figured this out a while ago, back when he fought Spider-Man. Both of them had fallen from a building; Linton had died from the fall, and Spider-Man had probably just been knocked out, but the system still counted it as Linton's win. Even though he hadn't seen the outcome, he doubted Spider-Man had died from a ten-story fall.
Kakashi was a key character in the storyline, and while Linton didn't know exactly how the system calculated things, he figured it was better to avoid killing significant characters, as that could cause all sorts of complications down the road.
Some might think Kakashi seemed weak—wasn't he supposed to be on equal footing with everyone? But early on, Kakashi wasn't that strong. Not long after, Itachi returned and defeated Kakashi with a single glance. Linton still had to acquire Itachi's abilities. If he couldn't even finish Kakashi in a few rounds, how was he supposed to survive out there?
After confirming that Kakashi was still alive, Linton glanced at Sasuke, who was just recovering from the shock of seeing Susano'o.
"Alright, I'm letting you go, but stay calm," Linton said. He was genuinely worried about Sasuke. If Sasuke made a move, Linton might accidentally crush his skull with a single punch before he even had time to hold back.
"You should realize by now that I'm not your enemy. Otherwise, you and Kakashi would already be dead," Linton said, pointing at the unconscious Kakashi on the ground. "Don't worry, he's not dead."
"What are you trying to do?" Sasuke asked.
"I already told you—an eye for an eye, vengeance repaid double," Linton replied. "I've come back for revenge. I'm after Itachi, and the Third Hokage."
"Hokage-sama? What grudge do you have with him?" Sasuke asked.
"Personal grievances are one thing, but he's also got a grudge against the entire Uchiha clan," Linton explained. "But you don't need to know about that right now."
"Why not?" Sasuke shouted.
"Someone else will tell you when the time is right. It's not my place to explain," Linton said, not wanting to waste his breath. "Or put it another way—you're not strong enough to know right now. You can't even beat Kakashi, let alone the person you're after."
Sasuke's body trembled at the mention of "that person." "That person... is stronger than Kakashi?"
"Come on, the Uchiha are a clan of prodigies. How could that person be weaker than Kakashi? You're setting your standards too low," Linton said with a shrug. "Itachi is probably about my level. He can use the same abilities I just showed you, so think hard—do you still have time to play games?"
"..." Sasuke fell silent. After a moment, he shouted, "Please teach me! Teach me how to grow stronger and defeat him!"
Having witnessed Linton's power, Sasuke realized that following him might be the fastest way to get stronger, so he pleaded earnestly.
"I'm not really good at teaching people. If you're looking for a teacher, this guy is more reliable." Linton pointed to Kakashi lying on the ground. "Get him up, and I'll have a chat with him."