Kakashi stared into the valley, his pupils suddenly contracting as Orochimaru's face gradually came into focus.
"Orochimaru!!"
Suppressing the fear in his heart, Kakashi's gaze turned icy. He kicked away the corpse of the nearby python.
His hands formed seals swiftly. Placing his left hand on his right wrist, he concentrated his lightning chakra.
Electricity crackled—blue arcs danced around his body as Chidori burst forth.
No hesitation.
Kakashi stomped the ground, splashing water as he turned into a blur of blue. His three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto Orochimaru, and before the latter could react, Kakashi closed in and drove his Chidori straight into Orochimaru's abdomen.
The strike was as fast as lightning.
Bzzzz—Crack!
Electric currents surged through Orochimaru's body, snapping and crackling as arcs shot out in every direction.
Kakashi didn't believe for a second that Orochimaru had come just for a chat.
"Not bad…"
Blood dripped from the corner of Orochimaru's mouth. He glanced at his pierced abdomen, then curled his lips into a sinister smile.
Though Kakashi's strike had landed, his Sharingan noticed that Orochimaru hadn't suffered any serious injury. Kakashi tried to pull back.
But suddenly, he realized his body had been entangled by two massive snakes—emerging from Orochimaru's untouched sleeves.
"Serpent Binding Curse…"
Orochimaru coldly eyed Kakashi, who had approached only to now attempt retreat.
Suddenly, the Orochimaru impaled by Chidori turned into a thick, waxy substance—melting into the ground.
Darkness filled Kakashi's vision. The giant snake coiled around his left arm suddenly opened its mouth, and from within it, Orochimaru's hand extended—reaching for his left eye.
The hand pierced easily through his mask.
"I'll be taking your left eye."
Orochimaru sneered. Half his body, slick with slime, emerged from the snake's maw. With surgical precision, he plucked out Kakashi's left eye. Blood arced through the air.
"Obito…"
Darkness swallowed Kakashi's left eye. The searing pain triggered a wave of memories—painful ones—from when that eye was first given to him by his fallen comrade.
"Kh…"
Gritting his teeth, Kakashi widened his right eye, desperately searching for a way out.
This… this was the gap between him and the legendary Sannin. His prideful Lightning Release hadn't even scratched his opponent!
"Heh heh…"
With a grin, Orochimaru held up the three-tomoe Sharingan. His body slick and drenched, he slithered out of the snake's mouth and stood slowly.
A test tube dropped from his sleeve. Uncapping it, Orochimaru gently placed the eye into the solution, sealed it, and raised it to eye level, carefully inspecting the submerged Sharingan across from the immobilized Kakashi.
"It looks... no different from other three-tomoe Sharingan."
Orochimaru observed it for a while.
He even considered trying it on right then and there.
After a moment's thought, he decided instead to store it away. A small snake slithered from the shadows and swallowed the vial whole.
The mission was complete.
Orochimaru glanced playfully at Kakashi and shook his head.
"Sorry, Kakashi. As for your life—"
Before he could finish—
Crack, crack, crack—
The sound of wood scraping echoed from underground. The earth erupted, and thick green vines surged up, engulfing the area around Orochimaru and Kakashi.
Kakashi exhaled in relief.
"Ha… Wood Style? One of the surviving Wood Release test subjects?"
Surprise flashed in Orochimaru's golden eyes. He flickered, vanishing from the spot.
When he reappeared, he ignored the approaching vines and stood before Kakashi. From his sleeve, a snake extended and spat out the Kusanagi Sword, which he raised to strike Kakashi's head.
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!!!"
From behind a large boulder on a cliffside, Tenzo—the man who would later be known as Yamato—rapidly formed hand seals. Pouring chakra into the ground, he activated his Wood Release.
Rows of wooden pillars rose into an arched barrier, shielding Kakashi.
Clang—
Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword gleamed as it pierced the wooden wall. But when he pried the barrier open, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.
"Well, he ran fast enough."
Orochimaru glanced sideways toward the cliff.
Not far away, even Tenzo's chakra signature had vanished from behind the rock.
"Oh well. The mission's done. As for Kakashi—without the Sharingan, who knows if he'll fade into obscurity or continue to grow."
A sly smile crept across Orochimaru's face.
He had no intention of chasing down Kakashi or Tenzo.
First, the mission was complete.
Second, there were still plenty of samples of Hashirama cells left in Danzo's abandoned lab.
Creating the perfect Wood Release ninja was now just a matter of time.
Orochimaru sped off toward the northwest.
He'd just taken Kakashi's Sharingan. The timing was perfect to rendezvous with Uchiha Yu.
---
Outside Mount Katsuragi.
Tenzo supported the wounded Kakashi. After reuniting with their two teammates, the group retreated the way they came.
Detecting no signs of Orochimaru nearby, they finally stopped beside a large tree.
Tenzo's subordinates kept watch.
Whoosh—
The rain gradually intensified. Kakashi leaned against a tree, cold rain pelting his pale face, washing away the blood seeping from his tightly shut left eye.
"Sorry, senpai. I was late," Tenzo said, worried as he examined Kakashi's injured left eye.
This time, each Konoha pursuit squad was divided into a visible team and a shadow team.
Tenzo led the shadow squad—essentially acting as Kakashi's backup unit.
The two teams had kept several hundred meters apart.
It was a precaution in case the main team ran into trouble.
As for the other shadow team… they were likely already eliminated by Orochimaru.
Kakashi shook his head and said:
"It's not your fault.
Orochimaru's target this time was my Sharingan. If you had tried to stop him by force…
None of us would have made it out alive.
I used chakra to seal the acupoints around my left eye and temporarily stopped the bleeding, but to fully heal, I'll need a medical ninja."
Tenzo spoke seriously:
"Senpai, without your Sharingan, your combat ability will take a hit. I don't think we can continue with the pursuit. I suggest we retreat and recover."
Kakashi looked up. His remaining right eye stared at the raindrops falling through the leaves. His silver hair was soaked, and his face was pale and weary.
Losing the Sharingan… didn't really matter.
What mattered was—
It was the only keepsake left by a dear friend.
"Let's fall back. The way you spoke just now reminded me of an old companion," Kakashi sighed, not dwelling on it.
Ever since his father, his friend, and his mentor had all died, he'd grown numb to this sort of pain. As he thought this, he rested an arm on Tenzo's shoulder.
When the time came, he'd find a way to get Obito's eye back from Orochimaru.
Seeing Kakashi still able to joke, Tenzo supported him and said with emotion:
"Senpai, you once saved my life. Today, I saved yours. Next time we hit the hot springs, you won't need to treat me."
"No way. I pulled your body and soul from the abyss, so you owe me two life debts."
"Senpai… seriously…"
...
---
The edge of Mount Xu — lush trees, rolling peaks, steady drizzle, and mist-filled air.
A skirmish had just taken place here.
The Uchiha squad, now clad in black hooded cloaks, stepped past corpses sprawled in pools of blood.
"Damn…"
A rogue ninja leader lay beside a tree, a shuriken embedded in his neck.
His eyes had rolled back, staring at the gloomy sky with his last breath.
Even in death, he couldn't understand what went wrong.
He had accurately gauged the number of throwing weapons the Uchiha squad could carry and deliberately widened the distance, using kunai, shuriken, and senbon to suppress them.
But the Uchiha squad's shuriken seemed endless—relentlessly flying with perfect precision, striking down rogues hiding behind tree trunks one by one.
Whoosh—
Yu passed by the rogue ninja leader without even glancing down, eyes fixed ahead with disdain for the corpse at his feet.
When Tamao passed the barely breathing rogue leader, he acted in his brother's stead—plunging a blade into the man's chest.
They moved through the forest.
The Uchiha squad arrived at the mouth of a wide canyon.
Beneath the curtain of rain—
A swarm of ninja emerged from behind trees, boulders, and hills, appearing in waves.
They grouped up separately.
Stood apart.
Kept their distance.
Their forehead protectors varied—Leaf, Sand, Grass, rogue Mist, rogue Cloud, bounty hunters, and even mountain bandits.
Their faces were fierce. Their eyes glinted with greed as they stared from afar at the newly arrived Uchiha squad.
They had all gathered here for one purpose.
Uchiha Yu.
And the Sharingan possessed by him and those at his side!!
°°°
Hungry for more chaps? Then check out our pătreon!
Link: Påtreon.com/BaphometFiction
I post 20 advanced chapters of this fanfic there.