Naruto: The Clanless Prince

Uchiha Obito was very surprised when he heard Kakashi say "let's go."

"Kakashi, you really want to come with me to rescue Rin and Katsuhiko?" Obito asked in disbelief.

Kakashi replied, "If you're not afraid of regrets, why should I be? Besides, I've already experienced what regret feels like. I just hope you won't regret this decision. But there's something I need to explain to you first."

Uchiha Obito nodded excitedly. "Okay, I agree to everything you say!"

Kakashi sighed helplessly. "You should decide after you hear what I have to say. You and Rin are barely teammates, so I'm choosing to rescue you both, but you can't act without permission in the future. You must obey my commands in everything we do!"

Uchiha Obito didn't hesitate before agreeing. "Okay, I'll listen to you!"

Kakashi took a deep breath.

He had never been a truly cold person. As his teacher, Sora had always taught Kakashi that compared to family and friends, all rules and regulations were meaningless. Nothing was as important as the people you cared about.

But with the painful lessons learned from his father's fate, in an unforgiving place like Konoha, Kakashi had forced himself to be indifferent and to approach problems in the most rational way possible. After all, what happened back then had left a scar on Kakashi's heart that would never heal.

...

Meanwhile, Sora and Namikaze Minato had found the frontline commander, Mimura Hamaki.

Seeing Sora and Namikaze Minato arrive, Mimura Hamaki breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "You're finally here."

Namikaze Minato asked, "What's the situation now?"

Mimura Hamaki reported seriously, "There are about fifty enemies. Compared to that, the only survivors on our side are the four of us..."

The battlefield was littered with the bodies of fallen Konoha shinobi. The morale of the Iwa shinobi was running high.

"We'll end this quickly," Minato said with determination.

Namikaze Minato took out a dozen Flying Thunder God kunai and addressed Mimura Hamaki and the other four Konoha ninja. "Everyone, throw these kunai at the enemy. Leave the rest to me and Sora."

One of the Konoha shinobi questioned, "Isn't this too random? Anyway..."

Mimura Hamaki cut him off with a sharp rebuke. "Just shut up and do it! You're about to witness a battle between Konoha's Yellow Flash and the Blood-eyed Shura. It'll be over in a moment, so don't miss it!"

When Mimura Hamaki's team threw all the Flying Thunder God kunai, Namikaze Minato began flickering between them. Each flash of yellow took another enemy down.

Sora, on the other hand, used Thunder Breath, One Form, and Thunderbolt Flash to move swiftly between enemies.

Despite facing an enemy force several times larger than their own, it was Sora and Minato who were slaughtering the Iwa shinobi without mercy.

"Incredible... they're so strong..." Mimura Hamaki and the other four stood dumbfounded as they witnessed the battle prowess of Sora and Namikaze Minato.

...

Kakashi and Uchiha Obito had found the place where Nohara Rin and Takei Katsuhiko were imprisoned—a cave made of stone.

Kakashi instructed Obito, "I'll lure them away, and you take the opportunity to rescue Rin and Katsuhiko. Understand?"

Uchiha Obito lowered his voice and replied, "I understand."

Kakashi picked up a stone and threw it toward the entrance of the cave. The movement caught the attention of Huoguang and Dashi inside.

Dashi said to Huoguang, "I'll handle this. You continue using genjutsu and get the information quickly."

"Camouflage Technique!"

The Iwa ninja became transparent, blending with the surrounding environment as he left the cave.

Kakashi crept closer to the cave entrance while Uchiha Obito watched nervously.

"What are you looking at?" The invisible Iwa ninja suddenly spoke. "Letting the white-haired boy lure us out so you can save your friends? Don't be so naive!"

Dashi released his Camouflage Technique and lunged at Obito with a kunai.

However, Kakashi suddenly appeared from above and drove his White Light Chakra Sabre through the Iwa ninja's chest.

Dashi looked at Kakashi in disbelief. Wasn't Kakashi approaching the cave just now?

He had planned to eliminate the weakest target, Obito, first and then deal with Kakashi. But his sneak attack had failed, and he'd been counterattacked instead.

Uchiha Obito stared at Kakashi in confusion. "Kakashi, did you...?"

Kakashi explained, "That was just a Shadow Clone. Once I knew an enemy could become invisible, how could I trust a crybaby like you to act alone? I guessed they would try to kill you first, so I prepared a Shadow Clone in advance while my real body hid in the tree."

Uchiha Obito pouted, clearly dissatisfied. "Are you that worried about me?"

Kakashi responded bluntly, "Don't you know how much trouble you are?"

The second Iwa ninja, Dashi, stared at Kakashi and suddenly smiled. "I said before that I might fear your master, the Blood-Eyed Shura, but I don't take you seriously at all."

"Camouflage Technique!"

Dashi disappeared from sight.

Kakashi wrinkled his nose. As expected, the enemy's scent had completely vanished. Now he could only rely on air currents and sounds to determine the enemy's position.

Kakashi carefully sensed his surroundings and suddenly heard a faint noise.

"Obito! Behind you!"

Uchiha Obito couldn't react fast enough, so Kakashi pulled him out of the way. But this left Kakashi unable to counterattack in time.

Dashi's kunai struck, slashing across Kakashi's left eye.

"My eye!"

Kakashi covered his left eye, overwhelmed by pain.

The Iwa ninja tossed aside the bloody kunai and disappeared again.

Though he claimed to dismiss Kakashi as a threat, Dashi remained cautious. After all, as Sora's student, Kakashi had earned a fearsome reputation. So Dashi decided to take his time with the kill.

Uchiha Obito helped Kakashi up. "Hey, Kakashi, are you okay?!"

Kakashi clutched his left eye in agony. "My eye is badly injured. Sensei predicted this might happen. That guy is skilled. He threw away the kunai stained with my blood."

Uchiha Obito looked at Kakashi with tears welling in his eyes.

Kakashi removed his hand from his eye, revealing a deep gash across his left eye. Looking at Obito with his right eye, he said, "What's wrong? Got sand in your eyes again? A shinobi doesn't cry. I'm not dead yet. Isn't it normal for a ninja to get injured? Stay alert!"

Uchiha Obito lifted his goggles and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

He remembered what Namikaze Minato had once told him: "How could sand get into your eyes when you're wearing goggles? Since we're talking about self-control, don't just say it—make your heart stronger too."

Obito had always been all talk, always relying on others to help him. He only talked about things but never acted on them.

But now... Uchiha Obito didn't want to just say the words, "If you don't value your companions, you're worse than trash." He wanted to live by them.

The invisible Dashi attacked again, targeting Uchiha Obito.

"Go to hell!" the Iwa ninja shouted.

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