Chapter 642: A Turn for the Better
Uchiha Madara noticed Shisui's attack. Chakra quickly gathered in his hands and feet as he prepared to meet Shisui head-on.
Shisui moved extremely fast, and the distance between them quickly closed to within five meters.
Just as Madara was about to use Taijutsu, blood tears flowed from Shisui's left eye.
In the next instant, the world in Madara's vision changed rapidly. The war-torn battlefield vanished, replaced by a void beneath a blood-red sky, and Madara found himself bound to a cross.
Shisui stood in front of him.
Although this was Shisui's first time using Tsukuyomi, the moment he entered this Genjutsu world, he understood one thing.
This was a world completely controlled by him.
In the blink of an eye, countless Shisui appeared in front of Madara, all holding long swords.
"Hahahaha!"
Madara, who was tied to the cross, showed no fear at all. Instead, he burst into wild laughter.
Shisui felt something was wrong. Without wasting any time, he instantly conjured countless attacks out of thin air and aimed them all at Madara.
"Using Genjutsu on me. Your courage is commendable," Madara said, the corners of his lips curling upward.
In a Sharingan Genjutsu battle, taking the first move could provide a certain advantage, but it was not a decisive one.
Only ocular power and mental energy were the true deciding factors.
Crack! Crack!
The moment Madara finished laughing, huge cracks spread across the entire Tsukuyomi world, and it rapidly began to collapse.
"Hmph!"
Shisui gasped. His pupils contracted, and in the next instant, he clutched his left eye as intense pain throbbed through it.
Using Mangekyō Sharingan ocular techniques already had side effects. Combined with the backlash from having his technique forcibly broken, the pain was truly worse than being stabbed.
"Am I this weak now?" Madara frowned as he felt the stinging pain in his head.
If he had his own eyes, even if they were only the Eternal Mangekyō and not the Rinnegan, he would have been able to easily break Shisui's Sharingan Genjutsu without suffering any injury.
Thinking of this, Madara wanted to complete his plan and revive in his peak state even more urgently.
In his current state, he might not even be able to defeat the Five Kage.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Guy suddenly rushed out, stopping Madara from attacking the injured Shisui.
Whoosh!
Kakashi tightened his grip on the White Fang Short Blade and rushed forward again, helping Guy block Madara.
"Shisui, are you alright?" Obito also quickly arrived beside Shisui and asked.
Although Madara's target was Rin, the one truly injured right now was Shisui.
"It's nothing serious," Shisui said, shaking his head.
He still had a trump card he had not used. With that, no matter how severe the injury, it would not matter.
It was just a pity that this new power had come one step too late.
"Hurry and help Guy and the others. The enemy is too strong," Shisui said quickly.
This black-robed Uchiha was truly the strongest Ninja Shisui had ever seen.
His Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu were all terrifyingly strong.
"Susanoo!"
Madara activated Susanoo almost instantly. All four arms swung blue light swords, unleashing four sword slashes at Kakashi and Guy in one breath.
"Golden Skyline!"
Facing such a dangerous situation, Guy pushed Rock Breathing to the limit, maximizing his defense and strength, then unleashed a slash in a sword-swinging posture.
Boom!
The thick blue sword energy exploded and scattered, and Guy was also blasted away. The fingers he had used for Golden Skyline were bleeding heavily.
Sizzle!
Facing the powerful slash, Kakashi could only rapidly erupt with power, pour Chakra into the White Fang Short Blade, and respond with a slash of his own.
Boom!
Crack!
Kakashi was forced back ten meters and fell to the ground. The White Fang Short Blade in his hand shattered into several pieces and flew away.
Lying on the ground, Kakashi stared blankly at the broken White Fang Short Blade in his hand.
To Kakashi, the White Fang Short Blade was not merely a useful Chakra blade.
It was also a keepsake left behind by his father.
His most respected teacher had died, even though they had known the outcome in advance.
The keepsake left behind by his father had shattered, even though he possessed Armament Haki, a secret technique capable of strengthening weapons.
"Is everything destined, then? No matter how hard I try, I can't change it..."
An endless sense of powerlessness welled up in Kakashi's heart.
To prevent Mugetsu's possible death crisis, each of his disciples had set strict goals for themselves, barely stopping their training for even a single day.
Every time they went on a mission, they were extremely careful, afraid that it might be the death crisis awaiting Mugetsu.
Yet in the end, they could only watch helplessly as Mugetsu was killed by the black-robed Uchiha.
Kakashi hated himself for not maintaining Transparent World a little longer.
Perhaps he could have detected the enemy's sneak attack.
But he also knew that if he were sent back without retaining his memories, he would still act the same way.
Because in his perception, it was simply impossible for anyone to withstand Mugetsu's full-power No Thought Strike head-on.
An eighty-meter-tall blue giant had been shattered by that slash. How could a Ninja's mortal body possibly endure it?
The enemy not dying was something none of the Konoha Ninja had expected.
Kakashi wanted to stand up. Thanks to the Yang Seal, he still had Chakra left to fight.
Although he was in terrible pain, so much so that he wanted to lie on the ground and do nothing, he could not.
Obito and the others were still fighting.
Due to his severe injuries, Kakashi had just managed to stand before he lost his balance and knelt down again.
Kakashi remembered the healing potion in his Ninja tool pouch, but when he reached for it, he found that his Ninja tool pouch had been destroyed in the previous attack.
He could only keep trying to stand up.
And he kept failing.
At that moment, a voice seemed to echo in Kakashi's heart.
"Let it be. No matter how hard you try, in the end, you'll still be alone. History cannot be changed. No matter how desperately you fight, Obito, Rin, and Shisui will all leave, just like Teacher Mugetsu..."
Kakashi's body trembled slightly.
Was it because his injuries were too severe, making his body feel insecure?
He involuntarily thought of his greatest fear.
Kakashi was not afraid of dying in battle.
But he was very afraid of becoming the "Senior Kakashi" that adult Yamato had spoken of.
"Woof!"
At that moment, the injured Lycanrocc walked up to Kakashi and sat down, looking as if it would protect him to the death.
Soon after the battle began, Kakashi and the others had summoned their respective Nin-Beasts.
However, Madara's strength was too overwhelming. Even so many elite Konoha Ninja attacking together had no effect, and their Nin-Beasts could not turn the situation around. They were quickly injured as well.
"Lycanrocc..."
Kakashi's expression became complicated.
After spending so much time with Lycanrocc, he naturally understood Lycanrocc barks.
In that instant, he felt inferior to Rockruff, who had only been born a few years ago.
Both of them were severely injured, yet Lycanrocc carried out its conviction without hesitation.
Kakashi believed that if an attack came now, Lycanrocc would use its body to block it for him.
And he, at the very moment his teammates needed him most, had actually fallen into such thoughts.
"Lycanrocc, help me," Kakashi said to Lycanrocc.
No matter the outcome, he had to fight to the very end.
That way, even if he still became that "Senior Kakashi," he would not be left with regrets like, "What if I had given my all without hesitation back then? What would the outcome have been?"
Lycanrocc understood Kakashi's meaning. It bit onto Kakashi's clothes and helped him stand again.
Life Drop!
Milotic condensed water spheres containing life force and shot water drops at the injured Konoha Ninja.
Kakashi was struck by a water drop, and his condition improved significantly. At the very least, his mobility was no longer a problem.
He quickly walked to Mugetsu's body, apologized, and picked up Enma, which lay beside him.
Based on Kakashi's understanding of swords, Enma was definitely a good blade. It was even more suitable for performing One Thought Cut than White Fang.
Half of Kakashi's strength lay in Lightning Release sword techniques. Now that White Fang was broken, he could only use a new sword.
"Hm?"
After picking up Enma, Kakashi's expression suddenly changed.
The moment he took hold of Enma, the Chakra in his body uncontrollably surged into the blade, as if Enma wanted to drain all of it.
"Stop it!"
Kakashi desperately controlled his Chakra to resist Enma's suction.
For a Ninja, losing all Chakra could be fatal.
"Give it back!"
Kakashi not only resisted Enma's suction, he also tried to snatch back the Chakra Enma had absorbed.
He was not just going through the motions of fighting.
He was going to fight with everything he had, to try to change that damned, terrible ending.
Under Kakashi's effort, Chakra continuously flowed from Enma into his body.
Kakashi was surprised to discover that what he had snatched back from Enma was actually more than what he had just lost.
"It's Teacher Mugetsu!"
Kakashi immediately realized the reason.
Mugetsu had just used Enma to fight the black-robed Uchiha Madara. Perhaps some of Mugetsu's Chakra still remained inside Enma.
Realizing this, Kakashi gripped Enma even tighter.
Even now, Mugetsu was still helping them.
"Yang Seal, release!"
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
Kakashi did not hesitate. He immediately released the Yang Seal, used the Chakra stored within it, reentered Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and activated Transparent World.
Kakashi stared intently at the black-robed Uchiha, gripping Enma tightly as Chakra constantly surged around him.
One Thought Cut should be performed with a mind as still as water, free of thoughts and desires.
But at this moment, Kakashi's mind was filled with the desire to protect his comrades and change the future.
Yet, strangely enough, Kakashi did not fail to perform it.
Sizzle!
A large amount of lightning element condensed on Enma's blade, and a terrifying aura rose from it.
At this moment, Kakashi suddenly understood.
A selfless blade free of all distractions was indeed powerful, but he could not achieve it.
He, Kakashi Hatake, did not want to be alone.
He wanted to protect his comrades, to protect the people he cared about, even if that meant breaking the rules and changing history.
"I won't let you continue, you bastard!"
Rumble!
The instant Kakashi unleashed most of his Chakra and raised Enma, lightning flashed in the sky. A bolt of lightning poured into Enma, and its dazzling electric light attracted everyone's attention.
Madara, who had just severely injured Guy, showed a trace of wariness.
If not for Izanagi, Mugetsu's slash truly would have killed him.
"Kakashi has broken through again, Obito. Let's assist him together," Shisui said hurriedly when he saw this.
At this point, Guy was already severely injured and could no longer continue.
Obito had Kamui and was the least injured, while Shisui still had a trump card that could restore his condition. Continuing to fight was not impossible.
Obito said nothing and only nodded.
The two moved quickly, attacking Susanoo from two directions to create the best attack opportunity for Kakashi.
The black-robed Uchiha was not a puppet who would simply stand there and let Kakashi cut him.
The reason Mugetsu's No Thought Strike had been able to hit the black-robed Uchiha was because he had been in the middle of exchanging blows with the Wood Golem and Susanoo at the time, and the timing had been exceptionally precise.
"You are only alive now because you still have value. Do not think too highly of yourselves," Madara said, looking at the three rushing toward him with annoyance.
If he had not intentionally held back, Obito and the others would have died countless times already.
Yet they still were not satisfied and wanted to stop him from taking Rin.
"Feel the gap between us!"
Madara unleashed Chakra again. Dense blue Chakra rapidly surged, and Susanoo's height and size quickly changed.
Originally, he had not wanted to use this level of Susanoo again. First, it was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, and it was not worth it. Second, it was somewhat burdensome for him in his current state.
But seeing Kakashi and the others like this, Madara felt it would be easier to use a full-power Susanoo one more time.
Rumble!
The ground shattered, and the eighty-meter-tall blue giant reappeared on the battlefield.
He did not dodge Kakashi's attack.
The only thing Madara needed to guard against now was Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan ability. As for everyone else, they posed no threat to him.
Crack!
Kakashi suddenly leaped up, swung Enma, and cut into Susanoo's abdomen, but he only managed to create a few cracks.
Whoosh!
Susanoo's two enormous fists smashed toward Kakashi.
"Kamui!"
Obito had originally intended to use Kamui on Madara, who was located in Susanoo's head. But seeing Kakashi about to be attacked, he still chose to use Kamui to help Kakashi.
Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive beside Kakashi and provide support.
Tsukuyomi's range was within five meters, and Madara was too far away, so Shisui could not use Tsukuyomi to attack him.
Then, Madara ignored Obito and the others and directly extended a Chakra arm toward Rin.
Obito had only just awakened his Mangekyō and had already used its abilities several times. His body could no longer bear it. The remaining people posed no threat to Madara.
That meant Madara could ignore everyone and take Rin away directly.
"Rin!"
Obito's Sharingan was still bleeding. He desperately wanted to destroy the large hand reaching toward Rin, but his condition was no longer enough for him to use Kamui again.
Dense mist formed in Obito's eyes, constantly turning into tears mixed with the blood flowing from them, becoming blood tears.
Was Rin going to leave him too?
This world really was fake!
"Give me more Chakra!"
Kakashi desperately tried to draw enough Chakra from Enma to use One Thought Cut again.
But Enma did not produce Chakra. It was merely a vessel for Chakra.
No matter how much Kakashi wanted it, Enma could not create Chakra for him out of nothing.
Shisui desperately used the Body Flicker Technique to rush forward.
If he could make it in time, he could use his Eye Technique on Rin. He could not say it would definitely save her, but at least it would give Rin one more life.
"Awooo!"
Milotic let out a warning cry, condensing a large amount of water-attribute Chakra in her mouth.
Although Milotic's strength was decent, trying to counter Madara's Susanoo could only be described as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Just as Milotic was feeling frustrated by this, it, being sensitive to temperature, suddenly felt a surge of heat.
.....
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