Young Kakashi served as support while Young Obito took the lead in the offensive. The masked man couldn't use his Intangibility within his own space, but Obito Uchiha could. Though their Sharingan and abilities were identical, Obito came from a different parallel world. This meant the space within his Mangekyō Sharingan was tied directly to him, much like the Three Great Sage Regions.
In less than a moment, the two had already exchanged blows with the masked man four or five times. The masked man wasn't without his own attacks, either. The black chakra rods growing from his palms were his weapons, a substance with a very unusual texture.
In pushing Kakashi aside, Obito was accidentally grazed by one of these rods. The nearby chakra was immediately disturbed, nearly causing his Wood Release to destabilize.
"Be careful! Don't let that thing injure you."
Kakashi observed as the wound on Obito's arm, accompanied by steam, healed completely before responding with a simple, "Mhm."
Obito fell back to Kakashi's side.
"He knows all my moves too well. You take the lead."
The masked man was the 29-year-old Obito Uchiha. The current, under-12 Obito Uchiha had no abilities that he didn't already know. Fifteen extra years had given him plenty of time to perfect his techniques—how to use them, and how to counter them, all mastered with precision. Furthermore, the masked man's mind carried the lifetime combat experience of Madara Uchiha. How could two twelve- or thirteen-year-old ninjas possibly be his match?
Another three or five exchanges passed between them. Obito used Wood Release, then combined it with Fire Release, feeding the wood generated by Wood Release into the flames to make them burn even fiercer. Unable to use his Intangibility, the masked man was trapped within the flames.
Kakashi fought with his White Fang ninja blade and his solid taijutsu, but while his speed matched the masked man's, his strength and experience were no match for his opponent. He didn't even notice when the masked man formed his hand seals. With less than a meter separating them, the masked man's Fire Release attack came rushing toward him!
Young Kakashi, using his short stature and youthful flexibility, bent backward in a near-arc, barely dodging the massive fireball flying at him! In the same motion, his hand touched the ground, flicking the White Fang ninja blade onto his feet! He then used the chakra tree-climbing technique to anchor the blade to the sole of his foot, quickly separating the Lightning Release chakra from the White Fang and coating the blade with it just in time!
This was the true essence of the Hatake clan's ultimate technique. Though the Hatake clan couldn't master all five chakra types like the Sarutobi clan, they could wield at least three or four of them.
The White Fang was a special material-made ninja blade, amplifying the user's chakra within itself to deliver even more devastating force to the enemy!
If we interpret it in a more mystical way, a ninja blade without infused chakra can only perform ordinary physical attacks. But when chakra is added, it gains dual effects—both physical and chakra attacks.
Young Kakashi braced himself with both hands, his supple body launching a fierce kick the moment the masked man caught him off guard! The jaw is a blind spot for human vision! Unless one possesses Byakugan, there was no way to see the blade concealed beneath young Kakashi's foot!!
Young Obito waited nervously for this strike to land! Young Kakashi's dark eyes flashed with intensity as he unleashed his swiftest, most powerful kick!
Masked Man: "!!!"
He couldn't see the White Fang hidden beneath Kakashi's foot, but drawing on Madara Uchiha's battle-hardened experience from the Warring States Period, his peripheral vision caught the expression on Young Obito's face!
No!!
In that exact same instant, he arched backward with all his might while his right hand lunged forward!
The White Fang ninja blade, infused with Lightning-attribute chakra, was sharp yet radiated the ruthlessness of Lightning Release! Even as the masked man seized it, the blade scraped against his hand, forcing itself forward with relentless momentum!
The action unfolded in an instant, yet the sheer peril felt like tens of seconds had passed!
The masked man's black hand was shattered by the lightning surrounding White Fang, revealing skin unlike any human's. That pure white hand was the very substance of White Zetsu. Struck by Lightning Release, the hand instantly split open! Yet only a white, gelatinous substance fell to the ground!
The masked man seemed oblivious to the pain, gripping White Fang even tighter!!
'Stab down!' thought young Kakashi, sensing the resistance.
Young Obito's palms sweated with tension. 'Just a little more!! Destroy his mask!'
They had forgotten the purpose of this fight. It wasn't about taking his life through this method, this wager. But by this point in the battle, their original goals no longer mattered. Only one concept remained in both their minds...
--Win! Prove themselves through victory!
Suddenly, both young Kakashi and young Obito felt this sense of two people cooperating to obtain the same thing... Wasn't this exactly like when Team Minato was first formed, and Minato-sensei had them fight over the bells?!!
Back then, Kakashi looked down on Obito, believing he'd slow him down. And Obito's pride wouldn't allow him to ask Kakashi for help. In short, there was no team spirit whatsoever.
But in today's battle, the two worked together seamlessly throughout, needing not even a glance. Whether it was positioning, attacking, or supporting, they made each other's best choices! It even felt like something their own clone couldn't achieve!
Though it felt like dozens of seconds had passed in their minds, in reality, it was but an instant. The Lightning Release attack from White Fang blade still fell short of the masked man, who had thrown his head back and arched his back. His mask, thicker than anyone could have imagined, remained utterly unscathed...
Crack – –
A faint sound, like thunder, struck the eardrums of all three!
No! Though the White Fang hadn't pierced the masked man's mask, the Lightning Release energy coating it had delivered a devastating blow!! The originally blank, featureless mask now bore a slender gash at the left eye—a deep, jagged tear that seemed to slice through eyelid and cheek! That single wound...
"It's just like Kakashi!" Young Obito exclaimed in shock!
The mask on the Masked Man's face had changed, resembling the Adult Kakashi from this world, leaving a deeply etched scar!
The masked man touched the mask on his face. He traced the scar carefully. Beneath the mask, his face was filled with shock.
"Aaargh! So close! I almost shattered his mask!" The young Obito plopped down onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
Young Kakashi picked up the White Fang blade that had fallen to the ground and walked toward the young Obito Uchiha.
"How many rounds have we gone?"
"Huh?" Obito seemed surprised by the question.
Young Kakashi suppressed his temper. "Don't tell me you didn't keep count."
"What?! Usually you're the one who does this?!" Obito was flustered. "You're so reliable, I just assumed you counted!"
"Why do you always expect me to do it?! Can't you count yourself?!"
"You're the captain! Who else should I rely on?!"
"You remember I'm the captain now?!"
"Haven't I been saying you're the captain this whole time?!"
"You—"
The two actually started bickering as if no one else was present. The masked man stared blankly at them, recalling his own time with Kakashi in Minato's class.
"Fifteen rounds now," he suddenly interjected. The arguing pair looked up at him in surprise. After the initial shock, they resumed their quarrel.
"We actually let someone else count our rounds for us!"
"Exactly! How pathetic!"
"Who are you calling pathetic? You were supposed to be counting!"
Masked Man: "..."
"Hey!" His shout successfully drew the attention of the two bickering kids. Honestly, it was just like when they were on missions back then! Arguing as if no one else existed. Had they forgotten his presence—their arch-enemy—was right beside them?!
"Check if your mission's done."
"Huh? Oh!" Young Obito finally fumbled his mission scroll out of his ninja pouch.
[Mission Rank: A-rank]
[Mission Content: Battle Masked Man for no fewer than 15 rounds.]
[Mission Status: Completed.]
"Done!"
He glanced at Kakashi next to him. "Why didn't we travel through time?"
Young Kakashi eyed the masked man warily. "You should know by now—the reward for an A-rank mission is transference to another parallel world."
"Yeah, I know." He kept quiet about the A-rank mission he himself was carrying. The one requiring him to impersonate Madara Uchiha and converse with Hashirama Senju.
"So? Why are we still here?"
Shouldn't they have vanished instantly, traveling to another parallel world?
"..."
Right. After completing an A-rank mission, they usually ended up traveling to another parallel world soon after. But this time, after battling the masked man's team for fifteen rounds, it had been a while. So why hadn't they time traveled yet?
"Could it be because you locked us up?!" Young Obito shouted.
Masked Man: "..." Is that even a thing?
Young Kakashi: "Hard to say. Didn't the Three Great Sage Regions that formed contracts with us also experience issues due to peculiarities in time and space?"
"You two wait here. I'll go check."
The Masked Man's Mangekyō Sharingan allowed him to perceive scenes beyond his own spacetime. He removed his mask, revealing a mature, rugged face. Half his face was twisted with wrinkled scars. Though the left side bore no wounds, his left eye remained tightly shut—the result of losing that eye.
Unaware of the situation, the young Kakashi and young Obito focused solely on the 'masked man'—the parallel-world counterpart to Obito Uchiha from Naruto's timeline. Their expressions turned utterly shocked, their bodies stiffening in place!
Just as Obito was about to ask what was happening, the masked man vanished without a word, swept away by a vortex before their eyes?!!
"Hey, hey, hey!!"
Young Obito was dumbfounded! The 'Masked Man' had left without a word, abandoning him and Kakashi in the Dōjutsu space!!!
Young Kakashi stood frozen in shock.
"What about you? Can you use your Kamui's Dimension to get out of here?!"
"Kamui?"
"That space in your eyes! Calling it that all the time is such a hassle. I'll name the technique. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."
"Oh, oh! That's a pretty good name for it!"
"Is this the time to be thinking of names?! Judging by his earlier expression, something major must have happened outside!"
"Is it Naruto, Sasuke, and Minato-sensei? Did something happen to them?" At that thought, Young Obito immediately grew tense.
Young Kakashi frowned, deep in thought for a moment.
"No, there might be another possibility."
"What if..." he said, "we've already time traveled?"