Have You Ever Felt Powerless?

But to Obito, who knew nothing of the truth, her words were exceedingly grating.

All for Kakashi.

She did not care in the slightest about her own life.

Even after dying once, Rin’s gentleness had not changed in the slightest. But the world had betrayed her gentleness, and Kakashi, who had made her die once, had betrayed her even more!

Obito resolved to truly save Rin!

And at that moment—

"Rin—!" Kakashi cried out in alarm.

"What?!"

Obito abruptly turned his head and saw Rin throw her head back, slamming her temple viciously against the spikes aimed at her.

It was a suicide attempt without the slightest hesitation!

Obito’s eyes suddenly widened. The scene from the past seemed to appear in his mind once again.

This time—

Did Rin want to die by his hand?

Almost instinctively—

Obito abruptly withdrew the spikes.

What an opportunity!

Kakashi assumed that the masked man in front of him simply did not want to kill the hostage and lose the chance to exchange her for information. That did not stop him from seizing this instant. His left eye, which had long since transformed into a Mangekyo, suddenly began to spin.

He directly used the void to sever the trees binding Rin.

Rin’s body fell.

Kakashi had already seized the opportunity and lunged viciously at Obito. The power he had obtained through the Forbidden Jutsu erupted without the slightest hesitation.

"Rin, run!" he shouted at the same time.

Rin gave him one last look before turning and swiftly retreating.

Although she believed it would be better for her to die than for Kakashi to fight—

But—

She knew very well that she could not convince Kakashi. The only thing she could do was leave and avoid becoming a burden.

At that moment—

Rin’s desire to obtain power became stronger than ever.

Shen Mo, watching Rin’s thoughts from high in the air, could not help smiling.

The purpose of the monster-sweeping dungeon was to give ordinary ninja like Rin an opportunity to grow powerful through the Jars.

It had not been prepared for the strong.

However, there was no need to rush.

Shen Mo shifted his gaze back to the battle between Kakashi and Obito.

Facing Kakashi’s fierce assault—

Obito only dodged.

He was still immersed in the lingering fear of nearly causing Rin’s death. If he hurt Rin, he could never forgive himself, no matter what. But he had never expected Rin to be so decisive.

To commit suicide without saying a word—

That was also why he had not chased after the fleeing Rin.

What if he took Rin away, only for her to kill herself right in front of him before he even had the chance to speak?

At the thought of such a scene, Obito could not help shuddering.

It was in that moment of distraction—

Boom—!

Kakashi slammed a fist into his stomach. His body spun and flew backward under the tremendous impact, crashing heavily into a tree.

"Getting distracted in the middle of a battle? You really underestimate me." The clothes on Kakashi’s body had already been torn apart by the violent power, revealing muscles bulging with veins.

Even while constantly enduring the side effects of the Forbidden Jutsu—

His gaze remained clear.

Rin should have gone far away by now, which allowed him to relax slightly. Although he did not know whether this man had any accomplices, Kakashi had a strong intuition.

This person was the greatest danger to Rin!

"Cough, cough."

Obito coughed twice and stood up.

Kakashi was somewhat surprised.

He knew very well that his punch just now had definitely injured the other man’s internal organs.

Wood Release’s regenerative power?

This enemy was truly troublesome beyond imagination. Had he really come for Konoha’s intelligence?

"I heard you call yourself Uchiha Madara." Kakashi took a healing potion and spoke. "If you were that lord, how could your power be so weak? And how do you possess Wood Release?"

Although, after opening the Forbidden Series, the one thing he absolutely could not afford was being dragged into a prolonged battle—

At present, he instead needed to stall for time.

He had to hold out until his teacher and the people of Konoha arrived.

The Nine-Tails’ rampage twelve years ago had also been caused by this man, along with the deaths of his teacher and master’s wife and the sacrifice of countless Konoha ninja.

Kakashi gradually made up his mind.

He absolutely could not let this man go!

"Kakashi…"

Looking at Kakashi before him, Obito suddenly thought of another way.

If he wanted to stop Rin from committing suicide—

Then he could only rely on the person before him.

If he used Kakashi’s life as leverage, Rin might be willing to give up everything, including her life.

Damn it! This is so infuriating!

Obito’s gaze sharpened as he continued in a hoarse voice:

"Have you ever felt powerless?"

Kakashi also sensed that something was wrong. Obito’s Chakra surged, and an even stronger pressure than before descended upon him. For some reason, this person seemed to have suddenly shifted his target to him.

But he would not retreat before an enemy.

"Of course." Kakashi slowly took a deep breath and drew a short sword from behind his back. "But after that, I resolved never to be as powerless as I was back then."

"And you think you can rely on this ridiculous power you obtained from those ridiculous Jars?" Uchiha Obito’s tone fully displayed Haki and confidence.

He was playing the role of Uchiha Madara.

Naturally, he also put on some of that imposing air.

And beneath Kakashi’s mask, his face was clearly smiling.

He viciously plunged the short sword into his own arm!

Then he shouted in a voice tinged with pain:

"The only thing I regret now is that I didn’t buy enough Jars!"

If he had not hesitated over whether to obtain a Fate-type Item from the Forbidden Series—

Today would not have turned out like this.

Rin had fallen into danger once again.

That was why his regret was genuine.

As his arm transformed into a Dragon Head Arm, Kakashi charged straight at the masked man. Scorching flames erupted as his fist also slammed viciously toward the man’s face.

He wanted to see whether the person beneath the mask was Uchiha Madara!

However—

Whether it was the flames or the fist, both passed straight through the other man’s body without the slightest obstruction, never making contact with anything solid.

"What—?!"

Kakashi turned his head in disbelief.

Obito extended his right hand.

"Never be powerless again?" One flame after another emerged from his fingers with booming sounds. Then he slammed his hand onto the ground. "Now is the time for you to feel despair!"

Uchiha Flame Formation!

A cubical barrier imbued with scorching flames completely enclosed the surroundings. The trees near the barrier were almost instantly reduced to ash.

This barrier—

With hellfire amplified by the earth as its catalyst, even the power of a Tailed Beast would have difficulty breaking through it.

As for Kakashi’s strength in Obito’s eyes—

Calling this a true realm of despair would not be an exaggeration.

Kakashi also sensed the threat.

He still had not figured out what that unbelievable power was that had allowed Obito’s body to be pierced through earlier. But this Uchiha secret barrier, which should have been lost, was clearly meant to prevent him from escaping.