Slap in the Face

"That guy is a Black Shadow Ninja!" Kakashi steadied his turbulent emotions and spoke quietly to Kurenai Yuhi and Guy.

"What?" Kurenai’s expression changed. "Are you sure?"

"Of course! There may be no flaw in his appearance, but I’ll never forget that feeling for the rest of my life!"

"Then we should hurry and report this to Lord Hokage!" Kurenai said calmly. "If that guy starts causing trouble in Konoha, it could be another disaster on the level of Nine-Tails Night!"

"I understand. Huh, where’s Guy?" Kakashi nodded, then turned around just in time to see Guy already chasing after them. His face immediately changed in alarm.

"Kurenai, go make the report first! I’ll go keep an eye on that idiot Guy!" Kakashi gritted his teeth in anger and vanished as he gave chase.

Kurenai slightly parted her lips and waved her hand, only to see Kakashi disappear around the street corner as well.

"Can’t these men be a little calmer?" Kurenai sighed in exasperation. Still, she did not chase after them, instead heading toward the Hokage Building.

Meanwhile, as the two walked down the street, Hizashi Hyuga, standing behind Yota, said, "My lord, someone seems to be catching up from behind!"

"Ah… I know. As long as he doesn’t rush us directly, ignore him." Yota smiled and waved his hand. "After that commotion last time, I imagine Konoha’s ninja should have learned their lesson. No matter what, they wouldn’t dare fight me directly in Konoha~"

Yota did not believe he had run into Kakashi by coincidence. Kakashi must have already learned his identity, and precisely because he knew who Yota was, they would be even more cautious.

Konoha could not withstand any more major disasters now. Especially since Jiraiya had been captured by Yota; without any news of his return, Konoha’s nerves were even more on edge.

Konoha Strong Whirlwind!

The moment Yota finished speaking, a large foot came flying toward him. With a crack, it struck Yota right in the head.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, after a while…

"Ow, ow, ow! So hard, so hard!" The green-clad Guy clutched his shin, his face twisted in pain. "What an incredible ninjutsu! His head is even harder than steel."

Guy was not exaggerating. With his years of taijutsu training, a kick enhanced by Chakra could leave a mark even on steel. Yet when it landed on Yota’s head, it had no effect whatsoever, while the recoil nearly shattered his leg bone.

Yota’s face was dark as coal. Well, that was because his face was covered in Armament Haki, definitely not because getting slapped in the face on the spot had turned his expression black.

Hizashi Hyuga lifted his head as though he had seen nothing. After a long silence, Yota finally said, "Fine. Perhaps some ninja really do think differently from normal people."

By then, Guy had rubbed his shin a few times, easing the pain slightly, and struck a classic martial arts movie pose. One hand extended forward, the other behind his back, his body lowered into a bow stance.

"The Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy, has arrived!"

"Black Shadow Ninja, surrender at once!"

The atmosphere froze once more. It was as though two crows flew across the sky, cawing loudly: "Idiot, idiot!"

"Guy, you idiot!" The silver-haired Kakashi finally caught up, snapping at his old friend in frustration, though he too assumed a guarded stance.

"Forget it… Since things have come to this, Black Shadow Ninja! Perfect. I have a score to settle with you over Obito’s eye as well."

Yota glanced at the two of them. "You two think you can settle accounts with me? Kakashi, without the Sharingan, can you still aim your Lightning Cutter properly? And Guy, how many Gates of the Eight Gates can you open?"

Guy with all Eight Gates open might have had the ability to take down any one of the Four Emperors with him, even in the Pirate World. But at Guy’s current age, he was clearly still some distance away from opening all Eight Gates.

Besides, with the strength of his two systems combined, Yota was still unafraid even if Guy truly opened all Eight Gates. With his physique, even if he could only open the Seventh Gate, his combat strength would not be much weaker than Guy’s with all Eight Gates open.

As for Kakashi Hatake, it was hard to say whether the Sharingan had been a treasure or a burden to him. If he had lost the Sharingan ten years ago, Kakashi might have become stronger than in the original work. But he had only lost it three years ago, and his combat system likely had not fully adapted yet. Whether he had grown stronger or weaker now, even Yota could not say for certain.

Still, no matter how highly he estimated the two of them, they had no chance of winning against Yota together.

Unless it was Guy from the original work, who could already open the Eighth Gate, or Kakashi with the abilities of the Kamui Sharingan, the two posed no threat at all.

"The Eight Gates? Right now, I can only open up to the Sixth Gate." Guy answered directly, somewhat foolishly. "But youth never fails! As long as we work hard…"

Kakashi sighed. Guy had exposed one of their trump cards right from the start. Other than his combat strength, there was not a single reliable thing about that guy!

As he thought this, Kakashi formed hand seals. Lightning flickered around his body, and dazzling electric light condensed into the shape of a sword, already aimed at Yota.

When the lightning first gathered, it flashed wildly and emitted sharp chirps. But in the end, the originally violent lightning condensed like clear water into a shining blade, leaving behind only a low hum.

This was not because Kakashi’s Lightning Cutter had become weaker. Rather, his control over lightning had increased dramatically, allowing it to become even more condensed.

"It seems losing the Sharingan didn’t make you give up after all!" Yota made no move to stop him, instead watching Kakashi with interest. Judging from that Lightning Cutter alone, Kakashi’s strength had not declined after losing the Sharingan over the past three years; it had actually improved considerably.

The reason Kakashi in the original work gave people the impression that he was a prodigy in his youth but made little progress after growing up was certainly partly due to burdens like the Sharingan. But the greater reason was that he had suffered several devastating blows, lost heart, and stopped putting much effort into training.

As a child, Kakashi was not quite a training maniac like Guy, but he was absolutely diligent and disciplined. The few training scenes that occasionally appeared in the original work were enough to prove it.

However, after Obito, Rin Nohara, Minato Namikaze, and the others died one after another, Kakashi became completely listless. Apart from carrying out missions, he either read dirty books, arrived late, or rambled at Obito and Rin Nohara’s graves. Under those circumstances, it would have been strange if he had grown stronger.