https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-475-Who-is-Konoha-s-Top-Young-Ninja-/12558653/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-477-Growth-in-the-Transparent-World-8k-Part-1-/12558681/
Chapter 476: The Sharingan that Painted the Transparent World Crimson
Chapter 476: The Sharingan that Painted the Transparent World Crimson
"Jonin Commander Sarutobi, head of the Root Organization...?" Mu Yue's expression turned pensive as she received the memories from her shadow clone.
"Teacher Mu Yue, we're well-rested now and ready to begin," Kakashi said as he stood up and walked to her side.
With their growing strength, they were mindful of the potential consequences should they lose control during their sparring sessions. Thus, they had specially requested Mu Yue to act as the referee to keep things in check.
Having Mu Yue nearby put their minds at ease, as they knew they would receive immediate treatment should they sustain any injuries, even during the heat of battle.
Although Yahiko's medical ninjutsu skills were commendable and on par with a medical jonin, Mu Yue's healing abilities were even more exceptional, second only to Tsunade.
"Then let's begin the draw," Mu Yue nodded, taking out a wooden box from a scroll for the lottery.
Kakashi wasted no time and swiftly reached into the box, randomly grabbing a piece of paper.
As the first person to draw, he had no way of knowing who his opponent would be, regardless of the number he picked.
"Number one," Kakashi announced after opening the paper and reading the number written on it.
"I'll go second!" Obito eagerly volunteered to be the next to draw.
His reasoning was that if Kakashi had drawn number one, then there was a high probability that he would draw number two, setting up a match between master and disciple.
Obito held his head high and slowly reached into the box, his expression solemn as he carefully selected a piece of paper.
"Please let it be Kakashi, just not Guy," Obito silently prayed.
In this sparring session, fighting against Might Guy would be akin to accepting defeat from the very start—there was no other possibility.
Then, Obito suddenly recalled recent events and realized that he seemed to have been influenced by Kakashi's jinx.
"Please let it be Guy, not Kakashi!" The clever Obito quickly added a reverse jinx in his heart.
Feeling that he had done all the preparations, Obito grasped one of the pieces of paper and pulled it out.
"How could it be number three?!" Obito glared at the large number on the paper in his hand.
If Kakashi was number one, then his first-round opponent could only be either Guy or Itachi.
While he could put up a fight against Itachi, if he were to face Guy, Obito could only think about how to lose gracefully, especially with Yahiko still training nearby.
"Haha, I can't wait to have a grand battle with my dear friend!" Might Guy laughed heartily as he strode forward and reached into the box without any hesitation.
Of course, Guy's most desired opponent was Kakashi, as he was his lifelong rival.
"I believe you feel the same way, my friend," Guy said as he picked up the piece of paper and turned to glance at Kakashi, flashing a brilliant smile.
"No, I don't," Kakashi replied mercilessly.
Before he had mastered the One-Minded Mind, he had no such thoughts at all.
Obito stared intently at the piece of paper in Guy's hand, and if it weren't for the fact that his Sharingan couldn't see through objects, he would have been tempted to activate it to peek.
"Please don't let it be number four," Obito prayed in his heart.
His reverse jinx hadn't worked the last time, so he switched back to a normal prayer this time.
Itachi also looked at the piece of paper in Guy's hand. As the last person to draw, it was just a formality, as the order would be clear once Guy had made his pick.
"What a pity, it's number four," Guy said with a hint of regret after opening the paper.
Obito's expression froze; his fears had come true, and he had indeed drawn Guy as his opponent.
"My friend, it looks like we can only meet in the second round," Guy said, giving Kakashi a thumbs-up as encouragement.
"Do your best," Kakashi said, heaving a sigh of relief. While Itachi was a bit more challenging than Obito, he still had a decent chance of winning if he played his cards right.
Itachi walked up to the box and drew out the number two paper that Obito had been hoping for.
"Yahiko, take a break from your training and come sit for a while," Mu Yue called out, stopping Yahiko who had been in the middle of her training.
This action of Mu Yue's added a shadow to Obito's already heavy heart.
He had been thinking that Yahiko's training as a jonin was so important that she might not watch their sparring session, but it seemed that his hopes were dashed.
Yahiko paused her training and sat down next to Obito, focusing her attention on Itachi and Kakashi, who were already in their battle stances.
"Breath of Fire Chakra Mode, Armed Chakra Cloak, Three Tomoe Sharingan, coupled with a brilliant battle intellect. The only obvious weakness is his age," Kakashi couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Kakashi was a genius who had grown up amidst praise and admiration, but every time he thought about Itachi's profile, he felt that even geniuses had their differences.
While there was the matter of meeting Mu Yue earlier or later, Itachi himself was undoubtedly a genius as well.
"As long as I control my chakra well and remain cautious, my chances of winning are high," Itachi thought as he swiftly formulated a battle plan against Kakashi.
Although Kakashi's lightning-style blade techniques had extremely high burst damage, Itachi's Three Tomoe Sharingan could see through his movements. As long as they maintained a certain distance, he could dodge Kakashi's attacks using the Body Flicker Technique.
While Kakashi could also use his lightning nature to dodge Itachi's attacks, Kakashi's total chakra capacity was inferior to Itachi's. The lightning nature transformation used to enhance his body also consumed a significant amount of chakra, and in a prolonged battle of attacks and counterattacks, Kakashi would be the first to falter.
"Begin!" Mu Yue announced when she saw that the two were ready.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Kakashi and Itachi simultaneously moved, with Kakashi advancing and Itachi retreating.
Itachi was in no hurry to engage Kakashi in close combat. Having just returned from the battlefield, they were well aware of each other's strengths, making the usual probing attacks unnecessary.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Itachi focused his breathing and, while rapidly retreating, performed a series of hand seals, spitting out a multitude of tiny fireballs that rained down on Kakashi.
In a normal battle, Itachi would usually start with the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, but those fireballs were too slow, and Kakashi could easily dodge them without even needing to enhance his body.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Instead of evading, Kakashi performed a series of hand seals, summoning a wall of earth with a dog's head in the center to block the onslaught of fiery projectiles.
Boom! Boom!
The fireballs exploded upon impact with the earthen wall, their intense flames engulfing it. Bits of shattered mud and stone flew in all directions.
Kakashi's Earth Flow Wall remained sturdy, showing only minor cracks even after Itachi had unleashed his final fireball. It held firm and was not breached.
"Is he planning to burrow underground and use his shadow clone tactics again?" Itachi wondered.
While Kakashi was mostly associated with his lightning-style blade techniques, those who were familiar with him knew that his earth-style jutsu were not far behind in terms of skill. He was extremely adept at using earth jutsu to conceal his movements.
"Can't Kakashi change up his tactics? He does this every time," Obito, who had suffered from this strategy many times, couldn't help but complain.
"After all, this is a battle. There's no need to differentiate between new and old tactics as long as they bring victory," Yahiko gently smiled and replied.
Fearing that Kakashi would sneak underground for a surprise attack, Itachi focused his chakra and activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, carefully observing the ground.
While the Sharingan couldn't see through objects, its perceptive abilities were exceptional, and Itachi would be able to sense Kakashi's movements even underground, allowing him to dodge any impending attacks.
"Lightning Flash!"
Just as Itachi was cautiously scanning the ground, a Kakashi clone leaped down from the Earth Flow Wall, his body shimmering with lightning as he charged towards Itachi.
Itachi's Sharingan immediately noticed the real Kakashi's initial movement and instantly flashed to the left.
In that moment, Itachi noticed subtle disturbances in the ground.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Itachi pushed his Body Flicker Technique to the limit, using a burst of speed to create more distance between them.
The next moment, Kakashi surged forward, brandishing his lightning blade.
"This speed... something's wrong," Itachi realized as he clearly saw Kakashi's movements.
If Kakashi had unleashed all his power, Itachi's Sharingan would have captured the movement, but it wouldn't have been this clear.
"Lightning Blade: Scatter!"
Kakashi swung his lightning-infused blade, and a crackling web of lightning spread out towards Itachi.
This was a technique Kakashi had conceived after his battle with Haku, realizing that he could either focus his chakra for a slicing attack or diffuse it for a wider range. It was a skill he had specifically developed for the upcoming Chunin Exams.
Kakashi's sudden change in tactic caught Itachi off guard.
If Kakashi had charged in with his Raikiri, Itachi would have been more cautious, but he hadn't expected Kakashi to develop a variation of the Raikiri, a skill he hadn't displayed on the battlefield before.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Based on his Sharingan's observations, Itachi knew he couldn't dodge, so he decided to counter with his own attack. He focused his breathing to enter the Fire Chakra Mode, converting a large amount of chakra into fire-attribute chakra, and finally exhaled a torrent of scorching flames.
In fact, Itachi had two choices: he could either use the Armor Chakra Mode or the Fire Chakra Mode. Both could defend against this surprise attack.
The principle behind the Armor Chakra Mode was simple: it allowed the user to directly withstand the attack.
On the other hand, the Fire Chakra Mode enabled Itachi to instantly perform an attribute change and use fire-style jutsu without hand seals, greatly improving his efficiency in using ninjutsu. This allowed Itachi to use fire-style jutsu before Kakashi's lightning could reach him.
The difference between these two choices was that the Armor Chakra Mode could continue to defend against Kakashi's subsequent attacks, while the Fire Chakra Mode was an attempt to regain the initiative and counter-attack Kakashi.
BOOM!!!
Lightning and fire collided with tremendous force, creating a massive explosion. The thunderous roar of lightning and the howling flames resembled a raging dragon.
Due to the proximity of the explosion, Itachi was affected, and his appearance became somewhat disheveled.
However, Itachi paid it no mind, as his body was strengthened in the Fire Chakra Mode, and the aftermath of the explosion wouldn't impact his combat effectiveness.
Itachi breathed out huge gusts of fire, and the fire dragon gradually devoured the lightning, causing the terrifying blaze to spread.
"Do you want to compare our pure, raw power? I might not necessarily lose in that regard."
Kakashi took a few steps forward, tightly gripping the White Fang in his hand. A large amount of chakra within his body was stimulated and continuously converted into lightning-attribute chakra, empowering his body.
Although he hadn't mastered the One-Minded Mind, the process of learning it had brought him many benefits, and he had made significant progress in various aspects.
Burst strength was his forte, and if he couldn't even match Itachi in that, there would be no point in continuing the fight. If he couldn't surpass his opponent in his strongest area, how could he hope to win?
ZZZZZZ!!!
Kakashi's body was enveloped in dazzling lightning as he pushed his breathing to the limit and entered the Transparent World state, mobilizing all the power in his energized body and focusing it into his next strike as he advanced towards Itachi.
It seemed that Itachi had also decided to go all out in the Fire Chakra Mode and face Kakashi head-on, as he showed no signs of backing down.
Kakashi didn't understand why Itachi was being so stubborn today, insisting on a direct confrontation like this.
His instincts told him that something was amiss, as the person before him was the cautious Itachi, not the hot-headed Obito.
However, Kakashi didn't retreat, because if he took one more step forward, he would be within a critical range for a sure-kill strike.
Within that range, no one could dodge Kakashi's full-power strike unless they were Might Guy, who had the Six Gates and the Rock Chakra Mode.
Kakashi felt that Itachi had a plan, but he trusted in his own abilities.
If he successfully landed that strike, the battle would be over, and he wouldn't have to endure the punishment for losing.
For a fully powered Kakashi, one meter was too short a distance. In almost an instant, he would be within a lethal range.
The disciples who hadn't fought yet watched the battlefield intently.
"Why is he trying to match Kakashi's burst strength? The advantage of fire-style jutsu is its range," Obito muttered, sounding exasperated with Itachi's choices. He felt that Itachi was headed for defeat if he continued like this.
It would be better to exploit Kakashi's weakness in chakra control and drag the fight out, making it a war of attrition. That would be a safer strategy.
The next moment, Itachi abruptly stopped his fire-style jutsu and channeled most of his chakra into his bent spoon, his blood-red eyes fixed on the approaching Kakashi.
The boundless crimson filled Kakashi's vision, causing him to hesitate in his strike.
"How is this possible? How did I get caught in an illusion while in the Transparent World state?" Kakashi was shocked.
Ever since he truly mastered the Transparent World, he hadn't been affected by illusions.
Illusions were, by nature, a manipulation of the opponent's body chakra to interfere with their senses. However, Kakashi had absolute control over his body in the Transparent World, allowing him to instantly detect and dispel illusions, making it almost impossible for him to be affected.
But in that moment, Kakashi's chakra in the Transparent World had been disrupted, and he hadn't immediately dispelled the illusion.
By the time Kakashi dispelled the illusion, Itachi was already by his side, aiming a kunai at his heart.
Kakashi finally understood why Itachi had allowed him to get so close; Itachi, too, had been waiting for the right distance.
If Kakashi and Itachi had been half a meter further apart, Kakashi wouldn't have lost the match so directly, and he could have continued fighting.
"Itachi wins!" Mu Yue announced the result of the battle.
(End of Chapter)
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