Chapter 553: A Sharp Blade and a Sharper Eye

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"

Ao held Nuibari in one hand while forming seals one-handed with the other, unleashing a Water Release technique.

In the original story, Ao had never actually demonstrated any Water Release during the Shippuden era.

It was not until Boruto, shortly before his death, that he finally used Water Colliding Wave to blast Boruto away.

So it was probably not that Ao couldn't use Water Release. He simply was not particularly skilled at it and rarely had any reason to bother.

Right now, however, he was facing a Fire Release attack without any Water Release specialist nearby to assist him.

Naturally, he had to do it himself.

Fire and water collided, instantly producing a cloud of steam that indirectly created something resembling the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

Of course, the steam was nowhere near as dense as the real thing.

When Tobirama and Izuna fought in the past, their Water and Fire Release techniques had similarly collided and produced mist.

Yet even under those conditions, Izuna's Sharingan could still clearly see the incoming kunai.

That alone proved visibility remained fairly decent.

This time, however…

Things were different.

Obito was currently occupying Kakashi's identity.

And he did not have the Sharingan.

The moment the steam swallowed his surroundings, Obito tensed.

Then he remembered one crucial problem.

His opponent possessed a Byakugan.

Mist, steam, darkness—it made no difference.

None of it could obstruct Ao's vision!

'Shit!'

Obito immediately turned and sprinted toward the edge of the fog.

Unlike the Hidden Mist Jutsu, naturally formed steam was uneven in density. The closer he got to the edge, the thinner it would become.

And the thinner the mist became, the safer he would be.

"You're not getting away, Hatake Kakashi!"

Ao's voice suddenly sounded right beside Obito's ear.

A chill shot down his spine.

Then Ao barked, "An opening!"

Pain exploded through Obito's right leg.

His foot gave out mid-stride, sending him tumbling across the ground.

Fortunately, the fall carried him outside the densest part of the fog.

Obito looked down at the bleeding wound in his leg and immediately realized it had been inflicted by Nuibari.

He expected Ao to remain hidden in the mist and wait for another opportunity to strike.

Instead, Ao simply walked straight out.

His eyepatch was gone.

Veins bulged around the activated Byakugan while his other eye remained slightly narrowed, as though he were remembering something from long ago.

"Do you know why people started calling me 'Lady Siyang'?"

Ao spoke quietly.

"Not long after Madara saved me, I still couldn't fully control the half of my body he reconstructed.

"During one assassination mission, someone accidentally tore away part of my disguise…

"And they saw what Madara had done to me.

"One survivor escaped.

"He was the one who gave me that name.

"I've suffered ever since. I have to return to normal. I have to…"

While Ao muttered to himself, Obito tore strips from his clothes, wrapped the wound on his leg, and prepared to flee again.

"You actually think you can escape?"

Ao gently ran a hand along Nuibari.

His Byakugan had been taken as a trophy.

He had never learned the Gentle Fist techniques that were normally paired with it.

"But as far as I'm concerned, using the Byakugan solely for the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist is a complete waste."

At that moment, Ao looked less like a Kirigakure sensor and more like a true swordsman.

"Huh?"

The three gossipmongers reacted at the same time.

They exchanged glances, then explained their surprise when everyone else looked over curiously.

While gathering gossip in Amegakure, they had once interviewed Hyūga Hanabi.

Leaving Hanabi's personal gossip aside, she had mentioned something interesting.

Makoto had once told her that the Hyūga clan was wasting the Byakugan by using it primarily for Gentle Fist.

In his opinion, its abilities were far better suited to long-range sniping.

Could it be…?

"Does Ao have some kind of long-range ninjutsu or weapon designed for sniping?"

Everyone immediately leaned closer to the screen in anticipation.

Unfortunately, they were about to be disappointed.

If this had been the Ao from the Boruto era, that expectation would have been entirely reasonable.

That version of Ao was ridiculous.

His entire body was covered in Scientific Ninja Tools.

His prosthetic arm could fire projectiles, produce an energy blade, and he could even bring out something practically equivalent to a machine gun.

Unfortunately, that Ao had guns but no Byakugan.

This Ao had a Byakugan but no guns.

What he considered "better suited to the Byakugan than Gentle Fist" was something far more traditional:

Kirigakure's Hidden Mist Jutsu and the Seven Ninja Swords.

This time, Ao personally cast the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

The dense fog that spread across the battlefield was completely different from the thin steam before.

And Ao attacked immediately.

Through the Byakugan, Obito's figure remained perfectly visible.

In fact, the eye provided an additional advantage.

To Ao, weaknesses seemed to constantly appear across Obito's body.

And every time one appeared, Nuibari struck it.

An opening was an opening precisely because it was difficult to defend.

Before long, Obito was bleeding from wounds all over his body.

But Uchiha Madara had not ordered Ao to kill him.

Madara wanted something else.

So Ao finally lowered Nuibari, ending their sword duel.

Then he prepared for a very different sort of "duel."

Ao grabbed the helpless Obito, whose arms and legs had already been injured badly enough to prevent resistance, and dragged him into the thick fog.

"Stop! What are you doing?! What the hell are you doing?! Kakashi, save me—!"

Obito's horrified screams came from somewhere inside the mist.

Ao paused in confusion.

Wasn't he supposed to be Kakashi right now?

Why was he screaming for himself to come save him?

Had the man completely lost his mind from fear?

Still, one had to admit that Ao shared a strange amount of fate with both Kakashi and Obito.

Obito's first "death" came when Earth Release: Rock Shelter Collapse crushed half of his body.

His second came at the hands of the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.

Ao had almost the exact reverse experience.

His first apparent death came from the Ten-Tails.

His second came when a collapsing structure crushed him.

And both of them lost half their bodies the first time around.

…

Elsewhere, Kakashi—currently serving in Shisui's Uchiha squad—received a secret message.

Obito had followed them to the battlefield without permission.

And now Kirigakure shinobi had captured him.

Kakashi was currently one member of Shisui's Uchiha unit.

Every person in that squad had an important role.

Every one of them was essential.

Removing even a single member could cause their section of the front line to collapse.

But…

He had to save Obito.

When Kakashi had been at the lowest point of his life, Obito had given him warmth.

Obito had given him love!

As for why Kakashi had reached that lowest point in the first place…

Best not to ask.

That night, Kakashi secretly slipped out of the camp.

While sneaking away, he unexpectedly discovered a small concealed tent positioned behind the main force.

Kakashi slipped inside to investigate—

And froze.

Rin was there.

It turned out Konoha had anticipated the possibility that Kirigakure might become desperate enough to deploy the Six-Tails' jinchūriki.

As a precaution, they had brought Nohara Rin—the Three-Tails' jinchūriki who had already demonstrated her combat power inside Konoha—to the front as a deterrent.

Kakashi was overjoyed.

If he went alone to rescue Obito, he was not confident he had enough strength.

But with Rin, the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, helping him?

That changed everything.

Kakashi carefully checked the surrounding area.

Once he confirmed nobody was nearby, he slipped inside the tent.

Rin jumped in surprise.

"Obito? Why are you here?"

"Rin, hurry!"

Kakashi grabbed her hand anxiously and pulled her toward the exit.

"Come with me! We have to save Kakashi! Kirigakure shinobi captured him!"

At this point, Kakashi's concern for Obito had already overwhelmed the lingering trauma from everything that had happened to him before.

"No."

Rin understood what he was saying, yet she still pulled her hand free.

"I can't leave."

"Why?!"

Kakashi stared at her in disbelief.

"Kakashi is our teammate!"