Kakashi slid back, eyes sharp, measuring the two men who now stood at odds with each other.
Same cloak. Same markings.Same organization.
Black robes. Red clouds.
He ran through every record he knew. Nothing matched.
He landed beside the remaining ANBU, the sight around him tightening his chest. Bodies lay scattered. Ten of them. Cut down in moments.
Strong enemies. Brutal efficiency.
"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Tenzo shook his head, urgency overtaking pain. "Senpai, the signal wasn't a call for backup. It was a warning."
Kakashi understood immediately.
Run. Protect the jinchūriki. Don't come.
"I'm done escorting," Kakashi replied, glancing at Tenzo's wound. "When I heard you were engaged, I came."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't be here," Tenzo said firmly. "Our priority and yours is the same."
Kakashi waved it off. "I'm not leaving comrades behind."
His voice stayed light, but his eyes dimmed for a fraction of a second. "Besides, my students can handle themselves."
Tenzo hesitated, then nodded once.
"They split roles," he reported. "The silver-haired one uses taijutsu and a bladed weapon. Extremely durable. Injuries barely slow him. His chakra feels… wrong."
Kakashi's grip tightened.
"And the other?"
"He wields all five nature transformations. Combines them freely. His chakra is enormous. But unstable. Like it doesn't belong to one person."
Tenzo exhaled. "He didn't move at first. When I used Wood Release, he attacked immediately. We lost most of the unit in seconds."
Kakashi drew his blade. "Understood."
He glanced toward the silver-haired man carving symbols into the earth. "Don't let that ritual finish."
"Still mad?" Hidan sneered, spinning his scythe. "You just want his heart."
Kakuzu didn't deny it. "Among other things."
Hidan bristled. "You interrupted my ceremony."
"You can redo it later," Kakuzu said calmly. "Your rules aren't my concern."
Hidan opened his mouth to curse again, then paused.
He followed Kakuzu's gaze.
"Hatake Kakashi," Hidan grinned. "Now that's a worthy offering."
Kakuzu's eyes shifted back to Tenzo. "Wood Release heals fast. But he's nothing like the First."
His voice carried effortlessly across the field.
"I fought Hashirama Senju once. His body regenerated without seals."
Kakashi's expression hardened.
So he claims.
"Prepare," Kakashi ordered quietly.
Far away, beneath the great waterfall, Team Seven followed Fū into the hidden channels leading home.
The passage opened at last.
"Welcome—" Fū began.
"Enemy attack!"
The cry cut her off.
A wounded shinobi staggered forward, blood soaking his clothes.
"Haruno," Shibuki breathed.
"Waterfall village… is under attack," the man gasped. "It's Suien—"
Sasuke moved before the words finished.
"Down!"
Steel screamed through the air.
Naruto spun, unleashing a violent burst of wind that tore the incoming barrage apart.
Rain shinobi emerged from the trees, led by a gray-haired man with markings painted across his face.
"Leave," he said coolly. "This doesn't concern Konoha."
Sasuke knelt beside the wounded man, chakra already flowing, sealing torn flesh.
"How many?" he asked.
Before the answer came, Sakura stepped forward. "You're Rain shinobi. Attacking another village isn't assistance. It's invasion."
The man laughed. "Spoken like someone from a great nation."
His eyes sharpened. "You build your peace on our suffering."
Sakura faltered.
Naruto fell silent.
Sasuke stood.
"Enough," he said.
The wind shifted. The waterfall roared.
And the battle lines closed.