Kakashi: Fire Release Meteor Volcano!
The air inside the underground chamber remained heavy even after the image of the Gedo Statue faded.
After the Akatsuki meeting dispersed, Uchiha Obito sat alone beneath the dim lantern light, the orange spiral mask resting against his palm.
"So… Nagato is dissatisfied."
Handing operational authority to a newcomer was not a coincidence. It was a warning.
Pain had never been patient with delays.
Obito's lone Sharingan gleamed crimson.
"It seems I must accelerate the plan."
For months, Obito had been weaving chaos within Kirigakure.
Using Kamui, his Mangekyō Sharingan space–time ninjutsu, he phased through walls, appeared without sound, and executed high-ranking shinobi in absolute silence. No chakra residue. No physical trace.
Then he left carefully crafted evidence weapon fragments, clan markings, falsified witness accounts turning comrades against one another.
Suspicion rotted the foundation of the village.
The atmosphere began to resemble the era of the Blood Mist, when paranoia and slaughter defined Kirigakure's name.
Now the Kaguya Clan descendants of bone-manipulating warriors had been branded conspirators. Accusations spread like wildfire. Old grudges resurfaced. Trust fractured.
A single spark would ignite civil war.
Obito's voice turned cold.
"Zetsu."
From the wall emerged the split form of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, their halves speaking in alternating tones.
"Heehee… sowing hatred is simple," White Zetsu grinned.
"You will provoke the Kaguya into open rebellion," Obito ordered. "Push them until restraint breaks."
Black Zetsu's voice was low and ancient. "As you wish. Conflict accelerates the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Also," Obito added, "what of Kakashi?"
White Zetsu answered instantly.
"He survived. Gravely injured after his clash near the border. A red-haired sensor-type kunoichi treated him. They're hiding in a cave within the eastern mountain range."
Obito closed his eye briefly.
"So… you're still alive, Kakashi."
The air distorted.
Space twisted into a spiral, and Obito vanished through Kamui.
Outside the Mountains of the Land of Water
Mist coiled thick between ancient trees.
A squad of nearly twenty Kirigakure shinobi advanced in disciplined formation. At their head stood the towering figure of Hoshigaki Kisame, Samehada wrapped in bandages across his back.
Beside him walked Ao, veteran of the Mist and wielder of a transplanted Byakugan taken during past wars.
"Ao," Kisame rumbled, shark-like grin spreading, "scan the area."
Ao pulled aside his eye patch.
"Byakugan!"
Veins bulged at his temple as his vision pierced trees, rock, and earth.
"…Found them. Two chakra signatures inside a cave halfway up the ridge."
Kisame's grin widened.
"How fortunate."
He ripped the wrappings from Samehada's hilt and strode forward. The unit surrounded the cave entrance with silent precision.
"Kakashi!" Kisame's voice echoed into the darkness.
"We know you're in there."
Moments later, two figures stepped into the light.
Kakashi Hatake face pale, Sharingan visible beneath his raised headband.
Beside him stood Karin, her red hair tied back, eyes alert. Her sensory perception had been their only warning.
Kakashi exhaled slowly.
"Ao's Byakugan… so that's how."
Kisame rolled his shoulders.
"It's been a while since we fought seriously, Copy Ninja."
Kakashi lowered his stance, chakra quietly circulating through his coils. Though injured, his control remained precise.
"Karin," he murmured without turning, "stay behind me."
She nodded, already focusing her sensory field outward.
Kakashi formed hand seals rapidly.
Tiger Horse Dog Snake Ram.
The Mist shinobi stiffened. The chakra pressure shifted.
"Fire Release!"
He thrust both hands skyward.
"Meteor Volcano!"
Silence.
The Mist squad braced for impact. Kisame flooded chakra into Samehada, prepared to counter a massive Fire Release technique.
Ao's Byakugan stared intensely.
"…Strange. I can't trace the chakra flow beyond his tenketsu. It's contained internally."
Seconds passed.
Wind rustled the trees.
Nothing fell from the sky.
Kakashi continued punching upward dramatically, mimicking the exaggerated stance of a certain overenthusiastic comrade he once knew.
Still nothing.
A crow cawed overhead.
The Mist shinobi exchanged confused glances.
Kisame blinked.
"…That's it?"
Karin stared at Kakashi in disbelief.
The silence stretched painfully long.
Kakashi slowly lowered his fists, visible eye narrowing above his mask.
"…Ahem."
Then
Laughter erupted from the forest ridge.
A space distorted like spiraling glass.
From the warped air stepped a cloaked figure in black and red.
Uchiha Obito.
"How nostalgic… Kakashi."
His voice carried amused contempt.
"To think the Copy Ninja would attempt theatrics without chakra manifestation."
Kisame stepped aside instinctively.
"So this was your show?"
Obito ignored him.
Instead, a cold mechanical resonance echoed inside Kakashi's mind
Kakashi's visible eye twitched.
So the so-called "Meteor Volcano" truly had never existed within shinobi records. It had been nothing more than an improvised bluff designed to intimidate.
Obito's Sharingan rotated slowly.
"You've grown weaker, Kakashi."
The air thickened.
Kisame lifted Samehada eagerly.
"This is getting interesting."
Kakashi's posture shifted.
Gone was the embarrassment.
Lightning crackled faintly in his palm.
"Then let's stop pretending."
Blue chakra gathered
"Lightning Release: Raikiri!"
The mountain trembled as true power finally surged across the battlefield.
The real battle was about to begin.