Chapter 48 048: Bonds Make People Weak
"The Hatake clan's swordplay is truly extraordinary."
Uchiha Taiga's voice carried a hint of exhilaration. He slightly raised his ninja blade, pointing the tip at Kakashi.
"Again!"
As his words fell, his eyes changed.
The pitch-black pupils were quickly dyed scarlet, and three tomoe slowly surfaced in the irises, beginning to spin at a steady pace.
Hatake Kakashi's pupils shrank slightly.
He saw those Sharingan and understood what it meant for his opponent to activate them.
But he did not back down.
Even after being dormant for so long, he still possessed his own pride.
Hatake Kakashi reached up and pulled up the mask covering his left eye, exposing that scarlet Sharingan to the air as well.
Three tomoe, exactly the same as Uchiha Taiga's.
This eye was a gift from Obito, and it was also the thing he was most reluctant to face all these years.
Yet at this moment, he revealed it without reservation.
"Heh, so that's that guy Obito's eye. By the way, you should be able to feel it, right? The power hidden within that eye."
Hatake Kakashi's expression shifted slightly.
"Looks like I hit the mark. When did you notice?" Uchiha Taiga asked with a smile.
Hatake Kakashi remained silent, merely staring at him. The two of them locked eyes, three Sharingan gazing at each other.
The next moment, they moved simultaneously. This clash was even more intense than the last.
Amidst the flashing blades, their figures constantly crossed paths, their speed so fast that only afterimages remained.
Uchiha Taiga's Sharingan captured every single one of Hatake Kakashi's movements with absolute clarity.
The twist of his wrist, the shift of his footwork, the angle of the blade, and even the rhythm of his breathing.
The essence of the Hatake Style Kenjutsu was dismantled strike by strike, then absorbed and integrated into his own swordsmanship.
Hatake Kakashi was observing as well.
It had to be said that he was truly a genius. Even though that Sharingan originated from Obito, and even though he was not a native Uchiha, his application of the eye far surpassed many within the Uchiha clan itself.
Truthfully, even if Hatake Kakashi were placed in the Uchiha clan, developing the Sharingan to this extent at his age would earn him the title of a true genius.
His Sharingan was also dismantling Uchiha Taiga's swordplay. That unique style—a fusion of Uchiha Style Kenjutsu, Senju Monstrous Strength, and the Lightning Style Chakra Mode—was taking shape in his mind.
However, his body couldn't keep up.
After several clashes, their movements began to mirror each other.
Uchiha Taiga delivered a diagonal slash; Hatake Kakashi matched it with a diagonal slash of his own.
Clang!
The two blades collided, sending sparks flying.
Uchiha Taiga pulled his blade back and swept it horizontally; Hatake Kakashi mirrored the horizontal sweep.
Clang!
Another collision.
Like looking into a mirror, they traded blows back and forth, every strike almost identical.
But the gap in pure strength could not be bridged by technique.
With every clash, Hatake Kakashi's wrist went numb, a dull ache throbbing in the webbing of his hand.
His breathing grew heavier, and his footsteps began to drag.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Taiga's breathing remained steady, his footwork as light and brisk as ever.
He possessed the innate physical constitution of a Sage Body, something Hatake Kakashi could never compare to. Performing the exact same movements and techniques, Taiga was simply faster, heavier, and more ruthless than Kakashi.
Gradually, Hatake Kakashi fell into a disadvantage.
He began to retreat, shifting from an active offense to a passive defense.
But even his defense was crumbling. Uchiha Taiga's blade was too fast—so fast that while his Sharingan could see it, his body couldn't react in time.
Another horizontal sweep.
Hatake Kakashi raised his blade to block, but the impact sent him stumbling back several steps. He staggered, nearly losing his footing.
He barely managed to steady himself. He still held his short sword, but his grip was trembling slightly.
Uchiha Taiga did not press the attack.
He stood down and sheathed his ninja blade with a crisp click. Standing in the sunlight, a few beads of sweat dotted his forehead, but his breathing was calm, and a smile graced his face.
"That's enough," he said.
"You let me witness the Hatake Style Kenjutsu. I'm very satisfied."
Hatake Kakashi didn't speak.
He bent over, resting his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Sweat dripped from the tips of his hair, dampening the yellow dirt beneath his feet.
It took a long while before he finally managed to steady his breathing. He straightened up and slid his short sword back into the scabbard on his back.
Then he raised his head, his exposed eye staring fixedly at Uchiha Taiga.
"Was that really Obito?"
His voice was hoarse, laced with an uncontrollable urgency.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him, a half-smile on his lips.
"Don't you already have the answer in your heart?"
Hatake Kakashi's lips moved, but no words came out.
Did he have the answer? Of course he did.
That day on the battlefield, he had seen that face with his own eyes, that left eye, that familiar yet foreign feeling.
He didn't want to believe it, but he had no choice but to believe it.
Uchiha Taiga didn't wait for his reply and continued, "On the contrary, I have a question. Can you answer it for me?"
Hatake Kakashi froze for a moment, instinctively asking, "What question?"
"An animal like Uchiha Obito—if you ran into him, would you kill him?"
The air seemed to freeze.
Hatake Kakashi fell silent.
He stood there motionless, like a stone statue.
His eyes were hollow, as if all emotion had been scooped out of him. That Sharingan remained open, its three tomoe spinning slowly, but it reflected absolutely nothing.
Watching him, Uchiha Taiga already had his answer.
"Just as I thought."
He shook his head lightly.
"The bonds between you need to be severed by your own hands. Take my advice and give up on him early. He's just a scumbag, not worth holding onto."
Uchiha Taiga didn't view Uchiha Obito through rose-tinted glasses.
That guy might have had his tragic reasons, but that had nothing to do with Taiga; he was merely giving an honest assessment.
So in his eyes, there was no redeeming a guy like Uchiha Obito.
After all, even someone like him, who couldn't care less about the Uchiha, had never thought about exterminating the clan. Doing something like that was just utterly idiotic.
Hatake Kakashi remained silent.
His hands hung by his sides, trembling slightly. Those hands, capable of wielding a blade, had their knuckles turning white, as if he was using a tremendous amount of strength to suppress something.
Uchiha Taiga turned around, took two steps, and then stopped.
"If I see him again, I'll kill him on the spot."
He didn't look back.
"When that time comes, do you have any last words you need me to pass on to him?"
Hatake Kakashi's hands trembled even more violently.
He opened his mouth, his lips parting beneath the mask several times, but no sound came out.
What did he want to say? He wanted to say *don't kill him*, he wanted to say *he must have his reasons*, he wanted to say *he used to be such a kind person*—
But he couldn't say a single thing.
Because even he found those words laughable.
Uchiha Taiga waited for a moment, but no answer came.
He chuckled softly. "Bonds can give people strength, but equally, bonds can make people weak. That is why I never form bonds with anyone."
He glanced back at Hatake Kakashi, then withdrew his gaze.
"This is what you've been reduced to. It seems the son of the White Fang is nothing more than this."
With that, he strode away.
His footsteps gradually faded, soon disappearing into the depths of the Forest of Death.
Hatake Kakashi stood rooted to the spot, unmoving for a long time.
In his eye, that Sharingan was still spinning slowly, but it seemed to have lost some of its vibrant crimson hue.
At the same time, in the Hokage's office, the image in the crystal ball froze on the solitary figure of Hatake Kakashi's back.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the image, his expression grave.
"I wonder if Kakashi will be able to pull himself together this time."
Jiraiya stood beside him, arms crossed over his chest, but his gaze wasn't on Kakashi. His eyes followed the retreating figure that had already walked away, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes.
"I'm actually quite interested in that kid," he said.
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head and looked at him.
"Can I meet him?" Jiraiya asked.