Chapter 586: Turning Point in Despair

Uchiha Madara sensed Shisui's attack and rapidly gathered chakra in his limbs to deliver a head-on blow.

Shisui moved extremely fast, and the distance between them quickly closed to within five meters.

Just as Uchiha Madara was about to use taijutsu, blood tears flowed from Shisui's left eye.

The next moment, the world in Uchiha Madara's vision rapidly changed, from the war-torn battlefield to a void world with a blood-red sky, and his entire body was bound to a cross.

Shisui stood before Uchiha Madara.

Although it was his first time using Tsukuyomi, the moment Shisui entered the genjutsu world, he knew one thing: this was a world completely under his control.

In an instant, countless Shisuis appeared before Uchiha Madara, all holding long swords.

"Hahahaha!" Bound up, Uchiha Madara showed no tension; instead, he burst into wild laughter.

Sensing something was wrong, Shisui wasted no words and instantly created countless attacks from nothing, striking at Uchiha Madara.

"Using genjutsu on me, admirable courage." Uchiha Madara's lips curled up.

In a contest of Sharingan genjutsu, striking first gives a certain advantage, but it cannot be the deciding factor; only visual prowess and mental strength truly determine victory or defeat.

Crack! Crack!

The moment Uchiha Madara finished laughing, one after another huge crack appeared throughout the Tsukuyomi world, rapidly shattering.

"Huff! Huff!" Shisui panted heavily, his pupils contracted, and the next moment he clutched his left eye, which was throbbing with intense pain.

Using the Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular jutsu inherently has side effects, and with the backlash from being forcibly broken through, it was truly more agonizing than being stabbed.

"Am I this weak now?" Feeling the stabbing pain in his head, Uchiha Madara frowned slightly.

If he had his own eyes, even if just the Eternal Mangekyo and not the Rinnegan, it would be enough to easily and unscathedly break Shisui's Sharingan genjutsu.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Madara wanted even more to quickly complete his plan and be resurrected in his prime.

In this state, he was so weak that he might not even be able to defeat the Five Kage.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

Might Guy suddenly rushed out, stopping Uchiha Madara from attacking the injured Shisui.

Kakashi tightened his grip on the White Fang short blade and charged out again, helping Might Guy block Uchiha Madara.

"Shisui, are you okay?" Obito also rushed to Shisui's side and asked.

Although Uchiha Madara's target was Nohara Rin, the one truly injured now was Shisui.

"It's nothing serious." Shisui shook his head.

He still had one trump card he hadn't used; if he used it, no matter how serious the injury, it wouldn't matter.

Unfortunately, this new power came one step too late.

"Go help Guy and the others quickly; the enemy is too strong." Shisui said swiftly.

This black-robed Uchiha was truly the strongest ninja Shisui had ever seen.

Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu — none of them were weak.

"Susano'o!"

Uchiha Madara activated Susano'o almost instantly, and its four arms simultaneously swung blue light swords, slashing four sword qis in one breath toward Kakashi and Might Guy.

"Golden Horizon!"

Facing such a crisis, Might Guy pushed the Stone Breathing to its utmost, maximizing his defense and power, and swung a slash in the posture of a sword strike.

Boom!!

The thick blue sword qi exploded and dissipated, and Might Guy was also blown away, his fingers used for Golden Horizon drenched in blood.

Zzzz!!

Facing this immensely powerful slash, Kakashi could only rapidly erupt his power, pouring chakra into the White Fang short blade, and countered with a slash of his own.

Crack!!

Kakashi retreated ten meters and fell to the ground, the White Fang short blade in his hand shattering into several pieces the moment it flew out.

Kakashi, lying on the ground, stared blankly at the broken White Fang Short Blade in his hand.

For Kakashi, the White Fang Short Blade was not just a useful chakra shortsword; it was also a keepsake left by his father.

His most respected teacher had died, even when they knew the outcome in advance.

The keepsake his father left behind was broken, even though he possessed the Armament Haki Secret Art, a secret technique to strengthen weapons.

"Could it be that everything is fated? No matter how hard I try, I can't change anything..." An endless sense of powerlessness surged in Kakashi's heart.

In order to prevent the possible death crisis that might befall Mu Yue, each of his disciples set strict goals for themselves, hardly ever taking a day off from training.

Every time they went on a mission, they were extremely cautious, fearing that this might be Mu Yue's impending death crisis.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Mu Yue was killed by the Black-robed Uchiha.

Kakashi hated himself for not maintaining his Tōtsū Sekai (Transparent World) a little longer; maybe then he would have noticed the enemy's sneak attack.

But he also knew that if he had traveled back in time without his memories, he would still have made the same moves.

Because in his understanding, it was utterly impossible for anyone to withstand Mu Yue's full-strength Mushin (No Mind) Slash head-on.

A blue giant eighty meters tall had been slashed to pieces; how could a mere mortal ninja body possibly endure it?

The enemy not dying was something none of the Konoha ninja had anticipated.

Kakashi wanted to stand up. Thanks to the Sage Art: Yang Release Seal, he still had chakra to fight.

Although he was in great pain—so much pain that he wanted to lie on the ground and do nothing—he couldn't do that; Obito and the others were still fighting.

Due to the severity of his injuries, as soon as Kakashi got up he stumbled and fell to one knee.

Kakashi remembered the restorative secret medicine in his ninja tool pouch, but when he reached for it, he discovered his pouch had been destroyed in the previous attack.

He could only keep trying to stand up, but he failed each time.

At that moment, a voice seemed to arise in Kakashi's heart.

"Just give up. No matter how hard you try, in the end you'll be the only one left. History cannot be changed. No matter how desperately you struggle, Obito, Rin, and Shisui will all eventually leave just like Mu Yue-sensei..."

Kakashi's body trembled slightly.

Was it because his injuries had robbed his body of a sense of security? He had involuntarily thought of the thing he feared most.

Kakashi was not afraid of dying in battle, but he was very afraid of becoming the "Kakashi-senpai" spoken of by adult Yamato.

"Arf."

At that moment, the injured Lycanroc walked up to Kakashi and sat down, looking as if it would protect Kakashi with its life.

Not long after the battle began, Kakashi and the others had summoned their respective summon beasts.

However, Madara Uchiha's strength was too great. Even with so many elite Konoha ninja attacking together, it was useless, and their summon beasts could not turn the tide; they were quickly wounded.

"Lycan..." Kakashi's expression was complicated.

Having spent a long time with Lycanroc, he could naturally understand its cries.

In that instant, he felt inferior to Lycanroc, which had been born only a few years ago.

Both were critically injured, yet Lycanroc unhesitatingly carried out its conviction.

Kakashi believed that if an attack came now, Lycanroc would use its own body to block it for him.

As for him, at the moment his teammates needed him most, his heart had actually harbored such thoughts.

"Lycan, give me a hand," Kakashi said to Lycanroc.

Regardless of the outcome, he would fight to the very end.

That way, even if he did become that "Kakashi-senpai," he wouldn't have regrets later, thinking things like "What if I had given my all without hesitation back then?"

Lycanroc understood Kakashi's intention. It picked up Kakashi's clothes in its mouth and helped him stand up again.

"Healing Water Drop!"

Milotic gathered a water orb filled with life force and shot droplets of water at the injured Konoha ninja.

Kakashi was hit by the droplets, and his condition improved significantly; at least he had no trouble moving.

He quickly walked to Muyue's corpse, said an apology, and picked up Enma beside Muyue's body.

Based on Kakashi's knowledge of blades, Enma was definitely a fine sword, and it was even more suitable for executing the Mindless Slash than White Fang.

Half of Kakashi's strength lay in his Lightning Release sword techniques. Now that White Fang was broken, he had to use a new blade.

"Hm?" After picking up Enma, Kakashi's expression suddenly changed.

The moment he picked up Enma, his chakra uncontrollably surged into the blade, as if it wanted to drain all his chakra completely.

"Stop!" Kakashi desperately controlled his chakra to resist Enma's suction.

If a ninja's chakra was completely drained, it could be fatal.

"Give it back!"

Not only did Kakashi resist Enma's pull, he even fought to reclaim the chakra that Enma had absorbed.

He wasn't going to pretend to fight; he was going to fight with all his might, trying to change that damn, shitty ending.

Through Kakashi's efforts, chakra continuously poured from Enma into Kakashi's body.

Kakashi was astonished to discover that what he had taken from Enma was even more than what he had just lost.

"It's Muyue-sensei!" Kakashi realized the reason.

Muyue had just fought the black-robed Uchiha Madara with Enma; perhaps some of Muyue's chakra remained within Enma.

Realizing this, Kakashi

Even at this point, Mu Yue was still helping them.

"Yang Seal: Release!"

"Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode!"

Without hesitation, Kakashi immediately released the Yang Seal, utilizing the chakra within it, and once again entered Lightning Breathing Chakra Mode, opening the Transparent World.

Kakashi stared intently at the black-robed Uchiha, gripping Enma tightly as chakra surged continuously from his body.

To perform the Thoughtless Slash, one should have a mind as still as water, without thought or desire, but at this moment Kakashi's mind was filled with protecting his comrades and changing the future.

However, surprisingly, Kakashi did not fail in its execution.

Zzzz!!

A massive amount of lightning element gathered on the blade Enma, and a terrifying aura rose from the sword.

At this moment, Kakashi suddenly understood — the selfless slash that discards all distractions was indeed powerful, but he could not do it.

He, Hatake Kakashi, did not want to be alone; he wanted to protect his comrades, to protect those he cared about, even if it meant breaking the rules and changing history, no matter the cost.

"I will never let you continue any further!"

Boom!!

The moment Kakashi erupted with most of his chakra and raised Enma, lightning flashed in the sky, a bolt of lightning pouring into Enma, the dazzling electric light drawing everyone's attention.

Madara Uchiha, who had just severely wounded Might Guy, showed a hint of wariness.

If not for Izanagi, that slash from Mu Yue would have truly killed him.

"Kakashi has broken through again. Obito, let's assist him together," Shisui said hurriedly upon seeing this.

At this point, Might Guy was severely injured and could no longer continue.

Obito had Kamui and was the least injured; Shisui still had a trump card to restore his condition, so fighting on was no problem.

Obito said nothing, just nodded.

The two moved swiftly, attacking the Susanoo from two directions, aiming to create the best opportunity for Kakashi to strike.

The black-robed Uchiha was not a puppet who would just stand there and let Kakashi cut him.

The reason Mu Yue's Thoughtless Slash hit the black-robed Uchiha was because he was using the Wood Golem to fight the Susanoo at the time, and he seized the timing exceptionally well.

"The only reason you've survived this long is because you still have some use. Don't get any ideas." Madara Uchiha watched the three charging at him, feeling quite displeased.

If he hadn't deliberately held back, Obito and the others would have died countless times by now.

Yet still unsatisfied, he wants to stop him from taking Nohara Rin.

"Feel the gap between us!"

Uchiha Madara burst out chakra again, dense blue chakra rapidly rising, Susanoo's height and form rapidly changing.

Originally he didn't want to use Susanoo at this level again; first, it's like using a cannon to swat a mosquito—not worth it; second, it's a bit of a burden for him now.

But seeing Kakashi and the others like this, Uchiha Madara felt it would be easier to use a full-power Susanoo once more.

Boom!!

The ground shattered, and the eighty-meter-tall blue giant appeared on the battlefield again.

Facing Kakashi's attack, it neither dodged nor avoided.

Now the only thing Uchiha Madara had to guard against was Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan ability; as for the others, they posed no threat to him.

Crack!

Kakashi suddenly leaped up and swung Enma, slashing at Susanoo's abdomen, but only managed to make a few cracks.

Susanoo's two immensely huge fists came smashing down toward Kakashi.

"Kamui!"

Obito originally intended to use Kamui on Uchiha Madara, who was at Susanoo's head, but seeing Kakashi about to be attacked, he chose to use Kamui to help Kakashi instead.

Meanwhile, Shisui used Body Flicker Technique to come to Kakashi's side and assist.

The effective range of Tsukuyomi is within five meters; Uchiha Madara was too far away, so he couldn't use Tsukuyomi to attack.

Then Uchiha Madara, ignoring Obito and the others, directly extended a chakra arm toward Nohara Rin.

Obito had just awakened the Mangekyō and used his ability so many times; now he couldn't handle it, and the remaining people posed no threat to him.

That meant he could simply ignore everyone and take Nohara Rin away.

"Lin!"

Blood was still flowing from Obito's Sharingan; he desperately wanted to destroy the huge hand reaching out for Nohara Rin, but his condition was no longer sufficient for him to use Kamui one more time.

Dense mist formed in Obito's eyes, continuously turning into teardrops that mixed with the blood in his eyes, becoming bloody tears.

Could it be that Lin was also going to leave him?

This world is indeed false!

"Give me a little more chakra!"

Kakashi frantically tried to get enough chakra from Enma to use Mushō no Ittō, but Enma did not produce chakra; it was merely a chakra porter. No matter how much Kakashi wanted it, Enma could not conjure chakra for him.

Shisui frantically used Body Flicker Technique to rush forward.

If he could make it in time, he could use his dojutsu on Nohara Rin; even if he couldn't guarantee saving her, at least he could give Nohara Rin an extra life.

"Roar!"

Menasi let out a threatening roar, gathering a large amount of water-attribute chakra in its mouth.

Although Menasi's strength was considerable, trying to oppose Uchiha Madara's Susanoo was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.