Chapter 22: Trap
In the latter half of the night, Kakashi finally arrived at the area guarded by the Iwa-nin. Carefully controlling his breathing and movements, he hid among the dense foliage, silently observing their every move.
Kakashi was fully aware of the importance of this mission—and even more aware of the consequences that might come from volunteering for it.
Death. It was terrifying, but not so terrifying that he would shy away. His best friend, Uchiha Obito, had faced death head-on. Why couldn't he?
He had Obito's dying wish: to protect Rin. He also had the guidance of his teacher, Minato Namikaze, who encouraged him to see the future through Obito's eyes.
But the guilt gnawing at him, and the sudden appearance of Uchiha Kei, had sparked a decision in his heart. Obito had died at the hands of the Iwa-nin. Kakashi would avenge him.
Though Minato had resolved the situation back then, it was Uchiha Kei who had saved Kakashi and his teammates in the first place. Being from the same Uchiha clan as Obito, Kei had left a deep impression on Kakashi—one of trust and admiration.
They were from the same generation. Kakashi vaguely remembered Kei—not particularly weak, but not outstanding either.
His battlefield performance had always been average. Yet the fact that Kei was still alive proved his abilities.
Now, with the Sharingan awakened, Kei had become someone Kakashi was willing to entrust Rin's safety to.
Just to be sure, Kakashi had even handed Minato's special kunai to Kei.
With those preparations in place, Kakashi believed that if he could just stall the Iwa-nin and give his team the opportunity they needed, they'd be able to sneak into enemy territory and complete their mission. Rin would be safe.
"Obito… I may be joining you soon."
Kakashi took a deep breath, then quickly formed hand seals. He created four Shadow Clones and immediately had them transform and scatter.
The clones evenly shared his chakra, weakening him significantly—but making the deception more convincing.
That brief spike in chakra didn't go unnoticed, as several Iwa-nin became alert. Still, Kakashi didn't mind. Drawing attention was the point.
But their swift reaction was concerning—it meant there were more elite shinobi here than he'd anticipated.
Soon, Kakashi noticed one Iwa-nin using a summoning technique—likely sending a message.
"Calling for reinforcements?" Kakashi thought grimly.
Before he could respond, a sharp sound of something slicing through the air pierced his ears. A kunai flew at him with terrifying speed—and struck.
"It's over, brat," a cold voice whispered behind him.
Kakashi turned—only to see no one there.
"Don't worry. The others will be joining you soon."
The voice was laced with cruelty. But as the kunai-wielding attacker withdrew his blade from Kakashi's body, the image dissolved into smoke.
"Substitution Jutsu?! When did he—"
The enemy was caught off guard, but not for long. As the sound of another attack came from behind, he instinctively leapt backward while drawing a kunai to block.
He was skilled—clearly a veteran. But with his Sharingan, Kakashi read through his defense effortlessly.
Even so, his counterattack wasn't fatal. The enemy's quick retreat limited the damage to just a gash on his chest.
"Damn brat," the man cursed as he emerged from camouflage, rubbing the wound and glaring at Kakashi. "Sharingan… So that's how you saw through my camouflage technique. What a nice surprise—an eye worth collecting."
Kakashi frowned. He hadn't expected to face someone like this. The technique was eerily familiar. One of the shinobi who had helped kill Obito had used something similar.
He tightened his grip on his kunai, ready to strike again—but his expression darkened.
All of his clones… were gone.
From all sides, four Iwa-nin emerged, surrounding him completely.
Kakashi hadn't even bought enough time to slow them down. How strong were these guys?
He didn't have time to think. The chakra he'd spent on the clones had left him even more drained.
Now, all he could do was stall them—anything to prevent them from relaying information or retreating to regroup.
"You're a naïve little brat," one Iwa-nin sneered. "Did you really think we wouldn't see through your little tricks? I was curious who you'd send as bait. Never thought it'd be you—Hatake Kakashi."
Kakashi said nothing. Better to conserve his strength and restore some chakra.
"Your teammates must be trying to flank us elsewhere, right? Unfortunately for you, we didn't send many reinforcements in the first place. And just recently, we received a report—some of our units spotted suspicious movement in another area."
The Iwa-nin chuckled darkly. "Trying to recover chakra? Pointless. Your fate is sealed. Your friends' fate is sealed."
"Now then, let's see what you've got. Let's see what this grand plan of yours is."
With that, the four Iwa-nin charged in unison.
Kakashi leapt into the air, narrowly dodging the first wave.
But inside, his heart was in turmoil.
Was my sacrifice meaningless…?
He had to admit—it was a brilliant trap. A straightforward strategy, yet brutally effective.
Still, Kakashi wasn't ready to give up. If they were trying to capture him alive, he might have a chance.
Otherwise, he wouldn't last more than a few rounds. These Iwa-nin were strong.
His chakra wasn't totally drained—if he played it right, he could buy some time.
But still, "try" was the best he could hope for.
Drawing a sharp breath, Kakashi steeled himself.
He would do everything in his power.
And if it came to it…
He would destroy his left eye before he let it fall into the hands of the people who killed Obito.