Kakashi's breathing was ragged, every breath a wheeze of blood and adrenaline. His wrist still trembled in the grip of the colossus before him—firm, unyielding, but… not cruel.
The boy's heart thundered in his ears. His body, battered and bleeding, could barely stand. But his mind raced like a whirlwind of panic and confusion.
'This man... this thing… He's not from here. That armor—those swords—they don't belong to any village, any shinobi nation I've ever heard of.'
'His clothing... It's foreign. It seems like the armor is from the Sengoku period?, heavy and ancient, yet he moves like the wind. That sword—if that even is a sword—it's larger than I am. He killed those ANBU Jōnin in seconds. Not even the Kage could have done it so effortlessly.'
And now he's right in front of me. Not attacking. Just watching. Towering over me like death itself...
Kakashi's hand trembled near his kunai pouch, his broken chakra pathways barely holding together. He didn't move, but he was on the edge, ready to lash out in pure desperation.
'If he wants to kill me... I can't stop him. I can't even run. Damn it…And Rin! Where is Rin?'
The golden glow of the towering figure's eyes gleamed through the last dying rays of sunlight. The mist of battle still clung to the air—tinged with blood, death, and something else Kakashi couldn't name. His feet dug into the dirt, chakra flaring from his heels as he pushed himself backward.
Radahn's eyes stared down at him. Calm. Silent.
Without a word, the giant released his grip.
Kakashi stumbled back, clutching his wrist, breath ragged, eyes darting from the bodies around him to the giant. His fingers twitched. Blood ran down his arm.
'He let go? Why?'
His mind shouted attack now! His instincts, honed like a blade, surged to the forefront. This man was a threat. A terrifying, unknown presence that had just annihilated elite Jōnin in mere seconds. If he wanted to kill Rin, if he wanted to kill anyone, he had to be stopped.
'Even if I die... I'll land at least one blow.'
His hand thrust down, channelling every drop of chakra into his palm. Lightning crackled—wild, raw, shrieking with intensity. It coalesced into a high-pitched screech as a brilliant Chidori burst forth in his hand.
The forest lit up with the glow of white-blue electricity. Leaves rustled. The air vibrated.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Kakashi roared, lunging forward.
Radahn's massive form didn't even flinch.
Just as the boy crossed the final few meters, hand extended, eyes locked onto the figure's chest, a familiar voice pierced the chaos.
"KAKASHI, STOP!!"
He halted—barely an inch away from Radahn's abdomen—lightning still screeching in his hand.
His eyes snapped toward the sound.
From the treeline, battered and bloodstained, Rin emerged. She stumbled, breath hitching in her chest, her hands waving frantically. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with panic.
"Don't hurt him! Mister Radahn—he saved me!" she cried, nearly tripping as she reached him.
Kakashi's eyes darted between her and the giant. His hand trembled. The Chidori flickered in his palm. His mind screamed in confusion.
'He… saved her?'
The sound of his lightning faltered, crackling with hesitation. He could feel Radahn's golden eyes on him—watchful but not hostile.
'He's not fighting back… even now. Even when I almost struck him.'
Slowly, Kakashi let the technique dissipate. The brilliant light in his hand faded into faint sparks, and the jungle darkened again under the setting sun. His hand lowered. His knees buckled. He dropped to the ground, panting.
Rin rushed to his side, throwing her arms around his shoulders, sobbing softly into his chest.
"I thought—I thought I'd never see you again!"
Kakashi rested his forehead against hers.
"I thought the same…"
He looked up once more at the towering figure before them.
Radahn hadn't moved.
In the moonlight that now pierced through the treetops, his golden armor gleamed—drenched in blood, yet untarnished. His presence was as vast and suffocating as before, but no longer hostile.
Kakashi stared into those burning eyes. There was no hatred there. No malice.
Only quiet judgment.
A force of nature… not a man.
He swallowed hard and whispered, "Who… what are you?"
Meanwhile,
From the shadows of the dense trees, the final rays of twilight shimmered across the leaves. The air held a damp silence, as if the jungle itself was holding its breath.
A figure stood still, cloaked in darkness atop a high branch, his black cloak fluttering gently with the breeze.
Obito Uchiha.
His breath hitched as he took in the sight below. His one remaining eye widened, emotion flooding into his chest like a dam breaking apart.
Kakashi… and Rin.
They were together.
Kneeling in the blood-soaked field, surrounded by corpses, Rin clutched Kakashi in a trembling embrace, her voice lost to the wind. They were alive. Breathing. Holding each other.
Safe.
Obito's vision blurred.
His heart twisted with something worse than grief.
Jealousy.
Pain.
Regret.
He gritted his teeth, trying to silence the scream clawing its way up his throat.
'No… no, no… I was supposed to protect her…'
'I was supposed to be the one there beside her…!'
His fists clenched so tight that his nails pierced skin, warm blood trailing down his palms.
'It should've been me!!'
'Not him!'
The words finally escaped his lips in a cracked whisper, barely louder than the rustling leaves.
And then, like a curse spoken into the void—Something awoke.
A surge of searing pain exploded behind his eyes. Obito clutched his face as the Sharingan twisted into something darker, more terrible.
The red pattern inside his eye rotated, forming into the spoked pinwheel of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Blood tears streamed down his cheeks.
His breath came out in rapid, panicked gasps.
'What's happening to me?!'
The battlefield below became more vivid, more horrifying. The destroyed bodies of the Mist ANBU—torn asunder like rag dolls. Blood stained the soil, soaked into the grass.
And standing amidst it all, towering like a mountain of doom, was—
Him.
Obito's Mangekyō locked onto the figure now standing behind Kakashi.
His body froze.
A giant. No… something more.
Radiating power with every breath, clad in golden armor that gleamed even beneath the dying sun. Two enormous swords strapped to his back, and eyes—those eyes—burning with a light more ancient than time itself.
They weren't just looking in Obito's direction.
They were looking through him.
Into the deepest recesses of his soul.
Obito's lips quivered.
His knees buckled slightly.
Obito's very chakra was reacting violently.
A primal fear gripped his heart with a pressure so intense he could barely breathe.
The world dimmed.
His legs were ice.
His fingers trembled.
This wasn't a man.
This wasn't even a shinobi.
This was a force of nature.
A God of death.
'If he comes for me… I won't survive. I can't even move…!'
Sweat rolled down his temple.
His Sharingan still spun—but it couldn't save him here. Not against this. Every cell in his body screamed the same command:
Run.
Radahn didn't speak.
But the message was clear.
Obito flinched.
And then, with a sharp inhale, he turned.
He didn't look back.
He couldn't.
Leaping from branch to branch, branches snapping beneath his feet, Obito fled with everything he had. His heart thundered like a war drum, each beat threatening to shatter his ribs.
'What was that… thing?'
'Why was he here?!'
'Why did it have to be like this…'
His teeth clenched, eyes narrowed.
'I fear no one , not even Madara had me sweating ...'
'I fear no man But that thing it scares me-'
And yet…
In that moment…
All he could do was run.
As the Mangekyō spun wildly within his eye, as the scenes of Rin hugging Kakashi and the corpses of still lingered his mind…
But-
All Obito knew now—was fear.
----------------------------------------
The jungle had grown darker now. Twilight had slipped fully into night, and the only illumination came from scattered patches of moonlight piercing the thick canopy above.
Rin let out a small, tired breath.
"We should rest now-" she said softly, her voice barely louder than the rustle of leaves.
Kakashi looked over, his posture still stiff from the pain in his shoulder and side. Gashes ran along his body—burns, cuts, bruises layered like a roadmap of war. His mask was half torn, his eye weary.
He gave a nod. "Yeah… you're right."
They walked in silence, stepping carefully between roots and soft moss until they found a small clearing deeper within the forest. A round patch of grass, kissed gently by moonlight, almost felt like a sacred space in contrast to the bloodied battlefield they'd left behind.
Behind them… thunder.
No—not thunder.
Footsteps.
Rhythmic. Deep. Like a mountain exhaling with every step.
Radahn.
The giant followed silently, his golden armor glowing softly beneath the moonlight. Every time his foot touched the earth, a faint tremor quivered through the ground. Birds in the trees fluttered away. Even the insects had gone silent.
Kakashi's eye flicked back toward him, narrowing slightly as he walked.
'His steps alone could alert an entire shinobi patrol. If he keeps following us like this… we'll be exposed in minutes.'
'But… what can I even say? He could crush us like insects if he wanted to. We're alive only because he chooses not to-'
The thought lingered like a cold wind in his chest.
They reached the center of the clearing, and Kakashi dropped to one knee, wincing in pain. Rin immediately knelt beside him.
"You're injured pretty badly-" she said with concern, wiping dirt and blood away from a wound on his shoulder.
"I've had worse-" Kakashi muttered, though the tension in his jaw betrayed the truth.
Rin placed her glowing hand gently on his wound. Her chakra shimmered faintly—a weak green light fighting against the night. But her chakra reserves were almost gone. She was trembling now, barely able to keep her hands steady.
Even so, she pressed on—closing the worst of his wounds, stitching torn muscle, sealing gashes. Sweat dotted her brow. Her breath came heavier with each passing second.
Nearby, Radahn remained perfectly still.
He stood like a living statue at the edge of the clearing—watchful, unblinking. The twin colossal blades on his back shimmered faintly under the moonlight. His eyes—those ever-burning golden eyes—remained fixed on the two children before him. He didn't speak. He didn't move. But his presence weighed on them like a storm cloud ready to burst.
Kakashi's gaze slowly drifted toward the armoured colossus.
'Who are you… really?'
He said nothing aloud.
Not yet.
Rin finally pulled her hands away. "That's all I can do for now-" she said with a shaky smile.
"Your wounds won't bleed out anymore, but you still need medical condition. Your wounds will reopen if you move now-"
Kakashi gave a quiet nod, not wanting to admit how relieved he felt. The searing pain in his side had dulled to a manageable throb.