Within the walls of Konoha, the air was thick with smoke, the screams of the dying, and the thunderous explosions of ninjutsu. The once peaceful village had become a tragic, war-torn landscape. The joint forces of Konoha and the Sand Village were desperately trying to encircle and suppress the rebellious Uchiha clan, but the battle had reached a bloody stalemate. Every Uchiha shinobi seemed to be reborn, their strength amplified to terrifying new levels. It often took a squad of three or four jonin just to contend with a single one of them.

In the center of the main venue, the battle was at its most chaotic. A flash of gold that was Minato Namikaze moved with a flicker of hesitation, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions as he faced Danzo Shimura, who fought with the ferocity of a rabid dog. Perhaps sensing his teacher's conflict in fighting a village elder and former comrade, a white-haired figure suddenly shot forward like a swift cheetah. He crossed the chaotic battlefield in an instant, stopping directly in front of Danzo and blocking the line of sight between the Fourth Hokage and the fallen councilman.

"Kakashi, you…" Minato was stunned, looking at his student's slightly thin but unyieldingly determined back.

Kakashi Hatake did not look back. His right hand moved slowly, pulling down the forehead protector that covered his left eye. In an instant, a flash of scarlet light appeared. Three magatama spun slowly within the crimson eye, the Sharingan locking coldly onto Danzo.

Kakashi's voice was calm, but it was filled with an unquestionable resolve. "Lord Hokage, please leave this fight to me. You are needed on more important fronts."

"Alright." Minato Namikaze understood Kakashi's intention. He said nothing more, turning to join another part of the battle.

"Woof, woof, woof!" Danzo barked madly at Kakashi, his hands flying through a series of hand seals at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person. Several highly compressed bullets of air, powerful enough to penetrate solid rock, shot toward Kakashi from extremely tricky angles like invisible sniper rounds, their sound a sharp, piercing shriek as they broke the sound barrier.

Facing Danzo's sophisticated and ferocious Wind Style attack, Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly, accurately capturing the trajectory of each vacuum sphere. His body twisted and swayed, narrowly avoiding the fatal attacks by a hair's breadth. The air bullets slammed into the ground and the wall behind him, leaving deep, bottomless holes.

As expected of Lord Danzo. Even in this state, his Wind Style has reached the pinnacle, Kakashi thought, a chill running down his spine. Though Danzo was now like a mad dog, Kakashi knew he couldn't afford to be careless for even a second.

"Woof woof woof!" Danzo roared, attacking without pause, his hand seals changing again. A massive cannon of air, much larger and more powerful than the previous ones, was fired with a huge area of effect, almost completely blocking all of Kakashi's escape routes. There was no way to avoid it.

Kakashi's eyes focused. He quickly formed a series of hand seals and slammed his palms to the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

A huge wall of earth suddenly rose up, adorned with the carving of several comical dog heads. However, this solid earth wall was instantly pierced and shattered like paper in the face of Danzo's vacuum sphere. But the wall had bought him a crucial moment. From the smoke and dust of the crumbling earth wall, two clones flashing with lightning rushed out from the left and right, while Kakashi's real body took the opportunity to leap high into the air.

Danzo's eyes were sharp, and he instantly saw through the nature of the clones. He didn't waste his chakra, but instead quickly tilted his head back, locking onto Kakashi's real body, which was now suspended in the air. Several extremely sharp wind blades, powerful enough to slice through steel, intertwined into a deadly net, slashing toward Kakashi.

Kakashi was trapped in mid-air with nowhere to gain purchase. It seemed like a fatal, inescapable situation.