It had been almost a full day since Hatake Satoru and Naruto entered the Kamui dimension. Naruto had told Satoru he was hungry countless times, which left Satoru feeling utterly helpless.

"Shut up, you brat. You think I’m not hungry too?"

"Teacher Satoru is so scary, saying mean things just like the Nine-Tails."

It couldn’t be helped; Naruto, the master of "Talk-no-Jutsu," was also a master of being annoying, to a degree far above ordinary people. Hatake Satoru wasn’t the type to accept defeat gracefully, and with Naruto bothering him while he was already in a foul mood, the kid wasn’t going to get off easy.

"Stay right here. Don’t move."

Satoru had no intention of giving Naruto another chance to annoy him. He used his technique and transferred himself out, leaving Naruto alone.

There wasn’t much time left before Kakashi would recover. He could only hope the two of them would manage to escape smoothly.

Obito hadn’t used his Kamui ability again during this period. The injuries he suffered this time were far more serious than Satoru had imagined. Though the Hashirama cells were transplanted, they were still connected to his body. It would probably be difficult for him to take any action for quite some time.

While recuperating, Obito was reminded of the days just after he had lost half his body. Losing the ability to move was truly a painful thing.

Now, Kakashi was in a similar situation. For tonight’s operation, all he could do was rest and recover in bed.

Jiraiya hadn’t left; he had been staying in the room to keep an eye on his patient, since his loyal reader was injured and needed care.

Of course, the main reason was his worry for Naruto. If they could rescue him sooner, that would be even better.

Tsunade wasn’t present. Kakashi’s condition wasn’t serious enough to require her treatment. Her top priority was to placate the two village elders who looked down on her. There was still a chance to turn things around. If she carelessly handed the Hokage position over to Danzo, the consequences would be unthinkable. Compared to peaceful times, Danzo was more suited to be a Hokage during wartime.

But it wasn’t time for that yet. If she truly was less suitable than Danzo now, then she wouldn’t mind stepping down.

Evening arrived. A full day had passed since Hatake Satoru and Naruto were trapped.

"How do you feel, Kakashi?"

Jiraiya asked Kakashi, who was sitting on the sickbed.

"Ah, not bad. Should be able to proceed on schedule."

After saying this, Kakashi stood up from the bed and stretched a bit.

Kakashi saying this now was definitely him pushing himself a little. He hadn’t told Tsunade that the chakra cost of his Kamui depended on the size of the object being transported. Jiraiya’s physique was a full size larger than Hatake Satoru’s. But there was no choice; sending Jiraiya now offered the greatest chance of success.

"I’m ready, Jiraiya-senpai."

Once Kakashi felt his body wasn’t stiff anymore, he told Jiraiya they could begin.

"Alright, let’s do it. This old man’s never been to another dimension before."

"Kamui."

Kakashi used Kamui on Jiraiya.

Jiraiya’s body began to distort. Just as he was about to be completely transported into the Kamui dimension, he was suddenly kicked and sent tumbling to the floor.

"Yoohoo, we’re out, we’re out!"

Hatake Satoru, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist and with a dazed-looking Naruto tucked under his arm whom he had just kicked awake, appeared before Kakashi.

"Well done, little brother. Good thinking, figuring we might be trapped. Otherwise, this guy would’ve starved to death."

Satoru tossed Naruto next to Jiraiya. With him here, Naruto would be much safer. "You’re both okay, that’s great."

Kakashi’s joy was written all over his face. He didn’t want to lose any more comrades.

"You idiot, wake up already."

Jiraiya punched the still-sleepy Naruto awake.

"That hurts, Pervy Sage!"

"Starting today, you’re not leaving Mount Myōboku until you master Sage Mode."

"No way! I don’t wanna eat a full bug banquet! At least let me have a real meal first!"

While Naruto was wailing, Jiraiya directly used the Reverse Summoning Technique to take him to Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya’s mission now was to protect Naruto. After something like this happened, Konoha Village wasn’t safe either. It was better for him to stay at Mount Myōboku until his strength improved.

After master and disciple left, only the Hatake brothers remained in the room. Satoru casually picked up a patient gown nearby and put it on.

Just then, a hospital nurse knocked and entered the room.

"Did something happen? I heard some noise earlier."

"Ah, it’s nothing. If you could, please contact Tsunade-sama and tell her Hatake Satoru has returned."

Kakashi explained what had just happened to the nurse.

"Alright, brother. I think we need to have a talk now."

"Ah, I was thinking the same thing."

With Obito involved, it felt like Satoru was hiding something from Kakashi.

"By the way, even though you don’t have chakra, you don’t seem like an ordinary person either."

"Well, I gained some abilities through certain opportunities before. My strength is pretty decent now. Saying I was the strongest before was just so you wouldn’t worry."

Satoru definitely couldn’t tell the truth.

"What about that man? Did he get away?"

"Yeah, it’s his dimension after all. He can come and go as he pleases there. Not only that, he seems to have figured out my abilities too."

Kakashi was clearly very concerned about Obito. If Satoru didn’t conceal Obito’s identity a bit, Kakashi would probably recognize him the next time they met.

"Who is he? Why does he have Obito’s Sharingan?"

"I haven’t figured out his identity yet either. Probably a rogue ninja from one of the other four great villages. Found it in the ruins of a battlefield, I guess."

"The Kamui ability was something I gradually discovered fighting him before."

"I see."

Kakashi seemed a bit dejected. He had held onto a little hope that the mysterious man might be Obito himself. Now that hope was completely shattered.

"So, what do you plan to do next? Do you want to take the eye back?"

"Yeah, that’s something that must be done."

Kakashi wasn’t coveting the power of the other Sharingan. He simply didn’t want someone else using Obito’s Sharingan to cause trouble. Once he took the Sharingan back, he would bury it before Obito’s gravestone.

That was Obito’s greatest wish in life: to possess a Sharingan. Now, his eye had far surpassed his expectations. It had awakened the Mangekyou.

"But why does that man use the Sharingan’s abilities with so little chakra cost? He seems much more at ease with it than I am."

"Uh..."

This question really stumped Satoru for a moment. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Maybe it’s because he has Hashirama’s cells in his body. I cut off one of his hands during the fight, and it wasn’t a normal human body."

Thankfully, Satoru was quick on his feet. It was actually a pretty good reason, and Kakashi believed it completely after hearing it.