A dog is no match for a human in a fight.

Hmm? Just as Kisame was about to act, he found himself covered with ninja hounds. Using their claws and teeth, they clung to or bit down on his thighs, arms, shoulders, and abdomen, instantly rendering him immobile.

Success!

Kakashi’s heart surged with excitement as he witnessed the scene, a glint of determination in his eyes. He didn’t need the hounds to restrain Kisame for long—within a ten-step distance, three seconds was more than enough for him to unleash that decisive technique.

Suddenly, Kakashi crouched, pressing his left hand against his right wrist to form a stable structure. From his palm, dazzling blue lightning erupted.

A piercing sound, like the cries of a thousand birds, rang out as the intense current crackled.

This was Chidori.

A lightning-style ninjutsu developed by young Kakashi himself—though not yet perfected, once completed, it would reach the level of an A-rank technique. This was the first time Kakashi used Chidori in actual combat. He hadn’t wanted to resort to it, knowing that once unleashed, even he struggled to control it, and it was destined to end in death or injury.

But Hoshigaki Kisame—he deserved it.

In the next instant, Kakashi shot forward like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Kisame. Chidori's penetrating and paralyzing power made him confident that, if it landed, Kisame would collapse on the spot, never to rise again.

The situation was dire for Kisame. Entangled by the ninja hounds, he could neither evade nor form seals—he was nothing more than a living target for Chidori.

Fortunately, Kisame’s fingers could still move.

He twitched the index finger of his right hand, activating the longsword-stitching ninjutsu—

Earth Spider Stitch.

In a flash, countless chakra threads shot up from the ground, weaving dense webs between Kisame and Kakashi in the narrow distance between them. These threads had been surreptitiously deployed earlier, shot from the index finger of his sewing needle blade and buried underground as he’d approached.

Now, triggered at the crucial moment, Kakashi was instantly entangled, his entire body bound tightly by chakra threads, unable to move an inch.

Yet at that moment, the Chidori he had launched was less than ten centimeters from Kisame’s body.

But that short distance now seemed an insurmountable gulf.

In truth, if Kisame hadn’t held back, Kakashi would already have been sliced to pieces by those chakra threads.

As Kakashi was trapped by Earth Spider Stitch—

“I hate dogs.”

Kisame muttered to himself, turning to the large hound latched onto his shoulder. Suddenly, two fangs sprang from his mouth, and he bit back.

You bite me, I bite you.

With a sickening sound, Kisame’s vampiric fangs pierced the hound’s body and began to suck voraciously.

“Awooo!”

The big dog howled in agony, unable to endure any longer, and with a puff of white smoke, vanished.

Witnessing this, Kakashi and the other ninja hounds were stunned. They had always seen dogs biting men, but never a man biting a dog—and winning. Such ferocity!

And those fangs, over ten centimeters long—could such things really grow from a human?

At that moment—

Bang!

With his shoulder free, Kisame swung his elbow backward, sending the hound clinging to his back flying, its wail fading as it disappeared.

This won’t do—my precious hounds will all be injured at this rate.

Realizing the danger, Kakashi hurriedly released the summoning technique with all his strength.

And Kisame regained complete freedom.

He gave Kakashi a meaningful smile.

“What are you planning?” Kakashi panicked, the hair on his body standing on end. The intuition of a skilled ninja warned him that something terrible was about to happen.

Kisame answered with action.

With a flash, he appeared behind Kakashi, crouched, and formed the Tiger hand seal.

Then, aiming directly at the vital spot between Kakashi’s buttocks, he thrust forcefully.

The Secret Leaf Hidden Taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Death.

With a muffled sound—

“Hisssss!”

Kakashi gasped, feeling an indescribable pain shoot from his tailbone up to the crown of his head. His entire body and even his soul trembled with numbness.

A moment later—

Whoosh!

As Kisame released the chakra threads’ restraint, Kakashi shot into the air like a rocket, soaring seven or eight meters high, tracing a graceful arc before crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

He landed buttocks first, sprawled like a fallen goose.

“This move should be familiar, no? It was invented by your father, Sakumo Hatake, and is the reason he was known as the White Fang.”

Kisame walked up to Kakashi and spoke slowly.

This genius youth of the Leaf was now utterly bested by him. After all, though One Thousand Years of Death was only an E-rank taijutsu that anyone could learn, its power was truly fearsome.

It inflicted both physical and psychological trauma, injuring the body and crushing the spirit, making the victim taste the agony of a thousand years of death.

Moreover, Kakashi, having taken a laxative and suffered diarrhea all night, now faced this move—truly a double blow.

Utterly tragic.

It was said that, wanting the technique to be passed down, Sakumo Hatake’s first disciple was his son Kakashi.

However, fond of acting cool, Kakashi had never practiced it diligently, perhaps considering it too unrefined and at odds with his image and fighting style.

His idol persona was too heavy a burden.

Today, in this duel, he had been finished by Kisame’s use of the technique, receiving a painful and unforgettable lesson.

“You disappoint me, Kakashi. All your father’s skills, whether taijutsu or swordsmanship, you’ve learned none of them.”

Kisame, not content with defeating the body, struck at the heart as well. As he spoke, he picked up the White Fang short blade.

Then, under Kakashi’s despairing gaze, with a sharp snap, he broke the blade in two with his bare hands.

Yes, the famed White Fang short blade was, in fact, just an ordinary ninja sword. Kisame had realized this as soon as he got it, since his internal cheat device gave no reaction.

In the end, it wasn’t the sword that was remarkable, but Sakumo Hatake himself.

With a clang, Kisame tossed the broken blade at Kakashi’s feet.

“Rest assured—the combat philosophy of the White Fang of the Leaf, I will absorb and inherit, especially this One Thousand Years of Death. My unrestricted taijutsu is a more advanced school, and will one day shine brilliantly in the ninja world.”

He again proclaimed his victory, then turned and left without another glance at Kakashi.

In truth, Kisame had a certain admiration for Kakashi. That was why he gave him this lesson, hoping the young man could someday walk out from the shadow of his father’s suicide and grow stronger.

And the price Kakashi paid was merely a period without spicy food, unable to sit on a bench, and having to sleep on his side at night.

One day, Kakashi would understand the well-meaning intentions of Hoshigaki Kisame.

After all, he was truly a good man.