Planned to upload 2 chaps/day for a week...
Then I caught a nasty cold :')
Now here we are.
*****
"Let's go!" With a firm grip on Asahi's shoulder, Minato activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. In a flash of light and space distortion, the two vanished from the battlefield.
*Fwoosh!*
They reappeared instantly beside Kakashi—just in time.
The scene was grim.
Kakashi was barely standing, surrounded by Iwagakure Jōnin. His body trembled under the strain of battle. Blood matted his silver hair and dripped from a long gash across his shoulder. He gripped a kunai in his hand, but his stance was faltering. The only thing keeping him upright was sheer willpower.
Minato's eyes narrowed.
If the enemy Jōnin hadn't been toying with Kakashi—arrogant enough to treat the fight like a game—his student would already be dead. Even now, they seemed disappointed that their entertainment had been interrupted.
To the side, Nohara Rin lay unconscious. Blood stained her clothes, but she was breathing. Still alive.
As for Uchiha Obito...
Asahi followed Minato's gaze toward a collapsed section of the cliffside—a heap of broken stone, fresh and splattered with chakra residue. His heart sank.
'So this is where it happened.'
He could almost picture the scene: Obito crushed while saving Kakashi, sacrificing himself so the others could live.
But he was just unsure about something.
'If Madara is involved in this too, then Obito might not be here anymore. White Zetsu can move underground… he might've taken Obito already.'
Minato snapped back into action. "Asahi!" he called, pointing toward Rin. "Check her injuries!"
"Understood!"Asahi rushed over, kneeling beside the unconscious girl. His hands glowed faintly as he channeled chakra into her pressure points, checking her vital signs with practiced speed.
Kakashi staggered toward them, clutching his ribs.
"Is she... is Rin okay?" His voice cracked. There was desperation behind his calm mask.
After a moment, Asahi nodded. "She's stable. No internal damage. She'll recover with rest."
Kakashi dropped to his knees in relief.
Obito's last words echoed in his mind—Protect Rin. At the very least, he had kept that promise.
Asahi looked at him quietly. Despite his own cold views on bonds, even he couldn't deny the heavy weight in Kakashi's heart.
Minato stepped forward. Around them, several Iwa Jōnin lay dead—the result of his earlier lightning-fast counterattack. Without slowing, he asked, "Kakashi. Where's Obito?"
Kakashi's lip trembled. "Sensei... Obito... he..."
He couldn't say it. The guilt was too fresh, the grief too raw. His throat locked up.
He lowered his head, his voice barely audible. "He saved me. I should've listened to him from the start..."
This mission had changed Kakashi forever.
For years, he had followed the shinobi rulebook like gospel. After his father's disgrace and suicide, he'd convinced himself that the mission came first. Bonds were a weakness. Emotions got people killed.
But now...
Obito had shattered all of that in a single moment. The boy Kakashi had once dismissed as a weakling had proven braver than any Jōnin. He had thrown away his life for a friend.
And in doing so, he'd shown Kakashi a different way to live.
Minato knelt beside his student. "I understand, Kakashi."
His voice was firm, but gentle. "You carry more than just your blade now. You carry his will."
A flicker of recognition crossed Kakashi's face. He swallowed hard and nodded.
Beside them, Rin stirred and slowly opened her eyes.
"Asahi-san..." she mumbled, "Where... where am I?"
"You're safe." Asahi said, adjusting the position of his hands as he helped her sit up. "How do you feel?"
"A little dizzy... but okay." She blinked rapidly, then looked around. "Where's Kakashi? Where's Obito?"
Asahi pointed to Kakashi. "He's over there."
Then, after a pause, he added, "As for Obito... I'm sorry. He didn't make it."
Rin froze. The words didn't register at first. Then her expression crumbled.
"Obito..."Tears streamed down her cheeks, and a wail escaped her lips. She covered her face, unable to contain the grief.
Asahi looked away.
He had once known a friendship like theirs. But he had cast it aside. Power had been more important. And now, looking at these broken-hearted comrades, part of him wondered...
'Would they have given up everything for me too?'
No. That kind of bond could only exist when you had the strength to protect it.
'Bonds are beautiful... but they're fragile. In this world, when you're weak, even your love becomes a weapon for someone else to use.'
He thought of Uchiha Itachi—manipulated by Danzo because of his loyalty to the village and love for his younger brother.He thought of Yahiko—sacrificed to force Nagato's awakening.He thought of Konan—who died trying to protect their ideals.
'That's why I abandoned my bond with Shinohara,' Asahi thought. 'I couldn't protect that friendship. So I cut it off.'
And yet... the ache in his chest told him some part of it remained.
"Sensei." Kakashi said suddenly, breaking the silence. "I want to take Obito's body back to the village."
Minato looked at him. There was sorrow in his eyes, but also determination. "I understand... but we can't do that just yet. The battle's still raging. We need to survive first."
Kakashi nodded. He understood. But it didn't make the weight on his chest any lighter.
Asahi turned to look at Kakashi again—specifically, at the eye.
Obito's final gift.
'If I had that eye... if I could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan...'The possibilities raced through his mind. With Kamui, he could phase through enemy jutsu, teleport between dimensions, and infiltrate even the most secure strongholds.
'I could slip into Iwagakure and learn every Earth-style technique they've kept hidden for decades.'
But then he sighed.
'Even if I took it, I don't have the bond to awaken the Mangekyō. Kakashi awakened it because of Obito's will. I'd just have a dead eye.'
Besides, the Mangekyō was a heavy burden for non-Uchiha. Even Kakashi had nearly died from chakra drain while using it in the early days of Shippuden.
'Forget it. I'll find another path.'
After calming himself, Asahi approached Minato and lowered his voice. "Minato-senpai... Kakashi's eye is a Sharingan. It belongs to the Uchiha. Will they allow it to remain with him?"
Minato didn't reply right away. He looked at Kakashi—who had overheard—and saw the tension in the boy's body.
That eye was Obito's last gift. More than a weapon—it was a vow.
Minato rested a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Don't worry. That eye was entrusted to you. We'll honor Obito's final wish."
Kakashi's fists slowly unclenched. "...Thank you, sensei."
Then Minato turned back to Asahi. "Can you still fight?"
"I'm good to go." Asahi said with a nod. "I've recovered enough."
"Then let's get Rin and Kakashi to safety and teleport back. Jiraiya-sensei is already engaged with the Iwa army. There's no time to waste."
Minato's blue eyes sharpened. Though he loathed war, he would not let Konoha fall.
Asahi smiled faintly. "I can't wait either."
The group prepared to leave.
But far behind them, deep underground, something stirred.
A pale, plant-like figure emerged slowly from the soil. White Zetsu peered toward the now-empty battlefield, his yellow eyes blinking.
"So... one eye was taken..." he muttered, "Should I retrieve it?"
He paused.
"...Nah. I'd lose for sure. Better to report back and avoid getting chewed out."
With a chuckle and a shrug, he sank back into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
From beginning to end, not even Namikaze Minato—the man feared as the 'Yellow Flash'—had sensed the spy beneath his feet.
*****
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