Shidai-ko suddenly grabbed Hatake Kakashi's hand.
How could she just stand by and watch her fiancé become entangled with another woman? Women are naturally prone to jealousy; few would ever be willing to share their partner.
"It's getting dark... I'm... scared." Shidai-ko lowered her head.
Kakashi looked back and noticed that the smile Shidai-ko usually wore on her lips had vanished. He suddenly came to his senses.
That's right—Shidai-ko had followed him back to Konohagakure. But she was still an outsider here, unfamiliar with the people and the land. The lack of security one feels after leaving their homeland was easy to imagine. Kakashi understood this feeling well; he had spent quite some time in Kirigakure himself. The feeling of being a "stranger in a strange land" had left a deep impression on him.
This was especially true given how different the architecture and customs of the two villages were. Whenever a difference invited comparison, a sense of loneliness would inevitably surface.
"I'll take you there. There are empty rooms in my courtyard."
Kakashi led Shidai-ko toward the Hatake clan estate. His family's courtyard was quite large with many rooms; accommodating Shidai-ko was more than simple. Regardless of its current size, the Hatake clan was still considered a shinobi clan, and his father had been the world-renowned White Fang. From mission rewards alone, they had accumulated a considerable fortune.
"Rin, I'll come see you tomorrow."
Before leaving, Kakashi stole one last glance in the direction Nohara Rin had gone. He could only apologize in his heart. Right now, Shidai-ko's situation needed to be handled. He would deal with Rin's matter as soon as possible. One was an urgent housing issue, while the other was a mere suspicion that Rin might be in a bad mood.
The priority was clear at a glance.
The faint sound of spatial distortion slowly echoed.
Uchiha Obito appeared near Nohara Rin's house. The shadows of the streetlamps blanketed his figure, his black robes blending perfectly into the darkness.
"Is Rin... not here?" Obito murmured.
The voice emerged from a white mask adorned with a spiral pattern.
"The fake Rin will die anyway once I destroy Konoha."
Obito stared at the pitch-black room. He had learned many secrets from Uchiha Madara. The Kyuubi was the strongest of the current nine Tailed Beasts. Right now, Konoha had not yet recovered from the state of the Third Shinobi World War, and its military power was hollow. If the Kyuubi struck while the village was vulnerable, it would surely destroy Konoha.
This was both a sudden impulse and a long-standing plan. It was for the sake of war, and for the sake of peace. With the obstacle of Konoha removed, the resistance to his Project Tsuki no Me (Eye of the Moon Plan) would be much smaller. He had begun wandering through Konoha during this time specifically to find a way to get the Kyuubi.
The Kyuubi was very likely inside Kushina Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan; her abilities were perfect for dealing with Tailed Beasts. However, he was still waiting for an opportunity. If he rushed in recklessly, he might end up in a pathetic state.
He needed to wait... for the moment Kushina Uzumaki was at her weakest.
With a ripple in space, Obito moved to another location. After using Kamui to search Konoha several times in succession, he finally found Nohara Rin.
At that moment, Rin was in the Konoha cemetery. She stood before Obito's tombstone and laid down a bouquet of flowers.
"Obito... Kakashi is getting married. If you knew, you would be happy for him too, wouldn't you?"
Hiding behind the bushes, Obito quietly listened to Rin's self-muttering.
Kakashi is getting married? He thought to himself, a seed of resentment toward Kakashi beginning to grow. What was the promise he had made with Kakashi back then? Even if the Rin before him was "fake," Kakashi was supposed to protect her! Now, he was casting Rin aside to pursue his own happiness.
"I thought I would be Kakashi's bride... but now it seems it was nothing more than my own wishful thinking."
Tears fell drop by drop, wetting the tombstone. Rin felt a wave of sorrow. Everything she had held onto had finally shattered. Perhaps it had been a broken dream from the very beginning. Kakashi had never expressed any romantic feelings for her; it had all been her one-sided love.
"Rin... she really does love..."
Obito remained silent in the back. Personally hearing Rin say these words was an entirely different matter than merely guessing it in his heart. The things he was unwilling to face—the veil he used to cover his eyes—were finally torn away completely.
Rin loved Kakashi. She didn't love him at all.
"No, that's not right. Rin just has a good impression of Kakashi. If it continued, the one Rin loved would definitely be me!" Obito muttered.
His resolve became firm once more. This was normal, wasn't it? All of this was the product of a "fake" world. In the Project Tsuki no Me, the real Rin would show him a loving smile.
"Then, Rin... why...?"
Obito clutched his chest, as if trying to plug the void inside. He didn't understand why Rin would do that sort of thing with Shimizu. Was it because she was forced? Obito's mind recalled every detail of Rin's face from that time: the purple markings, the drenched hair, a stray strand of hair at the corner of her mouth, and... that expression of sorrow.
Rin felt sorrow?
Obito frowned. A long time had passed since that incident, and he was now able to look at the matter more rationally. The whole thing was completely riddled with suspicion.
"Uuuh...!"
Rin's sudden cry of distress interrupted Obito's thoughts. He witnessed a scene that made his very brain tremble.
Shimizu Uchiha was grasping her "heart." That heart belonged to Nohara Rin. Rin's expression was one of pain. The heart is a fragile place, the spot that requires the most defense. Whether it be the body's blood or its chakra, everything must pass through this point. Now, her "heart" was being tightly gripped by Shimizu's immense strength, leaving her unable to move.
"What are you doing? There might be others here!" Rin looked around in a panic, trying to cover herself, but Shimizu's titanic strength was not something she could shake off.
"I came to see Obito, too."
The "heart" felt quite good in his hand. Shimizu looked down at Obito's tombstone with a slight smile. An unstable chakra flickered behind him. One of Shimizu's eyes quietly shifted into a Byakugan, glancing toward Obito through his closed eyelid.
Everyone's chakra signature is unique. The chakra color of an average person is blue, while others have more distinct colors. Madara's was deep blue; Sasuke's was pale purple. The outward manifestation of a Susanoo is essentially the solidification of an individual's massive chakra.
Obito's was azure. That was the color of the Perfect Susanoo seen at the very end. Obito had remotely transferred his dual Sharingan to Kakashi, allowing him to successfully manifest that Perfect Susanoo. The Sage of Six Paths likely used a similar method to bestow the Yin and Yang powers. If a freshly deceased Obito could transfer power as a soul, the Sage of Six Paths, who had wandered for a thousand years, certainly could as well.
"Rin, the flowers you placed for Obito don't have enough water. They'll wither soon."
Shimizu's other hand flickered with faint electric arcs.
Chirp! Spark!
Caught off guard, Rin was paralyzed by this Raiton attack.
"Come now... do you still remember the signature jutsu I taught you? Let the flowers be watered so they can survive longer. This is a Suidun no weaker than those from Kirigakure. Obito's soul in heaven will surely thank you, Rin."
Shimizu whispered into her ear.
Rin seemed to find sense in Shimizu's words. Under the stimulation of the Raiton, she began to form hand seals while trembling, releasing the Suidun according to her memory.
Water is the source of life. Rin was not stingy now, refining chakra from her physical and spiritual energy to release the Suidun. Beside Obito's tombstone stood a porcelain vase holding the bouquet. Guided by Shimizu, the Suidun shot out like a water arrow, projecting directly into the vase.
It was roughly C-rank in level—about the standard of the Academy. This proved that Rin's medical ninjutsu had made great strides; after all, medical ninjutsu is inseparable from the ability to control chakra.
"Wuu... wuuu..."
Rin seemed to cry out of emotion, thanking Shimizu for his constant "help." Without Shimizu, she wouldn't be who she was today.
"You've worked hard. Obito will thank you; there's no need to feel sad."
Shimizu stroked Rin's hair. Rin's entire body went limp as her chakra was depleted. If Shimizu hadn't been holding her up, she likely would have collapsed instantly. Rin continued to cry, clinging to Shimizu, wanting to vent all the grievances she had suffered. Her mood had hit rock bottom.
Shimizu held her quietly, letting her vent.
Not far away, Obito's eyes were bloodshot, looking as if they might split open. From his angle, he couldn't see the front clearly, but he could see the sudden appearance of the Suidun. Shimizu and Rin's hands were empty—where did the water come from?
There was only one answer. It was the Suidun Shimizu had forced Rin to release!
Obito's pinwheel-shaped Mangekyo Sharingan spun violently. Just like the day he had first awakened it, Obito felt the world being stained red once again. His last shred of hesitation was severed.
This world was indeed fake and needed to be corrected. It needed the correction of the Project Tsuki no Me!
Obito gripped the leaves of the bushes, the rage in his heart soaring to the peak. He would destroy Konoha; he would destroy everything here.
Zetsu (Tobi/Guruguru), who was wrapped around Obito, could sense his sorrow.
"What does it feel like to... poop? What does it feel like to... pee?"
These were things that an artificial human like Zetsu could never possess. He didn't have those organs anywhere on his body—he was just a layer of white skin.
"Shut up!" Obito whispered coldly.
"I just wanted to lighten the mood. Haha! Don't you humans have a saying about joking? This is a joke, a joke." Sensing Obito's growing fury, White Zetsu spoke weakly.
Obito listened to Zetsu's statement with a blank expression, taking one deep, final look at the scene. He could even see a few drops of the Suidun splashing onto his tombstone, landing on the red Konoha symbol.
"Konoha is already rotten to the core. Our plan needs to be accelerated. Have Nagato intensify the conflict with Konoha as well."
"I'll tell the other Zetsu when we get back."
Space rippled into a spiral. The twisting fluctuation looked just like Obito's torn heart. He vanished from the spot.
At the same time, a smile tugged at the corner of Shimizu's mouth.
Fume, Obito. Cry out in agony.
The muddier you make these waters, the better.
Because only then will it be easy for me to make my move on Kushina!
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