Swish, swish, swish, swish...
To reach the Kannabi Bridge before Obito was buried alive, Veigar had been moving at full speed, each stride covering an immense distance, his figure fleeting.
"I made it."
It was late at night when Veigar appeared in the forest near the Kannabi Bridge. He heard movement and felt chakra fluctuations from not far away.
He cautiously snuck forward, hiding in the shadows.
Veigar had rushed at full speed, not to save Obito, but to witness!
To witness how Obito was taken by Black Zetsu and became Madara Uchiha's pawn, and to observe Black Zetsu's concealment techniques.
In Veigar's sight, a middle-aged ninja wearing an Iwa-nin forehead protector was holding a petite figure.
Opposite this person was a young boy with goggles, his face filled with anxiety.
It was Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha.
The figure being held was Rin Nohara, and the goggle-wearing boy was Obito Uchiha.
Kakashi Hatake, the temporary leader, was not here at the moment, having been lured away.
"Brat, want to save your comrade?"
"Then..."
The Iwa-nin holding Rin hadn't finished speaking.
Bang.
A puff of smoke appeared, and Rin's figure vanished from Obito's sight. When the smoke cleared, the Iwa-nin had already escaped with Rin.
"Damn it!"
At this moment, Kakashi, realizing he had been lured away, had just returned to witness Rin being abducted.
Whoosh.
Kakashi's speed was swift; he wanted to catch the Iwa-nin who had abducted Rin, but he was still a step too slow.
As Kakashi's figure appeared where the Iwa-nin had just stood, he heard Obito's desperate shout.
"Rin!!!"
At this point, Obito was no longer thinking about completing the mission or ending the war; he couldn't care less about any of that.
Now, he only wanted to chase after them recklessly.
Simply because the love of his life, his comrade Rin, had been abducted.
Kakashi, seeing this, also felt anxious and desperately wanted to rescue Rin.
"Obito, don't follow too closely. Be careful of ambushes."
Kakashi caught up to Obito, appearing beside him, his eyes fixed on the abducting Iwa-nin, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
Obito looked at Kakashi who had appeared beside him, slightly slowed his pace, and then surprisingly said to Kakashi:
"I thought you'd prioritize the mission!"
"Kakashi, I knew I wasn't wrong about you!"
No matter how many conflicts they usually had, Kakashi's current choice, in Obito's eyes, was undoubtedly that of the best comrade, willing to go save Rin and temporarily abandon the mission.
With Kakashi's addition, their hope of rescuing Rin increased.
Kakashi had something he wanted to say, but it was stuck in his throat.
Ever since Kakashi witnessed his father commit suicide after being blamed by the entire village for abandoning a mission to save his comrades, causing the mission to fail, his cold heart and years of unwavering principles ultimately made the same choice as his father after seeing Rin abducted.
Unbeknownst to him, Rin and Obito had come to hold significant weight in his heart.
The image of Sakumo committing seppuku, his cold corpse lying on the ground, seemed to appear before his eyes.
The painful memory buried deep within his heart resurfaced, making Kakashi utterly speechless.
'I don't want to regret anything in my heart.'
Kakashi, understanding his true inner thoughts, roared this fiercely within his heart.
Even if given another chance, he would make the same choice.
Subsequently, Kakashi felt as if an invisible shackles had been removed from his body, and he felt completely at ease.
"Father, is this the ninja way you upheld?"
After taking a deep breath, Kakashi looked at Obito and uttered a sentence.
"Obito, cooperate with me!"
"I'll draw the enemy's attention; you go rescue Rin."
Kakashi, having spoken these words, felt as if his entire being had been sublimated, and he couldn't help but show a faint smile.
Kakashi's words startled Obito. He felt that Kakashi was significantly different now, so he looked at Kakashi with an incredulous gaze and said:
"Kakashi, you..."
"You've changed!"
Yes! Kakashi had changed!
But it was a change for the better.
Kakashi's eyes gleamed; he stared at Obito and repeated:
"No time for talk. Saving Rin is paramount."
"Keep up."
Saying this, Kakashi walked ahead of Obito.
Looking at Kakashi's back, Obito grinned:
"Alright!"
"From this moment on, I acknowledge you."
Kakashi, walking ahead, maintained an unchanged, calm demeanor, but the slightly upturned corner of his mouth beneath his mask betrayed his current mood.
Behind the two, Veigar's gaze had not left them for a second. Listening to the conversation between Kakashi and Obito, he thought:
"Now, it should be about time for Black Zetsu to make his appearance, right?"
At this moment, Veigar also understood why Obito would willingly give one of his eyes to Kakashi, whose eye had been gouged out, after being crushed by the rocks.
It was simply because Obito had acknowledged Kakashi as a true friend.
Kakashi and Obito continued to track the Iwa-nin while discussing their plan of action.
Soon, the two found the Iwa-nin's location and the imprisoned Rin.
Then, Obito said:
"Kakashi, I'm going in."
The next second, Obito leaped out, successfully drawing the Iwa-nin's attention.
"Konoha brat, he's chasing us..."
The alerted Iwa-nin, upon spotting Obito, did not immediately attack but instead shouted loudly, warning the Iwa-nin inside the cave behind him.
The Konoha brats were coming for the rescue.
The next moment, Kakashi's figure appeared behind the shouting Iwa-nin, his short blade piercing the Iwa-nin's back.
A clean, precise strike, directly through the Iwa-nin's heart.
'After opening the shackles in my heart, my strength seems to have grown, and my physical condition has never been better.'
Having successfully dealt with an enemy and felt the changes within himself, Kakashi quickly dismissed these thoughts.
The most important thing now was to rescue Rin.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]