Chapter 186: Kakashi: Whose Head Is This?
A fist-sized black hole appeared out of nowhere, then rapidly expanded.
Uchiha Sasuke's figure flew out from within.
Looking at the expressionless Uchiha Sasuke, Izayoi merely sensed his emotions and knew the outcome of the battle. He asked, feigning ignorance, "He's dead?"
"Mhm."
Uchiha Sasuke nodded, but without the usual satisfaction after killing an enemy.
Glancing at Uchiha Itachi, whose expression was complex, Uchiha Sasuke said to Izayoi, "I'm tired. Let's go back."
Izayoi reached out and patted Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder, offering no words of comfort.
"Sasuke..."
Just as Izayoi was about to use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to take Uchiha Sasuke away, Itachi's voice suddenly reached both their ears.
Izayoi stopped channeling his chakra and looked at Uchiha Sasuke with interest, curious about his next reaction.
Uchiha Sasuke took a deep breath, then turned his back to Itachi and said coldly, "You exchanged our clan for my life. Only I am unqualified to kill you, but... I don't care for your eyes, and I detest the thought of having your eyes. I... will never forgive you!"
"Izayoi, let's go."
"Alright."
Glancing at the dazed Uchiha Itachi, Izayoi nodded, a bit unsatisfied, then instantly teleported back to the Hokage's office with Uchiha Sasuke.
Gazing at the spot where the two vanished, Uchiha Itachi's mind was filled with Uchiha Sasuke's words, "I will never forgive you."
The spiritual pillar that had sustained his life until now seemed to have shattered.
"Puh..."
The warm fluid he had just swallowed surged up his throat again. Uchiha Itachi could no longer endure it, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
His already ailing body's vitality instantly plummeted.
A pain more intense than death itself would torment this true ninja every second of every minute in the future.
"Izayoi-kun, Sasuke-kun, you're back."
Hinata and Karin, who were helping Izayoi with his duties, immediately stood up and walked over.
Izayoi nodded, then looked at the dejected Uchiha Sasuke and asked, "Do you want revenge? I can help you."
Others might not have understood what Izayoi meant, but Uchiha Sasuke knew Izayoi was asking if he wanted to retaliate and destroy the families of those who participated in the clan massacre.
Uchiha Sasuke's heart warmed, incredibly moved.
Despite being the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, he was willing to help him seek revenge. Izayoi's unwavering support, standing by his side, brought a sliver of comfort to the now very fragile Uchiha Sasuke.
At the same time, he shook his head, "No need. I'm not Uchiha Itachi."
Uchiha Itachi could bring himself to act ruthlessly against innocent people who knew nothing, but Uchiha Sasuke couldn't do such a thing.
After all, even when the Konoha ninja cursed Uchiha Itachi in the original story, the darkened Uchiha Sasuke still didn't kill them and even restrained Hozuki Suigetsu from randomly killing people.
It was precisely for this reason that Uchiha Sasuke would never forgive Uchiha Itachi.
If Itachi's choice had been to leave Uchiha Sasuke alive, and let the Root organization slaughter all other clan members, including his parents, Uchiha Sasuke would have forgiven him and retaliated without hesitation.
However, Uchiha Itachi's choice was to do it himself.
This was unforgivable!
Uchiha Sasuke was not qualified to kill him, nor was he qualified to forgive him.
"Even if you don't kill them, you can still punish them," Izayoi chuckled. "From now on, you'll be Konoha's Anbu Commander, second only to me and above everyone else. Do whatever you wish."
Hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke's heart immediately stirred.
He thought of how the Uchiha clan had been forced by the Konoha Elder Council to relocate from the central district of Konoha.
The central district, which originally belonged to the Uchiha clan, had also been divided among these individuals.
Although those people were innocent and unaware, the fact that they fed on the Uchiha clan's "flesh and blood" to strengthen themselves was an undeniable truth.
Uchiha Sasuke would make them regurgitate double what they had consumed, and also make them experience what the Uchiha clan felt when targeted by Shimura Danzo.
As if finding a purpose, Uchiha Sasuke finally regained some motivation and nodded to Izayoi, "Okay."
"Go back and rest for a few days. Come to work when you're fully recovered," Izayoi patted Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder again, smiling. "If you have any worries, you can always come to me to confide. If you need help, don't hesitate to tell me. Don't overthink things."
"Mhm."
Uchiha Sasuke nodded, then, as if remembering something, he took out a wooden box made with Wood Release and handed it to Izayoi, saying, "These are that guy's eyes. The dōjutsu is quite good. They're for you."
"Alright, I'll take them."
Izayoi smiled as he accepted the box.
With Hinata awakening her unique dōjutsu and Uchiha Sasuke awakening his Amaterasu no Rei, Izayoi actually wasn't too concerned about Kamui anymore.
However, his adopted son actively giving him such precious eyes made Izayoi very pleased; he truly hadn't doted on this guy in vain.
Now that the unresolved issue of the clan massacre was resolved, Uchiha Sasuke would be his primary enforcer from now on.
With the Mangekyo Sharingan already wielding the incredibly powerful Amaterasu no Rei, once Uchiha Sasuke awakened the Rinnegan, he would become Izayoi's first Six Paths-level subordinate.
In the future, any difficult task could be dumped on this versatile worker.
Coming out of the Hokage building, Uchiha Sasuke didn't immediately go to Orochimaru. Instead, he first went to the Konoha Cemetery.
"Sasuke?"
As soon as he entered the cemetery, before even reaching the area specifically for the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke, carrying a wooden box also made with Wood Release, heard a familiar voice.
Looking in the direction of the voice, a familiar figure came into view: Hatake Kakashi.
"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Uchiha Sasuke said, still speaking in his impolite manner.
"I came to see a friend."
Knowing Uchiha Sasuke's personality, Hatake Kakashi didn't mind his student's attitude.
After casually answering, he stared at the box in Uchiha Sasuke's hand, his dead-fish-like right eye narrowing slightly. "What's in that box...?"
"A head."
Seeming to sense Hatake Kakashi's probing, Uchiha Sasuke also didn't hide anything. "This is the head of a Uchiha clan traitor. I'm taking his head to commemorate my clansmen."
Hearing this, Hatake Kakashi was immediately very surprised. "Besides Uchiha Itachi and you, there's actually another survivor of the Uchiha clan?"
It wasn't surprising that Hatake Kakashi was so astonished, because he was one of the Anbu members responsible for cleaning up the Uchiha clan after the massacre.
Not only did he dispose of the bodies, but he also had to record the names of the deceased and then, using the Uchiha clan's family register, determine if there were any survivors.
The result was that, apart from Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, all names on the Uchiha clan's family register were marked with a large red cross.
Now, hearing that there was another survivor of the Uchiha clan, Hatake Kakashi was naturally surprised.
Uchiha Sasuke naturally didn't know why Hatake Kakashi had such a reaction.
He just coldly chuckled, "This is a traitor who faked his death to escape, and he was also one of the culprits of the clan massacre."
So, Itachi wasn't the only one who wiped out the Uchiha clan!
Hatake Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly again, and years of doubt were finally resolved.
Because recently, he had finally mastered the power of his left eye, successfully activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.
His dōjutsu was Kotoamatsukami, incredibly powerful.
However, this power couldn't be called a "dimensional attack."
On the night of the massacre, Uchiha Itachi hadn't even activated Susanoo. Relying solely on his unique dōjutsu, he couldn't possibly have wiped out the Uchiha clan, with its multitude of experts, in a single night.
Now, Uchiha Sasuke's words confirmed Hatake Kakashi's thoughts.
The clan massacre, as expected, involved high-ranking officials.
Thinking of this, Hatake Kakashi looked at Uchiha Sasuke with some concern.
Soon, Hatake Kakashi's heart became even more surprised.
From Uchiha Sasuke's words, it wasn't hard to tell that he already knew the truth about the clan massacre, and even suspected the involvement of high-ranking officials.
So why was he so calm?
Logically, given his personality, he should have become extremely radical.
Could it be because of the Hokage-sama?
Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but wonder to himself.
However, it was a good thing that Uchiha Sasuke hadn't lost control. Hatake Kakashi didn't dare to ask the reason and could only change the subject, asking, "What is the name of this traitor?"
"His name is Uchiha Obito."
Uchiha Sasuke didn't know that Uchiha Obito was Hatake Kakashi's teammate. After leaving this name, he walked towards the Uchiha clan area, leaving Hatake Kakashi stunned in place.
"Obi... Obito... How is that possible?" Hatake Kakashi murmured. "Perhaps... it's just a common name?"
But Hatake Kakashi knew perfectly well that it wasn't a common name.
Because he had seen the Uchiha clan's family register, and among the recent generations of Uchiha clan members, there was only one Uchiha Obito.
Moreover, after Uchiha Obito's sacrifice in the Kannabi Bridge Battle, he became a Konoha hero whose name was carved on the Memorial Stone.
Out of respect for this hero, the Uchiha clan members did not name their descendants Obito.
The Uchiha Obito in Uchiha Sasuke's words was the same person he was thinking of.
Could it be that Obito didn't die?
If he didn't die, then why didn't he return to Konoha?
Such a kind person, why would he help Uchiha Itachi wipe out the Uchiha clan?
What exactly did he go through?
Or was someone impersonating Uchiha Obito and causing trouble outside?
A myriad of doubts surged in Hatake Kakashi's mind. With his emotions in turmoil, he instinctively turned and followed Uchiha Sasuke, wanting to confirm his suspicions.
Uchiha Sasuke paid no mind to Hatake Kakashi following him.
Upon arriving at the Uchiha clan's section of the cemetery, he stood before Uchiha Fugaku's tombstone. He then placed the wooden box on the ground and manipulated the Wood Release chakra within, causing the box to automatically open.
A head, split in half down the middle and then pieced back together, with a distorted expression, was revealed.
Seeing this head, Hatake Kakashi immediately felt a suffocating sensation, as if he couldn't breathe.
Although many years had passed, that face was completely different from the young boy he remembered.
But the permanent scar on his left cheek, caused by the boulder and impossible to heal even with Hashirama cells and White Zetsu cells, told Hatake Kakashi otherwise.
This head was Uchiha Obito, the Uchiha Obito he remembered!
Uchiha Obito, who had been buried under rocks and whose remains were never found, had indeed not died!
Then why didn't he return?
What had he gone through in these years that made him like this?
Was he truly Obito? Or was this just a human puppet?
After an unknown period, Hatake Kakashi finally regained his composure, his voice trembling slightly. "Sasuke, you... where did you find him?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke, who was speaking to his father in his mind, apologizing and making promises to his clansmen, frowned and looked at Hatake Kakashi beside him. Just as he was about to scold him, he saw Hatake Kakashi's eyes trembling and his forehead covered in sweat. He couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
Following Hatake Kakashi's gaze to Uchiha Obito's head on the ground, Uchiha Sasuke's eyes instantly gleamed. "You know this guy?"
"Many of us from our generation knew him," Hatake Kakashi revealed without hiding anything. "Uchiha Obito was, like me, a student of the Fourth Hokage. He also sacrificed himself during the Third Great Ninja War in the Kannabi Bridge Battle, and his name is carved on the Memorial Stone as a Konoha hero."
"Konoha hero? Heh..."
Uchiha Sasuke hadn't expected Uchiha Obito to have such a title. He couldn't help but let out a cold chuckle. "If those people knew that the Nine-Tails Attack, which killed the Fourth Hokage, was orchestrated by this 'Konoha hero,' would they dig up his grave to vent their anger?"
Hatake Kakashi's heart trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief. "The Nine-Tails Attack was caused by Obito? How is that possible? How old was he then? And why would he harm sensei?!"
"If you don't believe me, then go ask him yourself."
"What do you mean?"
Uchiha Sasuke didn't speak. Instead, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and then raised his hand to create a black hole.
The black hole flew into the air and rapidly expanded.
Its terrifying gravitational pull targeted only Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi, as well as Uchiha Obito's head on the ground, lifting them from the ground and pulling their twisted bodies into the black hole.
In a certain underground base, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, who were packing their belongings and awaiting Izayoi's instructions, suddenly tensed up.
Before them, a fist-sized black hole appeared out of nowhere.
"This is... a spacetime ninjutsu!" Orochimaru instantly recognized the nature of the black hole.
"Is it Lord Izayoi?"
"Impossible, Izayoi-kun doesn't use this kind of spacetime ninjutsu," Orochimaru shook his head. Though his expression was serious, he wasn't tense.
Because he knew that Izayoi had always been monitoring and protecting him.
As long as he still had value, Izayoi wouldn't let him die.
The next second, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi both showed shocked expressions.
Two familiar figures flew out of the black hole.
"Sasuke-kun? And... Kakashi?"
Orochimaru spoke both their names.
"Orochimaru?!"
Looking at Orochimaru before him, Hatake Kakashi's body instantly tensed, his expression nervous.
Uchiha Sasuke pointed at the head flying out of the black hole and said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, help me use Impure World Reincarnation on someone."
Sizing up Uchiha Sasuke's eyes and then looking at the slowly vanishing black hole, Orochimaru seemed to realize something. He stuck out his tongue, grinning sinisterly. "What incredible eyes, Sasuke-kun. Your dōjutsu reminds me of Uchiha Obito's eyes."
"You know Uchiha Obito too?"
Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi were both slightly stunned, very surprised.
"Of course. After all, Kabuto and I were almost killed by him and the Akatsuki leader back then," Orochimaru chuckled. "That guy's dōjutsu allows him to become intangible and instantly travel through spacetime, ignoring all terrain and barriers. If not for Izayoi-kun's rescue, I would have died long ago."
"I see..." Uchiha Sasuke vaguely understood.
Orochimaru looked at the head, split in two, on the ground and unconsciously asked, "Sasuke-kun wants me to use Impure World Reincarnation on this guy? Who is he?"
"Uchiha Obito," Uchiha Sasuke said the name coldly.
Orochimaru was slightly stunned, then said with interest, "So that's what his face looks like beneath the mask? Encountering Sasuke-kun, he didn't die in vain."
Hatake Kakashi looked dazed.
How did it seem like everyone knew Uchiha Obito, except for him?
Was he truly a Konoha ninja?
....
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