"Who's there?"
The sudden voice sent a chill down Kakashi's spine. A deep sense of unease crept over him.
Who could it be?
Someone had managed to get behind him without making a sound—without even the slightest ripple of chakra. It wasn't just unusual—it was terrifying.
Whipping his head around, Kakashi scanned the area behind him, but... no one was there.
Kakashi blinked. "What the...??"
There was no one. Not a shadow, not a whisper. Just the empty cemetery grounds stretching before him. But he was absolutely certain—it wasn't a hallucination. Someone had spoken to him, from right behind him. He could feel the lingering presence like a cold mist clinging to the back of his neck.
Why was there nothing now? His senses, sharp as they were, couldn't detect even the faintest trace of another being.
Kakashi's grip tightened around the kunai in his hand. His eye darted around cautiously, searching every nook and shadow. But all he heard was the rustling wind and the occasional chirp of a bird in the distance.
His mind started racing.
Was I just hearing things? Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night...
He shook his head, trying to clear the nagging thoughts, and muttered under his breath, "Am I losing it...?"
"You're not, Kakashi..."
A low, calm voice echoed from behind him again.
This time, Kakashi froze. Completely. A chill seeped into his bones. The voice was undeniably real—and hauntingly familiar.
With trembling steps, he turned his head, his gaze settling on a single tombstone nearby.
The name etched into the cold gray stone: Uchiha Obito.
"Obi...to?" Kakashi's voice cracked. His throat suddenly felt dry. His one exposed eye widened in disbelief. "Obito... is that really you?"
"Yes, Kakashi. It's me."
Kakashi stared at the tombstone, listening carefully. The voice—it wasn't an illusion. It was coming from right there, from Obito's resting place.
Shock washed over him, followed quickly by confusion, disbelief, and something else—something far more painful.
He took a few steps toward the stone, eyes locked on the name engraved into it. Memories surged up, unbidden—of battles fought side by side, of laughter, of a hand reaching out through the dust and rubble.
He was silent for a long while, struggling to find the words. Finally, he whispered, "Obito… it's really you…"
That single sentence was packed with years of guilt, sorrow, and longing.
Obito's voice responded calmly, "Yes, it's really me."
Kakashi took a deep breath and asked, with a flicker of excitement, "Obito... what's it like over there? Have you seen our teacher? And his wife?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Obito's voice took on a cold, bitter tone.
"How dare you mention the teacher and his wife? His only son, Peter, is living a miserable life, barely surviving. And you—his supposed comrade—his student—haven't even gone to see him once. The teacher would be truly disappointed in you."
Kakashi's expression fell. His face darkened with guilt. He lowered his head and whispered hoarsely, "The Third Hokage promised me... he swore he would take good care of Peter."
Obito scoffed, his voice filled with disdain.
"Hmph. And you actually believed him? You believed the word of a Hokage who stepped down because of corruption?"
Kakashi lifted his head, confused. "Wait... what are you saying?"
Obito continued, venom in his words.
"Do you really think he kept that promise? Maybe he siphoned off Peter's living expenses. Maybe that's why he had to survive on expired milk and instant noodles every day. Do you understand what kind of life he lived?"
Kakashi's eye widened in shock. "No... it can't be. Even if the Third was corrupt, he wouldn't go that far, right?"
Obito's voice trembled with barely suppressed anger. "No? Then why don't you ask Peter yourself? Ask him how many nights he went to sleep hungry. Ask him if he's ever been given a hot meal or a word of encouragement. You'll see just how 'good' the Hokage's protection really was."
Kakashi stood silently. The weight of Obito's accusations settled heavily on his shoulders. Deep inside, doubts he had long buried began to stir.
"Obito… how do you know all this?"
Obito laughed coldly, his voice echoing through the Kamui dimension.
"I don't expect you to believe me, Kakashi. Konoha's Will of Fire has done an amazing job of brainwashing its people. They call it loyalty—loyalty to a rotting system that betrays its own children. The Will of Fire… what a joke. The one who came up with that nonsense was a true master of manipulation."
Kakashi clenched his fists, feeling torn between his loyalty and the truth being hurled at him.
Obito's tone shifted.
"But enough of that. I didn't come to argue with you. I came because I want something important back."
Kakashi looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," Obito replied calmly. "I gave you my eye once. Now I want it back."
Kakashi blinked, startled. "My Sharingan…?"
"Yes. It's mine. I'm asking you to return it."
To Obito's surprise, Kakashi nodded without hesitation.
"Of course, Obito. This eye was always yours."
In truth, Kakashi had been thinking of replacing it for some time. Though the Sharingan had been an invaluable tool—letting him copy nearly any jutsu and earning him the nickname "Copy Ninja Kakashi"—it came with a hefty price.
The Sharingan was always active. Since he wasn't an Uchiha, he couldn't turn it off, and the constant drain on his chakra meant he was often exhausted in prolonged fights.
He'd reached Elite Jōnin status, yet often found himself unable to fight at full strength due to chakra fatigue. There were many times he wondered if it was really worth it.
So when Obito asked for it back, Kakashi felt more relieved than anything.
Obito, from his Kamui space, let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had feared that Kakashi would be unreasonable, would refuse to give it up. If that had happened, he would've had no choice but to rip it out himself.
Kakashi's voice brought him back. "Obito, how do I return the eye? What do I need to do?"
Obito paused. There was something... odd in Kakashi's voice. Was that excitement?
"…Just extract it and put it in a preservation solution," Obito said slowly, suspicion in his tone.
Kakashi nodded eagerly. "Understood. I'll head to the hospital right now."
Without another word, he turned and left quickly.
Obito stared after him through the Kamui dimension, expression unreadable.
It would be nice... he thought, if there really was an afterlife. If I could truly speak to him from beyond.
A short while later, Kakashi returned. He was now sporting a fresh bandage wrapped over his left eye socket. In his hand was a glass bottle containing a pale, floating eyeball in a clear preservation fluid.
He approached Obito's tombstone and gently placed the bottle down in front of it. His voice was soft. "Obito, I'm back. Are you still there?"
"Yes... I'm still here," came the voice from the tombstone.
A wave of relief washed over Kakashi. "So it wasn't my imagination after all…"
He looked at the tombstone fondly, almost smiling. "I've come here for years, talking to you like a fool, thinking no one was listening. But now... I finally get to talk to you again."
He ignored the muddy ground and sat down beside the grave, content.
Obito, meanwhile, watched from Kamui space, increasingly bewildered.
Why isn't this guy leaving?
In fact, Kakashi looked like he wanted to settle in for a long chat.
Obito's lips twitched in irritation. What the hell is this guy doing?
After a long pause, Obito finally asked, "What exactly do you want to talk about?"
Kakashi leaned forward, eyes curious. "I've always wondered—what's the world like after death, Obito? What's it like on the other side?"
"…You idiot," Obito muttered under his breath.
What kind of question was that?
He hadn't actually died, so how the hell would he know?
Øóffer going on for diamond tier
pàtreøn (Gk31).