Chapter 164: The Fate of Obito Uchiha
Kinoshita Genichi knocked on the door of Minato Namikaze's house.
"Genichi?" Minato was slightly surprised after opening the door. "Is the situation with the Cloud already resolved?"
"It is," Genichi replied, not entering. "Although the war hasn't officially ended. Minato-san, this is about Obito. I suspect he isn't dead."
Minato's expression changed slightly. He turned and called back into the house, "Kushina, Genichi and I have to go out for a bit!"
"Okay! Have him come over for dinner tonight!" Kushina's voice came from the kitchen.
"No problem, Sister Kushina!" Genichi called back with a smile.
Minato then closed the door, and the two of them vanished.
Hokage's Office.
After hearing Genichi's speculation, Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a grave voice, "Since that's the case, then let's try it."
"Even if the judgment is wrong, it would be good if we could at least bring back Obito's body," Minato added.
Genichi nodded and immediately formed hand seals.
Flying Thunder God: Summoning Jutsu!
During the operation against the Mist-nin, he had left Flying Thunder God formula markers on both Kakashi and Obito for summoning purposes. While it was for the mission at the time, Genichi had also harbored another thought. Now, it had come in handy.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke billowed. When it cleared, the three of them saw a shirtless, utterly bewildered Obito Uchiha lying face down on the floor.
"Obito!" Minato was overjoyed.
Hiruzen's expression was grave. Genichi was right. Then what kind of conspiracy is that person, who is suspected to be Madara, planning against Konoha?
"Minato-sensei! Genichi!" Obito leaped up excitedly. He had just been training, and now he was back in the village. Was he dreaming?
"Obito," Genichi asked, "were you saved by a man named Madara Uchiha?"
The excited Obito paused, then nodded. "How did you know, Genichi? That old man said his name was Madara Uchiha, but I remember that Uchiha ancestor passed away a long time ago," he said, scratching his head and laughing. He hadn't taken the name seriously at all. But seeing everyone's solemn expressions, he wasn't a fool. "Um… is there a problem?"
"Not for the moment," Genichi shook his head. "Your body…"
"My body was crushed by rocks, so that old man healed me. I just need to train to get used to it," Obito smiled.
A large area of his skin was pale, and not just on one side. It was clear his injuries were more severe than in the original timeline. But both of his eyes were intact.
Hiruzen chewed on his pipe, secretly shocked. It's all Hashirama's cells…
Genichi's perception was even keener. The current Obito's body was seventy percent White Zetsu cells, or in other words, Hashirama's cells.
"Let's go," Genichi said. "First, we'll take you to the hospital for a check-up. Kakashi is there too."
"Is that guy Kakashi alright?" Obito asked quickly. "And Rin? What about Rin?"
"Don't worry, Rin is fine," Minato smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
Obito sighed in relief, then bowed to Hiruzen. "Lord Hokage, I'll be going then."
"Go," Hiruzen said gently. "Focus on your recovery."
After watching the three of them leave, he thought to himself, If it really is Madara Uchiha, then this is big trouble… He knew how terrifying Madara was. To think that that man was not yet dead. And was it a coincidence that he had saved Obito? He didn't believe that either.
Mountain's Graveyard.
Obito's sudden disappearance caused Aloe White Zetsu, who had been sitting on him, to fall flat on the bed.
"Lord Madara, Obito has disappeared!" Spiral Zetsu cried out in alarm from the side.
"A summoning jutsu?" Madara opened his eyes, his face grim. His plan had been unexpectedly disrupted.
The two Zetsus came to his side. "Lord Madara, should we go find him? How did he just disappear like that?"
Madara only had to think for a moment to get the answer. "It must be the Flying Thunder God Technique. Someone left a marker on Obito and then summoned him."
"In that case, aren't we exposed?" Aloe White Zetsu exclaimed.
"This place is very well hidden," Spiral Zetsu said. "And Obito doesn't know the specific location. It should be fine, right?"
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Aloe White Zetsu gesticulated.
"My identity has already been exposed to Konoha," Madara said calmly. "It doesn't matter. Just think of it as an early surprise for them. However… Lord Madara, Obito is no longer suitable as a pawn, is he?" Spiral Zetsu said.
"The people of Konoha will likely discover the modifications I made to his body," Madara said. "This person is indeed unusable for the time being. Let's switch to another target. That one named Uchiha Tekka. Find him…"
"No problem," Aloe White Zetsu nodded. Although he had lost a very good pawn, Madara's heart was untroubled.
Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade, who had returned from the battlefield, personally examined Obito's body.
"These cell grafts are too crude and simple. It will take a long time to adapt. Obito, you'll need to exercise regularly for the next while, but don't overdo it," she instructed.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Obito nodded obediently.
Tsunade then pointed to his heart. She said to Genichi and Minato, "His heart… there's a curse mark on it."
Genichi nodded, not at all surprised.
Minato's face was serious. "Lady Tsunade, can you tell what kind of curse mark it is, and how to remove it?"
"I don't know its purpose for now, but it's definitely not a good thing," Tsunade shook her head. "As for removing it, it has already fused with his heart. I'm afraid the entire heart would have to be removed."
Obito was again bewildered. "What's going on? A curse mark? Why is there something like that on my heart?"
Looking at his clear, foolish eyes, Minato was a little helpless. "Obito, that guy who calls himself Madara Uchiha has ill intentions. Genichi fought him before in the Land of Rain. He saved you, most likely to use you against the village. No… from what we can gather, your encounter was designed by him. In other words, Kakashi's arm was cut off because of that guy."
Obito's pupils dilated in disbelief. "What… Why? We don't even know each other… And if he is Madara Uchiha, why would he do that? Shouldn't he also be a person of the village? At least, he used to be."
"Obito, this might be a bit complicated to explain," Genichi said in a deep voice. "Calm down first."
Obito took a deep breath, and after composing himself, he nodded. "Go ahead, Genichi."
"The founding of Konoha came from the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha," Genichi began. "But later, some things happened, and Madara left the village on his own. He later attacked Konoha and fought with the First Hokage, which created the Valley of the End. You can simply think of him as a rogue ninja of the Leaf."
"Then why did he save me?" Obito said dejectedly. "Why me? If it weren't for that, Kakashi's arm…"
Tsunade and Minato were also puzzled. Why would Madara choose Obito? After all, in the Uchiha clan, he was not considered a genius, although in reality, he wasn't as weak as a dead-last either.
"I'm not sure of his purpose yet," Genichi said, pointing to Obito's eyes. "But I have some idea why he chose you. Obito, your Sharingan has awakened, right?"
Obito nodded and activated his two-tomoe Sharingan.
"To awaken a two-tomoe on the first try is not common," Genichi said.
"I told you I was a genius!" Obito couldn't help but smile.
Minato smiled a little helplessly.
"The awakening of the Sharingan often requires a spiritual shock, and it is related to loss," Genichi continued. "Family, friendship, love… Obito, you are full of love and rich in emotion. And the more that is so, the more astonishing the shock will be when you suffer the loss of that love. This is why you awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan after Kakashi's arm was cut off by the enemy. So, Obito, let me ask you: what if Rin were to die in front of your eyes?"
Obito was deeply shaken. "That… that's impossible! I've awakened the two-tomoe now, and Kakashi is a jonin. Even… even if we encounter a very strong enemy, we can at least let Rin escape first!"
"Obito, how strong do you think I am?" Genichi shook his head.
"Of course you're very strong," Obito said. "You killed the Fourth Kazekage, and I hear you even assassinated the Third Mizukage."
"That's right," Genichi nodded. "I did kill the Third Mizukage. A few days ago, I also beat the future Fourth Raikage and even fought the Eight-Tails, the second strongest of the Tailed Beasts that countless ninja fear, and sliced it in half. Obito, I can tell you that in the five great ninja villages, apart from the Third Hokage and the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, no other Kage is my match. Hmm, it might be a bit difficult for me to kill the future Fourth Raikage, but the current Fourth Mizukage and Fifth Kazekage, it wouldn't be hard for me to kill them."
Obito was dumbfounded. So domineering! He swallowed. "Genichi, does that mean that in the village, you're second only to Lord Hokage? Not even Minato-sensei is a match for you?"
Minato, at his side, smiled. "Genichi has indeed surpassed me in all aspects. If we were to face off, I could only rely on the Flying Thunder God Technique to move around and escape."
"So, Obito," Genichi spread his hands, "even though you've awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan, in front of me, I only need one genjutsu to take you out. And Kakashi, it's also just a matter of one genjutsu."
Obito was greatly shocked and couldn't help but mutter, "Isn't… isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Obito…" Genichi smiled.
Obito subconsciously looked up. Their eyes met, and his body instantly froze. His consciousness was bound to a cross, and he couldn't break free.
Damn it, my Sharingan actually… Obito was helpless, and a little discouraged. But then he thought, If mine were a three-tomoe, I definitely wouldn't be controlled so easily.
Releasing the genjutsu, Genichi said, "So, as strong as I am, I can't say I'm invincible. At the very least, that Madara Uchiha who saved you, I am no match for him. So, Obito, you have to understand that right now, it's very difficult for you to completely protect Rin. The same goes for me, and the same goes for Minato-san. And you must be prepared for the possibility that Rin might die in battle one day. This is the resolve a ninja should have."
Obito was stunned. He had never considered this problem. And how could something so cruel exist? For a moment, he found it difficult to accept.
Tsunade and Minato both fell silent. Especially Tsunade, whose expression was sad. Her younger brother, even with one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, at his side, had still died. If it had been her, the outcome probably wouldn't have changed. After all, her former lover had died right before her eyes…
Minato thought of Kushina. With Madara's appearance, his beloved was also in great danger. The Nine-Tails had been controlled by Madara before.
The atmosphere was a bit somber. Genichi clapped his hands, startling the three of them, and continued, "Going back to what I said before, I said you have great talent, Obito. If Rin were to die in front of you, I believe your Sharingan would reach a very high level. That's one point. Secondly, if you were to witness Rin's death, would you not be disappointed in this world, in the village, in Minato-san, and in Kakashi? Then, I can deduce that it would be very normal for you to leave the village at that time. And since Madara saved you, and you are both of the Uchiha clan, it would be very reasonable for you to join him."
Obito opened his mouth but couldn't refute this. But he still stuck his neck out. "I… I would definitely not betray the village! And Rin will definitely not die!"
Tsunade and Minato's faces grew serious.
But Genichi suddenly smiled. "Of course, this is all just my speculation." He said all this to psychologically prepare Obito. After all, he couldn't be sure if Madara would still keep his eyes on him. He didn't know if it would be useful. It was a low-cost, high-reward move, so he did it first.
In reality, ruining Madara's plan for Obito was disadvantageous for him, because it meant that many future events would become unknown. If Madara gave up on Obito, could he cultivate another Mangekyō Sharingan user? Probably. And the way the Uchiha's minds worked was difficult for ordinary people to understand.
However, although he didn't think he was a good person, Obito was, after all, his classmate, his comrade, and a friend he was on decent terms with. It was not his style to stand by and do nothing when he had the ability to intervene. But, after giving him this preventive shot today, if something still happened to Obito in the future, then he would not hesitate to strike him down.
The atmosphere was a bit heavy.
"Alright," Genichi smiled. "Most of this was just analysis based on the current intelligence. Obito, the reason I said so much was to make you understand that Madara saving you was a conspiracy in itself, with ill intentions. As for the curse mark on your heart, go and keep Kakashi company for now and recover your strength. We'll help you deal with it then."
"Thank you, Genichi," Obito nodded. He was not an ungrateful person.
After Obito went to find Kakashi, Minato immediately asked, "Genichi, what does Madara want?"
"Nothing more than that whole war and peace routine," he said.
"Which means Kushina will also be a target," Minato's expression was grave.
"I'm afraid so," Genichi nodded.
"Can't we find that guy Madara, gather all our strength, and kill him?" Tsunade said with frustration.
"It would be very difficult," Genichi shook his head. "Although Obito said he is very old, from my battle with him last time, it's clear he has a way to possess considerable combat power for a short period of time. Secondly, he has the Sharingan. He was able to deceive the First and Second Hokage back then, so he probably used the forbidden jutsu Izanagi. And then there's the Akatsuki's Rinnegan…"
Tsunade was immediately frustrated.
But Minato smiled. "Looks like we'll have to train even harder from now on. Although there should be a big gap between us and him now, his age should be a very big problem. And we are still very young. We have more hope, right?"
"Minato-san is right," Genichi also smiled. "We are the rising sun, and he is the setting sun."
He was confident he could surpass Madara, given time. Even if he couldn't develop abilities comparable to the Mangekyō and Rinnegan himself, he could still snatch them.
After dealing with the Obito situation, Genichi went to the Hokage's office to report to Hiruzen. After that, he didn't think much more about it, focusing on his own training and leaving the headaches to Hiruzen and the others. As for Madara's possible next target, it was impossible to predict and difficult to interfere with. And he couldn't win a fight against the tubed Madara right now. The right thing to do was to honestly cultivate his own strength.
Days passed. The war in the ninja world continued. The Kannabi Bridge mission was a success. Minato dealt another heavy blow to Iwagakure's forces in the Land of Grass, thwarting their plan. And Sunagakure, after a brief adjustment, once again engaged Iwa, joining the war in the Land of Rain. Kirigakure, which had been beaten back by Konoha, was still watching from the sidelines. Kumogakure had not withdrawn its troops and was still engaged in considerable fighting with Konoha. But overall, with the end of the war with Sunagakure, Konoha had already secured victory.
And with the expansion of their advantage in the war, the attrition of the village's manpower and resources, and the accident of Madara, Hiruzen finally made a decision. He convened the high-ranking officials of Konoha and announced to Danzō and the others that he wanted to hold peace talks with Iwagakure.
(End of Chapter)
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