Suddenly, a hand pressed down on Deidara's shoulder.
Deidara stiffened instantly, nearly jumping out of his skin. The battlefield had been empty, the clash with Naruto still fresh, and yet someone had gotten behind him without a sound. His stomach dropped.
He spun away in alarm, clay bird wings beating furiously, only to see the figure. A crooked half-mask, orange swirling patterns cracked down one side.
"Tobi…!" Deidara let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He scowled, his heart still pounding. "Damn it, you want to scare me to death?!"
The masked man tilted his head, as if amused by Deidara's outrage. His presence was always bizarre—never quite fitting in, never showing his true hand.
He got behind me without me noticing at all, Deidara thought uneasily. If he'd been an enemy instead of an ally… tch. Bastard.
As for the broken half-mask, Deidara didn't care. It must have been damaged in battle. He wasn't the type to ask questions.
The man's single eye shifted, falling on Naruto with cold intensity. "Enjoy your last few days."
With those words, Uchiha Obito reached out, gripping Deidara's shoulder. The air warped, Kamui's spiraling distortion enveloping them both.
Caught off guard, Deidara relaxed his stance, still irritated but no longer wary. He let himself be pulled in, cursing loudly as the space folded around them. His voice echoed harshly even as it disappeared into the void.
Naruto watched them vanish, lips curling upward in a faint smile. "'Enjoy my few days,' huh? Interesting."
His gaze lingered where the two had stood. No one decides my fate—not Obito, not even the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Moments later, Akamaru padded up to Naruto, Kiba riding his back with Kakashi slumped heavily over his shoulders.
Naruto's eyes softened slightly at the sight. Kakashi's gaze was empty, dull—haunted by the truth he had just seen. So… he's still shaken. Of course he is. Obito being alive isn't something he could recover from so quickly.
Kiba quickly filled Naruto in on the fight: the mask shattering, Kakashi's disbelief, the weight of Rin's name tearing into old scars. Naruto listened carefully, nodding at the right moments, his expression a mix of concern and relief.
Inside, he was calculating. On the surface, he gave them nothing more than an empathetic smile. His act was flawless.
Together, they regrouped.
Shizune and the rest of the squad had gathered under the cover of a thick jungle canopy, patching wounds and catching their breath.
"Naruto, you're back!" Sakura called out, her voice lifting with obvious relief. She hurried to meet him, eyes scanning for injuries.
In the shadows, Hinata watched silently, hands clasped nervously. Her pale eyes softened the moment they fell on Naruto.
Naruto nodded at Sakura. "Yeah. We'll rest here for a while. Gai's team should be arriving any moment."
He knew because he'd already sensed them with Sage Mode. Sure enough, Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Might Guy arrived minutes later, looking eager but slightly frustrated at their lateness.
"Seems they came after the battle was already decided," Yamato muttered, arms crossed. "Tsunade-sama did say she'd send them as backup… but still, timing wasn't on our side."
Naruto settled against a tree trunk. "Sakura, check Kakashi-sensei's condition. He pushed himself too far."
"I'll help," Shizune added, stepping forward. Together, she and Sakura knelt at Kakashi's side, carefully assessing his battered body and worn chakra reserves.
Not long after, Gai's team fully joined them. The sight of his eternal rival's weary face sobered Gai immediately, but even his larger-than-life spirit couldn't pry Kakashi out of his silence. Only after some time did Kakashi's eyes flicker with a faint glimmer of life again.
It wasn't his body that had collapsed—it was the crushing weight of memory. Rin. Obito. The past he could never outrun.
The group pressed on.
They had set out with ten, but when they returned, they were fourteen.
Three days later, as dawn broke, the gates of Konoha finally came into view.
"We're back," Ino sighed in relief, stretching her arms above her head. "Honestly, this mission wasn't that difficult after all."
"We made it through, didn't we? That means we did well," Hinata said softly, encouragingly.
Ino turned to hug her on the spot. "Hinata, you're too sweet!"
"Th-that…" Hinata flushed bright red, fumbling for words.
Sakura and Shizune laughed at the scene, amused by Hinata's shy fluster. The boys, on the other hand, wisely kept their chuckles buried. The last thing they wanted was to face Sakura's wrath for teasing Hinata openly.
Upon their return, the entire squad headed straight to the Hokage's office. Tsunade needed every detail.
One by one, they gave their reports—the pursuit, the Akatsuki's interference, the battles fought. Tsunade listened carefully, her sharp eyes weighing every word.
Finally, she dismissed most of the group. "You've all done well. Take a short leave to recover."
But her tone shifted as she turned to two figures. "Kakashi, Shizune—stay."
The others filed out, leaving the office heavy with silence.
Kakashi stood straighter, voice steady despite the turmoil in his chest. "Tsunade-sama… I encountered Uchiha Obito. He's alive."
Shizune gasped.
Kakashi continued grimly. "He's a member of Akatsuki. I don't know how he survived, but his eyes… they were filled with hatred. Toward me. Toward the world." His voice faltered. Guilt, sharp and suffocating, made it hard to go on.
Tsunade's expression darkened. She tapped the desk, lost briefly in thought. "Obito… Minato's student, your teammate. It seems there were shadows during the Third Hokage's reign, even though we never uncovered them."
She met Kakashi's gaze firmly. "I understand your pain. But this can't cloud your judgment. I'm assigning you a secret mission: investigate Obito. Learn why he's alive, and why he's chosen Akatsuki."
Her voice hardened. "But remember, Kakashi—do not take reckless risks. Konoha cannot afford to lose an elite jonin like you."
Kakashi lowered his head, his voice low but resolute. "I understand. Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
Beside him, Shizune still looked shaken. Obito alive? After nearly twenty years? No wonder Kakashi had broken down.
And for the first time since returning, the truth of the encounter settled heavily in the room.
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