When Hyuga Satoru pointed toward the picture frame, Kushina's expression froze.
She glanced at Satoru's serious face, then turned back to confirm which frame he was indicating. After a brief hesitation, she slowly stood, walked to the display cabinet, and carefully took down the photo. Turning to him, she asked softly:
"Satoru… this is the photo you meant?"
"The person you saw—was it someone in this picture?"
As she spoke, Satoru also stood and walked closer, pretending to examine the photograph closely. Then he reached out and pointed directly at the boy in the picture—Uchiha Obito.
"Yeah, I'm sure of it," Satoru confirmed with a firm nod.
"The man in the mask had half of his face intact, and that side looked almost identical to this boy here—just a bit older, that's all."
"And I noticed something else—one of his eyes was a three-tomoe Sharingan."
"That guy… he must be from the Uchiha Clan."
As he finished, Satoru relaxed his shoulders, feigning casualness.
"Well, if he's a Uchiha, then there's probably nothing to worry about, right?"
"My father always said the Uchiha were proud and arrogant. A chakra like that wouldn't be out of place for one of them."
"If he's a clansman of the Uchiha, then he's one of our own in the village. I was probably just being overly suspicious."
His tone was lighthearted, but to the one listening, his words hit like a thunderclap.
Kushina's heart trembled violently.
Looks just like Minato's student, Uchiha Obito?
From the Uchiha Clan?
Half his face disfigured?
The information Satoru had given her matched too perfectly.
But…
Uchiha Obito was supposed to have died years ago.
How could Satoru's description line up so completely with him?
Unless—Obito hadn't actually died during that mission.
Unless… he'd survived!
If that were true, then everything Satoru had said would make sense.
Holding the picture frame tightly, Kushina couldn't calm her racing heart. She looked back at Satoru, her voice soft but trembling slightly.
"Satoru… the person you saw really looked like this boy?"
Her words sounded calm, but Satoru could hear the faint tremor beneath.
"My Byakugan doesn't lie," he said solemnly. "He looked very much like him—except half his face was ruined."
"Teacher Kushina, do you… know this Uchiha?"
His tone was innocent, curious—but his words were carefully chosen, leading her exactly where he wanted.
"Shouldn't… shouldn't be the same person…"
Even now, Kushina couldn't bring herself to believe it completely. Not because she doubted Satoru, but because she couldn't imagine that the boy who had died long ago might still be alive.
Her instincts screamed that Satoru was right—but her reason refused to accept it.
To steady herself, she gently ran her fingers across the glass of the photo frame and began to tell Satoru the story behind the boy in the picture.
"This child's name… was Uchiha Obito."
"But he died many years ago, during a mission."
"It was… during Konoha's war with Iwagakure…"
Her eyes softened with nostalgia. The sky outside darkened, but once Kushina began speaking, she couldn't stop.
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge—The turning point of the Third Great Ninja War between Konoha and Iwagakure.
And also… one of the greatest sorrows of her husband, Namikaze Minato.
Though Minato had completed his mission—destroying the bridge as ordered—it came at a cost. His team lost a member for the first time.
As an elite jonin, Minato had long been familiar with death on the battlefield, but losing his own student left a wound that never truly healed.
Obito, kind and warm-hearted, had sacrificed himself to save Kakashi. He was crushed by falling rocks—and, on the verge of death, gifted his newly awakened Sharingan to his teammate.
That day, Kakashi regained the sight he'd lost in battle.
And for the first time, a non-Uchiha possessed a Sharingan.
The incident caused a great stir in Konoha. Many in the Uchiha Clan were outraged at their bloodline being passed to an outsider, but the then-clan head, Fugaku, suppressed the unrest.
Obito's sacrifice—and Minato's influence—had soothed the clan's anger.
Kushina's voice softened as she continued. These were things few people knew; only Minato, Kakashi, and a handful of others had been told the full story.
Even fewer knew the truth—that the Uchiha had never recovered Obito's body. His grave in Konoha's cemetery was an empty cenotaph.
As Kushina recounted the tale, Satoru's expression grew more and more certain.
"Then there's no doubt about it, Teacher Kushina!" he exclaimed.
"That man must be Uchiha Obito!"
"You said he was crushed saving Kakashi, right? That explains the half-destroyed face."
"The Sharingan, the matching features—it all lines up perfectly!"
"Maybe no one ever found his body because… he didn't die."
"Think about it—if he's alive but pretended to be dead, there must be a reason. Maybe something happened that changed him completely."
"If that's true, Konoha has to be cautious. Anyone who hides their survival and moves in the shadows like that… can't have good intentions."
Satoru's tone was grim, his words heavy with implication. In truth, he knew exactly what he was doing—deliberately "unboxing" Obito, forcing Kushina to consider the unimaginable.
Kushina lowered her head, deep in thought.
She wanted to see Minato—she needed to tell him everything.
Satoru's words had planted a seed in her mind, one that reason confirmed even as emotion rejected it.
Her heart wanted to believe that even if Obito were alive, he wouldn't harm the village. That kind, goofy boy she remembered—he must have his reasons, right?
Maybe… he was being controlled.
"Could it be…" Kushina murmured to herself, her eyes widening.
"What if Obito was saved by someone—someone who then used that debt to control him? There are many jutsu that can manipulate others' lives…"
Her words trailed off as the realization struck her.
Rin…
Rin Nohara, the other teammate of Minato's squad—she had taken her own life to prevent Kirigakure's curse seal from being used through her.
If Rin could be forced into such a situation… then maybe Obito—
Kushina's mind raced with possibilities.
Seeing her deep in thought, Satoru said nothing further. He simply smiled faintly, letting her process everything on her own.
"Uchiha Obito…"
He chuckled under his breath, a sly grin curling at the edge of his lips.
"So, the man behind the mask, huh?"
"Well then, let's see how long you can keep hiding in the shadows—still waving around Madara's name to scare people."
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