Watching Kakashi's disappearing back, Kurumi's pupils constricted sharply. Her scalp went numb, feeling as if two big words appeared before her eyes:
'Absurd!!!'
'Too absurd!'
'That was Konoha's prodigy, Hatake Kakashi! Why was he here? And why did he stage a play before the captive Nohara Rin?'
Kurumi was utterly bewildered, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"In the future, you'll get used to it."
Sora reached out and ruffled the girl's black hair, then also turned and left, leaving Kurumi alone in disarray.
…
The scene shifts to the real Kakashi.
Under the night sky, upon opening his eyes, what greeted him was a dim, lightless night sky and the faint rustling sound of a gentle breeze in his ears.
The white-haired youth lying on the grass slowly opened his eyes. He still felt incredibly fatigued, as if about to fall asleep at any moment, but the intermittent intense pain tormenting his body kept the youth increasingly awake.
"Kakashi..."
"You're awake?"
A gentle and familiar voice sounded in his ear.
Kakashi propped up his body with his right hand. His gaze was still somewhat dazed, but when the figure wearing a Konoha's Jonin flak jacket, with yellow hair, suddenly burst into his field of vision, he fell into an unexpectedly silence.
Kakashi felt his heart clogged. He seemed to have an impulse to wipe the gentle smile off the man's face, to thrust a kunai ferociously into the man's heart.
Because only then, it seemed, could this man, who smiled every moment, understand the pain that was almost overflowing from his heart.
"Sen..."
"Sensei."
After a long silence, Kakashi finally spoke softly. The address he was once accustomed to now felt inexplicably nauseating when spoken aloud.
'Obito sacrificed himself, and you were one step too late.'
'Rin also died, and you were one step too late again.'
'Why every time... why every time do you save only me, and only me, why why why!!!!'
Kakashi's heart screamed hysterically. He didn't understand why this man, who is so powerful, always made him watch his dear friends die before his eyes every single time.
The night was gloomy, and Kakashi's heart was also full of ashes.
Ashes ignited by hatred, the wreckage left by the Will of Fire.
"I'm sorry..."
"When I arrived, I only found you unconscious. As for Rin's body, it wasn't found. Probably recovered by the Kirigakure's Anbu."
Even while saying such cruel things, the man's voice remained gentle. His face still held a smile, a smile that made Kakashi feel increasingly nauseated.
"Can't be found anymore…?"
Recalling Rin's expression before death, Kakashi lowered his head, not daring to look at the man before him anymore. Because he felt a killing intent in his heart that was almost impossible to suppress.
He wanted to kill this man!
He really wanted to kill him!
He really want to send this man to hell, to see if at that time, he can still smile so hypocritically, watching Obito and Rin's souls as if he doesn't care at all!
Konoha's Namikaze Minato!!!
…
Getting up and walking away slowly, Minato came to a bonfire, leaving Kakashi alone, silent and in pain, lying on the grass.
By the bonfire, several other Ninjas also wearing Konoha's Jonin flak jackets looked over.
"Minato..."
"How is Kakashi?"
A burly Jonin asked. It was the Elite Jonin from the Akimichi Clan, Akimichi Choza.
He was a member of Konoha's Yellow Flash Team, one of Konoha's top Jonin in terms of combat power.
"He'll be fine. The death of comrades isn't easy for the young Kakashi to accept."
Minato sat cross-legged by the bonfire, smiling as he spoke to the surrounding Konoha's Ninjas. "This cruel war has brought great harm to the village. We are all Ninjas of the village, we cannot avoid it, we can only face this harm bravely."
"I believe..."
"The Will of Fire will illuminate Kakashi's life. One day, he will emerge from the pain and understand the value of sacrifice. It's just..."
"He might need some time."
The other Jonin nodded in deep agreement. For a Ninja, experiencing the death of comrades was really the most normal thing.
All sacrifices have value, and they allow the Will of Fire to eternally illuminate the village's future. This is the value passed down from generation to generation. As long as it's for the village, even the lives of dear friends, brothers, and family are worthless and can be abandoned.
Moreover, this time, it was Rin Nohara who died… an insignificant Medical-Nin.
To Konoha, she was like dust, possessing only a tiny, negligible value.
…
Simultaneously,
In the underground cave,
Obito also woke from a nightmare.
"RIN!!!"
"NO!!!!"
A painful lament echoed through the empty cave.
"Obito..."
"You owe me your life again."
In the darkness, Madara's cold voice slowly sounded. He sat there like a skeleton, with nutrient tubes resembling cables inserted into his back, leading to who knows where.
Obito remained silent.
Looking at Madara in the darkness, he really wasn't in the mood to say words of thanks. The shocking bloody hole in his lower abdomen still emitted a piercing, intense pain, but his heart had long gone numb.
Obito's expression was grim and indifferent, as if the intense pain on his body couldn't bring him the slightest feeling.
"I will have revenge."
"I will make everyone pay."
There was an unprecedented coldness in Obito's gaze. "The Kirigakure's Anbu, the Mizukage, Konoha... all those who caused Rin's death, I will send them all to hell!!!"
"I..."
"Will kill them all!!!"
Amidst the roar, an extremely cold malevolence erupted from Obito's body.
His originally black eyes instantly transformed into the crimson and demonic Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Mangekyo..."
"But Obito, even with the power of the Mangekyo, you probably aren't a match for that Kirigakure's Anbu."
Madara said slowly, as if every word used up all the strength in his body.
"Kirigakure's Anbu?"
"That damned person..."
"Who exactly is he!??"
Obito's voice suddenly became very irritable. Anyone who unlocks a power-up after watching their loved one die, only to be beaten up anyway, would be in a very bad mood.
"Who?"
Madara looked at the angry Obito with a seemingly smiling yet not expression. His withered tree-like, deeply wrinkled face squeezed out a bizarre smile, "For now, it's better you don't know too much. That Kirigakure's Yuki Sora is no simple character. If you act rashly, you'll probably be killed too."
"Yuki Sora?"
Obito's pupils constricted sharply. He remembered this name, saying venomously, "I will kill him. I will definitely kill him!"
"Those who caused Rin's death, I won't let a single one go!!!"
Feeling the increasingly terrifying malevolence emanating from Obito, Madara felt increasingly joyful inside.
'Fall!'
'Fall into hell!'
'Only when your heart is filled with darkness can you grow quickly and become that crucial chess piece!!!'