"Obito!" Minato shouted. "Produce your mission scroll!" He had sensed the faint fluctuations of Space-Time Ninjutsu coming from Obito Uchiha's equipment pouch.
Obito froze for a moment, then retrieved the mission scroll and handed it to Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze unfolded the scroll.
Sure enough—
Another new mission appeared.
[Mission Level: B]
[Mission Details: Obito Uchiha is to impersonate the Fourth Mizukage and converse with Kisame Hoshigaki.]
"!!!!"
"Another role-playing mission?!"
Inside the room, the two teams gathered, staring at the scroll in disbelief.
"And they want Obito to play the Fourth Mizukage?"
"But last time this type of mission was A-rank, and now it's downgraded to B?"
Obito said, "But the B-rank mission reward could still be information about the masked man!"
"Exactly," Minato said. "So we'll be counting on you again, Obito."
Thinking of that tall, shark-faced man, Obito swallowed hard but accepted the mission.
Having previously held a conversation while impersonating Zabuza, Obito was already fairly used to acting as Yagura Karatachi.
He sought out Hikaku Uchiha to ask where Kisame Hoshigaki was being surveilled.
Upon learning the exact location—deep within Uchiha territory—he led the group inside.
The Uchiha were known for being exclusive, but incredibly warm to their own kin.
When they saw an unfamiliar boy wearing Uchiha robes, a few adult Uchiha even approached them with friendly greetings.
This made Sasuke turn his face aside, his eyes burning.
But the looks those same people cast at Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake were far less welcoming—subtly wary, guarded.
Parents called their children back indoors, and the male ninjas—primary combatants of the clan—stood at their doorways, watching vigilantly.
This was the real Uchiha clan: their love was small, so small it could only hold the little piece of land they treasured most.
Obito and the others stopped in front of a newly built house.
Several Uchiha stood outside and inside, all with their Sharingan activated.
Tōka Senju was also present, and likely because of her wartime experiences, she showed no fear toward any Uchiha.
"Do you wish to see him?" Tōka asked as she approached.
Obito nodded energetically, greeting the older woman with his usual casual friendliness.
"Yes, we want to see that stinking shark keeping watch on Itachi! But hold on a second—because of some bizarre mission, I need to do a bit of prep."
"Mission?" Tōka frowned in confusion. Was this child really an Uchiha? If not for the clan symbol on his clothes, she might have assumed he was a Senju child who had wandered off.
But the next moment—
Poof—
Obito transformed into Yagura Karatachi.
At the same time, he dredged up the nightmare that had awakened his double-tomoe Sharingan, letting himself sink into absolute darkness and madness.
That aura. That suffocating darkness. That chaotic killing intent.
It made even the battle-hardened Uchiha and Senju from the Warring States era gasp collectively.
Was this truly the same boy from moments ago—the one with the bright voice and the hot-blooded look of youth?!
This performance had to be god-tier.
With the Sengoku-era ninjas still stunned, Obito—now acting as the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi—pushed open the sliding paper door with an imposing, arrogant air, turned down the hallway twice, and entered the inner room.
There sat Kisame Hoshigaki, his chakra and mobility sealed by the First Hokage, holding Samehada in his arms.
That overwhelming madness in Obito's aura demanded attention.
Kisame naturally looked up at him.
Obito could clearly see a flicker of surprise cross Kisame's face.
Obito, disguised as Yagura Karatachi, remained silent. He waited for this shark-like man to speak first.
Sure enough, after an initial moment of surprise, Kisame let out an eerie chuckle. "I didn't expect you to follow along."
"????"
A faint realization dawned on Obito. Something felt terribly off.
Wasn't Kisame a Missing-nin from Kirigakure? Shouldn't he be terrified upon seeing Yagura Karatachi?
Why was he acting so respectful?!!
Something was off. Very off!!
Obito was completely confused inside, but on the surface he remained composed, maintaining Yagura Karatachi's brooding, maniacal demeanor without saying a word.
Under this suffocating pressure, Kisame had no choice but to speak first.
"You seem troubled. Is it because of Itachi?" Or was it because he'd exposed you as not truly being Madara Uchiha?
The second half of that thought stayed locked in Kisame's mind—he would never dare utter it aloud before his "leader."
As one of the few in Kirigakure who knew Yagura Karatachi was being manipulated by Akatsuki's mastermind, Kisame had always been extremely cautious.
"Itachi is too unpredictable..." Obito said in Karatachi's voice, finally speaking his first words since entering.
Kisame replied, "Well, that can't be helped. After all, he's a double agent planted in the organization by Konoha."
"!!!!"
Obito's mind exploded in shock. Did Minato-sensei know?! Itachi was actually a spy planted by Konoha?!!
Wait.
The organization?!!
He remembered the previous B-rank mission reward—a slip of intelligence stating that the masked man controlled Yagura Karatachi.
Judging by this shark-faced man's attitude, the organization he referred to definitely wasn't anything within Kirigakure. It had to be—Akatsuki!!
Which meant the real masked man existed within Akatsuki! And Itachi wasn't a true Missing-nin from Konoha—he was a mole planted within Akatsuki by Konoha!!
But if Itachi truly wiped out his own clan, how could Konoha possibly still trust him?
Since Obito hadn't been pulled into Itachi's Tsukuyomi, he remained completely unaware of the truth behind the massacre.
But perhaps something in his dark nature clicked into place—
Young Obito Uchiha pieced together every bit of information he had, feeling as though his intelligence shot from a measly two points straight to max level.
His thoughts had never been so clear. The scattered hints from Kisame's words, the intelligence notes, and the mission scrolls all came together in his mind.
First: The masked man controls the Fourth Mizukage, and his true identity might be the leader of that mysterious rogue-nin organization!
Second: The Uchiha Clan massacre involved Konoha's higher-ups, yet they did not blame Itachi!
Thus, there were three possible explanations.
One: The true perpetrator of the massacre was someone else—like the masked man.
Two: The Uchiha clan had reached an irreconcilable conflict with Konoha, causing Konoha to deploy ANBU to eliminate them.
Itachi took the blame to protect Sasuke, and joined Akatsuki as a double agent.
Three...
The third possibility was the one Obito most desperately wished for, yet it was also the least likely:
That the Uchiha clan wasn't truly dead, but hiding somewhere else entirely, and the "massacre" Sasuke witnessed was a conspiracy jointly carried out by the Uchiha and Konoha.
As someone who truly loved the village and aspired to be Hokage, the second possibility was something Obito refused to accept. Yet the third was almost impossible.
Thus, the most plausible explanation was that the true mastermind behind the clan's destruction was the masked man.
Itachi feared Sasuke would chase revenge, so he made Sasuke believe he himself was the enemy.
And Itachi's true purpose within Akatsuki must have been to uncover the masked man's weakness—to avenge the clan!!
Kisame, seeing his "leader" remain silent, asked, "Is this truly Konoha's founding era? How do we return? Or should we restructure the shinobi world from here?"
Honestly, Kisame didn't care either way.
He had already lost faith in the current shinobi world. Now, "Madara"—or rather, the man before him—was the only person he believed capable of changing its system.
As long as that man existed, whether they returned to their own era or remained here made no difference to this missing-nin.
"...Wait for my message."
Obito left these words and turned to exit the "cell" holding Kisame Hoshigaki.
Once he stepped outside the tatami room and reverted back to his real form, Obito Uchiha suddenly found the sunlight painfully bright.
Darkness suited him far more.
"Obito?" Rin's voice snapped Obito out of that dark feeling and back to reality.
Young Kakashi grumbled, "What are you thinking about now? If your brain's not working right, don't overload it."
"!!" Obito snapped back reflexively, "You're the one with a brain problem! Stupid Kakashi! Didn't you hear even the old man praised my exceptional talent today?!!"
"Hey, did you finish your mission yet?" Naruto propped his hands behind his head. This rock wall without a Hokage portrait made him feel out of place; he wanted to get back soon.
Minato said, "Should be done. I can sense subtle temporal-spatial energy fluctuations from your mission scroll again."
Obito's mind was still reeling from the intelligence he'd deduced. Fumbling through his ninja pouch for the mission scroll, he first found a familiar miniature scroll.
Identical to the previous B-rank mission reward scroll.
Locating the mission scroll, he saw the B-rank mission: "Have Obito Uchiha impersonate the Fourth Mizukage and converse with Kisame Hoshigaki." Sure enough, it displayed the words: [Mission Complete].
Obito then opened the small scroll—
"White Zetsu components can neutralize Hashirama's cells."
"Hashirama cells? What the heck is that?!" Naruto asked his father, staring at the text.
Minato shook his head. "Apart from Hashirama-sama's name, I'm completely in the dark about the rest of this intelligence."
"Hashirama cells?!!" Jiraiya's expression changed drastically.
Minato asked, "What's wrong, Jiraiya-sensei? Do you know what this is?"
Jiraiya didn't answer immediately. Instead, he recalled the day the Sannin parted ways, thinking of Orochimaru's failed experiments—the ones that killed so many Konoha shinobi who trusted him and volunteered.
At that moment, a woman who seemed to hold considerable authority within the Senju clan—referred to as "Tōka" by Tobirama Senju—called out to Minato Namikaze.
"Tobirama-sama requests that you return to the Intelligence Division after dinner to continue discussing the future intel."
Minato nodded and followed their guide to the Senju main residence.
During the quiet dinner, Obito had even less appetite than Sasuke. He hadn't yet shared the intelligence he'd uncovered with Minato-sensei, and more importantly, he wasn't sure whether he should tell Sasuke about the guesses he'd formed.
After a simple meal—and after Jiraiya got beaten for teasing a Warring States-era girl—Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, and the two squads they led returned to the same tatami room.
Madara Uchiha was there as well, though his complexion looked terrible.
Itachi Uchiha, after receiving treatment from the First Hokage's chakra, looked significantly better.
Tobirama Senju maintained his usual serious and businesslike demeanor.
Compared to him, Hashirama appeared far more cheerful and approachable. He greeted them by asking how their meal was, then inquired about the red handprint on Jiraiya's face—leaving the Toad Sage, the legendary Sannin, thoroughly flustered.
Each person carried their own thoughts, while Minato himself was very eager to understand the meaning behind the new B-rank intel.
He wondered whether the Hashirama of this era had any idea that his descendants were using something called "Hashirama's cells."
...
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