When young Obito learned that there was a cursed seal on Rin's heart, and that this cursed seal was the reason she couldn't take her own life, he recalled what the other Obito had said to him while using Madara's body and immediately understood what Minato-sensei meant.
The other self claimed that Rin had died by Kakashi's hand because she loved him.
But the real reason was this.
Rin had died by Kakashi's hand because she was being controlled by the cursed seal on her heart.
Which meant…
In the other world, Rin had not been a casualty of the Shinobi World War.
She had been the victim of a carefully orchestrated conspiracy.
"Based on Obito's account," Minato Namikaze said, "the other Obito mentioned that Kirigakure's plan was to send the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki back to Konoha and have her go berserk there, creating chaos and destroying Konoha from within."
"So if Kirigakure's plan was really that," he continued, "why would they then control Rin and force her to collide with Kakashi's Chidori? That clearly contradicts their own objective."
Naruto looked completely confused.
"So… from what I'm hearing, doesn't that mean the ones who really wanted to hurt Rin and Kakashi-sensei weren't the Kirigakure ninja at all, but someone else entirely?"
"Idiot," Sasuke said flatly. "That's exactly what Minato-sama was getting at."
"It's still a bit different from what you're imagining," Minato said, his expression never improving. "The enemy's true target may not actually have been Rin or Kakashi…"
"What?!" Naruto huffed angrily. "They killed Rin in the other world! Kakashi-sensei suffered that much! How could the mastermind not be trying to hurt them for real?!"
"Naruto," Rin said softly. "Minato-sensei means that harming us was only incidental."
Rin Nohara was the first to fully grasp what Minato was implying.
With a trace of worry in her eyes, she looked at Adult Kakashi beside her, then at the other two—Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha from her own era.
"What Minato-sensei means is probably this… the mastermind's real target was likely not me or Kakashi, but Obito."
"!!!!"
Obito jerked his head around and stared at his teacher, his eyes demanding confirmation that Rin was right.
Minato answered him with a silent nod.
Hurting Rin in order to hurt him?
The thought filled Obito with an anger he could barely contain.
Young Obito slammed his fist down on the table.
"The other me definitely doesn't know any of this! That's why he dumped all the blame on Kakashi!"
"Obito…" Adult Kakashi said quietly.
Young Kakashi shot both of them a look.
"Didn't the other Obito not blame him? He blamed the world."
His tone was sharp, but in truth, young Kakashi was also worried about the other Obito.
If that Obito ever learned that everything he believed in had been wrong…
Then…
After being deceived and manipulated, that Obito had torn the Nine-Tails out of Kushina, indirectly caused Minato-sensei's death, and intensified the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha…
And there were countless other things they didn't know about the Masked Man's actions.
How was he supposed to atone for all of that?
No one understood Obito's character better than Kakashi, Rin, and Minato-sensei.
The Obito who had once loved this world so deeply had been turned into the greatest villain in the entire shinobi world. Once the truth was exposed, how could he possibly continue living?
As everyone sank into silence, deep in thought—
There were two knocks at the door.
"Kirigakure's ninja have caught up. What should we do next?" It was Itachi's voice.
At this point, the discussion was mostly over. Even Minato Namikaze had no way to remove the cursed seal on Rin's heart. All he could do was use another sealing technique to suppress its power as much as possible. If anyone tried to interfere with the seal Minato had placed, he would sense it immediately and might even be able to trace the attacker's chakra back to its source.
Yamato released the Wood Release: Four Pillars House Technique.
Minato was preparing to return to Konoha to report everything to the Third Hokage.
As the Kirigakure assassins were about to catch up, young Obito suddenly made a bold proposal.
"Minato-sensei! I want to go back to that place! I want to meet the me from the other world!"
"Is he still there?" Minato had genuinely forgotten there was this option. Compared to returning to Konoha, this was risky, but it might also be the most effective move.
"He's definitely still there," Obito said. "He's using our ancestor's body, and he's extremely weak."
Minato made his decision at once.
They would follow Obito to that "crevice between the underworld and reality."
"What about the Kiri ninja behind us?" Zabuza asked, resting the Kubikiribōchō's blade on his shoulder. "You're not planning to let them chase us nonstop, are you? Sorry, but I'm not interested in running away forever."
Minato, Adult Kakashi, and Yamato exchanged a glance.
The three team leaders reached a decision and gave the order.
"Deal with them first. Then we move."
Naruto glanced at Haku. He remembered that Haku and Zabuza had once been Kirigakure ninja.
"What's with that look, brat?" Zabuza snorted, gripping his blade. "We're Missing-nin."
With that, he was the first to charge toward the Kirigakure assassins.
At this point, the name "Demon of the Mist" hadn't yet spread, but the Kirigakure ninja immediately recognized the Kubikiribōchō in his hands. That sword was one of Kirigakure's greatest treasures.
Because of the First Hokage's Wood Release suppression, they couldn't fully use their techniques. Even their taijutsu was heavily restricted. Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't even unsealed Samehada, swinging it like a blunt weapon instead. Even so, the strength of S-rank Missing-nin was overwhelming. These Kirigakure assassins were no match at all.
Adult Kakashi, young Kakashi, and young Obito Uchiha fought with particular ferocity.
The loss of Rin, the broken promise to Obito, and the near loss of Rin just moments ago drove all three of them to unleash killing blows.
Raikiri.
Shiden.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
The battle ended almost like a one-sided massacre.
Fortunately, Minato had captured one enemy alive in advance. Otherwise, not even a single piece of information would have been left to interrogate.
Kirigakure itself didn't place much emphasis on camaraderie. When the captured ninja saw that his companions had been completely wiped out within minutes, he immediately prepared to kill himself.
"—!"
Young Sasuke Uchiha noticed his intent from over ten meters away and snapped his gaze toward him.
His two-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, and a Genjutsu stopped the man in place.
"Nice work, Sasuke!!"
Obito Uchiha returned from the fight with Mangekyō Sharingan still active, praising him aloud. To Sasuke, it sounded more like mockery than praise.
Seeing Sasuke's annoyed reaction, Obito was completely confused. He asked Naruto what was wrong with him, but Naruto didn't know either.
"Sorry. He's jealous," Itachi said bluntly.
Obito and Naruto saw Sasuke's back stiffen. He clearly wanted to snap back, but didn't want to engage with Itachi either, leaving him stuck in an awkward silence.
Minato didn't ask many questions.
First, who had given them this mission?
The answer was a name none of them recognized, apparently the superior of these assassins.
Second, was their mission to have Kakashi kill Rin?
The answer matched what the other Obito had said. Their objective was to ensure the Three-Tails Jinchūriki reached Konoha safely, let her destroy Konoha from within, and then retrieve the Jinchūriki's corpse to continue their research.
After Minato finished questioning him, young Obito Uchiha didn't say another word.
A sharp wooden spike suddenly burst out of his palm.
The spike tore through flesh, blood spraying, before Obito snapped it off and held it in his hand. He thrust it straight into the unfortunate Kirigakure ninja.
"Obito!" Adult Kakashi shouted.
But it didn't stop him.
Wood Release: Cutting Technique.
Just like in another parallel world, Obito instinctively awakened a power uniquely his own.
Bang.
A sharp, explosive sound rang out.
The Kirigakure ninja, still trapped in Genjutsu, had his chakra drained as Wood Release erupted from within his body, killing him instantly.
"Hey! Obito!!" Naruto grabbed his arm, afraid he might sink back into darkness.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Minato didn't stop him.
Instead, he spoke calmly.
"Our parallel world is currently in the Third Shinobi World War. Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, and Kirigakure of the Land of Water are all enemies of Konoha."
He looked at Naruto as he continued.
"We all long for peace, but that turning point may not exist in our era. Showing mercy to the enemy is cruelty to ourselves. If letting an enemy escape leads to the death of our comrades, that would be the greatest regret."
Minato Namikaze might appear gentle, but he was never naïve. Just recall his clashes with Iwagakure. More than fifty enemy ninja were wiped out in a one-sided battle, and there were even rumors that he once led the annihilation of an Iwa force numbering in the thousands.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all seemed to understand. What they felt wasn't simply sorrow for such an era, nor pity or resignation. It was something far more complicated, a mix of many emotions tangled together.
"What a bunch of naïve kids," Zabuza said, resting the executioner's blade on his shoulder. "Looks like the lesson from the Land of Waves wasn't enough."
"How can you compare that?!" Naruto shot back, bristling. "That time it was just a mission! My dad's generation lived through war!"
"Yeah!" Sakura nodded along. "At least we don't have to go to the battlefield."
Sasuke didn't say anything, but he understood. This peace was the result of generations of effort, built on the lives of countless ninja.
Minato clapped his hands twice, pulling everyone's attention back.
"Obito, you still remember how to get back to that place, right?"
"I do!"
"Good. You lead the way. We'll follow."
"Got it!"
"Wait," Rin said suddenly, pulling some medicine from her ninja pouch. "Even though it's already healed, you should still apply some ointment to prevent infection."
Obito froze. A couple of seconds later, when Rin took his hand, he realized she meant the palm he'd injured earlier when using Wood Release.
Someone whistled behind him. Was it Naruto? Or Kisame Hoshigaki? Or maybe Zabuza Momochi? Either way, Obito felt a little embarrassed.
"It's fine, Rin. I've got Hashirama-sama's cells and White Zetsu's components. I heal really fast."
"That's not the point," Rin said, firmly applying the ointment to the thin line of blood left on his palm.
Obito saw her staring straight at him.
"Don't try to push yourself. I'm watching you."
He scratched the back of his head with his free hand and laughed awkwardly, thinking to himself: Rin really is an angel, isn't she?!
Young Kakashi snorted. "Are we leaving or not? We're waiting for you to lead."
"Got it! I knew it, we really are like oil and water."
"Hah. Same here. Move it, idiot." Kakashi stepped behind him and kicked him in the backside.
Obito grumbled that he was older and should be given some leeway, brushing off the footprint on his pants. Then he leapt onto a tree branch with a burst of chakra, leading everyone toward that "crevice between the underworld and reality" to find his other self.
He had to ask clearly whether that person knew about the cursed seal on Rin's heart.
Obito knew one thing for certain. If that person was truly him, there was no way he would ever want to harm Rin.
So either he didn't know at all, or he knew and had been manipulated through it, drowning in hatred for his own helplessness after Rin's death.
...