About a year and a half after Obito's "sacrifice."
That was exactly when news of Rin Nohara's death came back.
Back then, that incident had stirred up quite a bit of gossip inside the Uchiha Clan.
The main reason was that many clan members had never approved of Obito dying on a mission and giving his Sharingan to Kakashi.
At the time, Minato Namikaze had been carrying out another mission, and the only person who could truly testify for Kakashi was the girl named Rin Nohara. Some people in the clan had leaned into conspiracy theories, suspecting that the two of them had colluded and taken advantage of Obito Uchiha's misfortune to steal his Sharingan.
Although the rumors quieted down somewhat after Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha worked together to suppress them, and Kakashi ultimately managed to keep Obito's eye, there were still people in the clan who remained dissatisfied.
A year and a half later, the news that Rin Nohara had died because of Kakashi's self-developed Lightning Release: Chidori gave many of the clansmen who had already suspected something was wrong with Obito's death an excuse to bring it up again. They demanded that Kakashi return Obito's eye and that Obito's death be thoroughly investigated.
As his memories reached this point, Fugaku Uchiha looked at the backs of Adult Kakashi and Adult Obito in front of him.
He could not help wondering what exactly had happened back then.
In the footage.
Half of Obito Uchiha's body was covered in milky-white White Zetsu matter, and over that year and a half, his messy short hair had grown into long, spiky strands.
Hearing that Rin and Kakashi were in danger, he rushed toward the only exit.
The exit was blocked by a thick, solid stone wall.
He slammed his fist against it, and the White Zetsu limb he had finally gotten used to began to rot, flowing down his arm like tree sap.
Even so...
[In the footage, Obito Uchiha clutched his injured, broken arm and still refused to give up. "I have to save Rin and Kakashi..."]
["In that case, wear me," the White Zetsu behind him suddenly said.]
"!!!"
The people who did not know what "White Zetsu" was had already thought that thing was strange enough. Who could have imagined that when it said those words, it would actually turn into something like a shell, "open itself up," and wrap Obito Uchiha inside?!
["Are you leaving?" In the footage, the aged Madara Uchiha slowly raised his head.]
[Obito: "Thank you for saving me, but right now, I have to go!"]
["Hmph, hmph." Madara Uchiha let out two mocking laughs. "You're far too impatient. Now isn't the time to thank me yet. You will definitely come back. When that time comes, I'll accept your true gratitude."]
Inside the Uchiha Clan compound, Young Madara Uchiha's expression darkened slightly.
He knew that the version of himself in the footage must be planning something.
That made him uneasy.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Obito had saved his younger brother. He did not want anything to happen afterward that he did not wish to see.
Next, Obito Uchiha in the footage smashed the stone wall apart with one punch and, following White Zetsu's guidance, rushed toward the place where Kakashi and Rin were in danger.
The people of the Warring States Period had no idea what would happen next.
At this point, everyone's expectations were pulled to the highest point.
It was like watching a comeback-style movie. The protagonist started out as a useless nobody no one cared about, but after a miraculous encounter, he was bound to turn his life around.
They were all waiting for this comeback-story protagonist to arrive at the critical moment, save his comrades in style, and make everyone see him in a new light.
At this point in the story, the image suddenly shifted to the boy named Kakashi.
Ignoring everyone else's attempts to stop him, and with the help of his eight ninken, he went alone in the direction where the Kirigakure ninjas had taken Rin Nohara.
He had always been keeping the promise he had made with Obito Uchiha back then.
No matter what, he would protect Rin.
"Why does that girl keep getting captured?"
A nearby female civilian said it casually, with a little dissatisfaction in her tone.
Someone beside her laughed. "If the heroine doesn't get captured, how is the hero supposed to save the damsel in distress?"
Hearing that, the members of Team Minato and Team Kakashi felt uncomfortable.
They were ninjas, not the male and female leads of a satisfying comeback story or a tragic abuse novel. To them, those words sounded like an insult.
Naruto and Obito wanted to argue, but Sakura and Rin stopped them.
Sasuke glanced at the people who had spoken and said lightly, "If people like you lived in the ninja world, you probably wouldn't survive even one episode."
Young Kakashi nodded with a quiet "Mm."
The people on the other side saw that although they were children, the adults around them all looked difficult to provoke, so they snorted and walked away.
In the footage, Young Kakashi found an opening, had his eight ninken lure the enemies away, and went alone into the temporary base of fifty or sixty Kirigakure ANBU. There, he found Rin Nohara and took her away.
Seeing this, Fugaku Uchiha's brows furrowed deeply.
"Something's wrong."
Minato gave a soft hum, his expression not looking good either.
Kakashi had been too desperate to save her. Obito was the same.
From their perspective, this matter clearly had several suspicious gaps.
The current Adult Kakashi was the elite of Konoha's generation, with the highest number of missions and the highest mission completion rate. Adult Obito was even more impressive, having directly been the power behind the Akatsuki.
When the two of them looked back at what happened then from a third-person perspective, they both began to hate how foolish they had been in their youth.
How had White Zetsu just happened to wander outside and run into Rin being abducted by Kirigakure ninjas? What purpose did the Kirigakure ninjas have in abducting Rin Nohara, an ordinary Konoha Chūnin? Other than luring out idiots like them, it had no meaning at all!
And Curly White Zetsu too! It had clearly been responsible for watching Obito, so how could it possibly have been kind enough to help him escape?!
Kakashi was the same. He secretly hated himself for not asking Rin clearly about her condition back then.
If he had gotten Rin to describe in more detail why she felt something was wrong inside her body, then at worst, they could have avoided returning to Konoha for the time being. They could have fled away from Konoha, found a village to hide in, and held out until Obito found them.
But things went against their wishes. The footage followed the exact process they had once experienced.
The masked boy moved quickly with the brown-haired girl.
The girl said there was something wrong with her body, as if something were trying to break through the restraints of her will.
Perhaps it was a girl's sixth sense, but she had actually sensed Kirigakure's plan, or rather, "a certain man's" plan. They wanted her to bring "that thing" back to Konoha, lose control, and destroy Konoha in one fell swoop.
At the same time, Obito Uchiha, who was rushing there, was growing frantic.
["Is Minato-sensei not here?!"]
["Who?"]
["I'm asking where the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze is?!"]
["Him? Seems like he's busy with something else. Anyway, he's not here~"]
In the footage, the long-haired Obito, whose face was already scarred, clicked his tongue, clearly showing his dissatisfaction.
Young Obito was mortified and snapped at Adult Obito, "What does that have to do with Minato-sensei?! The Third Shinobi World War was almost entirely relying on Minato-sensei's deterrence on the battlefield! Even if he went without sleep, there's no way he could take care of every single battle!"
As a girl, Sakura instinctively disliked the way White Zetsu answered.
"That White Zetsu could have just said directly that Minato-sama was carrying out another difficult mission. Instead, he kept dodging the point and deliberately misled the anxious Obito into blaming Minato-sama for not acting. It's so fake and manipulative. I hate it."
"Exactly!!" Naruto nodded hard.
Minato shook his head. "In the end, failing to protect all of you was my responsibility." On this point, he believed that his self as the Fourth Hokage must also have been filled with regret, grief, and sorrow, wanting to work even harder and give even more in order to end the war as quickly as possible.
Madara Uchiha glanced at their side but said nothing.
Tobirama Senju was not about to indulge him. As always, he struck straight at the key point.
"Heh. This is clearly Madara's scheme, isn't it? He deliberately used war missions in other regions to draw Minato Namikaze away." His crimson eyes looked mockingly at Madara Uchiha, who stood in front of his older brother. "When it comes to being despicable, you're no less capable."
"Same to you," Madara Uchiha sneered, standing beside Hashirama Senju with his arms crossed.
Fugaku Uchiha still did not know what had happened. He only felt that the rumors about the Second Hokage targeting the Uchiha Clan were indeed not false.
Izuna Uchiha only knew the general situation and declared that after watching the footage, he would fight Tobirama Senju.
Hashirama stood between both sides and tried to mediate. He really was an old peacemaker.
["Find them!"]
In the footage, the pursuing Kirigakure ninjas caught up.
["Rin! You go first! I'll hold them back!"]
["Kakashi!"]
["Damn it! I have to make it in time! Rin! Kakashi!! I'm almost there!!"]
The footage began rapidly switching between the perspectives of the three of them.
Everyone watching felt their hearts rise into their throats.
The people of the Warring States Period had very little entertainment in their lives. Unlike Naruto's era, which already had television and movies, this was their first time seeing something like this, and they were completely drawn into the story unfolding in the footage.
Even ninjas from clans like the Senju and Uchiha unconsciously put themselves in the place of Obito Uchiha or Kakashi Hatake. Their palms sweated for them, their blood heated, and they waited for the scene where the hero saved the beauty, where the dead-last loser rose against the odds.
Only the people who had truly been there at the time...
Adult Obito and Adult Kakashi lowered their eyes slightly.
Their hearts were filled with endless regret and self-blame.
["Kakashi! I can't go back to Konoha!!"]
["This isn't the time to talk about that! I promised Obito I would protect you!! Even if I die, I'll stand in front of you!"]
["You foolish Konoha brat. You really think you can escape our Kirigakure elite forces?!"]
["White Zetsu! Are we still far?!"]
["Not far now!"]
["Faster! I have to make it in time!!"]
From Obito Uchiha's point of view, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled at the end of the forest.
A heavy unease pressed down on his heart.
Then the footage shifted back to Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake.
["Kakashi, kill me now!"]
Rin in the footage said this to the companion beside her, but Young Kakashi was doing everything he could to fight more than a dozen Kirigakure ninjas who had already caught up. He had no attention to spare for thinking about Rin's words.
He only repeated his order again.
["Go back to Konoha by yourself! I'll hold them back!!"]
With that, he charged at the enemy.
He ignored the determined look in the brown-haired girl's eyes.
Adult Obito and Adult Kakashi, who were watching this memory, jolted violently. Beside them, the six members of Team Kakashi and Team Minato also had slight changes in their expressions.
Young Obito suddenly remembered the scene he had once seen in a dream...
Rin coughing blood, staring fixedly at "him."
***
…
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (100 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***