The sun slowly sank below the horizon, its fading light blending with the bloodstains on the ground, painting the twilight an even deeper crimson.
Rock shinobi stood everywhere—on the trees, across the earth—encircling Kakashi and his team.
"To think you still have such fighting spirit even in this dire situation. Sneaking behind enemy lines was no small feat. Quite tenacious."
The leader, Sumashi, gazed at Kakashi and the others as if they were fish trapped in a barrel.
Without the Yellow Flash, did these few shinobi really think they could stand against the Rock reinforcement troops he'd brought?
Kakashi said nothing. The short blade left by his father had shattered in battle. Now, lightning crackled in his hand, the Chidori's electric glow flickering.
His other hand tightly gripped the special kunai left by Minato Namikaze, shielding Nohara Rin behind him.
"Wow, they're fighting so intensely!"
Not far away, a white figure emerged from the soil, carrying Obito's body over its shoulder.
Half of Obito remained intact; the other half was fused with white, fleshy tissue.
"Stop gawking. The Hashirama cells in this guy haven't fully integrated yet. If something goes wrong, Madara will have our heads."
Another white figure slipped out from a tree, chuckling as it spoke.
"No choice then. We can't keep watching their fight. Let's take this guy and go."
The two White Zetsu melted into the earth and trees, vanishing along with Obito.
No one witnessed this scene.
Kakashi still clutched the special kunai and Chidori, facing off against Sumashi.
Seeing Kakashi's desperate stance, Sumashi lost interest in talking.
His forces surged forward.
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly collapsed, unconscious.
Inuzuka Gaku, his face smeared with blood, glanced back at Kakashi, feeling this mission had gone far beyond their limits.
His ninja hound, bleeding heavily, had already fallen into a coma.
His own leg was injured, rendering him immobile. Overwhelmed by fear, he too fainted.
The only one left conscious was the medical ninja, Nohara Rin. Despair filled her heart, tears streaming down her face.
Obito, to save Kakashi, had been crushed by a boulder, half his body destroyed.
Before dying, he had asked Rin to transplant his Sharingan to Kakashi.
Rin could still see Obito's hollow eye socket, filled with red, raw flesh.
And now, Kakashi had collapsed from exhaustion.
Inuzuka Gaku was out cold too.
Everything had reached a breaking point.
Looking at Kakashi, Rin suddenly thought to herself: If I could join Kakashi and Obito in the Pure Land, that wouldn't be so bad.
Just then, a ripple in space appeared.
"Wha… what?!"
Sumashi's face twisted in shock as he quickly retreated.
Thud.
Shimizu Uchiha's Heavenly Prison Fire Sword slashed through, and those near Sumashi weren't so lucky—heads rolled in an instant.
Minato Namikaze's form flickered, appearing behind Sumashi. A Rasengan slammed into Sumashi's back, shattering his spine and organs in a single blow.
The remaining Rock shinobi stared in terror. The Twin Flashes of the Leaf!
"How is this possible? Weren't you at the other battlefield?"
One Rock shinobi seemed to realize something, his eyes locked on the special kunai still gripped in Kakashi's hand, even in his unconscious state.
Minato didn't respond. Golden light scattered across the field, and in the blink of an eye, he annihilated the remaining Rock shinobi.
Rin watched as Shimizu and Minato appeared beside Kakashi. Her emotions surged, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
The survivors were finally saved.
But Obito, who had died, was gone forever.
"How's Kakashi?" Shimizu asked.
By the time he and Minato had arrived, the scene was grim: Kakashi unconscious, Rin and Inuzuka Gaku fighting the Rock shinobi.
"He's fine. Just exhausted," Rin said, her voice heavy with sorrow as she wiped away tears.
"And Obito?" Minato asked this time.
He had taken care of the remaining Rock shinobi. Once they emerged, none could escape his grasp.
The frontline battle and the severing of the enemy's supply lines had been perfectly executed, living up to the expectations of Konoha's leadership.
Minato believed this battle would shift the tide of the entire Shinobi World War. The Rock Village would be caught in a pincer between Konoha and Kumo, unable to hold.
The Rock Village could no longer afford to lose shinobi. Any more deaths would uproot their foundation, potentially striking them from the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They would have no choice but to retreat their lines.
If Konoha pressed the Rock Village into signing a peace treaty, the other warring nations would gradually cease fighting, ushering in an era of peace.
Because nearly everyone had died. In this war, there were no winners. The Five Great Nations, along with the smaller ninja villages, had all lost.
War brought nothing but lasting pain to the shinobi world.
"Obito… is dead," Rin said, recounting the events to Minato and the others.
Minato listened, stunned.
Obito, the boy who knew every grandma and grandpa in the village, was dead.
It seemed kindness didn't always bring good fortune.
Minato fell silent. The order to lure out the hidden Rock shinobi, drawing them into a trap to be wiped out, had come from Konoha's higher-ups.
But as the one carrying it out, he couldn't escape responsibility.
What is a true shinobi?
Minato sank into thought.
He had carried out countless assassination missions. But did those he killed truly deserve death?
Shinobi hands were stained with blood. How could they still claim to uphold justice?
…
The Graveyard of Mountains
Near the Land of Iron.
"Where… is this?"
In the dim space, Obito opened his remaining Sharingan, its two black tomoe spinning slowly.
"This is the crevice between life and death, child of the Uchiha."
Uchiha Madara, leaning on his scythe, hobbled forward, answering Obito's question.
Obito snapped out of his half-conscious state, startled. Who was this man before him?
"Your eyes…! Could it be, old man, you're an Uchiha too?"
"Well, how should I put it…" Madara seemed to ponder.
In the meantime, Obito glanced around, trying to make sense of where he was.
Did this old man save me? What's this "crevice between life and death"? What is this place? It's so dark, I can't see anything clearly.
An ominous feeling grew in Obito's heart.
"You're not… the Shinigami, are you? The one who takes the dead to heaven or hell…?"
Before Obito could finish, he caught a glimpse of the old man's staff—it was a scythe, glinting with a chilling light. He screamed in terror.
"No! I don't want to die! Help!"
"You're definitely the Shinigami! The one who collects Uchiha souls! Please, have mercy, don't send me to hell!"
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