Obito suddenly felt that, if one looked at those high-ranking big figures of Konoha without any prejudice, each of them did indeed have a few points of real ability.
Just like the Genji of the Land of Water, to have lived to such an old age and still remain standing strong, it must have had something to do with the word "scheming."
Seeing that his purpose had already been achieved, Obito didn't want to stay longer. He slightly bowed and said, "Then, Lady Koharu, I won't disturb you any further."
However, at this time, Koharu called out to him, "Wait!"
Obito stopped in confusion, turned his head to look at her, and asked, "My lady, do you still have something to say?"
Koharu thought for a moment before speaking, "There are some words I've been holding back for a long time, not knowing who I could say them to. Now that I've completely put down my burden, it's about time I found someone to confide in."
After a pause, she continued, "Obito, to be honest, I've always felt that many of you, including you yourself, are mentally not quite normal. It's as if your brains are seriously ill, and you always end up doing things that I find utterly incomprehensible."
"Sometimes, I even start to feel that this world itself isn't normal. Tell me, is it that I'm the one who's abnormal, or is it that this world is abnormal?"
Obito froze, 'Could it be that this Lady Koharu, because of stepping down, has suffered some sort of mental shock and gone a bit crazy?'
Koharu, seeing what he was misunderstanding, immediately explained, "For example, you and Rin. You're still so young, yet already in love. I think that's pretty abnormal."
"Of course, that only counts as a very small, very minor thing."
Obito immediately thought that this was just Koharu's outdated way of thinking acting up again.
But still, he grew curious and asked, "Then what about the big, major things?"
Koharu showed a thoughtful look, "You should know that I, together with Hiruzen, Homura, Danzo, Kagami, and Torifu, were once the guards of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama."
"During the First Great Ninja War, we went to the Land of Lightning with Lord Tobirama for peace talks, but ran into the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
"The Raikage was killed, and we were pursued by the Kinkaku Force. At that time, everyone started doing things that I found totally incomprehensible."
Obito said, "You mean, Lady Koharu, the matter of Lord Tobirama staying behind?"
Koharu nodded, "Yes. At that time, I suggested that all of us stay behind together and intercept Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and their troops. I judged that we had plenty of strong fighters, if we worked together, Kinkaku and Ginkaku wouldn't stand a chance."
"However, my proposal was unanimously rejected. Everyone thought it was impossible. In the end, it somehow became that only one person would stay behind. I really didn't understand… clearly everyone could have survived together, why insist on sacrificing one person?"
"And what I couldn't comprehend even more was that the one who stayed behind turned out to be Lord Tobirama himself. But we were his guards! It should have been our duty to protect Lord Tobirama's safety, how did it end up being the Hokage protecting his own guards instead? Tell me, does that make any sense?"
Obito was also stunned. Thinking carefully, taking the Fourth Great Ninja War as a reference, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were at most at Kage-level strength, and even that barely.
Perhaps at that time, Tobirama wasn't at full strength, his body surely worn down by years of forbidden jutsu experiments, maybe even unable to sense Flying Thunder God markers anymore.
But what about the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, and Mitokado Homura, all in their thirties and in their prime?
Those three were said to be of Kage-level or even above. If they had joined forces with Tobirama, how could they possibly lose?
And besides those four shadows, there was Uchiha Kagami with his three-tomoe Sharingan, Akimichi Torifu of the Akimichi clan, and Koharu herself, proficient in medical ninjutsu. That lineup, even the Akatsuki of his previous life would have to send every single member to wipe them out.
If he hadn't seen Tobirama himself in the Fourth War in his past life, Obito might have suspected there was something fishy back then, that Tobirama was actually betrayed and killed by his own guards.
Obito nodded slightly, "Indeed, that makes no sense. If you had all fought together, Lord Tobirama wouldn't have died, it would've been Kinkaku and Ginkaku who died instead."
Koharu nodded, "It seems I wasn't the only one who thought there was something wrong, that means it wasn't just my own misunderstanding or delusion."
"But, similar things kept happening afterwards, again and again."
"I would raise reasonable suggestions, only for them to be rejected every time. And then these utterly ridiculous proposals would somehow be accepted."
"Later, I finally understood one thing, you're all lunatics. I wasn't going to play along with you crazy people anymore!"
"So afterward, no matter what they said, I'd just nod and agree. I never objected, nor gave my own opinions."
"Maybe that's why I've been able to live this long. People shouldn't get angry with themselves."
Obito showed a look of deep thought.
Koharu seemed to be, in a subtle way, reminding him of something, and some of her words did indeed make a lot of sense.
He said sincerely, "Lady Koharu, I've learned from your words."
Koharu nodded and waved her hand, "Go make your arrangements, then. At my age, I really should be resting already. I don't understand how some of us still think, clearly not young anymore, yet still so bent on tossing themselves around. Do they really have to drive themselves to death before they're satisfied?"
Obito couldn't help but complain in his heart, 'The one who literally drove himself to death was Danzo, isn't it? Danzo, whose funeral was personally arranged by me.'
Obito said nothing and vanished in an instant.
After that, he went to report to the Hokage's office.
———
When he entered and saw the young figure of his teacher Minato, he suddenly felt a bit out of place.
Namikaze Minato gave him a warm smile, "Obito, you're here. Is everything handled?"
'Handled? What exactly? Does he mean taking over Root, or forcing Koharu to step down?'
If he didn't know Minato-sensei's personality so well, Obito would've started to suspect whether, behind that gentle smile, there might be a scheming heart.
He replied, "Everything's been handled. What about on your end, Minato-sensei, or rather, Fourth Hokage-sama, is there anything that needs doing?"
Minato thought for a moment, "There's a lot, but it seems that most things were already dealt with when the Third was in office. Even the unresolved ones, it looks like you've taken care of those too."
After a pause, Minato's expression grew serious as he looked at Obito and said, "Perhaps the only thing worth worrying about now is Kushina's childbirth. It's still a while away, but I can't help feeling uneasy."
"Obito, can I trust you? If I can, then the safety of Kushina and Naruto, I'll leave it in your hands. You must make sure to complete the mission." [T/N: Flag]
Obito hadn't expected Minato-sensei to entrust him with such an important task, and his expression grew earnest.
He struck his chest with a clenched fist, "Don't worry, Minato-sensei, I definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely will complete the mission!"