Obito, who had disappeared earlier, didn't leave right away. Instead, he came to stand outside the village, atop the Hokage Rock.
The village at night looked peaceful, but his Sharingan could easily trace the subtle movements of Anbu patrolling, their routes too sharp and methodical as if searching for something.
Do people in this world really value family and blood ties this much?
For a moment, Obito couldn't quite understand it.
From his knowledge, that wasn't usually the case.
In the shinobi world, people always put the so-called "greater cause" first. The village.
The mission. The Will of Fire. Even if it meant abandoning their own families… or worse, killing them.
"Uh…"
His gaze suddenly froze. Obito felt his head sink heavily.
A flood of memory fragments surged inside his mind, flashing one after another chaotic, overwhelming, hard to process.
What's going on…?
His eyes widened slightly, but after a while the storm of fragments receded. He steadied himself.
When he returned to the living room, to his surprise Kushina was awake. She was wearing only a thin nightgown.
She must have come to clean up the "crime scene." After all, the mess they made earlier… wasn't exactly something that could be ignored.
Obito leaned silently against the wall, ignoring her startled expression, and simply waited as she tidied the room.
After a while, Kushina wiped the sweat from her forehead, glanced briefly at him, then slipped into the bathroom to wash up.
Her walk was strange... stiff and careful. Obito knew perfectly well it was the result of his earlier "hard work."
Soon she returned, hair wet, towel draped over her shoulders. Even at her age, she looked stunning... her beauty hadn't faded in the slightest.
"You… did you perhaps need something?" Kushina asked as she dried her hair, trying to act casual, as if what had happened before never happened at all.
But Obito didn't miss the redness spreading along her neck and ears, the quick, shy glances she kept stealing at him.
She was clearly embarrassed by how far she had let herself go earlier.
"It's nothing," Obito said bluntly. "I just came back to check on you. Your condition earlier… it was worrying."
"I–Is that so? Where did that come from, hahaha…" Kushina fumbled, flustered by the unexpected concern.
Her hand suddenly sped up as she wiped her hair, the motion making her chest bounce.
Obito hesitated for a moment, then finally asked:
"After today… is there something you want to do?"
Kushina was caught off guard. "No, I just…" She trailed off, then sat down slowly.
"And… if I have to say it, I want to kill Danzō right now~"
Her voice carried a dangerous edge, but then she shook her head.
"But even I know he's stronger than me. The risk is too high, and the danger… too much."
Obito understood immediately. She wasn't just speaking as herself, she was thinking about Naruto.
If it were only her, she probably would've gone berserk long ago, teaching a bloody lesson to anyone who dared wrong her.
"Danzō, huh?" Obito muttered in a low voice, before asking with deliberate indifference:
"What about the Third Hokage?"
"He's still the Hokage. Naruto needs his protection. If he dies now, the village will collapse into chaos."
Kushina shook her head firmly.
"And, according to your reasoning, he isn't really bad for Naruto either. So…"
Her words trailed off as the fire in her eyes dimmed, replaced by something quieter.
Hearing this, Obito nodded.
It was true... Sarutobi wouldn't be bad for Naruto.
At the core, the old man's calculations were simple: he only wanted Naruto to develop a sense of belonging to Konoha.
From a moral perspective, one could criticize him for not being sincere.
But from a political standpoint, his actions were nothing more than standard maneuvering for someone at his level.
Sit back, let a child suffer, watch him fall into crisis then step in and show him "kindness." From the position of a Hokage, it couldn't exactly be called wrong.
Hiruzen's attitude toward Naruto was clear: politics first, personal feelings second.
Danzō, however, was a different beast altogether.
He wasn't interested in hearts or belonging... he wanted results and power.
The raw combat strength of a Jinchūriki.
He'd strip Naruto of his identity, erase his will, and forge him into nothing more than a weapon of Root.
The difference was fundamental.
Hiruzen wanted loyalty born from trust.
Danzō wanted obedience born from control.
"…It's getting late. I should take my leave," Obito finally said, peeling himself off the wall.
"Alright. You're welcome here next time." Kushina nodded, then smiled faintly.
Obito froze mid-step. "…"
"It's just… next time you come, don't appear the way you did today." She added with a playful, teasing lilt.
She meant, of course, the heart attack he'd given her by suddenly appearing in Naruto's room of all places.
"Uh… I'll try my best," Obito replied dryly, already preparing Kamui.
Before disappearing, he turned slightly. His voice lowered.
"Kushina, don't worry too much. Danzō will die. His death is inevitable and it won't be long."
With those words, his figure twisted into nothingness and vanished.
"..."
Kushina stood stunned for a brief moment. Then, slowly, her lips curved into a faint smile. She rose, returned to her room, and lay back down to rest.
After leaving Kushina's house, Obito didn't depart Konoha immediately. Instead, his figure flickered and reappeared atop the trunk of a tree not far away.
One hand rested against the bark, the other pulled off his mask. His expression twisted into something… complicated.
During his conversation with Kushina, scattered fragments of Uchiha Obito's past thirteen years had suddenly surged up in his mind... memories specifically about her and him.
In those memories, the two often quarreled. Yet beneath it all, Uchiha Obito had only been acting tsundere.
And those memories… felt real. As if he himself had been there.
"…Are these memories starting to affect my personality?"
He muttered to himself, troubled. It really did seem like his attitude toward Kushina was shifting, becoming softer without him realizing it.
Obito frowned.
Or maybe it's just my subconscious clinging to old times whenever I'm near her.
The Obito from before... the one who grew up here, who laughed and fought and dreamed was just a personality his soul had shaped before his true consciousness awakened.
But in essence, Uchiha Obito was still him.
The soul hadn't changed. So inheriting those emotional fragments… shouldn't matter. They were, after all, still part of him.
And yet… this sudden confusion, this bleeding together of past and present, left a sour taste.
"Could it be… the more I interact with old acquaintances, the more unstable this becomes? Or am I just getting sentimental over her for some damn reason?"
He exhaled sharply, brows knit, lost in thought.
To be sure, he invoked the Devouring Coffin, sinking into his spiritual space.
He combed through his mind, probing his soul, searching for flaws.
Only after confirming there was nothing out of place did he finally let out a long breath of relief.
"Looks like I'll have to test it with another acquaintance."
His eye narrowed thoughtfully.
Who should I look for…?
Grandma was long gone. Rin, dead. Minato, sacrificed.
As for classmates Shizune, Kurenai, Asuma, Might Guy… they were never close to him. Barely more than passing faces.
Which left only one real option.
"…Guess it has to be Kakashi."
Obito clicked his tongue, grimacing.
Miserable!
He cursed silently, lips twitching in annoyance.
Then Obito turned back, his gaze lingering briefly on Kushina's apartment before he spoke in a low voice:
"Zetsu, from today onward… I want you to keep an eye on Uzumaki Kushina's situation. If anything happens, report it to me immediately."
The bark of a nearby tree rippled, and a pale face emerged from it.
"Understood, Captain. Leave it to me." White Zetsu grinned, then tilted his head curiously.
"But… are you really okay, Captain?"
"There's nothing wrong with me," Obito replied calmly, eyes fixed straight ahead. His tone left no room for argument.
A breeze swept through the leaves, and with it, his figure dissolved into the night, vanishing once more.
Left behind, White Zetsu shook his head and sighed exaggeratedly.
"…Maybe, just like Captain himself sometimes says… he's actually entering a character development arc?"
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