Chapter 45: Obito, I Have Another Reason to Kill You
"Madara," White Zetsu said with a mischievous grin, "this isn't the time to be impulsive. You don't want the Eye of the Moon Plan to fail, do you?"
"Hmph. You don't have to spell it out for me. I know what to do," Obito grumbled, his right eye swirling as he vanished.
"All these years, and Obito is still a brat. He hasn't grown up at all," White Zetsu said cheerfully.
"It's easier to control a brat," Black Zetsu replied. "Alright, we've wasted enough time. The patrol ninja will be here soon. We need to hurry up and clean this up."
Not long after Zetsu had finished and disappeared, a series of whooshing sounds filled the air as four patrol ninja appeared in the wrecked training ground.
The Tokubetsu Jōnin leading them looked at the large pool of blood on the ground, his face grim. The amount of blood was enough to kill an adult.
"This is bad. I'm going to report to Lord Dodai. C, I'm leaving this to you," he said to the only sensory-type on his team, and then he vanished in a Body Flicker.
"Meow!"
Neji had just left Kana's house and was on his way home when he heard the sound of a cat.
He looked up and saw a Maneki-neko running toward him along the roof. It was one of Yugito's ninja cats.
"Meow! Hyūga Neji! Lady Yugito is looking for you! It's an emergency!" the cat said, shaking its head frantically.
An emergency? Has Root been exposed? Neji wondered. He scooped up the cat and ran in the direction it indicated.
A few moments later, he arrived at the training ground.
The area was now surrounded by a group of powerful-looking ninja wearing masks. They were the Fourth Raikage's personal ANBU.
"Captain, what happened?" Neji asked, running up to Yugito.
Yugito patted him on the shoulder and sighed. "Not long ago, Yotsuki Rin was attacked by a powerful, mysterious enemy. He's missing, and we fear the worst."
"Yotsuki Rin?" Neji's brow furrowed. He had thought the ANBU had found the Root ninja hiding in the village. He hadn't expected Rin to be the one in trouble.
"Where's Lord Raikage?" he asked.
"He's furious," Yugito replied. "He's leading the Yotsuki clan in a house-to-house search for any suspicious individuals. Dodai-senpai has ordered us to search the scene for any clues."
Neji rubbed his temples and nodded.
Rin was a genius of the Yotsuki clan's younger generation. To be attacked and likely killed within the village... it was a huge slap in the face. And the Root ninja hiding in the village were the prime suspects.
"Alright, Captain," Neji said, taking a deep breath. "Let's get started."
Yugito waved a hand, and a blonde patrol ninja walked over.
"This is C. He's a sensory-type from the patrol corps. He was the first to arrive at the scene after the disturbance was detected."
Neji looked at him. He was about seventeen or eighteen, with short, blond hair and handsome features. He was, without a doubt, one of the best-looking men in the Hidden Cloud. He had not yet joined the Raikage's guard.
"C," Yugito said, her voice grave, "tell us what you found."
"Yes, ma'am!" C reported, speaking quickly. "Lady Yugito, we heard the sound of a lightning explosion and arrived on the scene in less than a minute. Unbelievably, the battle was already over. Yotsuki Rin was gone, there were no suspicious individuals in the area, and the only chakra signature in the air was his Lightning Release."
"And then," he continued, "I found this near the training ground. A forehead protector, destroyed by a lightning jutsu."
He took out a plastic bag containing the damaged protector and handed it to Neji.
Neji took it and examined it closely. Though it was mangled, he could still make out half of a leaf symbol with his Byakugan.
Yugito gestured for C to step back. "Neji, what do you see?"
He rubbed his thumb over the metal plate. "This is a Konoha forehead protector."
"Then that's it," Yugito said, clapping her hands together. "The one who attacked Rin was a Root ninja."
Neji's brow furrowed. He wasn't so quick to jump to conclusions.
He had personally experienced Rin's strength. He might have defeated him easily, but an ordinary Jōnin would have been no match for him. To kill him so cleanly, the attacker had to be significantly stronger. And to have taken the body and left without a trace before the patrol team arrived... not even the second-in-command of Root, Aburame Torune, was capable of that.
Neji activated his Byakugan and carefully scanned the entire training ground.
The next moment, he saw something. He turned and walked toward the forest at the edge of the training ground.
A long sword was embedded deep in the trunk of a tree, with only the hilt exposed.
It was Yotsuki Rin's beloved chakra blade.
"I see... so that's it..." Neji murmured, his expression changing.
"What do you see?" Yugito asked, looking at the sword and then at him.
"I fought Rin before," Neji said with a sigh. "His swordsmanship is sharp and powerful, enough to easily cut down a large tree. Do you know why this tree is still standing?"
"Why?"
"Because this was his final strike."
Yugito's eyes narrowed. "And his final strike didn't cut down the tree... which means it didn't hit the enemy."
Neji shook his head. "His final strike wasn't meant for the enemy. It was to save this sword. He was waiting for me."
"But he's dead," Yugito said, surprised. "What was he waiting for you for?"
Neji placed his hand on the hilt of the sword. "Because," he said, his voice low and serious, "he had a final message for me."
Yugito was stunned. "You're saying he had a final message for you?"
Neji nodded and slowly pulled the chakra blade from the tree.
"And you already know what it is?"
"I do."
"..."
"But he was already dead when you got here."
"The dead can speak."
Yugito looked at the gleaming blade, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Then how come I can't hear it?"
"Because," Neji said with a long sigh, "in the entire Hidden Cloud, I am the only one who can. Because I am the only one with the Byakugan."
As he spoke, he channeled his chakra into the sword.
In his final moments, Rin had poured all of his remaining chakra into his blade. After his death, that chakra had not completely dissipated.
As Neji's chakra flowed into the sword, a pattern, formed of black lightning, appeared on the blade.
It was an oval, with a small dot inside, near the right side.
Seeing it, Neji understood everything.
Obito, I have another reason to kill you.