"Minato-sensei!"
Obito's blood surged. His eyes went red as he shouted and lurched forward.
He'd always been emotional.
And he carried the Uchiha name.
Seeing Minato use himself as bait—teleporting away together with the Third Raikage—Obito's mind overheated. He didn't care whether he stood a chance against that monster or not.
All he could think was:
Save Sensei. Now.
But before he could take even two steps, a hand clamped down on his shoulder like iron.
Kakashi stopped him.
Hard.
"No. We can't go."
Obito jerked, furious. "Let go!"
Kakashi didn't.
Of the three, Kakashi was the calmest—
and the one who understood the situation most clearly.
He kept his voice low, steady, and brutal.
"Right now, our mission is to stay alive and get Minato-sensei's intel back to the Hokage. As fast as possible."
Obito stared at him like he'd been slapped.
"…What?"
Then the anger exploded.
"Then what about Minato-sensei?! We just abandon him?!"
"Can you do anything for him?" Kakashi snapped. "Stop overestimating yourself, Obito!"
His tone went cold enough to freeze blood.
"Face reality. That's the Third Raikage. If we charge in, we don't help Sensei—we drag him down."
"So we run back to the Leaf with our tails between our legs?!"
Obito's face twisted with disbelief.
"To you, that's 'right'?!"
"Idiot."
Kakashi's jaw clenched so hard it creaked.
Having a teammate this reckless and emotional was exhausting—maddening.
"What did you say?!" Obito grabbed Kakashi by the collar, eyes blazing. "Say it again!"
"Even if it's just me," Obito roared, "I'm going to help Minato-sensei! Didn't you see how badly he was hurt?!"
Bam!
A punch slammed into Obito's face.
Obito staggered back and hit the ground hard, stunned.
"You're going to sit there and THINK, Obito!" Kakashi shouted, eyes bloodshot.
"You think I don't want to go? You think I don't want to fight beside him?"
Kakashi's chest heaved.
Then his voice dropped—raw and shaking.
"But if we go now, we die. And Minato-sensei dies with us. The only reason we're breathing is because he bought us time with his body."
Obito froze.
Rin flinched, looking between them.
"Kakashi…" she whispered, worried.
Kakashi forced himself to inhale. Forced his hands to stop shaking.
Then he spoke again—calmer, but no less sharp.
"We report everything: the Third Raikage, the A–B combo, the jinchūriki. The faster we get back, the faster reinforcements can come."
He glanced at the horizon—toward where Minato had vanished.
"Right now… all we can do is believe in Minato-sensei."
Obito's fists trembled.
Rin crouched and helped him up gently.
"Obito… Kakashi's right," she said softly. "If we charge in blindly, we'll waste the chance Sensei created."
Obito clenched his teeth until they hurt.
Logic was logic.
But watching his teacher—injured, alone—face that monster…
His heart couldn't accept it.
To Obito, teammates mattered more than the mission.
"…I get it."
His voice came out hoarse.
He wiped dirt from his face and stared into the distance, eyes fierce.
"Minato-sensei… wait for me."
No more arguing.
The three of them turned and sprinted—full speed—toward Konoha.
—
Not long after they disappeared, the ground nearby bulged.
A green head popped out of the earth, grass-like hair swaying as it watched their backs.
"Ehh… this is bad."
White Zetsu scratched his head, muttering.
"The Yellow Flash got taken away by the Raikage."
He tilted his head, thinking hard.
"Still… it's only a small deviation from Lord Sogetsu's orders."
He smiled weakly.
"Technically… the job's still done, right?"
—
A day and a half later.
Kakashi made it back to Konoha.
Alone.
To claw out every extra second for Minato-sensei, they'd used a crude relay method—Obito's idea.
Kakashi was the strongest. The most durable. The fastest.
So Obito and Rin took turns carrying him, forcing Kakashi to preserve his strength for the final stretch.
They ran until their legs burned, then ran more.
In the last leg—carrying everyone's hope—Kakashi sprinted like his life depended on it.
By the time he stumbled through Konoha's main gate, it was midday.
Dust coated him. His face was white as paper. Lips cracked. Eyes dim.
The only thing holding him upright was sheer will.
"Isn't that… Hatake Kakashi?"
A Police Force guard spotted him and rushed forward, grabbing his arm to steady him.
He took one look at Kakashi's condition and his expression changed instantly.
Something huge had happened.
"What happened out there?!" the guard demanded. "Where's Namikaze Minato?! Why are you the only one back?!"
Kakashi forced his arm to move.
He shoved a tightly clutched scroll into the guard's hands.
"Important… intel…"
Before the guard could ask another question, Kakashi's head lolled to the side.
He collapsed.
Out cold.
The guard's eyes dropped to the seal on the scroll.
And his face turned ashen.
"…S-rank."
Anything labeled S-rank wasn't just urgent.
It was the kind of information that could decide whether the entire village lived or died.
The scroll was rushed straight to the Hokage's office.
—
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been in a rare good mood.
It evaporated the moment his eyes read the scroll.
His blood pressure spiked so hard his vision flashed white.
He gripped the edge of his desk and swallowed down the metallic taste rising in his throat.
Veins stood out on his forehead as he roared:
"ANBU—!"
"Bring Uchiha Sogetsu to me!"
"Immediately!"
Sensing disaster from the Hokage's face alone, Inuzuka Rin-kaku didn't dare ask a single question. He spun and sprinted out.
Moments later, Uchiha Sogetsu stepped into the office, expression puzzled—then appropriately grave as he read the room.
"Hokage-sama," Sogetsu asked, voice steady. "Has something happened?"
"The Hidden Cloud has joined hands with the Hidden Stone," Hiruzen said through clenched teeth.
"Namikaze Minato's team encountered the Cloud's A–B combo—and the Third Raikage himself—on our northeastern border."
His fist trembled with contained fury.
"Minato lured the Raikage away alone, so his students could return with the intel."
Sogetsu's eyes widened in perfect, convincing shock.
"What?!"
"How dare Kumogakure do this… Are they trying to start a war?"
"Not trying," Hiruzen snarled.
He slammed his palm on the desk.
"They're already doing it!"
"A jinchūriki. The next Raikage. The Raikage himself—on our border."
"If that isn't provocation, what is?!"
Sogetsu immediately straightened, the picture of loyalty.
"Hokage-sama. What do you need me to do?"
Not what should we do.
What do you need me to do.
That subtle difference struck Hiruzen squarely in the heart. His anger didn't fade—but the appreciation in his eyes sharpened.
"I need you," Hiruzen said, voice heavy, "to personally lead an ANBU unit and locate Namikaze Minato."
"If he's alive, bring him back."
"If he's… not…"
Hiruzen's eyes turned dark.
"Then make sure the Cloud pays the price."
"I understand."
Sogetsu dipped his head slightly.
Then asked, quietly:
"How far do you want us to go?"
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
The Third Raikage was a monster. A man like that didn't die easily.
That thought gave Hiruzen the confidence to say:
"Go all out. No need to hold back."
Sogetsu adjusted his glasses. A faint chill moved behind his eyes.
"As you command, Hokage-sama."
"I'll make sure you're satisfied with the result."
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