Thud.
The moment Kakashi saw Minato cut down all the enemies, the taut string in his heart finally snapped.
Exhaustion crashed over him like a wave, swallowing body and mind. He collapsed on the spot.
"Kakashi!"
Rin shouted.
She rushed over to check him. Once she confirmed it was just overexertion, she finally let out a breath.
"Genma, you carry Kakashi," Minato said.
Rin and Kurenai were both girls, and Kiyohara had done the heaviest fighting just now—his stamina was nearly shot.
So the job of hauling Kakashi fell to Shiranui Genma.
"Yes, Minato-sama."
Genma nodded and hoisted Kakashi onto his back.
"Are we moving now?" Kiyohara asked once Kakashi was secured.
"It's already late. We'll rest tonight and destroy the bridge tomorrow," Minato replied.
"I see…"
Kiyohara thought for a moment but still didn't voice the question in his heart.
Why is no one going to recover Obito's body?
Neither Kakashi, nor Rin, nor Minato mentioned it even once.
Even in the original Kakashi Gaiden, Minato did exactly this: wiped out all the enemies, which clearly meant they weren't in a time crunch. If he had come straight here, cleared the rubble, and brought Obito's "corpse" back for burial, maybe a lot of later disasters never would've happened.
Even if they'd run into Madara, Minato had Flying Thunder God—getting away wouldn't be that hard.
Madara was strong, sure, but he was ancient now, basically living on life support from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Even if he used some forbidden jutsu to temporarily restore his strength, he couldn't chase Minato too far.
Flying Thunder God doesn't have that long Kamui wind-up.
In the end, Kiyohara held his tongue.
There was nothing in it for him.
If things really went south, Minato could teleport out. Kiyohara… probably couldn't.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to loot.
He stripped the Iwa corpses, but didn't have time to count the haul—he just sealed everything up and followed the others.
...
Meanwhile, far below, Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes. His three-tomoe Sharingan seemed to stare into the darkness.
Sure enough, where his gaze rested, the cave wall rippled like water, and White Zetsu emerged carrying Obito—reduced to only half a body.
The cross-section of his torso was capped with a thin layer of white flesh, stopping the bleeding.
"I've brought him, Madara-sama."
One White Zetsu stood in front, with a shorter one behind him—about the same size as Obito.
"Begin the surgery," Madara said. His voice was ancient, his long, pale hair hanging down his back.
"Yes, Madara-sama."
The front Zetsu cut the shorter Zetsu's body in half; the size matched Obito's missing half perfectly.
The grafting started quickly—Obito's ribs and organs were merged with the other Zetsu's body. Zetsu's flesh was saturated with Hashirama's cells, rapidly knitting the joins together, and the compatibility with Obito seemed very good.
"This brat…"
Madara found Obito's "ability" interesting. Instead of being crushed to paste by the rocks, he'd dropped through them, as if he'd phased right through, and landed below.
"Madara-sama, why must it only be Uchiha?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled. "There's that Kiyohara kid—he's pretty impressive too, isn't he?"
Since the start of the Third War, Madara had ordered them to watch a whole bunch of Uchiha clansmen, all to pick a suitable candidate.
But today Zetsu had seen something else: the Sharingan could be transplanted into outsiders. That Kakashi kid had successfully taken Obito's left eye.
If you could graft a Sharingan into Kiyohara—or someone like him—couldn't they be used just like an Uchiha?
After all, both would be capable of "driving" the Sharingan.
"You don't understand Uchiha power," Madara said quietly, giving Zetsu a sidelong glance.
Above the three tomoe lay the realm of Mangekyō.
Unfortunately, none of these useless descendants seemed capable of awakening it.
Only with Mangekyō awakened could someone be said to truly wield the power of the Uchiha.
"But that Kiyohara brat…"
Madara knew Kiyohara was talented—capable of holding his own against multiple Iwa shinobi and improving quickly.
Too bad he didn't share the Uchiha name.
"In the Warring States era, I lost count of how many 'geniuses' I saw. This kid's still a bit short—and in the end, he's an outsider," Madara said, shaking his head.
If you aren't Uchiha, even if you have a Mangekyō transplanted, you'll never awaken it by your own power.
So many of his later plans required the Sharingan. With an outsider playing host, odds were high it'd be a net negative. A civilian like Kiyohara had too many weak spots.
"So if you're not Uchiha, you're useless?" Zetsu nodded to himself. He'd use that standard going forward.
"No. Kiyohara is still useful. He's just as important as Kakashi," Madara said, tone layered with implication.
To awaken Mangekyō, you needed overwhelming emotional trauma.
From Zetsu's web of informants, Madara knew Obito had feelings for Rin. He'd also heard about Kiyohara holding Rin's hand, and how Obito had nearly exploded over it.
So, if they made Obito lose Rin forever, the psychic shock would be the strongest possible.
Death.
"They can draw out the darkness in Obito's heart and make him taste ultimate pain," Madara said.
"I see," Zetsu replied, only half understanding.
So Lord Madara wanted Kiyohara to steal Rin, so Obito would feel the pain of losing his beloved?
As expected of Madara-sama—thinking of schemes they'd never imagine.
...
Night deepened.
On a grassy plain, Kakashi lay on a slab of rock beneath a huge boulder.
His lashes trembled faintly as he opened his eyes in confusion.
Where is this… Did I die?
That was his first thought.
"You're awake, Kakashi," Kiyohara said.
The surgery was a success. You're a girl now.
He didn't say the second half of that joke out loud—just watched Kakashi.
Right now Kakashi's face was full of grief. As memories of his time with Obito surfaced, tears welled despite him.
Men don't cry easily—unless it really hurts.
Kiyohara slowly shook his head.
This was that unique "bond" between men in Konoha.
"It's all my fault," Kakashi said, drowning in guilt.
"No. You did everything you could," Kiyohara said, patting his shoulder.
What can you do, when capital rigs the game?
Madara had been watching Land of Grass the whole time, searching for the right piece. In the end, all he could say was: this was just Obito's fate.
~~~
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